I took my checkride for private pilot airplane single-engine at 75 hours of total flying time, obviously longer than I had hoped. I was initially ready at 55 hours, but the weather then was not cooperating and I had to make a trip to Europe for an unforeseen two long months. I was unable to fly in Europe during my stay there and, hence, my expensively acquired skills were slowly eroding.
When I got back and jumped back in the airplane, I was impatient with my instructor and wanted to get signed off to take my checkride again. The instructor knew and I came to realize, that I wasn't ready and that my flying skills had dropped substantially from two months ago. Ensued an argument, feelings of frustration and ultimately a mental block that resulted in 20 hours of extra flying needed to get ready for the test.
My private pilot checkride went smoothly and I met all the requirements. The FAA's designated examiner complimented my instructor and said that I was a good and safe pilot.
At last one of my lifelong dreams had been achieved! I am now a pilot!
However, I couldn't help wondering how come it took me 75 hours to achieve this, when the FAA says the minimum requirements for private pilot training is 40 hours. Well the point is just that! The FAA gives a minimum, can't do it in less, but there is no upper limit to how many hours it will take. I know pilots that have taken 150 hours to get their private pilot certificate. Everyone is different.
So I started to accept the idea that my instrument rating was not going to take 35 hours (the FAA's minimum) but rather 55 or 60 hours, maybe more. The rating is reputed to be one of the most difficult to obtain, so I knew I needed all the help I could get. I started to investigate how I could bring down the costs of training, simulation seemed like the way to go. However the flight school I attended wasn't very well equipped in this area.
I started using Microsoft Flight Simulator with a simple joystick, but was quickly disappointed with the lack of realism this game control provided. I also lacked rudder controls, which help make standard rate and coordinated turns more realistic (an important part of instrument flying).
I stumbled on CH Products and bought a set of yoke and rudder pedals. I fly Cessna's mainly, so I was immediately in my element. The controls just plugged into the USB ports and I was surprised that when I launched Microsoft Flight Simulator, they were already configured and ready to go.
I came up with a plan, I would fly with my instructor then in the evening I would go over the same flight again and work on my mistakes. After a week, my instructor started accelerating teaching to keep up with me. My overall flying skills were getting better. I could now maintain heading, altitude and airspeed. Quickly I was multitasking and soon I could deal with just about anything I was thrown at by my instructor.
One of my favorite challenges was simulating a vaccum pump failure, hence loosing both Directional Gyro and Attitude Indicator. I only had the turn and bank coordinator and magnetic compass to execute and NDB approach. I timed every turn and carried out a near perfect approach, with procedure turn and all!
I obtained my instrument rating at exactly 35 hours. I still can't help wondering how many hours it would have taken me to get my private pilot certificate had I had CH Products flight sim controls ...
I continue to simulate on a weekly basis, which helps me keep my flying skills sharp and probably continues to save me money.
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