MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- If you remember running around wearing a blanket as a cape and jumping from your mother’s couch trying to fly, than perhaps aviation is something that might interest you.
Civilian aviation is much different than military flying. Constantly maintaining mission readiness, military aviation cannot offer many of the freedoms recreational pilots enjoy.
“For me, the majority of civilian flying is for pleasure,” said Navy Lt. James Consalvi, F/A-18 instructor pilot, Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 101, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar who also is a certified civilian pilot. “Be it a lunch run, a quick aerobatic hop or a fun way to get to and from a vacation, civilian flying is an opportunity to break the bonds of the earth, and enjoy the big blue sky in ways a lot of other people do not.”
Master Sgt. Thomas W. Shalhoub found early in his life that he didn’t have the vision requirements to become a military pilot, but had harbored a passion for aviation since childhood.
“I guess it was after coming back from a deployment during (Operation Iraqi Freedom) II that kind of put things into perspective for me. (I thought) if you want to do something, sometimes there’s no better time than the present, said Shalhoub, ordnance chief, armory, Headquarters and Support Battalion, School of Infantry West.
Shalhoub started researching on the Internet and soon found a local flight club at McClellan-Palomar airport in Carlsbad. He attended a meeting, met a flight instructor and signed up for training.
Aviator hopefuls can find an instructor much like Shalhoub did. Airports often list contact information on their Web sites. Once they find an instructor, student pilots can start working toward the most basic pilot certification, a private pilot license.
When an individual is first learning to fly, they undergo a pre-solo stage of flying where an instructor always accompanies them in the cockpit.
“The objective (of pre-solo training) is to get the person the skills and knowledge that they need to pilot the aircraft on their own,” said Shalhoub, who recently received his pilot instructor rating. “It involves a lot of what’s known as ‘pattern work.’ You spend most of your time learning how to take off and land, and flying in the local area.
“You learn basic flight maneuvers, being able to control the aircraft at different air speeds and learning how to configure the aircraft for different phases of flight such as take off, climb, cruise, descent and landing,” added Shalhoub, originally from Banning, Calif.
The Federal Aviation Administration requires 35 to 40 hours, depending on the flight school, of flight time to be eligible for a private pilot license. Although, most individuals need 60 to 75 flight hours before they are ready to receive their license. Private pilot license students are also required to log aeronautical knowledge instruction or complete a home-study course, according to the FAA.
A private pilot license allows for a lot of recreational flying; however, it limits the aviator to fly only under “visual flight rules.” Pilots with this license can only fly when the weather is clear enough. More training is required to be able to fly during low visibility.
“If I wanted to go to Big Bear right now, in a matter of an hour I could be in an airplane and on my way. I could speak with almost nobody in the air and fly under visual flight rules...as long as I avoid controlled air space,” said Shalhoub who has been flying planes for about five years.
“There is a lot freedom and flexibility available to you as a pilot and just being able to have that type of freedom is a great feeling,” he said.
A downside to the glamour of aviation is the expenses. Recreational flying is not a poor man’s hobby; although, the cost should not automatically discourage someone from pursuing it.
Flight costs vary greatly depending on the type of aircraft rented. Flight training is within the average Marines budget as long as it is smartly planned for. A local flight school charges about 80 dollars per hour to rent a Cessna 152, a single-engine aircraft seating two that is commonly used in flight training.
Those who want to make aviation a career move on to earn an instrument rating, commercial pilot license, multi-engine commercial pilot license and instructor rating.
“Initially I viewed flying as a hobby,” Shalhoub said. “As I began to learn more about aviation, and learned about the paths that are available, I changed my vision toward actually pursuing it as a career in the future.”
Potential pilots should be familiar with the FAA pilot certification requirements that are detailed in Title 14 CFR, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 61.