From Theory to Practice: Navigating Ground School and Simulator Lessons

Hi there! If you're new here, welcome aboard! I'm Kristy, a student pilot at Pilot Flight Academy, and I’m sharing my incredible journey from zero experience to eventually taking my seat in the flight deck. It’s been full of challenges, lessons and some pretty unforgettable moments, and I’m so glad you are here for the ride.

This month feels like a big one. I’ve made it to the final stretch of my ATPL theory journey, something I still can’t quite believe! I’m starting my last subject, Performance, this week, and after that it’s straight into the third and final round of CAA exams. 

But I get ahead of myself, let’s talk about something that doesn’t always make the highlight reel. Retakes. During this block of exams, I’ll be retaking the Principles of Flight exam again. I didn’t quite pass it the first time, which was tough, but honestly? It’s a pretty normal part of ground school. Everyone hits a bump or two along the way. What matters is how you bounce back, and I’m more determined than ever to nail it this time around.

Since the last update, I’ve tackled three new subjects: Operational Procedures, Radio Navigation, and Instruments. Each one has added a whole new layer of understanding to how we operate as pilots.

We briefly touched on Operational Procedures last time; it’s all about reasons why we make the decisions we do in the cockpit—from fuel procedures and alternate airports to emergency procedures and regulations. It’s the kind of subject that really connects classroom theory to what happens on a real flight deck.

Radio Navigation is about learning how to navigate using radio signals. We learned how to use aids like VOR, NDB, ILS, and GPS to figure out where we are and how to get to where we're going. The trickiest part? Each radio aid has its own principles, frequency bands, and limitations. Then throw in range calculations, signal interference, and the Earth’s magnetic variation, and it can really become a challenge.

Then there’s Instruments which digs into the tools you use to fly: the attitude indicator, altimeter, airspeed indicator, and more. Understanding how they work and what to do if they don’t work is essential, especially when flying under IFR (Instrument Flight Rules), where you're relying entirely on instruments instead of outside visual references. 

Speaking of IFR, one of our recent simulator sessions, we had to fly in full IFR conditions. I was feeling confident until we had to perform a go-around (a procedure used when a landing is aborted). I pitched the aircraft too high, and suddenly the stick shaker went off. For anyone unfamiliar, that’s a stall warning system that violently vibrates the control column to get your attention fast. Imagine you’re driving a car and your steering wheel starts vibrating to warn you that you’re about to skid off the road. 

It was humbling, especially with classmates watching. But moments like these are when theory and practice truly collide. I knew exactly what happened, and more importantly, I knew how to recover. That’s what this phase of training is really about: learning from mistakes, building confidence, and developing the kind of resilience that makes you a better pilot, one go-around at a time.

With just one subject left and my final exams around the corner, I’m feeling so excited and proud of how far I’ve come! Sure, there have been hard days, but every challenge has pushed me forward. Now, it’s time to get back to the books for Performance and to give Principles of Flight another go. Wish me luck!

Thanks for reading and following along, stay tuned for the next update where I’ll be sharing how I prepare for my theory exams, plus a peek into what comes next once this chapter wraps up.

 – Kristy ✈️

Student Pilot | Cloud Spotter | Principles of Flight: Round Two Champion (soon)