Cody Messer completes Private Pilot Training at Alpine Flight Training

Today Cody Messer or Carbondale, Colorado received his Private Pilot License in Airplane Single Engine Land. He took the checkride earlier today in Crawford Colorado in N542DC - a Diamond DA-20-C1 Katana Evolution. Congratulations Cody!


Learning to fly in the winter

I am frequently asked what the best season is to learn to fly. Often I see people that want to learn to fly put it off because they think winter is a bad time to fly.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Winter is an incredible time of year. The cold air means dense air, and that means great performance from our airplanes. The planes climb faster, cruise faster and the engine cooling issues of the summer vanish. It's true, the occasional winter storm grounds us, but that's no different then the thunderstorms that ground us throughout the summer. Even with the winter storms, we can still fly on average six out of every 7 days.

What's more, winter creates an incredible winter landscape. One of the most incredible sights is flying over the snow covered rocky mountains under clear skies and a full moon.

Here in the Rockies, every season presents a unique set of challenges and opportunities Flight training in the spring often brings good weather and brisk winds. Training in the summer is marked by beautiful mornings and warm weather that later turns to afternoon thunderstorms. In the fall we see the beginning of winter storms, but great fall colors and many smooth days. And finally, in the winter we have an incredible landscape, ample smooth flying days.

No matter what the season, it's always a great season to learn to fly in the Colorado Rockies. To learn more about flight instruction call one of our instructors at Eagle Airport


Flight Training Requirements | Vail Colorado Flight Lessons

Here at our flight School in Vail Colorado at the Eagle Airport I am often asked, How long does it take to learn to fly?

Probably one of the most common reasons people don’t learn to fly is because they don’t understand the difficulty, costs or time commitments required for the endeavor.  Usually, would-be students are driven away from learning to fly because they believe the process will take years of rigorous training.  In reality, learning to fly a plane is perhaps just a little difficult than learning to drive a car.

Consider the following example…

Take an average teenager that’s getting ready to get a driver’s license.  First they would get a learner’s permit.  Next they would spend time with mom or dad driving in parking lots, then on secondary streets, and working their way up to interstate highways.  How many hours will this person drive with mom or dad before they are allowed to drive by themselves?  Some states require as much as 50 logged hours before they can get a license.  Other states don’t have a minimum; however most responsible parents will spend 30-40 hours before letting their child “take the car.”  Some teens/parents will drive together for a full year together, taking as much as 200-300 hours before they get a driver’s license.

Now consider learning to fly.  A student will generally Solo after 7-15 hours of dual instruction, and 6-8 lessons.  After generally 30 hours of dual instruction a student is prepared for a private pilot check ride.  Combine that 30 hours of dual with another 15-20 hours of supervised solo practice (a concept that isn’t replicated in the auto learning process) then the student is ready to get a license.

In both the case of the pilot and the driver there were necessary studies of the “rules of the road.”  In both cases there was a written test.  Both scenarios involved some form of medical evaluation, the pilot’s being slightly more thorough.

So there you have it, generally speaking it takes about the same amount time and effort to train a pilot as it does to train a competent driver.  The steps are similar, and the time required is similar.  Most of you might respond that it is easier to learn to drive because driving is intuitive.  There is some truth to that, but consider; by the time the teen age student driver is 15, they have spend 15 years watching mom and dad drive.  On day 1 of their lessons, the teen already has significant knowledge of the vehicle and environment.  If you want to think this through a little further then consider using two students that have never seen a car or a plane.  Which would learn their vehicle first, the student pilot or the student driver.

If you're interested in learning to fly, come in for an intro flight.  We're located at Eagle County Regional Airport, a short drive from Glenwood, Vail, Eagle, Gypsum, Edwards, Minturn, Avon.  Call 970-401-5105 for more information.


Mountain Flight Training in Colorado

If you're interested in flight training with an emphasis on extending your knowledge with some mountain flight training then Colorado is the place to come to, and Alpine Flight Training can provide the instruction.  We operate from Eagle County Regional airport, located in the central Colorado Rockies.  Whether for several hours, or for several days, Alpine Flight Training instructors will show you what it takes to fly safely in the mountains.  Each mountain flight training instruction session is specifically tailored to the student.  We can provide training in your aircraft or our rental Katana.

Throughout each session, we will build on your aviation knowledge and airman-ship by presenting opportunities for hands-on practice and application of learning on some of Colorado's mountain airports including Steamboat, Eagle, Aspen, Telluride, Glenwood Springs, Gunnison.  We'll also show you how to navigate the mountain passes and give you strategies for dealing with mountain weather in a small aircraft.

