In 30 Minutes You'll Cover
- The four forces, and how a wing makes lift
- The controls, and what each one does to the airplane
- The six instruments in front of you
- Today's maneuvers, step by step
- The radio calls you'll hear on the way out of Van Nuys
The Four Forces
Every airplane in flight is a balance of four forces:
- Lift holds the airplane up. The wings make it.
- Weight pulls it down: the airplane, the fuel and everyone aboard.
- Thrust pulls it forward. In our airplanes, that's the propeller.
- Drag holds it back: the resistance of the air.
When lift equals weight and thrust equals drag, the airplane flies straight and level at a steady speed. Every maneuver you fly on lesson one is a matter of changing that balance on purpose.
How A Wing Makes Lift
A wing is shaped and angled so that, as it moves through the air, it pushes air downward and leaves lower pressure above it. The result is a force upward. More speed, or a little more angle, gives more lift. Past a certain angle the air can't follow the wing any more and it stops lifting; that's a stall, and you'll learn to recognize and recover from it in later lessons.
The Primary Flight Controls, And What They Do
| You move | It moves | The airplane |
|---|---|---|
| Yoke or stick, forward and back | The elevator, on the tail | Pitches the nose down or up |
| Yoke or stick, left and right | The ailerons, on the wings | Rolls into a bank, which is how it turns |
| Rudder pedals | The rudder, on the tail | Yaws the nose left or right and keeps turns coordinated; on the ground, the pedals help you steer |
| Throttle | Engine power | More power to climb or speed up, less to descend |
| Trim | A small adjustment on the elevator | Holds the nose where you've set it, so you're not pushing or pulling |
The Piper has a yoke, the Diamond has a control stick, the Cirrus has a side yoke, and the Cessna 162's control sits somewhere between a stick and a yoke. They all do the same jobs. Your instructor has a full set of controls on their side too, and can take over at any moment.
The Six Instruments (The Six Pack)
A traditional panel has six main flight instruments, arranged in two rows. Pilots call it the six pack.
| Instrument | Tells you |
|---|---|
| Airspeed indicator | How fast you're moving through the air |
| Attitude indicator | Where the nose and wings are compared with the horizon |
| Altimeter | Your altitude |
| Turn coordinator | Your rate of turn, and whether the turn is coordinated |
| Heading indicator | Which way you're pointed |
| Vertical speed indicator | How fast you're climbing or descending |
In a glass cockpit, like the Cirrus and the Garmin G300 in our Cessna 162, the same information is shown on a screen. On your first lesson, though, your eyes belong mostly outside, on the horizon.
Today's Maneuvers
Lesson one covers the four fundamentals. Everything else in flying is built from them.
- Straight And LevelHold the nose on the horizon and the wings level, set the power, then trim so the airplane holds it for you.
- ClimbsAdd power, raise the nose to the climb attitude, then trim.
- DescentsReduce power, let the nose settle to the descent attitude, then trim.
- TurnsRoll into a bank with the yoke or stick, add a touch of rudder, and a little back pressure to hold your altitude. Then roll back out.
You'll fly each of these over the Malibu practice area after your instructor has demonstrated it.
The Radio At Van Nuys
Van Nuys is a towered airport with two parallel runways, so every movement is coordinated by radio. Before taxiing, your instructor listens to the ATIS, a recorded broadcast of the weather and the runway in use. Then they call Van Nuys Ground for taxi and the tower for takeoff. On your first lesson you listen; your instructor talks. It's fine if you understand very little of it at first.
How Ground School Continues
In a private pilot program, every lesson starts with a briefing, and ground school builds toward the FAA knowledge test. Our Private Pilot programs include 3, 10 or 20 hours of ground school and briefings, depending on the program, and books and training materials are included.
Questions
Do I need to study before my first lesson?
No. Ground school is part of the lesson. If you want a head start, read this page once.
Is there a test?
Not on lesson one. If you go on to a private pilot program, there's an FAA knowledge test later in your training.
Can I ask questions?
Please do. That's what the 30 minutes are for, and your instructor has heard them all.