Year: 2019

Recently in the Australian newspapers there was a story about 15 students who were taking a very large flight school to court for not meeting the students’ expectations for their Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL) flight training. It was no surprise that 99 percent of this school’s training was conducted under the Vocational Education and Training (VET) Student Loan program.

I have been in the industry for over 30 years and owned a busy flight school for almost 10 years. While the majority of my flight school’s training is recreational and we do not qualify for VET loans, I know a lot of instructors who have worked in a VET Loan funded school and some of the feedback is not good.

The news about the 15 students who are taking this large flying school to court is, I believe, just the tip of the iceberg in relation to the current problems with the VET fee program. The reality is, most CPL students are afraid to complain because they are so desperate to obtain their first job in aviation. In Australia, the aviation industry is still a fairly small community and no one likes to be branded a complainer, plus, most employers will ring the training organisation or expect a reference from them, so most students realise that it’s easier to just shut up and hope for the best.

How does the VET Student Loan program work?

The program is a loan scheme which assists eligible full fee paying students studying an approved VET course, to pay their tuition fees. The loan for flight training is up to a current limit of around $104,440, and up to $150,000 from January 2020.  To be eligible for inclusion in the program, flight schools need to have their own Part 141 and 142 and be a registered training organisation (RTO) with the government plus follow some other strict rules.

Currently students only have to start to repay the amount after their wage or salary is above $51,957 (or for 2019/20, above $45,881). The government also charges around $17,000 in administration fees AND the loan increases each year with the consumer price index! Here’s an extract from the Government’s VET Student Loan Information booklet:

A 20 per cent loan fee applies to VET Student Loans for full fee paying/fee for service students. The loan fee does not count towards your FEE-HELP limit. You do not have to pay the loan fee upfront – it is added to your HELP debt at the ATO. For example, if you are undertaking a course that costs $1,000, the loan fee is $200 (i.e. 20% of $1,000). So your VET Student Loan debt for that course will be the cost of the course ($1,000) + the loan fee ($200) = $1,200. 

VET Study Loan is too easy to get for both the flight school and the students

Currently, with most schools eligible for VET study loans, the entry requirements are fairly basic as far as minimum education or aptitude tests. There are some schools that do run test screening and interviews for potential flight students (similar to airline-type interviews and testing) but this is quite rare. The reality is that learning to fly to PPL level is hard, but achievable, for most students. Completing your flight training to CPL level is a whole  different story – and honestly not everyone has what it takes to be a commercial pilot. That’s why airlines and the Air Force don’t just hire anyone who wants to be a pilot. Every specialised career requires certain personal, mental and emotional traits for that specific career. For instance, I would make a terrible pro tennis player no matter how much I wanted it.

I support some type of VET Study Loan or similar program but I believe the current system is broken and is permitting some CPL students who shouldn’t be allowed, or encouraged to continue, when the school knows those students will struggle to meet CPL standards.

Money grab

It is frightening to think that many of the flight schools which utilise VET fee are using it for more than 90 percent of their students. This goes against basic business fundamentals: you should never rely on a single revenue funnel or have a single point of failure for your business. If the government of the day decides to make changes or stop VET loan funding (which they can at any time) flight schools which are dependent on it could collapse overnight, and this has happened already in Qld.

Many of the VET loan schools see VET Study Loans as a fairly easy and constant source of cash flow. The issue with this is that over time, this easy cash erodes basic common sense and can lead to dishonest dealings with flight students about their ability to become a commercial pilot.

Imagine if you ran an acting school and you were desperate for students. A student walks in and says ‘Here’s $100,000. Please teach me to become an A list actor’. Then, after a week of training them, you realised that this student would never be a great actor. Would you give them the $99,000 back and tell them, ‘Sorry, but we can’t help you. You will never be good enough.’ Probably not. The temptation for many flight schools is to accept the money and just hope the student finally improves. Money has a tendency to dilute common sense.

An Instructor who was teaching at a large school told me that less than half of the students passed their CPL flight test at the first attempt. Also, many of the students were not CPL material but the school just kept training them anyway because they were VET loan funded. Getting a student to PPL level is possible for most instructors but getting them to CPL level is a lot harder.

I have also had a few students who quit their VET loan funded school (before their debt was too great) and then completed their training at my school using their own money, as they deemed the training and cost at the first school to be unreasonable. One of the students had racked up a debt of $20,000 and had not yet gone solo or been advised about any potential issues as to why they hadn’t achieved solo. Once again, the student did not wish to complain because they eventually wanted a job in the industry.

Students do not understand the price of each lesson

It would be unfair if I blamed all the current problems facing VET loan on government policy and some greedy flight schools. Part of the current issue is that students who receive VET loans don’t really understand the actual costs because they have not had to work for each flying lesson. Most of my students pay for their own flight training. They can see the connection between how many hours they have worked, and how many hours of flying they can afford. They will correct us very quickly if we accidentally enter the wrong hobbs and overcharge them by .1 of an hour!  Paying for one’s own flight training tends to weed out those who really want to fly and those who just like the idea of being a pilot. If a student paying with their own money is not happy with the level of service or training, they will simply take their business to another school.

I believe there needs to be a public conversation and that both the General Aviation and Recreational Aviation flying schools should be involved in the debate on the future of VET loans so we can create a funding scheme that’s fair for all pilot training schools and students.

To start the conversation, I have outlined below a few suggestions:

Suggestion 1: New entry requirements for VET study loans

To prove that the applicant is both keen on becoming a pilot and can meet the educational requirements, I propose that there are some entry requirements for VET loans for pilot training. This would prove that the applicant has the motivation to at least save and pay for initial flight training themselves and can actually fly a plane to solo standard.

1. Basic pass grade for year 12 or equivalent
2. Pass an English proficiency test
3. Pass the Class 01 Medical
4. Have gone solo in a fixed wing aircraft (General Aviation, Recreational or Glider)

Suggestion 2: VET loan paid in stages and offered to all flight schools

The CPL theory course is complex and hard. The issue with the theory component is that a lot of students only start sitting their CPL theory exam towards the end of their physical flight training. If they don’t pass the theory, they cannot obtain their CPL.

Stage 01: CPL theory VET loan

If the student has already gone solo then they could apply for the ‘Stage 01: CPL theory VET loan’ component. The first stage of the VET Loan would be a $6,000 amount to attend a CPL ground school with one of the approved CPL theory providers across Australia. Only if they have passed all the CPL subjects can they then apply for the second stage of the VET study loan.

Stage 02: PPL VET loan

‘Stage 02: PPL VET loan’ funding would be up to $20,000 to achieve PPL level or 60 hours of dual lessons and solo flying .This can be conducted in both Recreational Aircraft and General Aviation aircraft or a mixture of both. Only when the student passes their PPL can they then apply for stage 03 funding.

Stage 03: Command building VET Loan 

‘Stage 03: Command building VET Loan’ would be for up to $30,000 to build 100 hours of command time in either a Recreational or General Aviation aircraft. Before being approved, the student must have an independent audit from a qualified Instructor to see if they have the potential flight standard to continue to CPL.

Stage 04: CPL training VET Loan

‘Stage 04: CPL training VET Loan’ would be for up to $20,000. The student can apply for this stage once they have their command time to complete the final CPL training.

Stage 05: Instrument and Instructor rating

‘Stage 05: Instrument and Instructor rating’ would be up to $50,000. This stage is for completing either their Twin Engine Instrument rating and/or Instructor Rating and can only be started once the student has passed their CPL flight test.

Under this arrangement, each new stage can only be started if they have passed the previous stage. And importantly, the student can change to another school at any time if they are not happy with the level of service/ training provided by that school.

Currently, only flight schools that can afford the expensive processing and approval process to become a registered RTO can get VET loan approval. This means VET study loans are only available to larger pilot training schools which leads to a winner-takes-all situation where only a few players have approval, and leading to limited choices for potential students. It also makes it unfair to the other flight schools that are not large enough to afford the overheads that are required to become a Registered Training Organisation.

Suggestion 3: Training standards and consistent auditing

A lot of the arguments I hear from other instructors and pilots sound like this: ‘If we open up VET loans to all flight schools then the training standards will reduce.’ The current reality is that we have students taking flight schools to court and the low number of students passing their CPL at many of the VET loan schools prove that being both part 141 and 142 and RTO approved is not always a prerequisite for customer service or quality flight training.

My suggestion is that if a school wants to be a VET study loan school it has to pay a $5,000 per year processing management/auditing fee. This would give them access to an online student management system that can be audited by an approved government or independent auditor who would audit the school and the students’ flight training standards every 12 months.  The audit would include a qualified independent Instructor to fly with random VET loan funded students to ensure standards were being maintained. This fee would also pay for a complaint and resolution service for the students. If a school fails their audit three times in a row then they are de-registered for VET loans.

The government could save millions

I suspect the government would actually save millions by implementing this plan. If the entry requirements for students were tougher and the funding was available to all flight schools it would keep the entire industry honest and fair. Personally I always encourage students to pay for their own flight training if they have the ability to, because a debt is still a debt hanging over you regardless of how attractive it looks upfront.

There are still a lot of VET loan approved flight schools which are doing a great job and are completely honest and transparent with their students about their progress. However it only takes a few larger VET loan funded schools to be greedy and to completely destroy a government program that was designed to assist the General Aviation businesses and to alleviate the current pilot shortage.

