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To Venture Into The World Of Flight With EFC

The basic FAA requirements for a Private Pilot’s license are:

  • A third class medical from an FAA approved Aero Medical Examiner, which becomes your student license, allowing you to solo when approved by an instructor.
  • Complete a minimum of 40 hrs of flight time, at least 20 hrs of which is with a certificated instructor, and a minimum of 10 hrs solo.
  • Pass the FAA written exam.
  • Successfully complete the oral and practical flight exam with an FAA flight examiner.

Some details:

The medical exam is straight forward from the physical standpoint-eyes, ears, heart, etc. Corrective lenses are fine as long as they do the job! The records part is intense, however. You need to log life time hospital in-patient visits, all doctor's visits in the last few years for any reason, all inoculations, drugs, medications and more. The good news is that this part can be done online in advance. You can also locate an Aviation Medical Examiner (AME) through that website but is a little cumbersome! I currently go to Dr Richard Shiappacasse on Fifteen Mile Road in Clinton Township, 586-285-3800.

Achieving the license in the 40 hour minimum time is very unlikely, but you will progress fast if you fly at least twice a week. It is amazing how easily one forgets the basics of taxiing, compensating for cross winds, lift off speeds, and pitch speed for climb out in one week! The average is in the 50 to 70 hour range. In the air you will develop skills to control the plane to required standards in straight and level flight, turns around a point, slow flight, departure and approach stalls, steep turns, go around's (aborted landing), and more. Approach and landing is a very complex process requiring several control skills-quite thrilling when completed properly!

The current cost to do this with Eximious Flying Club includes a $2,000 equity investment and monthly dues of $87, which has been quite stable but is always subject to change. We do manage without assessments! The flying cost is $84 per hour tach time including fuel. “Tach” time is engine running time adjusted for RPM-it is generally 10% to 15% less than actual engine running time in the private pilot training environment. Fuel price fluctuations do result in hourly rate changes. The Eximious approved instructors are currently charging $35 per hour. The total costs will generally be considerably less than training with a commercial Fixed Base Operator (FBO).

The FAA written exam tests your knowledge of the physics of flying including lift, gravity, thrust, drag, centrifugal force, aerodynamic stall and control. Also weather, airspace, radio communication, chart symbology/reading, pilotage/dead reckoning, electronic navigation, flight planning, aircraft weight and balance, physiology and more. It is a 60 question exam that can be taken on designated computers. Your knowledge is gained though the study of a private pilot manual, a test questions book, interactive CD's, videos, web based interactive course, a formal ground school, your flight instructor or a combination of all the above. With the various interactive media available, the current consensus is that a formal ground school is no longer required, assuming you can make a commitment to learning at a reasonable rate. Your instructor or well informed pilots can help answer questions you may have.

Speaking of commitment, we recommend you start your flying instruction within two to four weeks of your dive into the written knowledge.

The FAA flight exam includes a casual but well orchestrated oral review plus a flight as long as required to verify your competency in planning a cross country flight, communicating with towers or the environment at non towered fields and controlling the aircraft through all basic maneuvers.

There are many good educational products on the market. Check out Sporty's, ASA, Gleim (exam guides), RodMachado.com (good manual, work books and articles), Jeppesen, and King Schools. They are all good, and they all cover the FAA required material.

There are a few other items you will need, best described in this Sporty's “Deluxe Private Pilot Course Kit” which sells for $399. (All of these items can be purchased separately from various suppliers, with considerable potential savings).

  • Sporty's Complete Course
  • FAA Written Test Prep
  • Integrated PTS Study Guide
  • Training Course Outline
  • Maneuvers Guide Book
  • Pilot's Flight Log
  • Fuel Tester (we have these in each plane)
  • FAR/AIM book (Federal Aviation Regulations/Airman's Information Manual)
  • Sectional Chart Plotter
  • Aviation Weather book
  • Airplane Flying Handbook
  • Electronic E6B Flight Computer (there are also circular slide rule types)
  • Flight Gear Bag (to carry all of the above!)
It is also recommend that everyone have a copy of the FAA Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, which can be downloaded free from the FAA as can various other aviation books.

You will also need the Detroit Sectional VFR chart. This and other charts you will eventually need can be ordered by subscription through Sporty's - they expire every six months, and are about $9 each. It takes four sectionals to include the entire state of Michigan.

An aviation headset is also required. Entry level units are available from Sigtronics or Flightcom for about $115 and up. Or you can spend upwards of $1,000 for big name acoustic noise canceling sets! I am comfortable with the “entry level plus” headset I purchased over 12 years ago!

You may also want a knee board to hold check lists, charts, etc. while flying. Sporty's and ASA have them. An option to the knee board is a legal size clip board/box combination.

It is also advisable to have your own copy of the Airplane Information Manual for the plane you are flying-there is always a copy in the plane, but home study works much better. Sporty's or Essco Aircraft, from $18.

When you join Eximious Flying Club you will receive keys to both planes and our Oakland Troy hangar pass through door, as well as the lock combinations for both. We will also help you through the process to obtain a Detroit Airport gate pass which requires an educational video and a short oral and multiple choice exam. You will also be set up on our scheduling website, which you can access from any computer or by phone.

There is also lots of info on our website, eximiousflyingclub.com.

If you read Rod Machodo's very nice article on becoming a Private Pilot, the cost advantage of starting with Eximious becomes clear!

Safe happy flying,

Howard Riley, President
Eximious Flying Club