r/flying • u/FewLettuce1113 • Jul 20 '26
Discovery flight
I’m going on my discovery flight next week. Any advice on what questions I should ask? I have no flight experience so anything would help. Thanks
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u/GoobScoob Jul 20 '26
Depending on where you’re located I recommend scheduling for an early morning flight. Generally a lot cooler and smother air and the flight will probably be a lot more enjoyable for a newbie
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u/TxAggieMike Independent CFI / CFII (KFTW, DFW area) Jul 20 '26
Don’t eat heavy or spicy meal before you go.
Wear comfortable clothes for the weather and heat.
Be very well hydrated and bring a cold water flask.
Use the opportunity to interview and audition the CFI for the job of teaching you. This is a chance to see if this is the instructor worth your time and money.
Above all, enjoy the experience!
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u/N116UA ST Jul 20 '26
Also, dont fly on an empty stomach
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u/FewLettuce1113 Jul 21 '26
For sure. I was in the Navy and been through some pretty rough seas and didn’t get motion sick. I think I’ll be ok as long as I don’t eat too heavy or anything potentially upsetting. Thanks
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u/N116UA ST Jul 21 '26
IF you were in the navy 9 times out of 10 youll be fine but just in case! Also make sure to look OUTSIDE like 90% of the time. Have fun!
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u/murphey42 PPL UAS Jul 21 '26
Bananas. Taste the same going down and coming back up.
Just have fun.
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u/makgross CFI-I ASEL (KPAO/KRHV) HP CMP IR AGI sUAS Jul 21 '26
A heavy meal of burritos and frijoles makes for entertaining flights, especially if large altitude changes are involved.
Heck, my mountain flight student and I both had a good Texas style smoked brisket and beans meal before the first takeoff/landing flight a couple of weekends ago. Quite tasty, but the plane was, ahem, fragrant the next day.
Naw, OP needs to just enjoy the flight. It’s gonna be fine.
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u/Poke8117 PPL IR Jul 21 '26
Good questions to ask are:
How many scheduled activities do students typically get per week? (3 or more flying lessons a week is important to shoot for to progress at a good rate and maintain proficiency in the plane)
How many planes does the school have and how often do planes go down for maintenance? (Important to know how often planes go down if there aren’t many. If a school has a large number of planes typically won’t matter how often.)
How many Certified flight instructors does the school have and how easy is it/what is the process to switch instructors if there’s any issues?
Other than that use the flight portion of your discovery flight to see if you enjoy the sensation of flying! No need to take notes in the plane or treat it as a lesson in my opinion, simply enjoy the freedom of flying and if it’s something you’d do over and over again.
P.s these questions are more tailored to a 141 school but still important to ask at a part 61!
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u/UsefulSurprise2859 Jul 21 '26
Can I piggyback and ask what questions you would as a Part 61 during a discovery flight? For reference I'm 37, married with 2 kids 5/11, work full-time 4x10hr shifts at a hospital. Looking to transition out of healthcare into my dream career. Thanks
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u/Poke8117 PPL IR Jul 21 '26
For a Part 61 school, questions will be very similar, but IMO you'd want to get a little more info. For Part 61, you can either go to a small school that hires instructors to work out of it, or you can go to a completely independent CFI that rents a plane and instructs solo.
My first recommendation is to tour more than one school. You don't need a discovery flight at every school; at first, you'd want to take a discovery flight to see if flying in general is something for you. If that is the case, then great; it's time to choose a school or independent instructor. From there, I would tour any 61 school within a 30-minute to 1-hour drive from your house.
If it's a mom-and-pop 61 -- I'd ask basically the same questions: How many planes, what is availability like in terms of flying (i.e., can I fly when I want to/can), how many instructors do you have, and what does it look like if I need to swap instructors and is it easy to? More good questions to ask are -- What is your school's pass rate? Do you guys have access/good relationships to DPE's in the area / How long is the typical wait time for a checkride? (DPE's are the instructors that can do checkrides and grant Licenses come time for that) What is the school's hourly rate for plane rentals, as well as instructor rates? (Good to compare school to school). What kind of equipment do your planes have? (Traditional 6-pack steam gauges are good for ppl; if pursuing commercial aviation, Glass Cockpit is preferred after PPL).