It will be interesting to see how the court challenge by the 15 students progresses. Just this week the TAFE partner of the flight school has suspended flight training and demanded to see some documentation. Hopefully the Government will come to realise that just throwing large sums of cash at a limited number of approved schools isn’t the only way to overcome the pilot shortage.

As always, I’m interested in hearing your thoughts.

Damien Wills

CEO, GoFly Group

4 November 2019

To see what other blogs Damien has written, click here.

Why I decided to make my flight school Carbon Neutral 

As far as we can tell, GoFly Aviation is the first flying school in Australia to become Carbon Neutral for its light sport aircraft emissions. We do this by paying a carbon offset organisation to plant trees to offset the amount of Carbon our very fuel-efficient aircraft put into the air every year.

As the owner of the company, I believe that we are all contributing to the slow destruction of our planet by using existing energy technologies (fossil fuels). I love flying but I don’t like the idea of polluting the air any further. I am trying  to relieve some of the guilt I feel for adding more carbon to the air. 

When I tell people that GoFly has gone carbon neutral, I often get stunned looks: the individual either doesn’t know what I am talking about, or believes, like many others, that global warming is not real.

I really don’t care whether you believe in global warming or not. What I am more concerned about is when individuals do not take the time to think about an important subject deeply, before forming an opinion – and this includes myself for much of the time.

The polarisation of the climate debate and the ego

It amazes me how passionate many individuals are about climate change and how polarising the subject can be for so many individuals. On one side of the equation we have the Extinction Rebellion members who believe our planet is doomed and we have limited time to repair what we have already started.

On the other end of the spectrum are the non-believers who think the entire global warming movement is mere propaganda and climate change is just a naturally occurring phenomenon and that temperatures have risen and fallen for thousands of years. Recently Facebook has become filled with posts with each side trying to quote scientists and facts to prove to the other side who is right and who is wrong!

I sit somewhere in the middle; believing in global warming but also believing that we DO have time to correct the damage if we make intelligent and logical choices now.

This blog is not about proving to anyone the science behind my beliefs and not trying to convince you that either scenario is right or wrong. What I do think is crazy and seems to be left out of the mass media and collective conversation, is that it doesn’t matter whether global warming is real or exaggerated, clean energy is STILL a better solution for everyone and for our planet.

Groupthink: the enemy of individual thinking and contemplation

The term groupthink refers to the phenomenon where a group of people who have the desire for harmony or conformity, tend to think and agree on the same subjects without proper investigation or free thinking. 

Thanks to the rise of social media, ‘group thinking’ is becoming more prevalent. The flip-side of this is that fewer and fewer of us are taking the time to think deeply about important topics that affect us now and into the future. The climate debate is one such example which encourages group thinking from both extremes, from the non-believers to the mass extinction believers. 

We are all guilty of group thinking from time to time and we are all capable of deep independent thinking if we know the right questions to ask. Today I am going to provide some questions for you and I would love for you to start thinking deeply about these questions.

Do you think clean energy is bad for our planet and humanity?

Clean energy is generally referred to as energy from the wind, sun, or water movement,, that is renewable and does not pollute the atmosphere or damage the planet, or damages the planet considerably less than fossil fuel energy production such as coal, natural gas or petroleum. Clean energy may also include other technologies that have not been developed yet, such as Thorium Nuclear fusion reactors, but for the moment let’s just focus on the three conventional sources of clean energy.

I would like you to think about solar, wind and water energy and ask yourself:  is there any negative effect for our planet as a result of using this energy to slowly replace fossil fuels over the next 30 or so years?

Do you think air pollution and smog is good for us?

As everyone knows, Los Angeles suffers from extreme smog. This is fact and we know that the majority of  smog is caused by fuel being combusted in cars, trucks and other vehicles. Study after study has proven the long term serious health effects of living in cities with high pollution levels. Just ask any asthmatic who lives in LA the effect that smog has on their asthma.

 Most of you will agree that a world without dirty, smelly air pollution would be better for everyone. Clean energy has the potential to eliminate smog entirely from our big cities. Is clean, breathable air not worth the effort of moving to renewable energy?

Do you think coal mining for energy use makes sense  

Have you ever seen a coal mine? As a flying instructor and commercial pilot I have flown over plenty of coal mines during the last 30 years of my flying history. I can tell you they are extremely ugly and very damaging to the earth’s topography. I have heard the argument that many coal mines are situated in non-populated areas that no one can see them so why does it matter. 

Let’s take this argument out of the equation again, and let’s assume you have a choice: to dig a huge, dirty hole in the earth that will take thousands of dollars or years to return to its previous state, or, to use that land for something else and make use of a clean energy source. Yes, wind turbines and solar farms may look ugly but they affect the ground and topography a lot less than an open cut mine does and there is no chance of pollutants getting into our waterways.

Around 450 million tonnes of coal is mined in Australia each year, of which 380 million tonnes was exported. Coal provides fuel for about 69% of electricity production in Australia. Coal, natural gas and oil are non-renewable, finite resources, and will run out one day. Do you think it makes sense for us to slowly remove our reliance on coal as an energy course and replace it with clean energy?

Would you prefer that your home was completely independent of the electricity grid and used clean energy? 

Imagine if some time in the future you could have cost-effective solar panels plus battery storage at your home which made your house completely independent and using renewable energy. After the initial outlay, there would be no more rising electricity bills and no more power blackouts. Would this be something you would prefer over the existing system?

Would you prefer to drive an electric car or petrol car? 

Would you prefer to drive a car that needs a lot of servicing and adds to the air pollution in your town, or would you prefer to drive an electric car that is quiet, with no vibration and almost no maintenance?Also if you already had the solar panels on your home, you would have the  possibility of using a charger that uses energy from the sun. Would this be better than your existing car owning experience?

Would you prefer to fly in an electric or piston aircraft?

An electric aircraft would be quiet, with almost no vibration, have little maintenance required and be up to 100 times more reliable than a conventional piston engine which would also lead to better safety.  A flight school could have the entire hangar covered in solar cells to power these aircraft from solar energy. Would this be better than filling up the air with pollution?

Stopping fear, slow and easy wins the race

Ok, hopefully I’ve made my point. I believe much of the anti-clean energy sentiment is due to the natural human tendency to fear change. If change is thrust upon us too quickly, we tend to retreat back to what we know and are comfortable with.

For the coal miner who has spent the last 20 years earning a good income and providing for his family, the thought of losing his job with the introduction of clean energy, is real and confronting.  There are so many businesses and individuals who are living comfortably now with our existing fossil fuel energy grid, so why change?

I believe a slow change to clean energy over a prolonged period of time is the answer. Slow change will allow individuals and companies to adapt and reinvent themselves.  For instance, I have a 10 year plan to replace all of my unleaded petrol aircraft with electric planes by 2029. While there are electric aircraft available now, the cost of this technology is too expensive and the rapid change could place my business at risk.

What if everyone who is earning a reasonable income now,  made a commitment over the next 10 years to replace their cars with electric cars and to upgrade their housing to be completely off-grid with clean solar energy? Within 10 years the cost of electric cars, and solar battery units for houses, will be affordable for most middle to high income individuals, so why not put a plan in place today?

You have nothing to lose and everything to gain! Taking your ego out of the equation

When it comes to the global warming debate, so many of us want to prove the other person wrong: ‘Look at this evidence here!’ ‘No, my evidence is better than your evidence and this why I am right.’ ‘ You are fools for believing in global warming!’ ‘Why are these people not believing the scientists? ‘ It goes on and on and on. 

I often make the joke to atheists that you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by believing in a higher power, because if you’re right (and there is no God) there will be no one to congratulate you on how smart and right you were when you die, but, if you’re wrong, you’re going to miss out.

Having faith is a bit like believing in clean energy. As a society and as individuals, over the long term, we have nothing to lose and everything to gain by adopting clean energy whether we believe in global warming or not.

You may or may not be pleased to know that I wrote this blog while using a computer which runs on 100 percent solar energy.  It makes me feel good to know it.

This is why we decided to become carbon neutral at GoFly, not because I really care about what others think or believe, but because I came to the conclusion after a lot of thinking, that paying for carbon offsetting has more benefits than negatives.

If global warming proves to be real, then at least I will know that I did my part to reduce emissions. If it’s not real, then I will know that at least I helped employ some individuals to plant some trees and make the planet less polluted and more beautiful, and that makes me feel good, whether you agree or not.

Damien Wills

CEO GoFly Group

To read more aviation blogs by Damien, click here.

Does this sound like you? You decided to learn to fly and you were enjoying your flying lessons.  At first flying didn’t seem that hard… but then… you started circuit training.

Now you are learning the art of landing and taking off and completing circuit after circuit but something is wrong, and you feel as if you are not progressing. Your brain feels like it’s melting with too much information. You feel that riding a unicycle on a tightrope while juggling ten swords looks like an easier option.

While you may have landed once or twice in a lesson by yourself you just can’t manage to land consistently  safely for the other seven landings in the lesson without the instructor reaching for the controls to save the both of you.

You start to feel frustrated and thoughts such as ‘maybe I’m not cut out to be a pilot’ and ‘why isn’t my Instructor teaching me the right way?’ enter your mind. You start blaming yourself or your instructor or the weather for why you have not mastered this damn landing phase of your flight training (the really important bit!)

A very ironic fact that all students MUST know before they learn how to fly, is that landing an aircraft is not really that hard once you know how! However, learning to land an aircraft can be challenging and difficult.

A lot of potentially great pilots give up during this phase of their flight training. If only they had stuck with it a little bit longer and got through the learning wall – as I like to call it – they would be able to master the landing and realise that once you ‘get it’, you ‘get it’ for life!

