Each flight school in Minneapolis will offer its own unique approach to teaching students to fly. As such, there isn’t an easy answer to whether or not you’ll find it difficult to meet all the requirements for your flight training. However, there are a few things you should know in order to decide if flight school will be too difficult for you or if you’ll pass with relative ease. So, is it hard to graduate from a flight school in Minneapolis? Let’s take a look at some of the criteria that might be an obstacle to your efforts in becoming a certified pilot.
First, Decide On The Type Of Pilot You Want To Be
The first step in determining how hard flight school will be is to pick out a license. Beginners don’t have much choice, because they must first obtain a private pilot certificate to move on to more advanced ratings and certifications. Because of the many different certificate types, the difficulty of training can be as easy as memorizing flashcards or as difficult as calculating complex navigational math and everything in between.
Hobbyist: Private Certificate & Some Instrument Training
If you’ve always wanted to learn to fly on your own for fun, you’ll need a private pilot certificate. This allows you to fly yourself and passengers nearly anywhere in North America, as long as you don’t charge a fee. As a private pilot, you’re free to set off toward a new world of travel possibilities, without the common restrictions of automobiles or commercial airlines.
Professional: Commercial Licensing
For those who eventually want to make aviation a career, you’ll need to pursue higher levels of certification. After a private pilot certificate, you’ll need to obtain an instrument rating, allowing you to fly in adverse weather conditions by way of your control panel. You’ll then be qualified to pursue a commercial pilot license, which sets you up for jobs like a corporate pilot, emergency rescue, or flight instructor, for example. To fly for major airlines, you’ll need to graduate from an airline transport pilot (ATP) program, which is the pinnacle for many students.
Difficulties Of Flight School
For a beginner, know that there are two main components of a private pilot’s training curriculum – ground school and flight training. You’ll learn important principles about flying in a classroom setting and apply those teachings first-hand in the sky.
Ground School
For many students, the ground school can be the harder aspect of the training process, because it’s more like a traditional class. Here, you’ll learn about the theories behind flight, weather, air regulations, and more. Following these lessons, you’re required to take and pass the FAA Airman Test with a score of at least 70 percent. As long as you’ve been listening in class, studying at home, and memorizing crucial information, it shouldn’t be too hard to pass your written exams – according to the Pilot Institute, nearly 91% of test-takers pass the Private Pilot Airplane (PAR) knowledge test with an average score of 84.
Flight Training
The fun part of your training takes place in the sky, where you’ll fly an airplane and apply the principles you learned in the classroom to the cockpit. One of the hardest parts of flying a plane is overcoming your fears and learning to think on your feet. You’ll become a much better decision-maker as you progress through flight school, as you learn to take off, cruise through the airspace, and land safely back on the ground.
Consider The Number Of Flying Hours
An airplane is surprisingly easy to fly, particularly when you have a flight instructor sitting next to you, providing real-time guidance. And, even if you’re an average student, it’s not overly difficult to learn the basics and pass the required written exams. What’s more difficult is the amount of air time you’ll need to dedicate to the process.
For a private pilot license, the FAA requires a minimum of 40 hours behind the control wheel in order to become certified. Commercial pilot students will need to complete at least 250 hours, with much more rigorous training around cockpit instruments, advanced maneuvers, complex navigational planning, and meteorology. Finally, to become an airline pilot, you’ll need to finish at least 1,500 hours in order to work for a company like Delta, American or Southwest, for example.
Another aggravating thing that can delay your graduation schedule is adverse weather or maintenance problems. If you’re not experienced flying in rain, fog or at night, you may be grounded and unable to complete your training as expected. In other words, plan to pad your schedule with some extra training days.
Flight school Minneapolis: Find success as a pilot today!
Inflight Pilot Training is the top-rated flight school in Minneapolis and can help you achieve your goals when it comes to learning to fly. Whether you want to pursue a private pilot license, commercial certificate or become an airline pilot, we can put you on a path toward success. With a wide variety of training programs and a deep roster of highly skilled flight instructors, we’ll help you pursue your passion for taking flight.
Get in touch with our team of flight instructors to find out more. For additional information on Inflight Pilot Training, contact us today or call (952) 698-3000.