Brief background about myself. I am currently a fu...

Brief background about myself. I am currently a full time pharmacy school student at USC and I have a part time job. I recently turned 25 and I have two years left in my pharmD program. I decided that I wanted to get a private pilot license as a hobby. The idea of flying is just so cool and it is a very unique skill to have. For anyone out there who is interested in getting their private pilot license hopefully you will find this review to be helpful for you. I will provide an overview of my experience in getting my private pilot license at Encore and what I liked and what I would have done differently if I had to get my license all over again.

First and foremost, Encore is a legit flying school. From what I can tell, the majority of Encore's instructors are nice people and have very useful information when it comes to instructing students and helping students become competent and comfortable to fly. They have plenty of planes to fly with and there was never really an issue when scheduling planes for my flying lesson. If one plane was under scheduled maintenance there was always another plane that my instructor and I could take up instead. Encore always has certified airplane mechanics on staff to make sure the planes are safe and compliant under regulation. Shirley, who works at the front and handles literally everything is beyond competent. Alex is the owner of Encore and he is a nice guy. If I had to get my license again I would still go with encore, but here are some things I noticed and here is what I would have done differently.

I personally underestimated this process. I thought that because I am an athletic guy and I got into a doctorate program so I should be able to get good at flying really quick. That wasn't quite the case. I passed my private pilot checkride (test) around the 70 hour mark. I passed first try but it definitely took longer than I had intended. There are definitely people that can finish sooner than 70 hours but just keep in mind that you may have to spend over 40 hours (the minimum legal amount) to become competent at flying the plane safely.

This brings me to my next point, if you are about to start flying, I would recommend finishing the whole process in one sitting. Be able to dedicate a few months to studying and flying and try not to take an extended hiatus. I had to take about 6 months off of flying due to school and as a result I had to relearn some things to become proficient for the checkride again so I ended up having to take more lessons and essentially pay more money. FINISH IN ONE SITTING. Don't fly for one month and take another month off and then come back to flying. It will save you a lot of money in the long run to have consistency in your training. Be super proactive about your training. You have to want it for yourself.

Finally, you may end up spending more money than you initially intended to. You may need over 40 hours to become comfortable enough with flying a plane. Buying extra study materials cost money. Decent flying headsets can cost 300 and up. The final checkride costs about $800. Insurance will cost a couple hundred dollars. Essentially, whatever you think flying is going to cost, add a couple thousand or more to that amount. Flying is an expensive hobby, there's no doubt about that. But it can also be a lucrative career if you are trying to fly for a commercial company.

I am beyond glad I got my private pilot license. I am not exaggerating when I say that it has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Since I got my license, I have flown my girlfriend over Malibu. It was just such a sick experience to be able to fly passengers myself. I would encourage everyone to fly. If you want to become a pilot, Encore will take you to where you need to be.