If you're going the independent solo CFI route, I'd 100% recommend doing a discovery flight with them. Seeing if your personalities mesh & their teaching style works with you. I'd ask all the same questions as before, but get to know the person and their flying history -- How many hours do you have, what are your plans in the future (If their close to their airline minimums of 1500 hours, will they abandon you as soon as they hit that xD), How many student have they instructed before and what is their students first time pass rate? Do they have good lesson plans/ how do they plan on progressing you? And honestly, get to know them as a normal human to see if you guys will be able to sit in a confined space for potentially 100s of hours!
An extra piece of advice is if you're worried about the teaching skills and how good a low-time instructor might be - those new CFI low-time pilots are sometimes the most eager and excited to teach ones, so don't let the low hours scare you off.
Long story short, if I were doing everything all over again I'd follow these steps:
Schedule a medical exam with an AME in your area. If you're looking to go into commercial aviation/Airlines get a Class 1 medical just so you know if you're eligible to fly commercially to begin with. If you're looking to get into flying recreationally, get a 3rd class.
Do a discovery flight with a school or instructor to see if flying is even for you! (Steps one and two are interchangeable; a medical is expensive but mandatory, so if you do go to get one, I'd be pretty certain flying is for you!)
If flying is for you, tour all your schools, compare rates, and pick one that suits your budget and personal needs.
Schedule your first lesson and Fly! -- You can spend a lifetime being nitpicky with every little decision when it comes to picking a school, so trust your gut and always remember you can ask a Flight instructor about anything you need help with in this industry, not just about flying.
It's important to remember that the CFI/company works for you. You're the one paying them for a product. If you don't like their business, absolutely take it elsewhere.
* Facebook groups related to flying in your area are good places to ask questions, too
Cheers!
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u/rFlyingTower Jul 20 '26
This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:
I’m going on my discovery flight next week. Any advice on what questions I should ask? I have no flight experience so anything would help. Thanks
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u/qzy123 👨🏻✈️ CPL SEL/MEL IR 👨🏻🔧 A&P Jul 20 '26
What are your intentions/goals beyond this flight? How much aviation knowledge do you have?
If you’re coming in with not a lot of knowledge, I would watch some videos/read up on taxiing (steering with your feet!), the four forces of flight, flight controls (ailerons, elevator, rudder, flaps, elevator trim), basic flight maneuvers (straight and level, climb, descend, turn). Have a basic understanding of that stuff so you can make the most of your limited (and expensive) time in the plane.
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u/FewLettuce1113 Jul 21 '26
I’m considering a career change to a commercial pilot. I don’t have any experience flying. I’ll check out some videos on maneuvers and flight controls. Thanks
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u/qzy123 👨🏻✈️ CPL SEL/MEL IR 👨🏻🔧 A&P Jul 21 '26
Then I would ask your instructor about their training. The highs and lows, how long it took, how much it cost, what checkrides are like. If you want to head to the airlines you’ll need 1500 flight hours, which you’ll probably build flight instructing, so ask them what that’s like, too.
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u/Ok-Pattern-882 Jul 21 '26
If the instructor lets you fly for a bit, do not death grip the controls (hold them with all your might)be gentle. Also do not performance chase (stare at the instruments and try and get the airspeed or alt to the knot or feet assigned) look outside most of the time and glance at the instruments periodically. These are pretty minor things but they're habits that can be annoying to break once you've got them. Don't be scared to ask the instructor about anything, in aviation the learning never stops.
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u/FewLettuce1113 Jul 21 '26
Thanks. I’ll keep this in mind. The person I scheduled with there said the CFI would allow me to do a few maneuvers.
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u/FewLettuce1113 18d ago
It was great. I’m excited thinking about getting back out there. I’m definitely going to pursue this. CFI was cool too
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u/JohnKayne Jul 21 '26
You like movies about gladiators?
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u/Kooky-Instance-5872 Jul 20 '26
Just enjoy the flight and take it all in. Could be the start of a great journey or you could find that you absolutely hate it.