As a fellow newbie I can sympathize. It still amazes me how difficult I find it to do the right stuff in the right sequence while in the air. Let's face it, none of it is 'intellectually' difficult, it's just that the brain seems to be spending 95% of its resources saying to itself 'oh !@#$% I am going to die'. Although I was not aware of actual fear as such, I was clearly incredibly stressed so that I was failing to take-in pretty much anything for the first few lessons. It seems to me that the learning process is initially about learning to relax and trust so that the brain can start to devote a few more neurons to processing what is happening.
(one piece of advice - get a decent noise cancelling headset. I flew for the 1st time with the BoseQC35/Avee system last weekend, the difference was astonishing. In a very busy and chaotic ATC environment, for the 1st time I was able to form a picture of the other aircraft around me and hear calls to my aircraft. Also I suspect that the noise reduction itself may reduce the stress levels. I delayed buying my own set, I thought it would be uncool to turn-up on day 1 with all the gear and no idea. Big mistake - I wish someone had taken me aside earlier and said the school headsets are crap, get yourself a decent set.)
Last edited by double_barrel; 20th September 2018 at 06:43.