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The exhilaration of a first training flight is unparalleled.

Your instructor will take you into a briefing room to talk to you about the the lesson and will answer any questions you may have.  The briefing will involve some teaching which will often be presented on a white board and various models will be used to show you what will be happening in the air.  After you have an understanding about what the lesson hopes to achieve, you and your instructor will complete some simple paperwork called 'booking out' and you will head towards the aircraft.  Before getting in, your instructor will walk you around the aircraft pointing out various things to check and look out for before helping you to get comfortable in the cockpit.  As your training develops, you will complete the booking out procedures and the external aircraft checks yourself so take a keen interest in everything that is being explained to you.  A checklist will be used for both the external and internal checks and actions and must be followed.

Once inside the cockpit, you will again refer to the checklist to ensure that nothing gets overlooked.  The checklist will be used to start the engine and to test some of the aircraft systems and controls.  Failure to follow the checklist may result in important items being overlooked so take your time and ask your instructor about anything you are not 100% clear about.  Once the internal checks are complete and the engine has been started you will taxi towards the runway.  The radio calls being made by your instructor will not make much sense to you but it does not take long for a pattern to emerge and with it a better awareness of what is going on.

During the lesson, you will practice what you have been taught in the classroom.  During the early lessons you will learn about the flight controls and what affect they have on the aircraft.  So, for example, in an airplane, you will learn that pulling the control stick or yoke back will raise the nose which will make the aircraft climb but also lose some airspeed.  You will practice many of the exercises time and time again until you are comfortable that you have understood what is being taught to you.  Learning to fly is very tiring so do not be surprised if you find yourself unable to concentrate towards the end of the lesson.  Your instructor should notice this and either give you a break by teaching you something different or returning to the airfield.  There is no point in wasting your time in the sky building up hours if you are not learning anything, you will only have to come back and do it again next time.  And if at any point you are uncomfortable or feel unwell tell your instructor, they may already be aware of it as students tend to go a little quiet and pale when all is not well. 

Once back on the ground, you will return to the briefing room to review what your learned during the flight, to complete your pilots log book, write up the student training record and to talk about the next lesson.  You will often be given some homework to do such as learning about the next flight exercise or a small section of one of the ground school topics so it is important that you make a note about what is required.  It is your responsibility to make sure that you complete the work set, if you forget to do it or don't find the time you will not be giving yourself the best opportunity to make the most of every lesson.  Before you leave the school, you should arrange your next lesson or next few lessons so that you can plan a training programme that works for you.  If you leave booking lessons for the night before you may find that you are with a different instructor or that you cannot fly for several weeks because of a diary full of other students lessons.

As your training progresses, you will find that you are doing more and more before each flight such as checking the weather, aviation documents and flight planning so you may need to arrive at least an hour before your lesson to give yourself sufficient time.  The amount of time you spend in the briefing room will also vary depending on what needs to be learned.  Sometimes, poor weather will force your lesson to be cancelled and you will find yourself in the briefing room for several hours learning about a new topic or outside learning what a thorough external check of the aircraft really involves.  If you are unsure whether your lesson will go ahead a quick call to the school will help you to assess whether a wasted journey is likely and if you need to cancel your slot for any reason, you should call your school as soon as possible to enable them to allocate the space to another student.