Learning To Fly an Airplane: Beginner

The most basic part of flying: Straight and Level Flight. You will takeoff from Toronto Island airport and navigate to the practice area to the east where you will practice flying in a specific direction and at level flight. 

Discover Instant Replay, recording video from your flying screens and using Flight Recorder to send the instructor your flying files. 

As with real pilot training, you need to keep your checklists nearby. Here, we learn when and how to use them.

Using your provided checklist card, you will run through all the checklists that a pilot would do when first arriving at your airplane.

Using the appropriate area of your checklist, you will move the aircraft around the airport on its wheels. Eventually getting us to the active runway, ready for takeoff.

Here is a demonstration of the skills you need to practice in this section.

Before we can give it full power and takeoff, we need to know rotate speed, takeoff speed and cruise speeds. 

You will learn the HASEL check and learn to climb properly. At the same time, a bit of navigation to get to the practice area in Claremont, north of Lake Ontario.

Here you learn the theory of flight, then proceed to learn how to slow down and speed up while maintaining altitude. You are also introduced to Slow Flight, a necessary skill.

You will practice your HASEL check and then proceed to descend properly to an assigned altitude. You will also be introduced to descending turns.

Although you have been introduced to gentle turns, now you learn the 3 main types of turns and conduct them precisely. All the while maintaining altitude. You will also be introduced to climbing turns.  

With your downloaded Phonetic Alphabet card, you will practice using the phonetic alphabet until it becomes second nature. This is crucial in radio communications as a pilot. 

Learn the detailed procedure to obtain airport information by radio before takeoff and during return to airport. 

You will learn the proper procedure for speaking with Ground controllers. You will obtain taxi clearance both from and to the active runway. 

You will learn the proper procedure for speaking to the airport tower to request takeoff and request landing.

You will learn what altitudes and what directions to take to get to the airport. You will practice your newfound skills in radio work to obtain airport information before calling the tower at 10 miles out, with your intentions for "inbound for landing".

You will obtain clearance to land once inside the airport airspace and you will conduct a proper landing. 

You will learn what to do after successfully landing, including checklists, calling ground controllers and taxiing to the apron (parking space). You will also practice shutdown procedures.

You will learn the theory of the circuit; the rectangular flight path you will practice in anticipation of arrival at other airports. 

You will learn proper procedures in the circuit for takeoffs and landings in preparation for your solo flight. 

The sole purpose of this module is to get you proficently conducting touch and go circuits so that your instructor can sign you off for solo flight. You will submit an FS Recorder file of your solo for endorsement. You will receive your solo certificate for Simulator flight from your instructor. 

You will get an insight of what is necessary in the intermediate course. You will learn how to plan the fly and then fly the plan. 

A casual look and my first flight at Toronto Island Airport, home to our Beginner Learn To Fly course. We only do one circuit, but we also use the outside "drone" camera to walk around and watch airport traffic. Skip to the parts that interest you. There will be more content to come and more structured video presentations. This was just discovery and fun! I have a lot of work ahead of me refreshing my courses with new content. Suggestions and comments are welcomed.