How to Obtain Your Solo Pilot’s License

FRENCHVILLE, Maine (WAGM) -

Many dream of being a pilot..... the freedom to fly anywhere you wish. Outside of commercial flying, people can get a solo pilots license. How do you go about getting that license? Newssource 8′s Vanessa Symonick explains.

Andy Hartt: “I wanted to become a flight instructor to give those that wanted the opportunity in northern Maine to be able to do it and so that’s what’s really driving me to do it and seeing others succeed and getting their pilot’s license and enjoying aviation.”

Andy Hartt is the owner and operator of Aroostook Aviation the only flight school in the county. He has been a flight instructor for just over two years now and in those two years, he has put six students through the process of obtaining their pilots license. Hartt says you don’t have to start flying at a young age to obtain your pilot’s license.

Hartt: “Really aviation brings out a number of different people at different points in their life”.

Through the course, students watch a series of videos and spend a total of forty hours minimum of flight time. He says the course is self-paced.

Hartt:”Everybody’s a little different. Sometimes I’ve got some students that are really close to that forty hours and others that take longer.”

So, what does it feel like to fly in a small plane and learn how to fly it? To get the full experience, I took a ride in the plane myself to check it out and even got to learn how to use some of the controls. But first, a safety check. Pilots go through a basic checklist prior to take off to check for things such as fuel levels, electric levels, and of course the cabin pressure. Pilots also listen in to the current weather observations to know what they are going to be encountering. Then it was time for takeoff. And once we landed, Hartt gave this piece of advice for anyone looking to obtain their pilots license or pursuing a career in aviation.

Hartt: “The advice I would give you is you gotta take that first step. Just don’t sit back and watch the videos. Get out and do it and go talk to somebody, me, or any other flight instructor. "

Hartt says that the cost for obtaining your license can vary depending on where you are geographically, but typically the average cost for flight school starts at around six thousand dollars. Vanessa Symonick Newssource 8.

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