The Beginning of pilot training in South Africa 

                 I was four years old when I first said it out loud. “I want to be a pilot”. I come from a middle class family from India with zero connections or know how in the aviation industry. As I reached the 12th grade, the desire to be a pilot persisted, but my family and I lacked the knowledge on how to peruse this goal. Like many, we eventually sought the help of a pilot training agency to guide us through the process.

                  Just like most we had the U.S on our minds for a flight training but we had absolutely no idea about how to get there. The agency we found, only spoke about pilot training in South Africa. They showed us cost comparisons of flight training, cost of living expenses, pictures of accommodations, ratios of student to aircraft and flight instructors, etc. They were very good at their jobs and we were sold with the idea of pilot training in South Africa. I do not regret going there even once but, we’ll talk about the pain points another time.

                    Day one of reaching the flight school, I was greeted by some very friendly folks from the management and was taken on a tour of their campus and the airport. I was shown where the dispatch office, the briefing rooms, etc were and most excitingly the aircrafts that I would be flying. The rest of the dayI day was left to get accustomed to the local climate and recover from the long journey of getting there. 

                    Day two I was taken to do a class 1 medical. This took about 2 hours along with half an hour of wait time. At the end of this I was given 2 slips. One was my proof of valid medical and the other was to be submitted to the South African Civil Aviation Authority. Later I was taken for measurements and I got my Pilot’s uniform. This was an emotional and sentimental moment as a lifelong dream was coming true. 

                    Day three was a bunch of paperwork. Filling all sorts of forms for various purposes along with signing consent and insurance forms. Amongst this was filing for a Student Pilot’s Licence. This was extremely exciting at the time as it gave me the permission to undertake flying lessons. Later I met my flight instructor for the first time. After we exchanged pleasantries, he asked if I was hungry and took me out for lunch. 

                 Along the way he stopped and bought a note pad and some stationery. During lunch is when I had my first ground school lesson. He explained to me the basic 4 forces that act on an aircraft and spoke to me about the effects of a rudder, an aileron and elevator. After lunch he took me back to the flight school where I received a PPL kit. This included all the books required for a Private Pilot’s Licence. A VFR chart of the area. A ruler for distance conversation. And a few more things. My instructor opened one of the books, showed me a chapter on flight controls and said study this and be ready for my first flight lesson the next day.

                Day four I put on my uniform for the first ever time and swallowed back the excitement and fear for what was to unfold. Met my instructor at the briefing room where he discussed what I had studied and talked with me the practical aspects of what I was to expect during the flight. Since it was a familiarization flight not much was expected of me but I had to be aware of what was going on. An hour later we were off for my first ever flight lesson. In just four days I got on to my first flight and the rest of my life had started.

_{These are of course just my opinions based on my experiences and gained knowledge. Differences in opinions are welcome.}

_{Leave a comment below if I have missed out on something you want to discuss.}