How to Fly a Private Plane
- 1). Take a lesson. Presumably, if you are reading this article, you do not have a pilot's license. If you are interested in learning to fly, there are many locations nationwide where you can take a discovery flight that is designed to afford you a brief introduction to flight instruction and training without a large financial commitment. Often, these initial discovery-flight sessions start at $99. Find a local flight school at the Airplane Owners and Pilots Association's (AOPA) website (see the first link in Resources).
- 2). Preflight the airplane. At your first lesson, your instructor will show you what to look for when you are doing a walk-around before flying. Among other tasks, you will remove tie-downs and wheel chocks while checking control surfaces and paint and skin condition, and will make sure you have the right fuel, with no water in the tanks and enough fuel for your trip.
- 3). Start the airplane. Your instructor will show you the procedure to prime and start the engine and power up the avionics, including the radios and navigational equipment. Next, your instructor will listen to the radio to listen to the current weather conditions and other information about the airport you are at. If you are at a towered airport, your instructor will call ground control for permission to taxi. If the airport is non-towered, the instructor will make a call "in the blind" to anyone at the airport and let them know where you will be taxiing from and to.
- 4). Taxi the aircraft. Using the bottom of the rudder pedals and the throttle, your instructor will show you how to taxi the airplane. It can be tricky to learn to steer with your feet rather than your hands. The rudder pedals attach to bungees that pull the nose wheel to the right or left depending on which pedal you depress. You can also use differential braking (using one brake at a time) to make tighter turns, which are controlled by the top portion of the pedals. Depressing the top of the right pedal engages the right brake, while depressing the top of the left pedal engages the left brake.
- 5). Run up the airplane. Before takeoff, your instructor will run through a series of checks to be sure the airplane's major systems are working well, including checking both magnetos (which provide power for the spark plugs) and the carburetor heat (if you have a carburated engine), as well as making sure the engine won't stop when idling.
- 6). Take off. Following the run up, your instructor will likely check that no one else is ready to land immediately, and will then position the airplane at the threshold of the active runway. She may then give you the controls, allowing you to push in the throttle all the way to full, and your airplane will begin to accelerate down the runway. The airplane will require right rudder to keep it straight on the center line as it accelerates, due to a left-turning tendency during acceleration and climbing. When the airplane reaches its rotation speed (often 55 knots in a Cessna 172), pull back slightly on the control wheel; the airplane will become airborne. Lining the top of the nose with the horizon will allow you to climb in altitude. You are now flying the plane
- 7). Pay attention to your instructor. He will guide you through your first lesson, which will likely involve straight and level flight and making standard-rate turns with the airplane. The control wheel controls both roll and pitch (up and down). Your rudders control yaw forces. Together, using roll and yaw, you can execute a coordinated turn to either the right or the left. (See the link on flight dynamics for more information.)