Learning to fly in rural areas

Learning to fly in rural areas is something some pilots have to do to fly. This can be a difficult task for many people such as myself. Flying in rural areas comes with challenges that are not really a problem for people who fly near larger cities or areas. Rural airports are far quieter than city airports since they will have a lot less traffic which is perfect to learn with since you are able to practice without the fear of being in the way all the time. This comes in handing when during circuits and touch and goes. This is also a benefit since there is lots of open airspace to practice basic maneuvers and navigation.

There are still quite a few challenges with flying in rural areas with the main problem being getting to fly weather that be with a single flight instructor or at a flight schools with limited spots. This stops pilots from getting constant flight time and working towards the rating or license they are doing. Another common struggle is the weather. Weather can be unpredictable and reduce flying time based on the experience that the pilot has.

Despite these challenges, there are good ways to succeed when learning to fly in rural areas. Consistently is a big one, being able to fly, practice and get hours in is the hardest but there are ways to get practice in such as using flight simulators weather that be a full simulator or a small at home one with just a yoke. Using an online ground school is another great option to still continue with work while not being able to fly as well as chair flying to get basic skills drilled in.

Small interview with a student pilot

I am lucky enough to have a friend who is also working towards getting their private pilots license so I thought it would be good to ask him about his experience so far with flying in a rural area. He has had some struggles with getting to where he flys since he has to go through a pass to get to it which has unreliable conditions as well as the drive to get to the airport being an hour long. He however has had a lot of benefits with flying in a rural area with a big one for him being that there is not a lot of students flying at the same time as him so he is able to fly a lot when he gets the time to go out to the airport. Another one is since the airport is small there is not a lot of traffic that goes through the airport when he is there flying which means that he is able to get a lot of practice in wether that be doing touch and gos to practice his landings or just going into the practice area. The flight school that he is flying at is quite small so the flight instructor that he flys with is able to schedule easily and make sure he has time for his main students. Another great benefit that he has had is that the rates for flying. For one hour of solo flight is $195 and $235 for flying with instructor which is a lot lower then other places.

In summary flying in rural area can be a struggle but there is a lot of benefits that come with with it, There are some exemptions that you have to make and put up with but in the end its worth it.