It seems today in our current economy people need more money to spend on bills and living and have less to spend on education and entertainment.  So how is anyone able to afford flight training and still make the rent?  There is no simple answer but there are a few things you can do to maximize your training and spread out your funds so your wallet takes less of a hit.

Chair Flying.  As silly as it may seem using that imagination on your down time has been known to improve your flying.  There are many times I have gone up with a student and asked them to perform a particular maneuver which they have done many times before and they draw a blank on the first step to perform.  These tasks include clearing turns, gauge checks, control inputs, airspeeds and altitudes, and any other sequential step in the maneuver.  Simple chair flying allows you to become familiar with the steps to be taken to perform a particular maneuver.  Once you know exactly what to do you now have more attention to spend on perfecting the maneuver.  Chair flying also allows you to visualize the maneuver and physically make the inputs, so you can get a little muscle memory.

Learning style            Getting to know your learning style is very important for you and your instructor.  Learning style plays a big role in how effectively you will learn, and if the instructor cannot mach their teaching method to your learning style things can become frustrating quickly.  People perceive and process information in different ways, so the more you know about the way you learn the more effective the teaching can be. 

There are 3 basic types of learners: Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic.  Visual learners tend to be the largest part of the population.  Visual learners learn best by visual aids, charts, graphs, and course outlines.  If you are a visual learner make sure to take notes in class and even rewrite important points.  Make sure to sit at the front of the class to avoid distraction.  Auditory learners tend to have very developed language skills, and learn best by listening to lectures.  Audio tapes, reciting notes, and reading out load will help you retain information.  You should also study with a friend, so you can talk through main points.  Kinesthetic learners are “hands on” learners who learn the best by doing.  Movement in class is always a good thing, and even moving about the room can enhance memorization of information while studying.  Colored transparencies or plotters can help focus attentions on reading when laid over text.  Make sure that during your study you take frequent but short breaks.

Stay regular in your flight training    Keeping your flying schedule regular makes a big difference in the long run.  A few flights a week are always more beneficial to leaning than one flight every two weeks.  This helps you retain the information previously learned.  If you do fly only once every two weeks you spend a little more time relearning what you did  in the last lesson.  Keep in mind that there is also too much of a good thing as well, and flying too much (i.e. Three times in a day) can overload you.  When flights are too close together you may not be able to learn as much as you would if you had more of a break to reflect and reenergize.  Everyone is different so it is important to find the right pace for you. 

Confess anxieties       It is very normal for everyone to be a little nervous about a certain subject or maneuver in aviation.  Fears can arise for many different reasons; maybe past experience, a bad demonstration, and sometimes fears even manifest themselves in something that we may not be directly afraid of.  No matter what the reason it is important to understand that fear is normal, and equally as important that your instructor knows of them.  Fear and anxiety have a way of narrowing your perceptual field and can make it very difficult to learn a maneuver.  If your instructor knows that this maneuver makes you uncomfortable they easily tailor the maneuver to make it less nerve-racking, and therefore easier to learn.

            In the end there is no easy way to make aviation cheap, but the little things you do coupled with dedication can take some of the financial sting out of flying.  Communication with your instructor is important in flight training, so be sure all of your questions about your training are being answered.

Our students at Hummingbird Aviation have been very busy the last couple months with fixed wing and rotorcraft flight training. Here’s an update on what a couple of Hummingbird Aviation students have accomplished in the last month.

June 3, Tom Everson completed his Helicopter Instrument rating in a Schweizer 300CB. Tom Everson has been flying for many years and has been an EMS pilot for the past nine years. After many months of training at Hummingbird Aviation with Jimmy Young, Tom Everson completed his instrument rating with Designated Pilot Examiner Chris Anderson from Janesville, WI. He completed his instrument rating just in time for summer and then plans to continue flying EMS. Congratulations Tom for your Instrument rating!

After a long streak of bad weather Camilo Pineda also completed his Sport Pilot rating in a Jabiru Light Sport Aircraft May 28. Flying with Jeff Dalton at Hummingbird Aviation he completed his check ride with Designated Pilot Examiner Barb Mack and then continued the evening giving his first ride as a rated pilot to his wife. Camilo Pineda plans to continue flying recreationally with his family. Congratulations Camilo for your Sport Pilot rating!

After flying Blackhawks in the National Guard, Shane Hallesy continued at Hummingbird Aviation for add-on rating as a Private Pilot Airplane. After flying to Crystal Airport May 27 he completed his Private Pilot rating with Designated Pilot Examiner Barb Mack. After completing his rating Shane Hallesy plans to use it to fly C12’s in the military. Congratulations Shane for your Private Pilot Airplane rating!

Ben Lewis also completed his Private Pilot Helicopter rating in a Schweizer 300CB on May 23. Before coming to Hummingbird Aviation Ben Lewis had already obtained his Private Pilot Airplane and planned to get an add-on rating in a helicopter. After obtaining his helicopter rating this spring, Ben Lewis plans to continue to his flying to acquire his Commercial and Instrument rating as well. Congratulations Ben for your Private Pilot Helicopter rating!

