Flight Training Phase 1: Complete

calendarApr 14, 2008 · 2 min read  ·
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Two months ago I began my flight training with Toronto Airways at Buttonville Airport (CYKZ). I guess “flight” training isn’t exactly correct since this was actually the ground school preceding the actual flying. Over the course of eight weeks, the course covered everything from the basics of flight, to meteorology, aircraft engines and navigation. The instructors went over the important parts and left it up to the students to fill in the blanks since the amount of information is enormous in most sections.

This past Thursday marked the end of the ground school portion of my training. I am now ready to take to the skies and will do so starting in May. I have decided to complete the requirements for the Private Pilot Licence (PPL) first and then decided where to go from there. To give you an idea where I stand, the requirements for the PPL are as follows:

  • Minimum 17 years old [Check]
  • Category 3 Medical Certificate [Check]
  • Minimum 40 hours of private pilot ground school [Check]
  • Minimum 60% overall and in each section of the Private Pilot Licence – Aeroplane written exam
  • Minimum 45 hours of flight training
  • Radio Operator’s Restricted Certificate Aeronautical [Check]

These requirements are detailed in CARs 421.26.

The only things standing between me and the PPL are the written exam and the flight training hours. I have decided to fly out of Hamilton’s John C. Munro International Airport (CYHM) with Peninsulair. It was a toss-up between Hamilton airport and Burlington airpark (CZBA), however in the end Hamilton won since I can just take the bus up to the airport, whereas to get to CZBA I would need a car.

Peninsulair has a fleet of Piper PA28-140’s which they use for training. The plane is a single engine, single door, two or four person aircraft. I can’t wait to get behind the yoke of one of these and take it out for a spin!