In November 1997, I travelled to Florida, USA to begin to gain a private pilots licence (PPL)
Arriving
I arrived in Fort Lauderdale around 4pm Friday and collected the hire car. By the time I’d got out the airport it was 6pm and rush hour and the new experience of an automatic car, left hand drive, strange road systems and lousy road signing meant that I spent the first hour driving in circles trying to find the westbound interstate. TIP: Take an in-car compass. Then it was a 350 mile drive upto Clearwater near St. Petersburg.
Flight School
Through the internet I’d found a flight school and warned them I’d be coming, but I’d not given too much thought to accommodation. However when I arrived on the Saturday morning (having stopped at a motel on the drive up) I was introduced to a group of fellow Englishmen also learning to fly, so I crashed out with them! Most Excellent.
The flying
I was learning in a Cessna 152, a small two seater. During the fortnight I managed 22 hours flying, a pretty intensive rate. Flying is easy, flying accurately and exactly is not. I found the lessons mentally draining as you have a lot of procedures to master, coordinating multiple limbs, handling radio instructions given at warp speed… and the only way to learn is by repetition ad nausium! It also gets a bit worrying when your instructor goes quiet, but as Sam (my instructor) said “it’s ‘cos your doin’ OK” After 18 hours, most of which seemed to be touch and goes (landing, taking straight off again, looping around the airport and repeating) Sam got out and told me to do a few on my own. Strangely I didn’t feel too nervous, after all I’d been landing the aircraft for the last few hours in a crosswind. Most landings were OK, some were excellent, some were a little dodgy. So I did my solo touch and goes, and perhaps because there was no one looking over my shoulder I felt I did better on my own!
For a PPL I will need to do a minimum 40 hours flying, 10 of which are solo, so I’ve quite a way to go. I’ve also still got to do the ground school and learn the regulations and theory bit. However I’m hoping to get most of that done at home with the aid of an internet and FlightSimulator and then to return to complete the PPL. Then I’ll need to convert to a UK licence…
The social life
I’ll take back everything I’ve ever said about American food. The range, quality and low price is exceptional - not to mention the quantity. The weather was very pleasant, a good English summer 28C. I checked out some wicked roller-coasters at Busch gardens, did the rides at Universal Studios (Definition of a theme park: a pay to enter shopping mall with a free ride) and I also managed to get to see a Shuttle (STS-87) launch, which was rather a disappointment as the photo shows: it’s gone in 5 seconds!