Your instructor will be the one who guides you on what controls and inputs to use, the correct procedures, airspeed and radio calls. This will take time and patience.

Below I have outlined nine important tips on getting through this period of your training with the least amount of fuss possible.

1. Go easy on yourself and try not to get frustrated and blame anyone else

One of the easiest ways to delay mastering your landings is to be constantly frustrated with your progress and blaming everyone else for your lack of progress.

Humans are not born with wings, so it stands to reason that learning how to land is not something that comes naturally to us. Learning to land a plane feels like you’re making progress during one lesson and then going backwards. You will have lessons where your flying was at a worse standard than your previous lessons. I had difficulty with learning to land when I first started learning to fly but I am so glad I didn’t give up.

As soon as frustration sets in, your ability to learn diminishes rapidly. When you are frustrated, you also tend to blame the weather or the instructor or the bad night’s sleep you had the night before. The best thing you can do is to expect that it will be difficult at times and to realise that it is just part of the process.

2. Be patient – you will go solo when the instructor tells you you’re safe to go solo

‘My best friend went solo in just over 10 hours years ago in an old Cessna’. I have so many students who tell me this or a similar story and it sets up a false expectation that if their friend went solo in ten hours they  should also be able to. The student feels that if they don’t go solo in close to 10 hours, there must be something wrong with them.

I always tell my students that there is no logic to this type of thinking. How do they even know their friend is telling the truth? And also what sort of training standards did the school have at which he or she learnt to fly? The reality is that everyone learns at different rates: while some students may master the landings fairly quickly, that same student might take longer to reach ‘flight test standard’ later on during their training.

Going solo in minimum time is not an indicator that you are going to be a good pilot. Also, very importantly, you do not want to go solo too early (before you are ready). If you don’t feel confident and you do a hard landing it will really shake your confidence. To go solo you must also be able to handle all emergencies that may happen when flying by yourself – it’s not just about landing the plane.

You must be patient with yourself and your instructor; your instructor wants you to be able to land the aircraft safely and they want you to be the best pilot you can be. One of my friends who works  as a pilot for Virgin airlines took 22 hours to go solo. Obviously Virgin didn’t seem to care about this and neither should you!

3. Mental rehearsal – practice and rehearse your procedures at home in a chair or on a home simulator

I always tell students they should be practicing their procedures at least an hour when they are learning to fly. For instance, if you have a one hour lesson, you should be practicing at home the procedures for that lesson for at least an hour.

All these procedures can be practiced over and over at home. I always suggest sitting down in a chair and visualising that you are flying the circuit. The only way to learn something so it becomes automatic is to repeat, repeat, repeat. Repetition might be boring but it works. I will say it again: the only way to learn something so that it becomes automatic, is to repeat, repeat, repeat (ok, you get the idea).

If you do not do this, you end up spending the majority of your flying lesson trying to remember what comes next as far as procedures, checks and radio calls and  it actually distract you from learning to fly the plane. If you can learn to do these automatically on the ground, it will free up a huge amount of mental space to focus on the landing. If you already have your driving licence, you will know how it becomes automatic after a while, to put on your seat belt, check mirrors, take off the handbrake and ensure you are in the right gear. Sometimes we can drive all the way home from work without even remembering anything about the trip, because we are on ‘autopilot’.

OK, here is my shameless plug: we have created online videos to help teach students their procedures on the GoFly Online website. The videos really help with the students’ muscle memory for procedures and radio calls. If you have a simulator at home you can fly this while practicing your procedures.

4. The right approach – a good scan and getting the approach right every time

You may have heard that a good landing is a direct result of a good final approach. I have found this to be true time and time again with my students. The more stable the approach, the easier it is to get the landing right.

You need to make sure you give your approach the same attention as your landing. You need to be constantly asking yourself: Is my approach profile correct? Am I  too high or too low? How is my airspeed, height and approach profile?

One of the biggest mistakes I see students make is getting tunnel vision; they either start focusing on the airspeed or just the runway. Once you focus on only the airspeed, you tend to lose the approach profile. I always recommend a good scan of your attitude, airspeed then runway. This way you are keeping an eye on everything and not just one element.  If you’re not happy with the approach then I suggest you adopt my number 6 tip!

5. Your eyes land the plane

While it is your hands and feet that really control how the plane lands, you will never be able to land well unless your eyes are in the correct position. This means that as soon as you flare (or some instructors suggest even before this moment) your eyes should move from the threshold to the end of the runway/horizon. The reason is simple: if you are not looking towards the end of the runway you will get a ground rush and most likely pull back on the controls too quickly.

The other issue is that you have to have good depth perception to know how far you are off the ground at this height. If your eyes are looking forward you will be able to notice when the aircraft is sinking to the ground and this is your prompt to gently start pulling back on the controls.

This will only happen if your eyes are focused on the end of the runway/horizon. If one of my students has been doing great landings then suddenly one of their landings is terrible, nine times out of ten it’s because their eyes have not moved to the end of the runway. So remind yourself as soon as you start to flare: eyes FORWARD!

6. Every landing is a failed missed approach

This one is big. I will send a student solo sooner if their landings are safe (but are not necessarily always perfect) and if they know WHEN to go around and conduct a missed approach when things go wrong OVER a student who does perfect landings but is SLOW to go around (missed approach) when things go wrong.

The ability to initiate a missed approach when you balloon or bounce or when your airspeed is low or you are not lined up straight with the runway just prior to landing, is a sign that you’re getting close to going solo stage. I always tell my students that ‘every landing is a failed missed approach’. What this means is that you should be ready to go around at any time. Also it’s perfectly OK to go around if you’re not comfortable with any part of the landing. This is a sign of good airmanship.

If you’re confident about doing a missed approach and understand that it is a normal aspect of every approach then you will not feel so anxious about the landing if things go wrong.

7. Get your instructor to demonstrate regularly what the landing should look like

A lot of instructors think that the only way for a student to learn how to land is to keep the student on the controls until they get it right. While this obviously works (we learn by doing) the issue here is that over time if the student keeps practicing and practicing and they are not successfully landing correctly, they may have actually forgotten what a good safe landing looks like. The Instructor may have demonstrated how to land two lessons ago and the student may have had a week or more break between their flying lessons and may have actually forgotten what it looks like to land.

I always like to start off with every circuit lesson, no matter how many lessons that student has done, by demonstrating what a good circuit, approach and landing looks like so it is clear in their mind. Often if the student is having difficulty, then I might get them to come on the controls and we do the landing together so they can feel and see how a correct landing is done. Do not be afraid to speak up to your flight instructor and ask them to demonstrate a landing again if you are feeling frustrated with your progress. It will give you a break and allow you to watch and learn without the pressure of actually flying it yourself.

8. DO NOT LOOK through the propellor

Most students have issues with landing straight. You cannot land smoothly or anticipate the sink correctly if your aircraft is not landing straight.  With most single engine aircraft with side by side seating, there is a tendency for the student pilot to look through the propellor spinner (in the middle of the aircraft) when they are looking forward to the end of the runway during the flare.

This is because the student is not sitting in the middle of the aircraft so the student tries to align the propellor with the centre of the runway. Due to parallax error the student always lands with the aircraft yawing left during the landing.

To stop this I always recommend imagining your seat is a magic seat flying through the air, ignore the prop and look directly ahead of the aircraft. You can also practice this while taxiing on the taxiway or runway to get the straight visualisation alignment correct.

9. Do not be in a hurry to land

My last tip is a simple one: never be in a rush to land, even when your bladder is bursting. When you rush the landing, you stuff the landing.

When we teach a student pilot to land we are not actually teaching them to land. We are actually teaching them to fly the aircraft as long as possible just above the runway until the aircraft settles itself gently onto the ground. We firstly fly level with the runway after the flare, then once the aircraft starts to sink, we ease back on the control column until the aircraft gently touches the ground (that’s the plan anyway).

The main problems during landing are not landing straight (not using enough or too much rudder), pulling back too much during the hold-off sinking phase and ballooning into the air, or, not easing back on the controls enough and then landing flat and hard.

I have discovered over the last 10 years of teaching landings that when I tell the students not to rush their landing, and to keep the aircraft flying as long as possible, the landings will improve dramatically. When you rush you are trying to get the aircraft on the ground more quickly and this can only end in a very bad landing or even worse, a damaged aircraft.

A lot of rushed landings happen when a student lands too far down the runway and they think they are running out of available runway to land. This is why it is vital to ‘go around’ if your approach is not correct.

I hope some of these tips have helped you. Remember, it doesn’t matter whether you go solo in 15 hours or in 25 hours – once you ‘get it’, I promise you it will just become easier and easier with time. The great news is that once you have mastered landing, the feeling of accomplishment is something you will never forget.  I still remember my first solo – 30 years ago! – like it was yesterday. It is a memory and a feeling that no one can ever take from you. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it and it would not be so fulfilling and rewarding.

Happy and safe flying!

Damien Wills

CEO GoFly Group

Pilot training at large flight schools starts with a Private Pilot Licence but you can also start with (and save money on) your Recreational Pilot Certificate.

Step 1: Recreational Pilot Certificate

The first thing you will do is sign up for temporary membership of Recreational Aviation Australia (RA Aus), which covers you for your first 3 hours of flight training. The RA Aus syllabus consists of the following lessons:

Lesson 1: Trial Introductory Flight

An introduction into the basics of flight training.