Finally only after three weeks of training Aaron Hickok completed his first solo in a Schweizer 300CB on May 15. Aaron Hickok is working on completing his Private Pilot Helicopter in an accelerated 141 program at Hummingbird Aviation to fly within his business of Hickok & Associates in Alabama testing and creating GPS Helicopter approaches. Congratulations Aaron for completing your first solo flight in the Schweizer 300CB!

Congratulations to all of Hummingbird Aviation students within the fixed-wing and rotorcraft programs. If you would like more information about joining with us today, please call or email to see what it takes to become a rated pilot!

Topic: Owner privileges and limitations regarding aircraft maintenance.

April 03, 2010 at 9:30 AM

Location: Hummingbird Aviation 13601 Pioneer Trail, Eden Prairie, MN 55347

This discussion will be based on ASTM 2483 “Standard Practice for Maintenance of Light Sport Aircraft” and ASTM 2245 “Design Standards for Light Sport Aircraft”.

Relaxed, interactive, open forum style lecture with questions, comments, and personal experiences encouraged. Seminars typically end around 10:15-10:30.

Angie Smith completed her Private Pilot Certificate in a Jabiru Light Sport Aircraft. Angie has been training with me since November. She took her check ride today with Designated Pilot Examiner Barb Mack. She is a great example of how you can complete your flight training during Minnesota winters. Angie told me that she plans on learning to fly the Super Cub that has been in her family for many years. She is also thinking of starting her instrument rating. Congratulations Angie on your accomplishment!

Hummingbird Aviation will be hosting a FAA Safety Team presentation. You do not have to be registered with the FAA Safety Team to join us, but I would urge you to register so that you will receive updates about future helicopter and airplane safety presentations.

 “ARE SPORT PILOT PRIVILEGES RIGHT FOR ME?”
Topic: Sport Pilot privileges and limitiations.
On Saturday, March 20, 2010 at 9:30 AM
Location:
Hummingbird Aviation
13601 Pioneer Trail, Eden Prairie, MN 55347

How To Register

http://www.faasafety.gov/

On right side of screen select “Create An Account”

Stephanie Burdorf

If you have been around Hummingbird Aviation lately, you have likely run into Stephanie Burdorf. Stephanie is the most recent Helicopter CFI at Hummingbird but she is no stranger to us here. She began her helicopter flight training at Hummingbird as a high school junior. She then continued her flight training at the University of North Dakota and earned her Bachelor of Science of Aeronautics focusing on Helicopter Commercial Aviation. Last summer Stephanie helped us with some commercial helicopter flights. She is now a full time helicopter flight instructor. We are excited to have her flying for us.

Steve Hacker First Solo In Lightning

Steve Hacker next to his Lightning

Over the past six weeks, Steve and I have been flying in his Lightning working towards his first solo in the aircraft that he personally built. The two main obstacles that we have faced were the weather and learning how to land.

The weather has been a major challenge for Steve’s flight training, being that it is January and February in Minnesota. Steve has been doing the preflight inspection in his hangar and then taxing down to Hummingbird to pick me up for our lessons.  Because of his hard work, I have only heard the stories of what it takes him to prepare for flying when the temperature is 0 degrees, the wind is blowing and the ramp has 6 inches of snow with an underlying inch of solid ice. By the time I get in the aircraft, Steve is somehow still smiling and telling me that it took him 30 minutes to push his aircraft in the day before because of the ice or letting me know how many times he fell on the ice while getting it out of the hangar, or about a slight mishap with the preheater causing the engine not to start. Once I am in the airplane, I immediately grab the towel and start wiping frost off the canopy. When it is below 10 degrees, wiping the canopy is a full time job and Steve has given me the title of wipe man. Like most Minnesotans, we have both treated the weather as just another thing to overcome.

The second major challenge to overcome is learning how to land in a Lightning as a student pilot. I am a firm believer that this is a great aircraft and a joy to fly. The flight characteristics are predictable and stable at all speeds and configurations with the exception of a botched landing. The most common landing error that student pilots make is not holding the aircraft off the ground long enough to slow down, so that there is insufficient lift remaining to cause the aircraft to bounce. As a CFI for the last ten years, I have spent lots of time bouncing down the runway with students, in many different airplanes when a student has not held the aircraft off the ground long enough. All of these aircraft have different characteristics while bouncing. The Lightning does not have good “bouncing” characteristics. When this aircraft bounces, it bounces high and the oscillations immediately get worse requiring a go around. This landing characteristic is not a problem for a pilot who already knows how to land. For a student pilot, however, learning how to land it is undesirable. Steve has taken the correct path in his flight training by learning how to land the Jabiru 170 at Hummingbird Aviation prior to flying the Lightning. The Jabiru and Lightning have a similar engine and avionics but the Jabiru is much more forgiving and docile to train in. Without the transition from the Jabiru to the Lightning it would have been even more difficult for him to learn how to land the Lightning.

Steve Hacker After First Solo

Steve has worked through all of these obstacles and has accomplished his first solo in the Lightning today. He was grinning ear to ear as he opened the canopy after the flight. That was a sight that made all of those frozen flights worth it for both of us.