East Coast Aero Club offers a flight bonus of 5% if you put at least $2000 into your account. Should you prepay in this way, you will end up saving some money on your training.

The FAA requires that you fly at least 40 hours, including 20 hours of dual instruction and 10 hours of solo flight. There are specific requirements within these hours including night flying, dual and solo cross-country flying (a cross country is a trip of at least 50 nautical miles), and flying with reference to instruments only.

New England weather being what it is, there will be some times when your lessons will be cancelled or postponed due to weather. Whether the weather is good enough for your lesson will differ depending upon where you are in your training. Often times, in order to take full advantage of the time you have scheduled, you and your instructor may choose to have ground lessons on days when the weather is not good enough for flying.

Ground school is the instruction that is done outside the airplane. At ECAC, you and your instructor will schedule ground lessons as you need them. Some examples of ground lessons that will be provided by your instructor are: how to do a pre-flight inspection of the aircraft; basic aerodynamics; how to plan a cross-country trip, etc. Since you will be studying the required material as you go along, any time you do not fully understand a topic, you should schedule a ground lesson with your instructor to go over it.

Typically, lessons are scheduled for 2 hour blocks, though longer blocks can be scheduled, especially when a long trip is planned. Each 2 hour block will consist of about 1 hour of flying time and some ground time. You may do more or less ground or flying time, depending upon what you and your instructor want to cover. Sometimes, you will schedule time when you will do ground instruction only.

You will only pay for the time you fly and/or receive ground instruction. For instance, if you schedule a 2 hour block of time and fly for one hour, you will only pay for one hour of dual instruction. You may also do some ground instruction during that 2 hour block, for which you will pay for the instructor’s time only.

Ideally, you will only train with one instructor. This is especially important in the initial stages of your training, up until the time you fly the airplane solo, as switching instructors could cause you to repeat steps unnecessarily. However, sometimes a different perspective is a good thing, and flying with someone new might help you to see a particular maneuver more clearly.

Your instructor is the most important single element in making your training successful. No FAA approval or regulation can guarantee your happiness and safety. We will help you select an instructor who will fit your personality and schedule. The cockpit should be a comfortable environment, and you should feel free to investigate which individual is right for you. If this means you feel the need to switch instructors, for whatever reason, please let us know and we will make every effort to put you with the instructor that is your best match.

We do most of our primary training in the Piper Tomahawk or Piper Warrior depending on the student’s size and weight.

Though you can, it is not recommended that you jump around from plane to plane while you are training. In your primary training, you are just getting used to flying, and you do not want the added effort of learning other, slightly different, airplanes. However, depending upon where you are in your training, and how advanced you are, your instructor might suggest that you try other airplanes to get a feel for them.

No. East Coast Aero Club provides headsets for all student pilots. Should you want to purchase your own headset, we do have two models for sale in our pilot shop, A David Clark (H10-13.4) and an ASA model (HS-1).

East Coast Aero Club has everything you need for your training at our pilot shop. Our private pilot kit ($150) has all of the books and supplies you need, including 2 private pilot manuals, test preparation books, a flight computer, plotter, logbook, and several other items. The items you will need that are not included in the kit are a sectional chart (map of the area), which we sell for $9, an Airport/Facility Directory which we sell for $4.75, and a Pilot’s Operating Handbook for the airplane, which varies by aircraft ($25-$50).

Hanscom is an excellent airport to train at for several reasons. First, Hanscom is centrally located so that pilots and students from the surrounding suburbs and those from Boston and surrounding cities can easily get here. Second, the airspace around Hanscom is fairly busy (though not prohibitively) so that students get experience flying where there is a good amount of traffic to be looking for. Students who train at airports with little traffic often have a hard time transitioning into a larger, busier airport. Third, Hanscom has a control tower. Many flight schools are situated at non-towered airports and students who train at these places do not get much experience communicating with air traffic controllers. This is extremely valuable experience and you will be glad you have it.

Since the weather in New England changes fairly dramatically from season to season, pilots who fly here get experience flying in all types of weather conditions. The weather here can be windy one minute, raining the next, and perfectly calm but hazy the next. Additionally, New England has a large number of airports, large and small, some with control towers and some without. You will fly to many of these during your training, so that you get experience at a large selection of airports.

You must go to a designated Aviation Medical Examiner (AME) for this examination. A list of AMEs is on the website landings.com or at FlightPhysical.com. The cost of the exam varies depending upon where you go.

There are two required examinations: a written test and a flight test, or “check ride.” The written test is a computer-based multiple choice examination with 60 questions. A study guide is available (and included in our private pilot kit) which contains all of the possible questions, with answers and explanations for the answers. The practical flight test is taken with a FAA designated flight examiner, who will first conduct an oral examination, and then a check ride during which you will be tested on a selection of the required maneuvers.

Technically, the license you will earn is a license to fly any single engine aircraft. However, each time you switch to a new airplane, there will be a period of adjustment and learning to go along with it. Any flight school you go to will require a “check-out” (i.e. some instruction time with a certified flight instructor) in the new type of aircraft. Further training is necessary to fly multi-engine airplanes and complex airplanes (i.e. airplanes with retractable landing gear and a propeller that can be adjusted).

Your license will never expire. However, there are two things you must do to remain fit to fly: have a current medical certificate and have a flight review every two years (this is called a biennial flight review or “BFR”). A medical certificate for a private pilot (a 3rd class certificate) lasts three years if you are under 40, and two years if you are 40 and over.

It depends on whether you are interested in pursuing a flying career or using your license for recreational flying. Many pilots go on to get advanced training, such as the instrument, commercial, multi-engine, and certified flight instructor certificates. Others use their license to fly themselves to destinations for weekend getaways, business meetings, or lunch for that “hundred dollar hamburger.” After you get your license, you may consider getting checked-out in a larger and faster airplane so that you can bring friends and family with you. Once you get your Private Pilot License, ECAC rents aircraft for whatever activity you can dream up.