Lesson 2: Effects of Control

Teaches you the primary and secondary effects of the controls and how they affect the aircraft.

Lesson 3: Straight and Level

Teaches you how to fly the aircraft straight and level and at varying air speeds.

Lesson 4: Climbing and Descending

Teaches you how to climb and descend the aircraft at varying speeds and varying rates of climb and rates of descent

Lesson 5: Turning

Teaches you how to turn the aircraft at varying angles of bank at a constant height and climbing and descending turns

Lesson 6: Consolidation of all sequences learnt so far

this lesson is a summary that all you have learnt so far

Lesson 7: Stalls

Teaches you how to recognise the impending stall and to recover with a minimum loss of height

Lesson 8 to 14: circuits and circuit emergencies

Learn how to take off and land and fly a predetermined circuit in the sky. These lessons bring together everything you have already been taught us you will learn to use the radio and we will prepare you for your first solo flight

Lesson 10 to 18: Your first solo flight (estimate only)

Once you have demonstrated that you are capable and consistent, your instructor will allow you undertake one solo take-off and landing on your own. (You will never forget this flight lesson!)

Lesson 14 to 18: More solo circuits

You will fly a predetermined circuit in the sky, practicing all you have learnt.

Lesson 15: Cross-wind circuits

Learn to take off and land in gusty and cross-wind conditions

Lesson 16: Training area familiarisation and practice forced landings

Learn the procedures for departing and arriving at any aerodrome and how to handle an emergency in the training area.

Lesson 17 to 20: More solo practice

Lesson 18 to 19: Pre-flight test and revision

You will undertake your pre-flight test and revision of all sequences and advanced emergencies. This lesson is a revision of all you have learnt plus the addition of other emergencies you may encounter.

Lesson 20: More solo or Flight test

More solo or proceed to your Flight Test. If you pass your flight test you will obtain your recreational pilot certificate. If you fail (and many people do at the first attempt), you can redo the flight test whenever you are ready. All training is based on competency of the pilot and not on hours of tuition. A student will only receive their certificate or licence if they have passed all tests and the Instructor deems their flying to be satisfactory.

OBTAIN YOUR RECREATIONAL PILOT CERTIFICATE

Your Pilot Certificate allows you to fly a 2-seater recreational light sport aircraft within 25 nautical miles of the aerodrome in day VFR conditions.

Membership and materials for the RPC

During your RPC training you will need to do and buy the following things:

During Lessons 1 to 3: Apply online to RA Aus to obtain your Recreational Student Pilot Membership at a cost of around $268 for 12 months. To speed up your learning, you could consider purchasing a monthly subscription to  GoFly Online video lessons to assist with flight training and revision. You can watch the informative videos at any time, on any device and new lessons, blogs and videos are added each fortnight.

During Lessons 3 to 6: Purchase  your BAK book online. Purchase your logbook online or from our office.

During Lessons 4 to 8: Start studying: Rules of the Air, Aerodrome Markings from the Visual Flight Guide, Visual requirements for VFR Flight, Learn your Radio Calls for your area. Also study the requirements for the issuing of a Pilot Certificate at section 2.07 of the RA Aus Operations Manual.

At GoFly Online we recommend we recommend Pilot Practice Exams for getting ready for your exams.

Lesson 10: Around lesson 10 you will sit your Pre-solo exam and radio exam (multiple choice).

Lesson 14: Sit Air Legislation Exam. Start studying BAK and Human Factors book

Lesson 16: Sit BAK exam.

APPROXIMATE TIME: 3 weeks full-time or can be done part-time

APPROXIMATE COST THROUGH GOFLY AVIATION: $5,980-$7,500 (20-25 hours flying @$299/hr) plus $400 for materials and membership.

Step 2. Passenger Endorsement

A passenger endorsement enables you to fly with one passenger. You can watch the full Passenger Endorsement video at GoFly Online.

You must have:

• completed your Recreational Pilot Certificate
• a minimum total of 10 hours of solo command time (5 in addition to the 5 done during RPC)
• a briefing with a senior instructor and a 30 minute dual flight with an instructor to ensure sure you understand the privileges and limitations of flying with a passenger.

APPROXIMATE TIME: 5 hours of command time plus one hour for the check flight

Step 3. Cross Country Endorsement

A cross country endorsement enables the pilot to fly anywhere in Australia outside of controlled or restricted areas. You may like to purchase access to the Cross Country Endorsement videos on GoFly Online. Before you begin nav training you must have:

• 16 hours of dual flight training (8 x dual navigation lessons)
• 10 hours of instructor briefings

A navigation multiple choice exam will be completed before the first solo navigation lesson.

The lessons consist of:

NAV FLIGHT LESSON 1: WEATHER AND FLIGHT PLANNING

First navigation lesson includes a 2 hour theory lesson on obtaining weather, CTA, basic map reading skills plotting a line and measuring a heading and distance. Also look at aerodrome info and how to join. Student to learn how to read a compass, hold height and heading and join an unfamiliar aerodrome. Map reading technique to be introduced.

NAV FLIGHT LESSON 2: TIME AND DISTANCE

The student is to revise what has been learnt and briefing is to include accurate time keeping and estimates and completing an accurate flight plan. 60 minute nav to be completed in simulator as part of actual flight. Time and distance, Big picture, small picture and time will be the focus, as well as flying above 5000 ft,  rules and leaving SAR note and emergency locator transmitter (ELT).

NAV FLIGHT LESSON 3: FUEL AND REVISION OF GROUND SPEED (accurate fuel log keeping and ‘CLEAROFF’ checks)

Briefing to include fuel calculation and how to revise ground speed in the air with the use of way points and geographical features. 30 minute simulator session to practice.

NAV FLIGHT LESSON 5: BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER

NAV FLIGHT LESSON 6: PRE-SOLO CHECK AND LOW LEVEL

Brief student on low level navigation and diversions. student should be able to divert within 2 minutes and estimate within 60 seconds. By this stage the student should be able to obtain weather, flight plan and lodge SAR time by themselves. Diversions should be given during flight and theory exam should be completed.

NAV FLIGHT LESSON 7: FIRST SOLO

Send solo in good weather conditions. 

NAV FLIGHT TEST: Be able to do accurate flight plan, lodge SAR time, depart and hold heading plus or minus 50 feet. Identify off track within 4 minutes. Estimates within 1 minute and diversion to be completed immediately if required. Good use of ‘CLEAROFF’  checks and airmanship to a high standard. Good situational awareness and able to maintain visual meteorological conditions at all times. Good use of fuel logs.

APPROXIMATE TIME: 2.5 weeks

The following supplies are ordered online from The Flight Store:

Bob Tait RA Aus Cross Country Theory $94.50. Plotter protractor for $19.95. Flight computer for $49.95.

VNC MAPS .  ERSA booklet $34.95

Step 4: Obtaining your Recreational Pilot Licence or Private Pilot Licence (with Controlled Airspace conversion)

A Recreational Pilot Licence (RPL) is the next step in your pilot training, after your RPC. You can upgrade from your Recreational Aviation (RPC) Licence to your Recreational Pilot Licence (RPL). Your RPL conversion enables you to fly a heavier aircraft with more than one passenger, providing you hold a class 2 medical.

An RPL is often the obvious choice when you either want to get a General Aviation licence or fly larger/heavier single-engine planes. Of course larger planes cost more to fly so it can be cheaper to do the bulk of your initial training in cheaper recreational planes and then converting to RPL planes. It’s an easy transition and more cost-effective than going direct to your Private Pilot Licence (PPL). It allows you to have both a Recreational and General Aviation licence and fly into Controlled airspace.

Every flight lesson will start with a classroom briefing on the techniques before they’re put into practice. You’ll need to pass some theory exams as well as complete practical flight training. With a Recreational Pilot Licence, you’ll be able to fly as a Pilot in Command of a single engine aircraft up to 1500 kgs.

You will be able to use your Recreational Pilot Certificate and Navigation Endorsement towards this conversion to save you time and money. You will need to apply for an ARN and an ASIC card before your training. Adding a Controlled Airspace Endorsement allows you to fly into controlled airspace. Adding a Constant Speed Endorsement allows you to fly any aircraft with a constant speed propellor. Adding a Retractable Endorsement allows you to fly any aircraft with retractable landing gear. We follow the Part 61 Syllabus outlined by CASA and extend this with helpful Videos & Books. We recommend Bob Tait Theory or the Aviation Theory Centre for study material.

As with most Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) licenses there are more stringent conditions including:

1. Have a current flight review for the aircraft being flown

2. Meet the medical requirements

3. Have conducted three take-offs and landings in the previous 90 days if you wish to carry passengers (All General Aviation training is conducted by Air QLD operated under AOC CASA.TAAOC.0734).

You must be at least 16 years of age, be proficient in English and have 25 command hours flight time. There will be 7-10 hour of dual instruction, 2 hours of circuit work and 2 hours of instrument flying and some ground briefing.

Lesson 1: Intro into the Cessna, understanding weight and balance and understanding constant speed operations and retractable landing gear. First flight consists of upper air work including stalls, practice forced landings and emergency procedures.

Lesson 2: Standard and circuit emergencies

Lesson 3: Standard and emergency circuits in the Cessna

Lesson 4: Basic Instrument flying.

Lesson 5: Controlled airspace briefing and radio practice and flight into Sunshine Coast Aerodrome (Class D airspace)

Lesson 6: Controlled airspace briefing and radio practice and flight into Archerfield (Class D Airport) Aerodrome and transit through Gold Coast controlled airspace (Class C Airspace)

Lesson 7: Revision of controlled airspace and pre-flight test review

Lesson 8: RPL Flight test

You can also add a constant speed propellor endorsement and a retractable landing gear endorsement.

