| Lesson 1
Date: Saturday 12/15/2007 Where: UZA Instruction: 2.5 hours (ground) Dual Instruction with Derek Alter Drinking from a fire hydrant: I got to UZA just before noon on Saturday. My instructor Derek Alter was waiting for me. Derek is a young guy, 24. He went to school for Flight Management and currently holds his PPL, IFR, Commercial and CFI ratings. Derek’s eventual goal is to become an ATP like his father. He is doing the CFI ‘thing’ until he can get a job flying regional aircraft for an airline. The weather wasn’t great, after all, it is December. That being the case, I knew we weren’t going to be able to fly and Derek confirmed that. As I was a Part 141 student, I was given my student pilot kit, which weighed just over 30lbs. It contained everything I would need to study and obtain my PPL. If I had chosen to attend a Part 61 school, there would be no syllabus to follow for each lesson. You learn things randomly and on your own. I chose the 141 school because I wanted the structure of a syllabus and I could get a student loan for my training. Also, the GI Bill will cover 60% of the cost after I obtain my PPL at a 141 school. Derek and I started the ground work which was some introduction to general aviation. We went through the role of the FAA and the phases of training. We also reviewed category/class ratings and aviation careers. It was quite a bit to take in all at once, like trying to drink water from a fire hydrant. I was OK with this because Amy and I were driving up to Greensboro on Sunday, which would give me a chance to read through the textbook slowly and allow me to cover each topic in detail. The next week at work, I was able to study and take lots of notes. When I took lunch I would simply go into an empty conference room and read for an hour. I would read all I could to try and cover the topic from the previous ground lesson and try to cover some of the bold items for the upcoming lesson. Conclusion: Well, what can I say, flying lessons without flying. Not too exciting… |