I was really excited about getting my Private Pilot License. No one on my dad or mom's side of the family had ever learned to fly. So, if I was able to accomplish this I figured it would be really cool. I studied for the exam but I had received some basic pilot training while in the Civil Air Patrol and had flown some old WW11 simulators to get some stick and rudder time and was a bit overconfident. The Civil Air Patrol also taught me navigation and how aircraft navigation was relevant to finding downed airplanes. I was to find this did not qualify me to pass the exam.
What I discovered after taking the exam was how much I did not learn. And that was because I didn't take the time to study hard enough and with the proper materials. I am my own worst critic and I was so angry at myself for flunking the exam I was inconsolable. It was at that moment I realized enthusiasm and an insatiable desire to fly did not qualify me to take the exam. Desire alone is not qualification and no matter how determined I was, without study, there was no way to pass the test.
So, here is what I did. I assembled everything I needed. My E-6B, a calculator, Plotter, VFR Charts, Aircraft Performance Manual and for that time it was for an old 1972 Cherokee 140. I purchased an Airman's Information Manual, FAA questions and answers and set to work. I blocked out my friends and even my girlfriend at the time to concentrate on one thing, passing the Private Pilot Exam. I studied, practiced, studied, plotted courses and studied, read the reg's and studied. I studied like a man possessed because I was. I had but one goal in mind. A private Pilots License.
So, what happened? It worked! I had slain the dragon that would harness me as a student pilot forever. Now I was able to pursue the fun stuff. The Flying.
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