To upgrade from RPL to PPL all that is required is for you to pass the PPL Theory exam. After your RPL/PPL you can go on to study for your Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL).

APPROXIMATE TIME: two weeks

Step 5: Private Pilot Licence

You can start your PPL on Recreational Aircraft to minimise your flight training costs. You do not have to choose between completing a Recreational Pilot Licence (RPL) or a Private Pilot Licence (PPL) as they are actually two milestones on the same journey. So it’s less about which licence you choose, but more about how far you want to go with your flight training. Each licence and endorsement you earn along the way will provide you with different skills and expand your freedom.

After completing your RPL, you can continue on to get your Private Pilot Licence (PPL). The PPL training focuses mainly on navigation and will enable you to fly all over Australia and indeed anywhere in the world. During the PPL training, you will learn how to navigate to and from different airports.

Similar to the RPL program, you will need to pass several theory exams as well as complete practical flight training.

Once you have received your Private Pilot Licence, you will be allowed to act as a Pilot in Command and be endorsed. You will be able to carry up to five passengers and fly all over Australia. The benefit is that you end up with a Private Pilot Licence plus GA licence and a recreational licence. It would be far more expensive to do this training from start to finish through a GA school. You can also obtain the following endorsements: Constant Speed Unit, Multi Engine, Night VFR, Under Carriage Rating, IFR Rating.

Step 6: Obtaining your Commercial Pilot Licence

There are lots of savings to be made by doing the first 85% of your Commercial Pilot training in light sport aircraft, saving you around $30,000 compared to other flight schools. To read about how to do this, go to this informative blog.

Requirements before training begins:

• Recreational Pilot Certificate with cross-country endorsement, or RPL with cross-country and navigation endorsement
• Minimum of 100 hours of command of an aircraft
• Completed all commercial theory subjects and passed the exams
• Completed 20 to 30 hours dual advanced commercial flight instruction course
• Minimum of 200 hours in total before completing the CPL flight test

APPROXIMATE TIME: from 0 hours through RPC to CPL would be 8-12 months

Optional Step: RA Aus Instructor Rating

Becoming a Certified Flight Instructor is a great way to share your passion for flying with others.

If you’ve got the right demeanor to teach, to enthuse, and to support learner fliers then you might like to consider broadening your flying skills, and helping others achieve their dream of flying. Not only is teaching a great way to to pass on your knowledge but your own flying skills will also skyrocket as you work through the best way to convey complex matters to novices.

Achieving your Instructor Rating opens new opportunities for you as an aviator.  Not only can you earn money in the aviation industry, but you get to fly more often and become a valuable part of a flying business.

At GoFly Online we have filmed all our board briefings and in-flight patter, for you to watch in the comfort of your own home (or listen to while driving to the hangar!) to help you get your Instructor Rating more efficiently.

Pre-requisites:

1. RA AUS Pilot Certificate & Class 2 Medical Certificate
2. Cross Country Endorsement
3. Passenger Endorsement
4. Minimum flying hours are 150 hundred hours total time RA Aus (including 100 hours total command – of which 25 hours must be in command of a recreational aircraft)

This is an edited version of an article on the GoFly Aviation website, which includes pricing and videos.

Congratulations (or commiserations) on having a child who wants to become a pilot. Most likely your child will say they want to become an airline pilot but it’s also possible they’d like to become a helicopter or military pilot. 

Let’s assume that you have decided that, as a loving parent, you want to support their dreams as best you can, while also being a bit nervous that your child is going to learn to fly. I get calls each week from parents who don’t know where to start when it comes to giving their child the best chance of obtaining employment as a pilot in the aviation industry.

To help those parents, I have outlined in this blog, seven critical points every parent should know, to help their child get started on their journey.

Does your child’s health meet the minimum required to be a commercial pilot?

There is no real point in getting a child’s hopes up for becoming an airline pilot if they do not meet the medical requirements for a class 01 commercial medical. If your child is healthy, not overweight and does not have any medical issues they would most likely pass a medical. Some of the health issues that may stop your child from becoming a commercial pilot, are: colour blindness, eyesight cannot be corrected properly with glasses, obesity and weight issues, diabetes, heart or respiratory issues. Also any history of mental illness or personality disorders may also preclude your child. 

If you are still concerned, I would suggest booking an appointment with your local doctor to see if there is any health issue that may preclude them from being a pilot. If you’re really concerned you can also book an appointment with an approved a designated aviation medical examiner (also known as a DAME). You can go onto the CASA website  You don’t have to book in a full medical for your child but you can book an appointment to discuss your concerns with your DAME. If there are any issues they can even provide possible solutions to improve the health issue before the child starts their flight training. 

Does your child have a realistic idea of what it is like to be a professional pilot?

There is a reason why schools run work experience programs: to give your child a good idea of what it would be like to work in a particular industry. Many younger children like the idea of flying but really have no idea if what is like to be a career pilot. A lot of young students have an unrealistic idea of that it is like to be a professional pilot.

In many instances they may have seen advertising showing how glamorous or adventurous it is being a professional pilot. While there is an element of truth to this, there is also a lot of other not so great things about being a pilot. For instance, becoming an airline pilot quite often involves a considerable amount of time away from home. This can be stressful, particularly if you have a partner or family. It is important that your child has a balanced view of their future career.  If they have a realistic idea of what is involved and still want to proceed with learning to fly, then you know that they really have a passion for flying and it’s not just a passing fad. 

Our own GoFly Online website has interviews with Airline Pilots and you can also search YouTube for interviews with military pilots and airline pilots, to get a better understanding of what it is like working in this type of profession. I always tell my own children to choose work they enjoy and which is meaningful to them. I also tell them that no job or career will be perfect and there will be aspects of the work that you will not like, however if you love what you do the upside more than compensates for any downside.

The younger they start, the easier it will be to eventually secure a job

One of the key items a future employer is looking for in a pilot is how committed and passionate that individual is about flying. The best way to prove this to a future employer is by starting to fly at an early age. It shows that the individual is disciplined, committed and passionate about flying. The other advantage is that airlines and the Air Force are looking for a good return on their “pilot” investments. It costs a lot of money for an airline or the Air Force to train a commercial pilot on their own aircraft. They would prefer to spend the money on a young pilot and keep that employee for 30 years than employ an older pilot and only employ them for ten years. A younger pilot means less turnover and reduces the costs of training.

 The other huge advantage to starting young is they are less likely to be in a steady relationship with kids and a mortgage. While you are  young and single, the cost of living is generally cheaper and you can focus all your time and energy on your career. You will also find it easy to relocate to get that first flying job if partners and kids are not involved. Generally the older you get, the more responsibilities and assets you have which make it harder to transition to a new career.

Book a trial introductory flight to make sure they still want to be a pilot

This one is a must. If your child shows a lot of interest in becoming a pilot then book them a trial flight with a reputable flight school near you. A trial flight is basically a casual introductory lesson that allows students to decide if they want to continue flight training. It’s also a wonderful opportunity to have a one-on one chat with a real flight instructor on the pros and cons of learning to fly and getting a job as a pilot. The instructor can also put a plan in place for the student getting their licence – whether that’s by full-time or part-time lessons.

Get them to do some flight lessons while at school

A lot of our flight school students start learning to fly with us around the age of 14. Many of them have achieved their Pilot Certificate at 15 or 16 before they can legally drive a car. The majority of these students are obsessed with flying and many of them actually pay for the flight training themselves by working part-time jobs.

 A lot of parents have the fear that if their child focuses too much on learning to fly, their school grades may be affected,  however I have discovered the opposite is true: most of them work harder at school so they can have the best grades they can when applying for a future airline or the Air Force. When your child has a clear idea of their future career, they find it easier to justify the study involved to get there. The other benefit of flight training is it teaches your child to be disciplined and focused.

Paying for it: self-funded, VET fee, military training or cadetship?

This is always one of the first questions I get from parents whose child wants to learn to fly. I suggest you read my other blog called ‘How to become an employed airline pilot, while working and without having rich parents.

As previously stated, many of our younger flying students pay for their own training with part time jobs. If they can save $100 per week they can do a lesson every two to three weeks.  I would always recommend students paying for their own training if possible, or at least some of their training, with their parents’ help. The other options are personal loans, VET fee or an Airline Cadetship. VET fee is a Government loan scheme that assists eligible students to pay their tuition fees for higher-level vocational education and training (VET) courses (at the diploma-level and above) undertaken at approved providers. The student will start paying off the loan once they start earning over a certain amount. The important thing to remember with VET fee is that it is still a debt and the average Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL) VET fee amount has another $20,000 administration fee  on top of the cost of the flight training.

It is not uncommon for the student to be left with a VET fee debt of around $100,000 when they finish flight training. I employ instructors who will be paying off student loans for the next 10-12 years. While I am not totally against VET fee, I still think the best option is to just take longer to get your licence and pay for the training yourself. While this may take an extra three years to complete your training, you will have no debt at the end of your training.

The major airlines do offer ‘Cadetships’ from time to time, however most of these Cadetships still use the VET fee program and students will incur debt. I personally think this type of VET fee is justifiable because at least you are offered a job with a major airline at the end of your training. The airlines offering cadetships prefer you to have some initial flight training experience before you apply, so this is another great reason why doing some flight lessons while the student is still at school, is a great idea.

