Last fall, I finally decided to make an old dream come true. Becoming a pilot. So, I started from the beginning. I went to Transport Canada’s website and looked at what it took to become a pilot and what type of license I wanted. I eventually opted for a private pilot license (PPL). This is less restrictive than a recreational pilot’s license and allows the addition of interesting annotations such as night flight, “Over the Top” flight (above the clouds), IFR and multi-engines. After discussing with a few flight schools, all agreed that the requirements were similar and that the number of hours required, although less on paper, was similar in practice because knowledge must be acquired the same way.
I found a doctor in my area that allowed me to receive a class 3 medical certificate. In practice, the class 3 certificate is only required for the first solo and you can fly with an instructor without it. However, before I invest this amount of money, I want to be sure that I can achieve my dream to the end, so before committing, I need to have a confirmation that I am fit for a class 3 medical. I did the required exams with the medical examiner on November 4, but I was told that it could take 3 to 6 months to receive a response from Transport Canada.
During the holiday season, I shopped for flight schools in my area. Since I am from Quebec, I had the choice of 3 local schools and one in Beauce.
Schools in alphabetical order:
Quebec Aviation Training Center (Quebec Airport)
Grondair Aviation (St-Frédéric de Beauce)
College iFly (Quebec Airport)
Orizon Aviation (Quebec Airport)
I went to meet the local schools and spoke on the phone with the school in Beauce. There is no better way to get a feel for and know what environment you feel good in. The price difference between my lowest and highest bid was $ 2,375. As amazing as it sounds, it was not the school with the highest submission that impressed me the most. Do not hesitate to ask specific questions about the quotation they provide you. What is included, what is not. The cost of textbooks is quite different from school to school so ask for details. We must also ask ourselves the question: with which aircraft will I fly when the training is over? This will also determine what type of aircraft to use for training. In fact, you also must have the physique for the plane you choose. I do not see two 280-pound fellows in a C-152 when you consider that the total load of such an aircraft is around 566 pounds. This leaves only 6 pounds of gasoline or 1-gallon :). Besides, I cannot imagine the number of nudges …