 


Eagle Airport - Flight Instruction, Ground Instruction, Aircraft Rental, Mountain Flying

Rates for flight & ground training as well as aircraft rental at Eagle Airport

Aircraft Rental
DA-20-C1 Katana Evolution Rental* $129.00 / Hour
Instructional Rates
Flight Instruction in Alpine Flight Traning Katana $50.00 / Hour
Flight Instruction in Customer Owned Aircraft $75.00 / Hour
Ground Instruction $40.00 / Hour
Other Fees
Overnight Trip Rate - Billed for instructor to accompany a pilot on overnight trip. $350 + Expenses
*Aircraft are rented wet, meaning fuel and oil costs are included. Multi-day trips are billed at rate of 3.0 hours per day if the actual flight time is less. Ask us about the discount we extend to licensed pilots for maintaining their currency in our aircraft. If you are a licensed pilot and fly the aircraft at least 1 hour every 30 days we will discount your rental rate.

Renewing Your Pilot's License | Recurrent Flight Training in Eagle Colorado

The process to get flying again after you have been out of it for years.

Frequently I am asked what type of process is involved in getting back into flying after a person has been away for 5, 10, 15 or even 20 years or more. The process is surprisingly practical and straight forward.  Unlike the initial certification process, this process is entirely based on proficiency.

Perhaps you may have noticed, US pilot licenses are issued without expiration. This is different from driver's licenses and a source of confusion on the topic. Where as a driver's license needs to be renewed every couple years, the pilot's license does not need to be renewed, however the regulations do require the pilot to have had a flight review in the prior 24 months and be current in the category and class of aircraft in order to carry passengers. Additionally, a pilot is required to have a medical.

So as a flight instructor, how exactly do we help get a rusty pilot back into the air? Our strategy has always been to go back to reviewing the basics - we start just as we would start a new student. Straight and level, turns, climbs, descents. We move on to slow flight, stalls, ground reference maneuvers, and finally landings. Along the way, the communications skills come back naturally, as do navigation skills through the process of simply flying. On the ground we do a similar exercise, reviewing regulations, airspace, weather, performance, flight planning.

Ultimately the graduation from recurrent training occurs when the pilot has at a minimum demonstrated the basic skills we would expect from a freshly minted private pilot. We treat the final flight as a flight review consisting of 1 hour of ground and 1 hour of flight. As the instructor, we simply sign the logbook as a successful flight review and at that point the pilot is cleared for flight assuming they have also received a new medical.

The last element being currency in make and model is really not an impediment to flying, but rather a requirement for carrying passengers.  Technically speaking, a pilot can get a flight review in a single engine land airplane, even though they also have a multi-engine land rating on their license.  Where the currency becomes relevant is if the pilot who is considered current in single engine land wants to take passengers in the multi-engine airplane, then they must perform three landings in the last 90 days in the multi-engine airplane, and similarly, if the pilot wants to carry passengers at night then the landings must have been at night to full stop.

So there you have it. No written tests, no checkrides. Simply work at your own pace with an instructor until the skills return. I think you'll be surprised as to how fast they come back.  In general I've found that getting a pilot back to currency and getting a review done requires 1.5-2 hours of ground and 1.5-2 hours of flight per year they have been away from flying.  So, a pilot who has not flown in 10 years will probably require between 15-20 hours of instruction in ground and air to return to currency.

If you would like to learn more about recurrent training to get back into the air please contact us. We operated from Eagle County Regional Airport and service the areas of Eagle, Vail, Glenwood Springs, Gypsum, Edwards, Avon, Minturn.


Colorado Flight Instruction : Demand for airline pilots set to soar

Begin your flight instruction today at Eagle County Regional Airport... Here is an interesting article from USA Today regarding the future of Pilot Hiring.  I'm guessing this is a good time to learn to fly in order to position yourself for this upcoming hiring frenzy.

http://travel.usatoday.com/flights/story/2011/06/Demand-for-airline-pilots-set-to-soar/48661596/1

After nearly a four-year drought of job openings, the airline industry is on the brink of what's predicted to be the biggest surge in pilot hiring in history. Aircraft maker Boeing has forecast a need for 466,650 more commercial pilots by 2029 — an average of 23,300 new pilots a year. Nearly 40% of the openings will be to meet the soaring travel market in the Asia-Pacific region, Boeing predicts, but more than 97,000 will be in North America.