They can actually start learning about flying long before they begin their flight training

If your child is too young to learn to fly or cannot afford to start flight training yet, there are still things you can do NOW to prepare them. I would suggest they explore the rest of our new GoFly Online website. There are over 50 free videos about learning to fly and interviews about what is involved in becoming an airline pilot. These videos will greatly help your child decide if they want to become a commercial pilot and start learning to fly. There is also a Basic subscription option, which includes all the pre-flight briefings and in-flight lessons for the Recreational Pilot Certificate. These lessons will greatly assist with all the procedures that are required for a student to be a safe and competent pilot well before they begin their training. The videos will help them maintain their motivation – and the earlier you start fueling their passion the easier it will be later for them to stay motivated through their flight training.

The future for air travel is very bright with new technology such as VTOL (vertical take off and landing) and new electric aircraft technology. This is a very exciting time to be learning how to fly, and as a former 15 year old boy who scraped together his own money for flying – and as a parent of four children – I know how important it is to encourage your child to follow their dreams from as young an age as possible. 

Damien Wills

CEO, GOFly Group

To read more of Damien’s aviation blogs, click here.

How to compare apples with apples

It is no surprise that the second most visited page on the GoFly website is the ‘fleet and pricing’ page.

Price is important for most customers however the issue with pricing is that most flight schools do not disclose their full costs. For instance many flight schools show the hourly rate and briefing rate but not advise that there is landing charges. Most customers only look at the hourly flying rate but when you add on all the other items such as briefings and landing charges, this can increase each lesson costs by around 30 percent.

The other very important thing to ask is if they are quoting course costs based on the legal minimum hours to get your licence. For instance, we have competitors who often quote their Recreational Pilot Certificate course at around $5,600. This quote is based on the student getting their licence in the minimum 20 hours required. The issue with this is that it sets up a false expectation because very few individuals get their licence in the minimum legal amount of time – and if they do I would be questioning the quality of their training. If the school is honest and playing fair they should be listing an average price for their course based on an average student or giving an expected price range.  For instance, a good way of advertising this would be to say ‘Our Recreational Pilot Certificate takes 20 to 25 hours of flight training and costs between $5,980 to $7475, depending on individual competency’.

Ask the flight school  ‘What is the  cost per hour for your flying lessons including briefings?’ Then ask ‘How long is the average time a student takes to complete their training?’. You can then simply do the maths yourself and work out a rough realistic price. If the flight school can’t give you an answer or deflects the questions, I suggest you look for another flying school.

Another warning sign is if the school asks you to pay for the whole course upfront. You should be able to pay as you go.

Quality is more important than price

A cheaply-priced flight school does not always mean it is the best choice for you. It is the quality of training that is important. Obviously price is important, but if a cheaper school offers lower quality training you may have saved some money but is it worth the risk of not being the best pilot you can be? The biggest issue when you’re still researching a flight school is how to determine quality. Obviously every owner of every flight school thinks they offer the best quality of instruction, so taking the owner’s word for it is not the most reliable way of determining this.

The best way to determine quality is to do some simple research. Firstly, I believe that quality flows through everything a business does. For starters, what is the flight school’s website like? Has it had a lot of thought and energy and effort put into making it easy to navigate for the user? Or is the website just a big sales ad telling you how good the school is and how cheap their prices are? Is there valuable information on the website to streamline your decision making? Does the website show the facilities and aircraft and do they look well cared for? Does the website have a large focus on the customer and staff? Read the testimonials but remember that they will only put positive ones on the website.

Go to their Facebook and Instagram pages and look for reviews. Type the flight school name in the Google search window and look at all the reviews on Google. This is a good way to see both positive and negative reviews, to help you make your decision. Join some Pilot forums on Facebook or elsewhere and ask other student and graduates which schools they recommend in your area.

Sausage factory or personalised service?

There is no doubt that all flying schools are different. The most important question initially for yourself is whether you are wanting to fly for fun or for a career? Many of the bigger flight schools can afford better simulators, more expensive and newer aircraft and better facilities. I believe there is a cut-off point though, where some of the larger schools stop offering personalised service in favour of profit-making volume. Ask yourself, do I want to learn at a large corporate school that pushes through hundreds of commercial pilots a year, or a smaller school that is more flexible? If you want to fly just for fun then maybe a larger corporate school is not for you. Remember bigger is not always better. Within the industry, the larger schools that offer VET fee and train hundreds of overseas students are commonly known as sausage factories. They are designed to do a job and that job is to churn out as many Commercial pilots as possible to satisfy their overseas contracts or VET-fee obligations.

There is nothing wrong with this but do not expect individual attention or for them to remember your name. Likewise, some schools may be too small for you. They may only have one aircraft and one instructor. If you want variety of aircraft or instructors and more flexibility, this small school may not be the best. Work out what type of school you want to fly with and this will help reduce your search criteria when choosing a school.

Sometimes two schools are better than one

One of the biggest myths that flight schools try to promulgate is that you must complete all of your flight training up with them. What if you find a great recreational school that you love flying at but you’re not sure of their CPL program? Or what if you have just finished your flight training at your school and now want to do a tailwheel conversion or Aerobatics endorsement and the school you learnt at does not offer it?

The good news is that your flight hours and experience are transferable to any school.

It also doesn’t matter whether you start off flying a Recreational Aircraft or a General Aviation aircraft as they all count towards your CPL licence if you wish to continue. For instance, I started my training with the Australian Air League in Sydney in a small Cessna 152 many years ago. The school was run by volunteer instructors and the quality of training was fantastic but they only trained up to PPL level. I learnt to fly there up to PPL then finished my CPL training at a school in QLD. By doing it this way I saved myself around $15,000 in flight training and got to experience two great flight schools.

So if you are very happy with a school that can conduct your initial training but can’t fulfill your advance training (such as multi-engine rating) don’t let it preclude you from starting your training with that school.

You should visit their facilities and meet one of their instructors

This one is a must. There are two ways to do this. Firstly, you can ask the flight school if you can visit the school and talk to an instructor and see the aircraft. Do not feel bad about asking for this. Any quality flight school would be more than happy to spend 20 minutes talking to you and showing you around their facilities. Make sure you book in a time and stick to that time. If the school will not talk to you unless you book a flight with them, then choose another school. Secondly, you can take a Trial Introductory Flight. All schools offers them and they allow you to see if you actually like flying and to observe the quality of instruction and instructors before you commit. It is a real flight lesson and will count towards your first certificate.

If the flight school only offers meetings with a receptionist and not a flight instructor, then once again, I suggest you choose another school that will. When you meet the instructor you can then get a feel for how much they care for you as a future student and how professional and friendly they are. You can also observe the condition of the facilities and the condition of the aircraft. If the facilities are worn, old and run down this could be a sign that the owner does not care or the business is not doing too well. The same goes for the aircraft. While most flight schools won’t have brand new aircraft, do take a look at what condition are they in. Are they fairly clean? Does it appear the staff and business care about the condition of the aircraft.  The impression you get from your first visit will help you decide on whether to start training with that school. You might also like to ask to see the syllabus or whether it is online for you to view. And if you intend finishing your next level of training at another school, you might like to ask where they will keep your flight records, so that you know this school will be able to send them to the next school in a timely manner. You might like to see the room where their briefings are done and ask questions about which textbooks they use at their school.

And finally, ask them what I call the Kamikaze question, as you leave: ‘Why should I choose your flight school over all the other nearby flight schools?’ Their response may surprise or shock you, or it may be exactly what you want to hear and it will definitely help you decide.

All the best with your future flight training!

Damien Wills

CEO GoFly Group

You may also like to read this blog: Is is better to learn to fly at a controlled or non-controlled airport?

You may also like to read this blog: How to afford flight training and become an employed airline pilot while working and without having rich parents

Click on this link to read further blogs by Damien.

Your future is in your hands

I hear a lot of individuals telling me that becoming an employed Airline Pilot is hard and that training is hard and getting a job is hard. I’m amazed that these individuals are able to actually get out of bed in the morning.

Yes, life can be hard, but what’s the alternative? If you believe everything is hard then you are more likely to give up before you begin.

Why do you want to be an Airline Pilot?

This is the first question you need to ask yourself before you begin your journey. A not so good reason for wanting to become a pilot might be because the pay is good and it will be cool.

A better reason might be because you have always been obsessed with aircraft, you just love flying and you can’t imagine doing anything else other than sitting in a high tech plane and being responsible for the lives of many individuals, helping them reach their loved ones safely.

If your reason ‘why’ is a good reason and you are passionate about flying and becoming a pilot, then I can honestly say the road to becoming an Airline Pilot will not be that hard. I believe that the future is very exciting if your goal is to become an airline pilot.

The news about the future pilot shortage is correct

Boeing and Airbus updated their forecast this year to conclude that around 600,000 new pilots will be required to be trained over the next 20 years to replace retiring airline staff and growing airline fleets. The Asia Pacific region will need around 250,000 new pilots in this time period.

I am a business owner and Entrepreneur and spend a considerable amount of time researching future growth markets. I believe the Asia Pacific forecast is spot on. In fact, one could compare the Asia Pacific region to America  post-World War II, when the Airline industry grew like crazy after the disposable income of the middle classes increased and the costs of airline travel decreased. The same rapid change is happening right now in Asia, however the population is about ten times that which the USA had in the fifties (that is right: ten times!!).

If you want to stay on the East Coast of Australia and don’t want to move to find work then you may find it harder to gain employment. All the airline pilots I know who secured a job shortly after their flight training, went overseas for work.

