Follow your dream and learn to fly

"A flying hobby that lets you design your own retirement"

Learn to fly - what a thrilling and unique hobby!You can follow your dream of flying, be a pilot, and become one of a very special breed - the community of aviators. And you will gain a brand new circle of special people who will become friends for life.

Imagine taking an airplane up, flying around the beautiful countryside, going on your first solo, getting your private pilot licence, then taking your friends up for the thrill of a lifetime.

And no, you don’t have to own an airplane. Almost all flight schools rent you airplanes after you finish your training.

Take that first step to follow your dream
The first step is to take a Familiarization Flight (Fam Flight for short), also called an Introductory Flight.

Schools offer these flights at loss leader prices to give you a taste of what it is like to fly. You go up with a qualified Flight Instructor, and see how you feel about viewing the earth from a few thousand feet above it.

Most people get absolutely hooked by this flight and want to keep on learning to fly.

Aviation medical exams for flying – they’re easy!
Then you will need to take a brief and easy medical to make sure you don’t have any condition that might affect your ability to fly. Most people pass these medical with ease, and these days even if you do have a medical problem, most can be handled well enough to let you fly as a private pilot.

Yes you can wear glasses or contact lenses as long as your vision is corrected well enough. You should consult an aviation medical examiner if you have any doubt. Flight schools can tell you how to find one.

What will it cost to learn to fly?
Most people can earn their private pilot licence for under $10,000. Don’t forget, for this one time investment, you have earned a pilot licence you will keep forever.

And you pay as you go, no need to put out all that money up front. You can stretch the training out over a year or two if you prefer.

On that magical day when you pass your flight test and qualify for your pilot licence, you become the holder of a licence for life. All you have to do is keep your medical current and fly often enough that the flight school will rent you an airplane. If you get out of practice, you just go back up with a Flight Instructor and you can rent the airplane again.

Make friends at your local airport and find aviation friends when you travel
You will always find other pilots and student pilots in the coffee shop and in your ground school. They love to talk flying, and you will soon have a group of people to hang out with and talk about flying. It’s called “hangar flying”. And many schools can put you in touch with flying clubs who put on social and educational programs about aviation. You can join as soon as you become a student pilot.

Often your local flying club puts on flying trips too. You can usually arrange to jump in someone else’s airplane and share the cost.

Imagine flying to the Bahamas, or to Florida in the winter! When you get there, you will find more pilots happy to talk flying in their airport coffee shop too. It’s a fascinating community to join.

But will I be able to learn at my age?
Many pilots start learning to fly in their forties, fifties and sixties. You may not have the reflexes of a fighter pilot at this age, but you won't need them to become a private pilot. You will need willingness to study and concentrate on your instruction. But you will find this easy to do when you fall in love with flying. Because the work is sooo worth the reward.

So don't be shy. Just take the plunge, find a flight school, go and look around and it will all flow from there.

How to find a flight school near you
More questions about how you can learn to fly? Contact your nearest flight school. Or contact the national association that lists flight schools. like the Air Transport Association of Canada, or Be A Pilot in the United States.

In Canada, contact the Air Transport Association of Canada (ATAC) for a list of schools
You'll find a list of member schools across Canada where you can learn to fly on this website.

In the United States, go to the Be a Pilot website for a list of flight schools.

Do it now! Take that Fam Flight, start to follow your dream and learn to fly!
Call your local flight school and book that Familiarization Flight. There’s no obligation to continue.

But beware! They’re addictive. Most people who take them love them and want to keep on flying. It's what happened to me, and why I became a pilot. I bet you will too.

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