When We Last Spoke, We Covered the Theory for the PPL(A). More specifically, the previous chapter ended with sitting the theoretical exam at the Croatian Civil Aviation Agency (HACZ).
To recap: by regulation, you can begin your practical training (flying) as soon as you finish the theoretical part — even before passing the official exams at the Agency. However, before you can take the final practical exam, all theoretical exams must be passed, and you must have the corresponding certificate.
The practical part of the training — the flying — is divided into three phases. After each phase, there is a so-called progress check. The first phase lasts 13 hours, the second 12 hours, and the third 20 hours. The total training time is 45 hours, of which 18 hours and 20 minutes are solo flights. Each phase ends with a certain milestone: after the first progress check (PC1), you complete your first solo flight; after PC2, your first solo in the training area with emergency drills; and after PC3, your first solo cross-country flight.
But let’s go back to the beginning — how do you choose a flight school? Just like with theory, ask for recommendations and opinions. Talk to former students for tips and feedback. From experience, I can tell you: what’s advertised on the web often doesn’t reflect reality. A fancy website means nothing. What really matters is good instructors, well-maintained aircraft, professional conduct, flexible scheduling, and how accessible the school is. So — just ask around.
I chose a school that came highly recommended. On top of that, the aircraft was based nearby, which is crucial for regular flying. If your chosen school is far away, chances are you’ll fly in irregular bursts, and that’s not ideal. This is especially noticeable in your early hours — even a week or two break makes a difference and you’ll feel like you’ve forgotten certain things.
Although the aircraft I fly isn’t fresh off the assembly line, it’s well-maintained and has been modernized several times. I fly a Cessna 172 — a classic training aircraft. If you can find out about the maintenance history of the plane you’ll be flying, do it. There’s a big difference between an aircraft maintained in someone’s garage and one maintained in a certified workshop. Also, decide whether you want to fly an aircraft with a glass cockpit or traditional analog instruments. This might depend on your flying goals. If you’re planning to go straight from PPL to ATPL and commercial flying, a glass cockpit might be the smarter choice.
I’d recommend reviewing some theory before your first flight — just a quick refresher on key data and procedures. You’ll also receive the POH (Pilot Operating Handbook) for the aircraft you’ll be flying and instructions regarding the home airfield. After a brief familiarization with the aircraft and airport, you’ll need to complete a basic knowledge test about both. After that, you’re ready to fly.
The first flight is generally a demonstration. You go for a scenic flight where you might be asked to perform basic tasks — like maintaining altitude and speed in level flight. My first flight was a panorama over Zagreb, and the feeling of finally flying and being on the path to your dreams is absolutely unique. I remember my first flight clearly — I even saved the screenshot from Flightradar24. 🙂
After your first flight, the training begins — both on the ground and in the air. You’ll practice walkarounds, preparing the aircraft for flight, fueling, etc., and then move on to flight maneuvers like turns, simulated engine failures, stalls, and so on. Each flight starts with a briefing, where you go over the day’s objectives and how the exercises will be performed. Then follows the weather briefing, NOTAMs, and aircraft-specific briefings.
Let me drop a bit of wisdom while we’re at it: always have a ready flight bag. In it, you should always carry your training diary (provided by your school), logbook, printed weight and balance sheet for the upcoming flight, NOTAMs, METARs, TAFs, and weather charts (SWL and LL WT). Don’t forget your medical certificate — it’s mandatory to have it with you. And pens. You can never have too many pens in your flight bag. It’s also handy to carry a knee board, navigation tools (like a plotter), maybe a calculator, and a blank notebook for briefing notes. After a few flights, you’ll figure out for yourself what’s useful and what’s just weighing you down.
In the first phase, the focus is mainly on flying in the training area. Each airport has designated airspace zones for training. That’s where most of the maneuvers and exercises take place. After each training area session, you’ll practice approaches and landings. After a few hours, you’ll move on to traffic patterns (circuit flying). After every flight with your instructor, you’ll do a debriefing — a recap of the flight: what you did, what went well, what needs improvement, what’s the next step, and how to correct mistakes.
Flying itself is, at first, physically and mentally exhausting. You’ll probably be tense at the beginning (I certainly was), thinking that if you let go of the controls for even a second, the plane will spiral out of control. But it’s not quite like that 🙂 Over time, you’ll relax, understand how the aircraft behaves, and what you need to do — the physical stress will mostly fade. But the mental fatigue remains — because flying involves many procedures and steps, and every action must be deliberate. My instructor’s words still echo in my head: “Flight school is like driving school ×5” — and he wasn’t wrong.
At first, you won’t spend much time admiring the view because all your concentration will go into managing the aircraft. And that’s perfectly normal. But flying is incredibly rewarding. If you’re used to flying as a passenger in airliners, flying small sport aircraft is a total refresh. And when you’re the one at the controls, the feeling is on a whole different level — almost surreal.
And so, after 12 hours of flying, it was time for my first solo flight. It all happened pretty suddenly. After about 30 minutes of routine flight, my instructor told me to land and taxi to the apron. My first thought was, “Why only half an hour? We usually fly for an hour…” Thoughts were racing until I saw the examiner waiting at the apron. Suddenly, he gets in and says, “You’re flying — time for Progress Check 1.” Okay — a few standard takeoff and landing exercises, two engine failure simulations, standard turns, and a few more maneuvers. Then we landed, and I was given another instruction: “Taxi to the runway threshold — you’re flying two solo circuits.” Wow — okay, this is happening. We reached the threshold, the instructor met me, gave me a quick solo briefing, and simply said: “Announce you’re entering Runway 28L and take off when ready.” Takeoff and the first two turns went perfectly by the book. Only after the second turn, when I was flying parallel to the runway, did it really hit me: I’m alone in the aircraft. I’m actually flying solo. It’s hard to put that feeling into words — I’ve never experienced anything quite like it before. Flying truly brings an amazing sense of freedom, and as I said before — when you’re the one in control, it’s even better.
And just like that, my first solo flight was officially logged. 🙂
This marks only the first quarter of the training, and I’m looking forward to every next flight just as much as the first.
We’ll reconnect in a few months when we’ll cover the rest of the flight training in full.
Fly safe!
