V Speed Aviation is committed to your success.
When you do well, we do well. The FAA has incentives for instructors whose students pass their practical test on the first attempt, so we have a vested interest in ensuring the learner pilot receives the best instruction tailored to their learning style and goals.
There are two basic elements to learning how to fly. The flight portion with an instructor and the ground school portion. For more details on what ground school is about see this page.
Before the first flight with an instructor, we will sit down and get to know your needs, thoughts, and future plans regarding flying. Whether you just want to fly the local area on weekends and sunny days, conduct cross-country flights with the family in a plane you own, rent or want to buy, or if you are looking to build a foundation for a future in the airlines, this will ensure we provide the best guidance on how to approach your instruction.
A typical flight lesson will consist of:
- A pre-flight briefing where we discuss the plan of action before we get in the airplane
- A check of the weather
- A thorough pre-flight of the airplane
- The flight itself working through the maneuvers and skill-building exercises
- A post-flight debrief discussing the flight and answering any questions
GoPro or other action camera recordings of your flight are possible (if the airplane has the mount) and encouraged. This is a great way to review a flight later that day at home and pick up on things that were likely missed or forgotten during the busy time in the airplane. There are also accessories you can buy to capture the headset/radio audio instead of just the drone of the engine.
The FAA requires ‘some’ ground school lessons (Title 14 Part §61.105(a)), but there is no set amount of time, so most ground schoolwork can be conducted through an at-home, self-study course in preparation for the practical test (i.e. the checkride) and for an endorsement to take the written exam at a nearby testing center.
Companies such as King Schools, Sporty’s, Gleim, Pilot Institute, and others all provide a method for self-study and to receive an endorsement for the written test all without needing to hire an instructor.
We do provide formal ground school lessons that can be logged in the pilot’s logbook and signed by a CFI at a reduced rate from the flight instruction rate. Sometimes this may be desired to cover more complex subjects in person such as when working to understand how to complete a VFR flight plan, performance calculations or to conduct a mock oral exam before the scheduled practical test.