The Discovery Flight

“Discover what it’s like to fly for only $99” – The lure to the discovery flight is exciting and intriguing to all of us that dream of cutting though the sky under our own control. Most flying schools offer these opportunities to try out flying and the prices are typically reasonable. They can be bait for the unsuspecting student, or an opportunity to see what the school and perhaps a prospective instructor have to offer.

If you have read my previous articles about costs and choosing a flight school, then you know that a lot goes into finding a school that might meet your needs. Once you find a prospective school, you need to check that school out in detail. What are their facilities like? What condition are their aircraft in?  When do they run their classes? How available are the aircraft you will be training in? There are many questions to still be answered.

The good news is the discovery flight is your chance to not only go for a flight, but to check out the school and an instructor. Think of it like a first date! You have scoured the internet for your prospective date. Read through their website profiles. Checked out what they say they have to offer… but… like online dating, everyone makes their profile look better than reality. That clean, sexy, sharp looking Cessna photo might have been from 10 years ago… now it is showing its wear. So how do we determine if this school and instructor who are courting us, is in fact a good match? Like any serious first dates, you ask questions.

Below is a list of questions I plan to ask the flight instructor doing my discovery flight. I composed this list based on various websites, articles, blogs, forum posts, and videos I watched. There are dozens of more questions you could ask, but these are the ones I believe will help me decide if we are going on a second date… err… flight.

1. Could you give me a mini ground lesson as part of the flight today?
2. How many private pilots have you trained?
3. How many students do you work with at one time? Is there a maximum number you will take on at a time?
4. Do you have a training syllabus that you work to? Can I get a copy of it?
5. When are you typically available? (Weekdays, Weekends, Daytime, or Evenings)
6. How much flight time should I expect the average lesson to be?
7. How much ground instruction do you do on each lesson?
8. How many hours does it typically take for one of your students to fly dual before they do their first solo (flying once a week)?
9. How long have you been instructing for?
10. Why did you become a flight instructor?​
11. What are your goals for the future of your flying career (24 months)?
12. How many flight hours do you have outside instructing?
13. How many hours on average does it take for a student of yours to obtain their pilot licence?
14. How many of your students pass their check ride on their first attempt?
15. How often do you recommend I fly? Why?
16. What suggestions would you have to keep my licencing costs down?
17. Are there any other unlisted fees that I should be aware of when budgeting for my licence? (Landing Fees, Licencing, Insurance, Exams, etc.)
18. Do you teach students to control airspeed with pitch or power?
19. What training aides do you use in training?
20. Would you be okay with me using a GPS logger like CloudAhoy to record my flights for review?
21. Would you be okay with me using a GoPro camera to record my flights for review?
22. Do instructors stand-in for each other if one is sick or on holidays?
23. Do you use the same examiner for the check ride, or do they differ?
24. How far is the training area away? How long is typically spent getting to and from there each lesson?
25. Enroute to the training area, do you use that time to do any exercises or teaching?
26. How much time is spent taxiing at this airport each lesson?
27. On bad weather days, am I able to sit in the cockpit and go through the motions of the controls?
28. ​What area of flight training do you find that students have the most difficulty with?
29. Could you tell me about your best and worst students, and what made them the best or worst?

Below are some addition questions you may wish to ask. These are questions I am not planning to ask cause I either already know the answer, or do not see them adding value to my particular circumstances. This is not to suggest these are not important questions that may help you, so I have included them here for consideration.

• How long have you been with this flight school?
• What class of instructor are you?
• Where do you do your cross-country flights?
• Are you okay if I speak to some of your previous students?

Tomorrow I go on my discovery flight. If all goes well it will be the first of many flight and learning experiences I will be sharing with you. Wish me luck!