Flight Training

Unlike a lot of builders, I was not a previous private pilot.  I had around 10 years of hang gliding experience by the time I started, so I wasn't a stranger to flying.  However, powered aviation was obviously very different.  It occurred to me that it could be interesting for others in a similar position to hear about my experience, so I decided to write up about it here.  Hopefully it will give you an idea of what to expect.  
Before getting into my time during training, there's the decision of when to start.  My original plan was to start training when I was closer to being finished.  The reasoning was that I wouldn't have a plane until then so if I got my license early I would have to figure out how to stay current.  However, I was presented with the means to get my license ahead of time and it was hard to pass up.  This did leave me in a position of having my license but no plane to fly.  I contemplated buying a used plane of some sort (not a Cozy or Velocity or I would have little reason to finish the project).  In the end, I decided to just rent occasionally to stay current and just focus on getting my plane flying.  Something to consider.  
Training starts with finding the right school.  I called several of the locations around me.  A few were just too far away to be feasibly with getting to considering I was working full time.  Ultimately I landed on two choices: Leading Edge Aviation (LEA) at U42 and Cornerstone Aviation at KSLC.  LEA was closer to my work, but Cornerstone had Diamond aircraft, which was recommended to train in due to being closer to what it would be like to fly in a Cozy.  So I wanted to train at Cornerstone because of the Diamond aircraft even though they were farther away and operate out of a class B airspace.  However, on two separate occasions I tried to meet with someone to go over their program and both times they were not available.  The school may be a great school, but if I can't talk to someone it doesn't leave me with a great feeling.  Contrast that with LEA.  Every time I have contacted them to talk about their program, someone was there to meet with me, give me a tour of the facilities and the planes, go over cost information, and answer questions I have.  LEA is a Cessna center, so you're flying in 172 aircraft primarily.  Though it wasn't the aircraft I wanted to fly, the airport was close to work, they were well organized and always there to answer my questions, so I decided to train there.  LEA uses the Jeppensen training methods for conducting lessons.  
My trainer, Jeff, got me set up with the books and materials.  After discussing options, we decided on two things:  I would self-learn the ground portion (Part 61 training), and I would fly in the G-1000 equipped airplanes since I was planning to have glass panels in the Cozy.  I'm glad I went this route.  I'm self disciplined enough to self teach and it saved me money.  Flying in the glass panels will make me more accustomed to the panels that will be in the Cozy even though they will be slightly different.  I wasn't sure what to expect for the first lesson, but we went straight out into the airplane and I learned basic maneuvering.  We flew mostly at night since I had to work during the day.  As such I had most of my night hours early on.  Each lesson has a checklist that each item must be satisfactorily met before you move on to the next lesson.  Every maneuver has an allowable range of deviation depending on the type of maneuver it is (some are airspeed, some are heading, some are altitude).  I didn't have to repeat a lesson till several into it due to my experience as a hang glider pilot, and that lesson was only repeated due to a lack of time to fit everything in.  As each lesson is done, you take on a bit more of the active duties in the plane till eventually you're in control the entire time.  The Jeppensen method has you go through Dual instruction, then a stage check, then some solo flight, then back to dual, then another stage check, then more solo.  This probably helps avoid throwing too much at the student at one time rather than doing all your solo at the end.  However, due to some constraints, I had to do most of my dual before I soloed.  It did help to solidify things more for me though this way.  
Most of the flight controls were not an issue for me, but the one thing I definitely struggled with was landing.  Landing is basically slow flight but near the ground, so there's less control on the plane at this point.  Despite Cessna's having the label "land-o-matic," it took some time for this one to sink in with me.  One thing that actually helped was using X-Plane and setting up a saved situation that put me at the numbers at pattern altitude.  That allowed me to reset after landing and repeat the practice.  I could change the wind direction and speed as needed as well.  This really helped dial in the sight picture.  Then one day, I start landing like a pro.  I have no idea what I changed.  I was still doing all the same things as before, but for some reason it worked this time.  I don't get it, but there it is.  
After 38 hours of dual instruction, I was finally cleared for the first solo.  This is the big moment every student waits for.  It's also known as the most frightening trip around the block that you will ever do.  I knew that I wanted to capture this moment, so I brought along the GoPro and my audio recorder so that I could make a video with narration for others to see.  My instructor first went out with me to make sure conditions were good and that I was still on top of things.  He then got out at the ramp and sent me on my way.  I don't remember being that nervous, but I think it had more to do with being so focused on the task at hand.  The solo flight consists of three full stop landings.  Runway 34 was in use at the time.  I'll let the video tell the rest. 
After the first solo, you generally do another solo out to your practice area to do maneuvers on your own.  Then comes the cross country flying.  After doing both a day and a night cross country with the instructor, you do your own cross country trips (both during the day).  The first is usually straight out to another airport and back.  The second involves three airports, one with a tower, before returning home.  Landings are made at each location.  Then the rest of the time is spent getting ready for checkride.  
Unfortunately, I would end up struggling more with training afterwards due to a work trip, losing my instructor (had to leave for personal reasons), having to switch schools, losing my job, then getting a new job, and other life things.  This really delayed my learning but it's what happens.  I ended up switching schools after having a bad experience with my first school.  My instructor at the second school was great, very relaxed, and always did his best to make you feel good about yourself.  The planes were older and the maintenance wasn't kept up as well as at the first school though, but they worked.  I spent more time getting use to a different plane (this one had a carburetor) and having to use steam gauges vs the glass panel.  When we finally felt that I was ready we set up my checkride.  Bad weather made it difficult to schedule (it was November by this time), and that delayed things.  Finally the day of my checkride came.  After getting drilled on everything in my oral (for the most part I did fine), we went onto the practical.  I don't know about most people, but I felt like everything was getting thrown at me.  I was doing my best to stay on top of things, but by the time he had me navigate to a VOR I for some reason forgot how to do it completely (had it set right in the instrument, but was perceiving things differently.  A second try got me back on track.  However, I ended up failing my test on the emergency landing because I was not use to how well this plane floated in the winter (remember, I've never flown this particular plane in the winter and in fact only had a few lessons on it).  Otherwise, I got all my landings.  
The failure hit me pretty hard as I felt like I let a lot of people down, including myself.  However, my instructor worked with me to perfect that portion, and after some bad weather delays, I rescheduled.  This time I only had to do the emergency landing which I nailed with no issue.  My takeoff and landing was about as perfect as they can get.  It was definitely a better way to end the day than last time.  With that, I became a private pilot almost one year after starting.  Now I officially have a license to learn more of what I don't know yet.  Of course, I need a plane to fly first...

In the end, it was a lot of work.  Things were made harder by several life situations getting in the way.  However, I was still able to complete.  It's a great sense of accomplishment and I now enter an exclusive group of people (there aren't as many pilots these day).  

​Happy Flying!