Flight School at 55: My 1-Month Journey!

55 years old starting flight school. This video is on my thoughts 1 month into my PPL. This video is my interpretation and might not be accurate of actual flight rules, training, or the correct reason or method to perform flight maneuvers.
If you're thinking about flight school do it. This has been a lot of fun, challenging, and rewarding.
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[@onethousandtwonortheast8848]

So glad I found your channel! 53 here.

[@MantisRacing]

Thanks for finding it and leaving a comment.

[@theegg-viator4707]

Good on ya for going after a long held dream. Do lots of Chair flying for each maneuver and talk / verbalize to your ATC calls and expected (or even unexpected) responses that you may get from Ground/Tower/ uncontrolled field ops etc. This will help you get into a rhythm of what is happening and what will be happening, it will keep you ahead of the aircraft mentally. Also, only fly when you are comfortable and completely studied up on the tasks/ items / areas that will be on the next lesson BEFORE you fly. Remember, when you are in the sky flying as a student, it’s one of the WORST places to try and catch up with what the lesson is about. Best be prepared (as best as possible) before you start burning gas. 🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@MantisRacing]

I'm going to start chair flying with slow flight and stalls. I want the steps to be known.

[@blueskyliao8480]

Thanks for sharing your flight learning experience. I started my training when I was 53 seven years ago. It was exciting for sure. Best wishes, Alex

[@MantisRacing]

Thanks for the comment. I hope to be able to do this well into retirement. Good Luck to you and thanks for sharing.

[@bluemarblescience]

You may be doing this already, but there are lots of video courses available that are really good for new pilots. One of the courses we used to recommend were ones by John and Martha King so you might want to look into that. The advantage is in the ability to watch and re-watch them as you begin to absorb the information and there is a lot of information to take in as you've already discovered. Don't be too concerned with the radio at this point. That's thing number three on your list of priorities. In case you haven't heard this one, aviate, navigate, then communicate in that order only. Good luck with your training. It's an exciting thing to do and you sound like the sort of guy that will succeed at it.

[@MantisRacing]

Thanks for the reply. I'm at a point where studying and practice are required.

[@bluemarblescience]

@@MantisRacing I thought of something else. For years, I had a scanner set for the various frequencies used by ATC in my area and one of the local smaller airports that I would listen to while I worked or whatever. Even as an experienced pilot and CFI, I think it helps when you listen to the radio calls in real time like that. ATC will always say exactly the same thing and in exactly the same sequence and after a while, you'll learn to anticipate what they're going to say next except for the numbers themselves. Again, good luck with the training.

[@dsinha99]

I learned to fly late in life as well. I'm up to 600 hours now, but I remember flight training as an older guy very clearly! It's a trip for sure. One thing I realized was that the older you are, the deeper some of the neural pathways are, so learning to do unintuitive things (or unlearning old habits) takes longer. So when you look at your progress, it helps not to compare how long it's taking relative to what you hear about from others. E.g. don't be in a rush to solo within a certain number of hours or beat yourself up for not getting to your checkride at the minimum hours needed :) Also, I see you're a bit of an adrenaline junkie with a motorcycle racing interest. Please make sure you stay humble and respectful of the aircraft, and not take any risks. Especially as you get into practicing power-off landing, stalls, etc. and with decision-making around weather. Congratulations on starting and my very best wishes for a successful training mission. Welcome to the skies! It's kinda nice up here.

[@jbovard]

Hello Jason. I am a little bit ahead of you, but a little behind @dsinha99. I am a 60 year old, and I just finished my PPL last fall. I am now at about 200 hours. I wish I would have done this earlier!! @dsinha99 is right - the first 15 hours are like drinking from a fire hose, but it gets easier. He is also VERY VERY right - don't let the young hot shots push you - go at your own pace and realize that you may face challenges that they will not face. Expect some hurdles that you will have to over come and just keep going. In my case, work slowed me down, and then my instructor got cancer, and he had to hand me over to another friend/instructor. With this new instructor, I had to re-learn some things because differently because all instructors teach differently. At first, I was frustrated, but then I realized that I was a better pilot by incorporating techniques from both instructors, which made me a better and safer pilot. After that, there was a real delay in getting an appointment for a checkride with a DPE. Their calendars were all filled up, and even when I finally got an appointment, it was cancelled twice. That added another two or three, maybe four months to my wait for a checkride. I didn't solo until I was about 60 - 70 hours, and because of the delays I didn't get my PPL until I was about 120 hours. I just kept flying and adding more hours until the DPE could finally fit me into his schedule for the checkride. By the time he gave me the checkride, it was a breeze. Remember to keep going even when you hit those bumps. You will love it.

[@MantisRacing]

Thanks for commenting. I am an adrenaline junkie, but riding motorcycles fast teaches you precision and subtle inputs. I agree I need to always stay mindful of risk. I made the comment the other day my brain knows what to do, I can't get my arms and hands to do it.

[@MantisRacing]

Sound like you have had quite the experience. I have read some of the horror stories about delays. So far it seems like the school I am at really tries to accommodate. Thanks for commenting with your story.

[@onethousandtwonortheast8848]

@@MantisRacing if I may butt in here, motor skill coordination can be conquered by practicing with a metronome, believe it or not. Learning any skill that incorporates physical movement is no different than learning an instrument. Success on an instrument requires paying attention to find motor scale coordination. The timing is very important so if you practice your hand movements and foot movements in time with a metronome, you’ll be amazed at how quickly you can gain precise memory of movements and it will make it less stressful for you.

[@dsinha99]

@@MantisRacing For me it was the feet! Getting used to the fact that an airplane slips and slides like driving on an ice pond. Using rudder to stay coordinated with the direction of flight took me a long time to internalize. It becomes critical for when you start doing any stall, slow flight, power off landing type maneuvers. Cheers mate. Good luck.

[@Flyingjaffacake]

I've just stumbled upon your channel! It says you're a month in, how many flight hours? It's true that the first 15 hours or so is like drinking from a fire hose. The following 15 or so come with some nerves+pressure as you start to venture out of the circuit into solo cross country flights. It's a lot to take in but your humble attitude and honest self-debriefs will serve you well throughout your flying career (private or commercial). Enjoy the highs and push through the lows, you're guaranteed to have both ;) Keep at it and stay safe.

[@MantisRacing]

Thanks for the comment. I'm 13 hours in total. I lost 1 week of training due to weather.