3 Things You Can Do to Prepare For Flight School

Getting accepted to a flight school can be very exciting. You can’t wait to start your training so that one day you can fly a plane on your own. However, the time you have to wait before the training begins can be really annoying.

If the waiting period feels like an eternity, there are certain things you can do to start learning today. Following are a few ways you can prepare for flight school from the comfort of your home.

1. Flight Simulators: The best thing you can do as you wait for your official training is to start practicing with flight simulators. These are designed to mirror the experience of flying a plane as close as virtually possible and help you develop your hand-eye coordination and aviation knowledge. If investing in a full desktop simulator seems too much, you can just download a simulator app on your phone. It will expose you to basic flight principles and aerodynamics.
2. Learn the Phonetic Alphabet: Almost everything in aviation uses the ICAO phonetic alphabet. A great way to have an edge during your initial lessons is by learning each letter and its corresponding meaning. Also, keep in mind that the numbers have special pronunciations. For example, 3 is pronounced tree, and 9 is pronounced niner. Make sure to learn the proper pronunciation.
3. Listen to Live ATC: Most students find it tough to learn the basic language of pilots and air controllers. By listening to busy radio frequencies at general aviation airports, you can start getting familiar with this language ahead of time.

By learning all of this in advance, not only will you be better prepared for your flight training, but you will also find it more enjoyable instead of getting frustrated with the sudden exposure to new knowledge.