The Behind-the-Scenes Reality of Flight School

Hi there! I’m Kristy, and I’m thrilled to take you along on my adventure through flight school. Whether you’re a fellow aspiring pilot, an aviation enthusiast, or just curious about what it’s like to learn how to fly, you’re in the right place.

I’m currently seven months into my pilot training at Pilot Flight Academy and what a ride it has been so far!

In this series I'm going to document my journey through flight school, starting with all the ups and downs as I tackle the last four subjects of the EASA ATPL theory phase; operations, radio navigation, instruments and performance. I’ll be sharing not just the technical stuff, but also the funny mishaps, the “wait, what?” moments, and the little victories that keep me motivated.

So, what is ground school? It is like the behind the scenes of becoming a pilot, the classroom part, where you dive into all the important theory behind flying. I’ve already studied topics like how a plane actually flies in Principles of Flight, meteorology (because, spoiler alert, weather really does matter) and Air Law plus a bunch of other subjects. Now, as I’m deep into the last four subjects, things are getting really interesting. I’ve realised that while flight school can feel like a whirlwind of new information and yeah, it can definitely be tough or even a bit overwhelming at times, each subject comes with its own set of challenges and those satisfying light bulb moments that make it all totally worth it.

Each subject has surprised me in different ways, if I had to pick a favorite, it would be General Navigation aka ‘GNAV’. Don’t get me wrong, it took forever for my brain to fully grasp things like flying a great circle track vs. a rhumb line, or figuring out how to calculate wind velocity and direction using the CRP-5 computer. But when it finally clicked, I could actually feel all those hours of revision paying off and let me tell you, that was such a good feeling.

A subject I particularly struggled with was meteorology. I once described a cumulonimbus as “that angry cauliflower thing” to my instructor. Not technically wrong, just not what he was expecting. But now I can confidently identify and tell you what a cumulonimbus cloud is and why it is so dangerous to aviation. It's little moments like that that make studying a bit more fun, even when it's challenging.

I'm currently studying Operations, which is a subject that is very similar to Air Law, whereas Air Law focuses more on ICAO and EASA regulations, Operations is more to do with the day to day safety of flying an aircraft, think of it as Air Law as the rules of the road and Operations as how to drive a car safely and responsibly.

Thanks for following along so far! This journey’s just getting started. More tales, turbulence, and triumphs coming soon!

– Kristy ✈️

Student Pilot | Cloud Spotter | Recovering Air Law Survivor