"It is a dramatic turnaround," says Louis Smith, president of FltOps.com, a website that provides career and financial planning for pilots. "Pilot hiring was severely depressed in the last three years. The next 10 years will be the exact opposite, with the longest and largest pilot hiring boom in the history of the industry."

The demand for pilots will be so great that the industry could ultimately face a shortage, sparking fierce competition among airlines across the globe vying for candidates qualified to fill their cockpits.

"We're already seeing in some spots around the world a shortage of pilots … and if you were watching this a few years ago at the last peak, you had airlines stealing from other airlines," says Sherry Carbary, vice president of flight services for Boeing Commercial Airplanes in Seattle. "It's a global marketplace for pilots, and … we'll not have enough if that growth trend continues over the next few years. That's something the industry needs to come to grips with. Where is our pipeline of new pilots going to come from, and how are we going to finance them?"

The hiring surge is being fueled by several factors:

•The rapid growth of travel in Asia, which is on track to surpass North America as the largest air travel market in the world;

•A looming wave of pilot retirements in the USA;

•Proposed changes to rules that could increase the time pilots must train, rest and work;

•And increasing demand for air travel within the USA as the economy improves.

U.S. carriers had 4.9% more pilots in 2010 than in 2009, with much of the increase fueled by low-cost carriers that are continuing to expand, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

Low-cost airlines such as Southwest, Virgin America and AirTran increased their pilot staffing 11.2% in 2010 over 2009, while regional carriers increased their pilot numbers by 4.9%. Major network airlines, however, saw their pilot workforce drop 1.3% last year, the bureau says.

"The cost of the fuel has spooked a few carriers," Smith says, noting that the massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan have also had some impact. But, he says, the industry-wide hiring explosion is "still on track."

See Also

  • USA Today
    Nice article about airline pilot hiring.

Learn to fly in Eagle Colorado | USA TODAY: We are on the brink of the largest surge in pilot hiring in history...

The career outlook is positive.  Now is a great time to learn to fly in Eagle Colorado and fulfill your dream of becoming a pilot.

From USA Today:  http://travel.usatoday.com/flights/story/2011/06/Demand-for-airline-pilots-set-to-soar/48661596/1

After nearly a four-year drought of job openings, the airline industry is on the brink of what’s predicted to be the biggest surge in pilot hiring in history. Aircraft maker Boeing has forecast a need for 466,650 more commercial pilots by 2029 — an average of 23,300 new pilots a year. Nearly 40% of the openings will be to meet the soaring travel market in the Asia-Pacific region, Boeing predicts, but more than 97,000 will be in North America.

“It is a dramatic turnaround,” says Louis Smith, president of FltOps.com, a website that provides career and financial planning for pilots. “Pilot hiring was severely depressed in the last three years. The next 10 years will be the exact opposite, with the longest and largest pilot hiring boom in the history of the industry.”

The demand for pilots will be so great that the industry could ultimately face a shortage, sparking fierce competition among airlines across the globe vying for candidates qualified to fill their cockpits.

“We’re already seeing in some spots around the world a shortage of pilots … and if you were watching this a few years ago at the last peak, you had airlines stealing from other airlines,” says Sherry Carbary, vice president of flight services for Boeing Commercial Airplanes in Seattle. “It’s a global marketplace for pilots, and … we’ll not have enough if that growth trend continues over the next few years. That’s something the industry needs to come to grips with. Where is our pipeline of new pilots going to come from, and how are we going to finance them?”

The hiring surge is being fueled by several factors:

•The rapid growth of travel in Asia, which is on track to surpass North America as the largest air travel market in the world;

•A looming wave of pilot retirements in the USA;

•Proposed changes to rules that could increase the time pilots must train, rest and work;

•And increasing demand for air travel within the USA as the economy improves.

U.S. carriers had 4.9% more pilots in 2010 than in 2009, with much of the increase fueled by low-cost carriers that are continuing to expand, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

Low-cost airlines such as Southwest, Virgin America and AirTran increased their pilot staffing 11.2% in 2010 over 2009, while regional carriers increased their pilot numbers by 4.9%. Major network airlines, however, saw their pilot workforce drop 1.3% last year, the bureau says.

“The cost of the fuel has spooked a few carriers,” Smith says, noting that the massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan have also had some impact. But, he says, the industry-wide hiring explosion is “still on track.”