Starting Flight Training In Winter?

pilotboy88 · Post by **pilotboy88** » Thu Dec 06, 2007 12:35 pm

Hello,

I was just wondering if it is a good idea to start flight training in the winter or will there be many cancellations and such. Should I wait till Spring to start?

Pilotboy88

clubzed · Post by **clubzed** » Thu Dec 06, 2007 1:18 pm

Hi Pilotboy88,

I started my own PPL/CPL training a few years ago in October in southern Ontario and it was the best flying I ever had. Sure, some bad weather days (just like summer thunderstorms, fog in Spring etc) but it was great to get some winter flying experience under the guidance of a great instructor. Some excercises may be modified slightly on account of good engine management and safety (spins, forced approach spring to mind) but there is nothing like a clear, crisp winter day to go flying. Just dress warm, WEAR BOOTS in case of a real forced approach and have aTimmies when you get down!

Depending on where you are, circumstances may be different but it worked for me.

Best of luck,

Clubber

SkyWolfe · Post by **SkyWolfe** » Thu Dec 06, 2007 1:18 pm

I guess that would somewhat depend where you are.

My personal experiance... Not so good! I was out at czbb, think I ended up flying about 1-2 times a month until march :/ Tons of fog in the morning, got dark around 4pm, sometimes the fog never left, the rest of the time it was low cloud/rain... this year seems to be slightly different. Weve had a ton more sun...

Like I said, im thinking it depends where in the country you are, where your airport is, and how much time you have to devote to flying... thats been my personal experiance anyway.

Tango01 · Post by **Tango01** » Thu Dec 06, 2007 1:34 pm

Southern Ontario sucks. I cancel about 40-50% of my bookings due to weather. I suggest starting flying in the fall.

T01

tool84 · Post by **tool84** » Thu Dec 06, 2007 1:55 pm

Around the Montreal region weather is terrible this year, I've been cancelled so many times in november and its getting hard to finish my multi rating. I'm seriously considering going to the prairies for 1 month or so and finish everything thats left. The weather seems much better over there, very cold though.

Apache64_ · Post by **Apache64_** » Thu Dec 06, 2007 3:40 pm

Really depends on where u are. In mb once the cold hits its all clear and good to go. When Instructed there were only a few days a week I would cancel due to weather. Plus winter flying techniques will teach you good habits with aircraft management.

Cheers

Apache

niwre · Post by **niwre** » Thu Dec 06, 2007 3:50 pm

Started Jan '02, just dress for the weather. But it all depends on where you live that given year.

costermonger · Post by **costermonger** » Thu Dec 06, 2007 5:18 pm

Depends on how agressively you plan on pursuing your training. If you plan on flying a lot, go for it. You're going to lose a lot of bookings to weather, but if you're making enough attempts, you're bound to get nice days too. If you're going to train with a more casual pace (let's say once a week), a bit of bad luck might mean a month or more without flying. If that's the situation you'd be in, I'd wait until the weather's a bit better.

fly-drink-chicks-music · Thu Dec 06, 2007 5:44 pm

at cyoo they just got the -20 or lower u cant go, other then that winter flying is beautiful

pilotboy88 · Post by **pilotboy88** » Thu Dec 06, 2007 5:47 pm

Hey thanks for the replies!!! Im located in Calgary and am looking into starting training at Morgan Air.

Pilotboy88

Thr-Bird · Post by **Thr-Bird** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 9:12 am

I'm in the same boat.
I want to start in January, I'm in Montreal. I think I'll give it a shot, I'm planning to fly a lot.. 4/6 times a week, which is probably not gonna happen until the winter is over but I hope/guess i'll still be able to fly at least once or twice a week if the weather is really bad.

MichaelP · Post by **MichaelP** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 8:27 pm

I began my flight training at Exeter in the wet damp miserable month of November and completed my PPL training the following June. My licence was issued 9th July 1974.
The southwest of England has much worse weather for flying than Calgary... It's just very very cold in Calgary.

The most important point to remember is that we learn to fly on the ground and we experience it in the air.
There is a lot to learn, and so starting in the winter is not a problem as the bad weather gives you more time to do your ground study and prepare for the exercises you will experience in the air later.

Too many people fail to realise that flying the aeroplane is perhaps 25% of the total learning required to complete a pilot's licence.

Take the forced landing exercise... You'll spend time reading about it say an hour or two... Your instructor will demonstrate one, 6 minutes! You might spend a total of 60 minutes in the air on this exercise... That's ten of them.
If you are smart you go home, you put a little model aeroplane in your hand and you will spend an hour or two practicing forced landings onto a specified place on the carpet...
Once the procedure has been practiced in this way you will save yourself a large amount of money spent in the aeroplane trying to do something you should have learned on the ground first!

Ground training is a rehearsal for the flying that follows, get it right on the ground and the flight will go well.

herethere22 · Post by **herethere22** » Sat Dec 08, 2007 7:01 am

the sooner you start the sooner you finish - regardless of the # of cancellations you would get it done sooner