Student tips.
Hi Vems,
These would be my tips.
1. As a student pilot, you are entitled to free membership of AOPA, the Aircraft Owners' and Pilots' Association. That will entitle you to receive their excellent magazine free of charge. It is worth being a member for that alone. The AOPA mag is better than any of the commercial magazines for practical flying matters.
2. Buy a cheap pilot bag from Argos. They used to have a Pierre Cardin nylon pilot bag for £20 that was every bit as good as the ones you buy at Transair for about £34.
3. Don't buy a headset, (notice its headset, not handset) until you have put in about a dozen hours or so and feel confident you are going to continue training to PPL.
4. If you do buy a headset, you can choose between two approaches. One option is to buy a cheapo headset for about £100, these are perfectly good if a bit spartan), and then buy something costing ££££ when you really go professional. Or you can buy a good, basic ANR set for about £250 and keep with it until you are earning £££. The vital thing is comfort. Most of the suppliers will allow you to take home the headset you have bought and wear it for a couple of hours to prove it is going to be comfortable for a cross country flight and take it back if it is not. (Check with them to be certain first). ANR is very worthwhile if you can afford it.
5. Finally, remember that the working relationship between you and your instructor is very special. The 'chemistry' between the two of you really must work. Over the years, I have had several occasions when I have had to change instructors because a working relationship just wasn't working. In most cases, these were really nice guys whom I liked personally, but I couldn't work with them, the 'chemistry' just wasn't there. (In one case, however, the instructor turned out to be a bully). Don't be afraid of hurting the instructor's feelings; most instructors, in their earlier careers, will have dumped the odd instructor themselves at some time, so the chances are they will understand and will not make an embarrassing scene about it.
6. Once past your first few lessons, get into the habit of arriving for your flying lesson a couple of hours before you are due to fly. This will give you plenty of time to, relax after your journey in. You can have something to eat and drink (never fly hungry), refuel and inspect the aircraft (the last person invariably leaves it half empty), check the Met, check the TAFs and METARs, find out where the Red Arrows are, do your flight planning and finally imagine in your mind's eye the excercise you are about to fly.
7. The Scottish pilot shop, I believe, is Harry Mendelsohn's. I have never bought anything from them, but they seem to be well spoken of so worth a try. They generally advertise on the back cover of the magazines.
Good luck Vems.
Broomstick.