So will there be jobs, but you may have to travel to find that first airline job.

Yes, but…

I dislike ‘Yes, but’ people. Basically they are saying ‘Yes, I agree with you… but I have come up with a reason not to agree with you’.

So you have always dreamt of becoming an Airline Pilot and you have probably done a bit of internet searching and soon realised that the cost of training could be anywhere from $55,000 to $120,000.

Wow! Unless you have just received an inheritance, or your parents are rich, this is where your research into becoming an Airline Pilot probably ends. This is where the negative thinking can become so powerful.

Yes, but I don’t have the money

Yes, but I don’t have rich parents

Yes, but I might not get a job

Yes, but I might be no good

Yes, but I don’t want to move overseas

The list goes on and on and on…

I want you to get into the habit of changing ‘Yes but’ to… ‘Yes, I can!’

Yes I can!

Yes, I can find the money somehow.

Yes, I can become an Airline pilot if I work hard enough.

Yes, I can achieve my dreams if I just keep persisting.

Yes, I don’t mind living in Asia for five years if it means I can be an Airline Pilot earlier.

Ok you get the point..

You can always get what you want  – the only variable is the time it takes.

You’re most likely to have never seen more than $10,000 in your bank account so the thought of being able to afford $80,000 to complete your flight training seems like a pipe dream. I am about to show you that not only is it possible for anyone to be able to afford flight training but it is also possible for anyone who has the right attitude to secure a job as an Airline Pilot.

I am going to show you how you can obtain your Commercial Pilots licence with all the necessary endorsements within four years without the help of your parents, the government or the bank.

Think of your flight training as a University Degree

Most university degrees are around three to four years in duration. If the majority of the population accept that it’s going to take an individual four years to earn a degree then why would it be any different to learn to be an airline pilot? If you leave school at 18 you will still only be 22 years of age when you complete your flight training – the same as most other graduates.

Get a full-time job that pays at least $50,000 income and live in shared accommodation or move back home with your parents/relatives

It would be nice if you could just jump directly into full-time flight training straight away then land your dream job with an airline within one year. I would also like to own my own beachfront property with ocean views but I know it is not going to happen within 12 months (I have a ten year plan for that one.)

Why get a full-time job that earns $50,000?

The reason is simple, so you can still pay rent and food and bills and enjoy life a bit while you are training part time. By sharing accommodation and living at home you can reduce your weekly expenses. By earning $50,000 per year you should be able to put around $20,000 per year towards your flight training costs. Over four years that is around $80,000.

That’s right, even with a medium income job, within four years you can pay for your own flight training and have no debt at the end of it (unlike most uni students). What sort of job should you get? I would recommend some job where you can learn some skill that will assist you in aviation. Sales is a good choice because you will learn to sell yourself.

Another great idea is to get an admin or ground staff job with an airline or flying school or charter company. You might apply to be a flight attendant, ground baggage handler, refueller or front office admin. If you’re in the industry you can learn valuable inside information plus develop a network of key contacts for later when you are looking for a job. I know plenty of Airline Pilots who started off as ground crew for airlines.

Once you get a job that pays around $50,000, the plan is very simple:

Year 1

1. Upgrade your computer if you need to and turn it into a simple Flight Simulator (use X Plane). By having your own makeshift flight sim, you will be able to practice manoeuvres, and eventually instrument flight, at home in your own time at no cost.
2. Study for your Recreational theory exams and Private Pilot Licence exams in your own time and sit the exams.
3. You may also find our online flight lessons helpful.  For less than half the cost of a one hour real lesson, you can watch the lessons in standard or in 360-degree video as man times as you need. The lessons cover everything you need to know for your RPC plus there are lots of bonus videos dealing with emergency procedures and flight tests etc Our students claim that the lessons have sped up their learning and saved them money on real flying lessons.

Year 2

1. Find a reputable flight school which offers part-time Commercial Pilot Licence training and preferably has Recreational Aircraft that you can start your training in (to save hourly costs).
2. Complete your training one day per week and fly between one to two hours each time. Pay for each lesson as you go.
3. Complete your Recreational Pilot Certificate  (approx $5400 through GoFly) and Navigation endorsement (approx $4000 through GoFly) in a Recreational Aircraft to save on training costs.

Year 3

1. Complete your RPL conversion and controlled Airspace endorsement on a four- seat aircraft like a Cessna 172
2. Start studying at night for your CPL exams
3. Start accumulating Solo command time in both a Recreational Aircraft and a four- seater aircraft.

Year 4

1. Sit your CPL theory exams (and resit if required)
2. Start studying for ATPL subjects
3. Complete your CPL Flight Training with twin-engine instrument included
4. Complete your Instructor rating Recreational and General Aviation
5. Apply for airline jobs in Australia and Asia at the end of the year
6. Keep $10,000 and offer to pay for Jet type endorsement if required by an Airline

If you put the work in, are smart with what school you choose and what aircraft type you learn to fly on, you can achieve all of this for around $80,000.

In addition

I would also recommend doing a part-time course in how to speak Chinese. Most jobs will be coming out of China over the next ten years. While it is not a requirement to speak Chinese in order to obtain a job in Asia, it will put you ahead of your competition and show your future employee that you have gone the extra mile.

A lot of my students say to me, ‘That’s great but I’m happy where I am, I don’t want to go overseas’. This is a real shame, as living in a different country will open their eyes to new cultures and experiences. Obviously their reason ‘why’ is not great enough. They may well get a job if they stay in Australia but options and opportunities are far greater if you’re willing to travel and relocate for a while.

Other options

The good news is that even if you do not want to go overseas, or if you miss out on a job initially, you can still look for a job a flight Instructor on the east coast of Australia. Most Airlines in Australia now prefer you to have an Instructor rating so that they can use you for check and training when you have been with the company for a while. By obtaining your Instructor rating during your course it allows you to obtain a job in general aviation while you are applying for airline jobs. It basically gives you more options and allows you to earn an income and fly. You might even love it and decide to stay being a professional Instructor.

Leave $10,000 aside for your ‘type rating’ training

As part of this plan I allow $10,000 at the end of  your training to allow you to pay for your own ‘type rating’. What is a type rating? It is specific training to allow you to fly a particular ‘type’ of complex aircraft such a Boeing 737. This can be done in a simulator for about $10,000.

When applying for an airline, some airlines require you to pay for your own type rating. If you succeed in getting through your initial interviews you will be in a better position as you already have your own funds to pay for your own type rating.

No more excuses

I hope by now you have come to the realisation that becoming an airline pilot is not only achievable for anyone, but is also a realistic career path if you have a big enough ‘why’.

I decided to open and run a Flight School instead of joining an airline, but I have worked with many charter pilots and instructors over the years who have gone on to secure jobs by following my simple plan above.

A lot of other flight schools will try to tell you that the above plan is not possible financially. The reason is simple:  their revenue model has been designed for them and not YOU! Do your research, go onto the CASA website and research hourly requirements. I know flight training costs can be almost halved if you do your research and chose the right school. I know it’s possible because I did the above plan myself (but left Charter flying and  decided to buy and run a flight school).

All it takes is belief in yourself, persistence and time.

*2018 blog update: If you are interested in obtaining your CPL, and you have questions, you can attend our ‘How Do I Become a Commercial Pilot’ presentation on Saturday 8 December 2018, and have all your questions answered by airline pilots and current CPL students.

If you are interested in obtaining your CPL through GoFly Aviation, we are currently offering a great value deal for approx $55,000. You can start any time. Request a copy of our pricing and syllabus by emailing us at [email protected] or feel free to call me on 0426 282 226 if you have any questions.

GoFly does not offer VET fee. For information about personal loans, visit GoFly Finance.

For our current deals on Recreational Pilot Certificates, keep an eye on our Special Offer page.

Click here for information about the Bachelor of Aviation at USQ.

Click here to view our Boeing 737 simulator.

Happy and safe flying,

Damien Wills

CEO, GoFly Group

Click on this link to read further blogs by Damien.

Everyone wants to fly a big jet

For as long as I can remember I have always dreamt of learning to fly and becoming a pilot. When I was learning to fly, almost everyone who was learning with me dreamt of becoming an airline pilot. Part of the attraction was being able to fly a high-tech Jet Aircraft and also have the benefit of being paid a decent wage while doing something you love.

I totally understand why someone who spends a considerable amount of money and time on training to become a commercial pilot would want to have their investment pay off by joining an airline.

Instructing is usually viewed as a stepping stone to bigger and better things!

The current reality is that most new commercial pilots obtain their Instructor Rating so they can build up valuable flying hours while they are waiting to join an airline. Flying jobs in the major city centres of Australia can be limited when you first become a Commercial Pilot and Instructing will increase  your chances of gaining employment.

I don’t personally think there is anything wrong with this approach providing the instructor puts the necessary effort and care into each student while they are building up hours.

Sure I have never been an Airline Pilot, but I have been a Commercial Charter Pilot and plenty of my close friends are now working for major Airlines so I understand exactly what their work/life balance involves. I have also been a Chief Pilot for over five years and have a very good understanding of what it is like to be a full-time flight instructor.

We need more career flying instructors

When I was learning to fly there were two types of Instructors. The career instructor who loved flying and teaching and the Instructor who was simply building up hours towards joining an airline. Which instructor do you think I prefered to fly with?  If we could encourage more individuals to consider remaining as Instructors instead of joining airlines, I believe that the quality of Instruction would improve dramatically.

