Things to Ponder before Spending Your Time & Money

Here are some great articles from well-respected authors and organizations about choosing a flight school and an instructor.

• How to Find a Good Flight Instructor (Rod Machado - Great Questions to Ask your CFI)
• How to Choose a Good CFI (Another good list of questions to ask before hiring a CFI)
• Choosing the Right CFI — Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA)
• Finding the best CFI for you — Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA)
• How We Choose Where We Learn to Fly (AOPA)

Don't neglect the medical requirements before starting this endeavor.

ENSURE a RAPPORT with your CFI

Instructor Expectations and Red Flags: Traits of a Good and Bad Instructor

You will spend a lot of time in a small cockpit with your CFI and pay them a lot. Be a demanding customer.

Food for Thought on Spotting Bad Instructors & Flight Schools:

• Red Flags That You Should FIRE Your Flight Instructor (Captain Jenny Beatty)
• How to Sabotage Your Flight Training (Rod Machado)

If your CFI isn't for you, demand another or go to a different school.

Why 80% of Student Pilots Quit

It's unfortunate. Read these articles; have detours around the pitfalls discuss concerns with your instructor.

• 11 Reasons Why 80% Of Student Pilots Drop Out Of Training (BoldMethod)
• 6 Reasons Why Student Pilots Quit (pilotinstitute.com)
• Don't Quit After Your First Solo (Flying Magazine)
• Why do some students quit? (AOPA's Flight Training Magazine)

Medical Requirements

You've got to pass a full FAA medical at least once before using less-stringent "Basic Med."

Don't underestimate the medical process — a subpar medical exam (or poor admin) can take months to clear up

• Get your medical early
• Plan on flying professionally? Obtain your 1st class medical — avoid discovering unexpected problems later
• Know what to expect: Preparing for a Medical Like a Checkride (Dr. Keith Roxo - Natl Assn of Flight Instructors)
• I really recommend watching the above video presentation if you have any medical history, regular medications,or chronic issues.