FAQ

The honest answer to this is that almost anyone can learn to fly. As with passing a driving test, it is simply a case of learning the relevant skills, and most people can manage it. But there is always the occasional person who simply cannot grasp it, just as a very few people cannot learn to drive a car.

Flying is actually no more difficult than driving. But it does take longer to learn, and you do need more theoretical knowledge. This is to a large extent because in the air you are on your own. If something goes wrong when you are driving, you can stop and call a garage or a friend. When flying, you can’t do that. So you have to be able to deal with most difficulties and emergencies by yourself, at least until you can get on to the ground. But don’t worry too much about this; it is something almost all of us manage to do.

In the US, the minimum number of flying hours required for the PPL is 40. This varies slightly in other countries, but most are fairly similar. But you really should note that few people manage to learn everything in the minimum number of hours. It is said that the average number of hours required to gain a PPL is between 60 and 70, with some people taking hours into three figures. This is not necessarily because they are slow learners.