For those who love aviation, learning to fly is fun, exciting, and something to look forward to.When students start flying, they usually look forward to each lesson with a lot of anticipation.
The first couple lessons are exciting and new, and so much fun. And here at Inflight, we want you to have fun on each and every lesson as you learn to fly! Having fun is one of our company’s core values. Even though flying is fun; it’s also challenging and complex. At some point in training most students will usually reach a training plateau. A training plateau is when a student learns many new things quickly, but then the learning levels off. Because some concepts in training are complex and new, it takes time for our minds to make the necessary connections to learn the skills required.
So what should you do if you reach a learning plateau?
KEEP GOING! When Theodore Roosevelt said that “Nothing worth having comes easily,” he was right! Flying isn’t always easy. Training is hard at times. Some concepts students catch onto quickly, and others take time. Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses, and everyone learns differently. If you find yourself in a plateau, don’t panic.
Here’s some advice on dealing with learning plateaus:
Give yourself a break. Take a few days off of training. Don’t study for a few days. Give yourself time to go do some of the things you enjoy, spend time with your friends, and relax. Taking a short break is healthy, and you’ll come back to training feeling refreshed
and ready to tackle your lessons.
Don’t be so hard on yourself. Give yourself some credit. We are our own worst critics most of the time. If you find yourself thinking about how frustrated or defeated you may feel, try to stop those thoughts. You’re learning things that are incredibly detailed and different from anything that you’ve done before!
Don’t give up. Even if it feels difficult, keep up with your training. Take pride in how far you’ve come. One day you will look back at the things you struggled with and you will appreciate how much you’ve accomplished since then, because you had the tenacity to keep going! After taking a short break, get back on the schedule!
Talk to your instructor. They will be able to see that you’ve reached a plateau. Your instructor will be able to help you and walk you through a couple of different ways to overcome the plateau. Ask them to explain the concept/ maneuver different ways so that you can comprehend it better. Sometimes flying with another instructor for a flight or two
can offer another perspective and help you to overcome a plateau.
Figure out how you learn. Figure out your own learning style. Are you a visual learner? Ask your instructor to show you things visually. Learning about your learning style is not only beneficial to flying, but to many other aspects of life as well. Be creative in how you study. If you’re a visual learner, look up videos and chair fly. Ask your instructor for tips
on learning and studying based off of your learning style.
Are you ready to have fun and give flying a try? Maybe you stopped flying years ago and have a rating you want to finish! Give us a call. We would love to get you in the air and look forward to flying with you. Call 952-698-3000 for more information.