I first registered here years ago, back when I had ambitions of becoming an airline pilot for a career and with little knowledge of flight or the industry. After a couple of years of proper research, I decided that there were too many down sides to pursuing that career. Mind over heart etc.
The urge to fly never did go away. Like most of you, I've always had a bug for flying... well at least I think I do, it's consumed many hours of my thoughts for years and it still does. I never wrote off the idea of a PPL, in fact it's remained on the cards throughout.
Fast forward a number of years and I'm fortunate enough to find myself doing a job that I love and I know for sure that I made the right decision. On the private side, I never did get myself into a SEP though, not even as a passenger. That ends tomorrow (weather permitting). I've clearly been banging on about doing this enough that last week work decided to pay for £500 of lessons for me for performance. It came out of the blue and as much as I wanted to start this year, I had budgeted it for next summer. Well, this is the kick up the arse that I need. If I enjoy these first couple of lessons, I'm just going to go for it - there's always a reason not to do something after all.
So, after a load of needless back story, my question(s):
Does anyone have any advice for my first lesson? More generally, advice for the first portion of my tuition as a whole? What will help me get the most out of this and progress at the best rate. From reading around and general common sense, I'm going to bear the following in mind:
- Get the medical ASAP
- Get a good amount of sleep, no alcohol tonight, etc.
- I'm concerned about the seemingly common initial flight sickness (never experienced it on an airliner, but they're different beasts). To this end, I'm going to dress light, eat light and consume some ginger(!) before hand. I've also opted to learn in a PA 28 instead of a 152. I'm hoping the extra size will dull any potential sense of claustrophobia and perhaps to an extent turbulence (maybe that's wishful thinking...)
- Don't be afraid to ask questions
- ... enjoy it.
I guess I'll just suck it and see, but I thought if anyone has any words of wisdom from their experiences, I'd love to hear them. I think I know roughly what to expect from the first hour from reading around, but again any thoughts would be welcomed.
I'll keep you all updated with how it goes!