I am now going to list five reasons why becoming a long-term career Instructor may be a better choice than being an Airline Pilot

1. It may be more rewarding

I’m not that saying being an Airline Pilot is not rewarding, I am only suggesting that being a Flight Instructor is a very different type of rewarding, as it allows you to help individuals fulfil their dreams of flying. There is something very satisfying about having a student walk in the door with no experience and  eventually sending them off on their first solo flight .

2. Instructing is about motivating and caring

Firstly to be a good flight Instructor you have to be good at developing a positive professional relationship with your student and you have to be very good at motivating them – because let’s be honest, learning to fly can be a challenge at times and it’s easy for any student to lose motivation when things get tough. You really have to care about your student’s dream of learning to fly and care enough to get them through the tough training times (and there will be many ). This motivational and caring aspect of teaching can be both meaningful and very rewarding. If you consider yourself a good motivator and a caring person then instructing may be a perfect fit for you.

3. You are home every night and usually one day on the weekend

For the many Airline Pilots I have known, being home rather than being absent frequently, is desirable. Are you ready to be away from home, family and friends for up to 12 nights per month? For some individuals this works well but for others it may put a huge strain on their family life.

With Instructing you are home every night, and I can assure you, my children and my partner appreciate this as much as I do.

4. The pay is quite good – eventually

One of the main reasons a lot of individuals don’t even think about instructing as a long term career choice is because the pay is lower than being an Airline Pilot. Unless you own a flying school your pay may always be less than an airline pilot particularly when you first start instructing. However, once you have gained considerable instructing experience it is possible to earn anywhere from $60,000 to $85,000 a year as a fulltime professional flight instructor. This is still a good wage for doing something you love doing.  Regional airlines only offer $55,000 to $100,000 per year depending on experience and the larger national airlines only offer $75,000 to $140,000 and you have to be flying for the airline for a long time before you receive the upper pay scale. As you can see, the differences are not that great particularly for regional airlines.

5. The future for flight training is incredibly exciting over the next 15 years

This one is huge. We at the beginning of a huge and innovative shift in flight training. The radical changes will include lower cost high-tech aircraft, advanced low-cost simulation and eventually electric propulsion. This is a very exciting time to be a flight instructor.

If you have always dreamt of becoming an Airline Pilot don’t give up the dream, butif you are curious about alternatives then maybe becoming a career instructor could be an exciting option for you.

I love flying and I love teaching. Helping students achieve their dream of flight is an incredible privilege.

Listen to your own voice

Don’t listen to others if they tell you that you have have to earn lots of money to enjoy life; that simply isn’t true. Working at something which is rewarding and meaningful to you is what is required for you to enjoy YOUR life. If the quiet voice inside your head is slightly excited about the idea of becoming a career flight instructor then listen to that voice; because there is a shortage of instructors and there is a future student somewhere right now who will be grateful that you did!

Damien Wills

CEO, GoFly Group

Click on this link to read further blogs by Damien.

As the Chief Pilot and owner of a busy flying school, one of my main roles is making sure our customer’s expectations are met. This comes down to clear communication on how the student’s flight training course will progress even before they complete their first lesson.

It also means giving honest feedback along the student’s flight training journey.

The good news is that 99% of students get it, and what I mean by that is they clearly understand what the flight school expectations and their own expectations are and what is required for them to pass their flight test to achieve their Pilot Certificates. (I am also not suggesting that all flight schools get it right all of the time – including myself – for instance, some students get along better with certain instructors than others and learn better with a certain personality type. This happens in all service-based businesses.) By all means if you have a legitimate complaint with your service or training then speak up, we want to hear from you. The 1% of students I am referring to are those who make flight training more difficult than it has to be for themselves and for the flight school.

Below I have outlined some of the typical behaviours of the one percent of students who don’t understand how flight training works (even though we have explained it to them numerous times) and who are always the first to complain when things do not go their way.

I just have to show up

That’s right, they think that just showing up and going for their flight lesson will get them across the line. They have forgotten that flight training is a 50/50 partnership with their flight instructors and they still have to put at least 50% of the effort in to get themselves across the line. This includes study and or practicing their flying procedures when they are not flying.

Money will get me across the line

They believe that because they are paying for lessons that they are owed a Pilot Certificate or licence. I explain to every customer when they start, that flying is competency-based. This means that you have to meet certain competent levels to pass certain milestones in your flight training. If you don’t meet these competency requirements we simply cannot send you solo or pass you during a flight test.

I will obtain my Pilot Certificate in the minimum legal time allowed

This one is related to money and many new customers see the minimum legal hours and think that everyone gets their licence within that time. It does not help that a lot of flight schools quote the minimums and do not explain to the customer that only a small percentage of their customers obtain their Pilot Certificate in the minimum time.

I clearly explain to every customer that the minimum is a starting point and that the Pilot Certificate is competency-based. If you are not at the standard required, we will not be handing you a Pilot Certificate after 20 hours.

I don’t take criticism too well

Flight training is two steps forward and one step back. Eventually you will get there but there are days when you will not perform very well. As an instructor, it is our job to identify weaknesses and communicate that to the student so they can improve. Some students do not like to receive any critical feedback and they see it as an attack on their ego.

My friend went solo after ten hours so why haven’t I gone solo yet?

This one is a common one. They compare and compete with a friend or family member who has done some flight training and think if they have not achieved the same result that the school is to blame for their shortcomings or they begin to question their own talent for flying. The truth is that no two students are the same. I have had students go solo in record time and others take twice as long; everyone learns at their own individual pace.

The blame game

Many students cannot own the fact that their performance, or attitude, or nerves are affecting their ability to pass or reach a certain level. These performance issues can be affected by a host of human factors issues such as age, health and stress or just different learning styles.They can also be affected by the varying and complex personality types that humans possess.  Many of these students will blame their instructor or the weather or any other external factor without accepting that the issue is actually themselves. The roadblock is something they need to work on within themselves.

I once failed a young student after he completed his flight test and his Dad was very angry at me for failing his son. He insisted, “But you said he was ready for a flight test”. I calmly explained that yes, he was ready for the flight test but today he was not ready to pass that test. The poor student did his best but did not perform on the day due to nerves. His dad clearly did not get it; his attitude was that you advised that my son was ready and I paid you, so you should pass him.

Flight Training is about self development

Your Flight Instructor is a skilled guide and motivator who creates a safe structure for you in which to learn how to fly and achieve your dream. However it is up to you to humbly take the constructive criticism, incorporate the feedback, do the study, improve and grow.

Your Flight Instructor cannot get YOU across the line, they can show you the way but only YOU can get yourself there.

Fortunately most students get it, they understand that flying is both challenging and rewarding. They understand it is competency-based and not time-based. They understand that money will not buy them a licence.

Your hard-earned money will allow you to hire a plane and an instructor but it’s actually YOU who determines how the flight training will progress and if you will eventually realise your dream of flight.

Damien Wills

CEO, GoFly Group

Click on this link to read further blogs by Damien.

Being a Chief Pilot can be both rewarding and challenging. If we add to that the complexities of operating a small business it can feel like at times you are juggling ten bowling balls while riding a unicycle on a tightrope. Maybe I have exaggerated a tad, but I think you get the picture, it can be very challenging.

Of course I would never give it up because I love what I do. Last June my operations Manager Jeremy suggested we create a reality tv show on what it was like to Learn to fly and operate a flight school. I thought it was a brilliant idea but we were so busy I just could not see how we could have the time to create such a series and make it look professional enough to make it worth our while.(an that others would want to watch)

Maybe it was synchronicity or serendipity, but just one week later I received a call from Stephen Limkin, the owner the production company Light Studios, to see if I was interested in making a reality tv show on flight training. Ten years ago I would have fallen off my chair, but after operating a business for the last seven years these coincidences have been happening on a regular basis.

I said “yes” of course and filming commenced two months later.

Being a Chief Pilot and business owner you have to deal with so many variables, weather, student motivation and maintenance in what is a highly competitive industry. Now the business had to deal with a film crew following them around all the time. Each of our aircraft was transformed into a flying movie studio.

Stephen as creative director is a perfectionist and we had to have four cameras with two microphone recording devices in each aircraft while flying. Did I also mention everything was shot with 4K cameras, that’s about four times better quality than normal high definition?

I thought our customers might be annoyed with camera crews following them around all day but the majority of customers loved it and were excited to be part of something special and unique.

Interestingly, I also got to see how each of the other GoFly Instructors interacted with real students in the air. When I do check flights with my Instructors, it is their CFI flying with them pretending to be a student, so of course they act differently with the CFI and owner.  It was refreshing and exciting to see the unrehearsed instructing for the first time, and fortunately,  I was very happy with what I witnessed.

What I love about the ‘Taking Flight’ series is that it reveals so much about what it is like to learn to fly; to be a flight instructor;and to operate a complex business such as a flying school. It also shows the human element, the fears and hopes and what it is like to stretch yourself mentally and emotionally.

The extra work involved creating this series has been well worth the effort and one of the biggest benefits of saying yes to assisting Light Studios with its creation, is getting to know Stephen the owner, Jared, the director of Photography  – and fostering these new friendships.

The first episode will be released on YouTube on Wednesday 15 March, with each subsequent episode released fortnightly. You can see the trailer here. There is also a website for Taking Flight where you can subscribe in order to be notified of each new episode; and a Facebook page.

My hope is that the Taking Flight series will inspire others to learn to fly;  or to start their own business; or to simply say YES to trying something different and exciting in their own lives.

Damien Wills, CFI