Everyone Can Fly

In Evan Krueger’s blog post this January, he explained his reason for being missing in action the past few months. His reason was good enough because he told his readers that he passed his private pilot checkride. He earned his Private Pilot’s License. Just like any other pilot’s experience, the test was nerve- wracking, but fulfilling, nonetheless. After passing, he shifted his focus on school, and forgot about aviation for a moment.

Evan started rigid practice on August. His test date was scheduled on September 5, which was his 17th birthday, too. Two weeks before the big day, his practice got even tighter and more severe. He mastered almost all of the skills that need to be practiced. He tried his hand at taking off and landing repeatedly, until he was so sure that he perfected it. Even his time for school was cut off because of his training. He stayed up almost all day and all night to be able to pass the crucial examination.

Before Evan’s great finish, he had to go through a harsh training during the month of August. His test was scheduled on September 5, which meant that he only had a month of practice to do. He did a lot of take- offs and landings, just to see how he was doing. He got better and better the more he practiced. His school suffered, too, as he had to cut back some time from it in order to train more and longer. He worked conscientiously almost all day. He even sternly reviewed all bits of information that he had previously studied about. His paperwork was done and over with, too. The night before his examination, he gave every part of the training one last run through.

Evan’s test would start at exactly 9: 00 AM. He arrived two hours earlier prior to that because he had to fill out more papers. This gave him more time to review, too. His examiner, Bob, was there on the dot. They went through the normal procedures, which consisted of an oral and a practical examination. He did well on the oral part, except when he was asked about emergency procedures. Bob used logic on him in order to answer the questions. Evan thought that he failed already, but he didn’t yet.

Then, the second and final part came. The first thing Evan was asked to do was to prove that the plane was “airworthy.” He, then, showed Bob all the paperwork that would answer his question. Things were going well in the light. But, Bob said that the engine failed. Therefore, an emergency landing had to be done. Evan even mistook a cornfield for a land that was planted with soy beans. They did a couple more routines, until Bob asked him to “turn around right away.” Evan thought that it made a bad mark on his performance. However, he was wrong in thinking so because he was told that he passed. 


After that exam, Evan looked back to his logbook and recalled all the digits. Based from the records, he had a total of 167 landings and 43.7 hours of flight time. His total expenses were at $5, 953.20, which included his rental, flight instruction, a test, check ride, and miscellaneous supplies.

It’s time for you to Learn to Fly! Don’t know where to start? I recommend The Private Pilot Blueprint as a great free resource.