By Ezra, ‘25 and Tom ‘25
This is a picture of a Cessna 172, commonly known as the ‘Skyhawk’, refuelling before a flight with a member of the Halcyon Community (and one of this article’s writers!). The Skyhawk may seem like a complicated and terrifying machine built to be flown by only the most experienced of airmen, but in reality, even you can fly it and similar private planes. This article will walk you through what is needed to become a beginner pilot, and why you should take the leap.
This article’s writers have each flown before (and we will talk a little about our experiences later), and love to do so. Flying is exhilarating, the views it offers are beautiful, it’s entirely safe (note the common adage that ‘you are more likely to die on the way to your pilot’s lesson than while actually flying’), and boy is it fun.
Flying is a valued pastime globally, with people from nearly every country engaging in this amazing industry – and you can, too! The first step is to be keen to try something new; there are a bunch of areas that you can get into, but the first step is often to find a local flying club/school near you and to ask for a trial flight. That’ll be ~30 minutes flying around your local area and getting a feel for the controls – a step that’ll have many people hooked right then and there!
Alternatively, your first taste could be getting into the world of flight simulators like Microsoft Flight Simulator or X-Plane (you can try the free demo on your Mac), which can build a newfound interest in the world of flying. Your first immersion into aviation may even be attending Halcyon’s very own Aviation Club; hosted at lunch on Mondays in 1.1.
But why should you fly?
Private aviation has a little something for everyone, the thrillseekers can rent a Citabria and learn how to stunt, those who want to enjoy beautiful views can hire a Cessna and fly long distances over the English countryside, and those who just want to go really fast can lease a Cirrus SR22 or a Diamond DA-40 to get their fix.
Regardless of your personal tastes and preferences, aviation has something to offer. Why not give it a go?
Hello, my name is Ezra, and this is a photo of the first private plane I ever flew in, a Beechcraft Bonanza. You’ll notice that it is a low-wing plane (the wings are below the cockpit view, as opposed to a ‘high-wing’) with a ‘V tail’ which makes it a sleek and very fast long-distance plane that can seat 5 people (including the pilots).
A Beechcraft Bonanza | Credit: Ezra ‘25
The first time I flew in that plane I fell in love with flying, I must have been 10. A few years later, I flew for the first time. Still today I consider myself a beginner, I’ve only been flying for 2 years, and I love it. I spent my last summer learning how to land, take off, use the various tools in the cockpit, and do the occasional stunt. This coming summer I fully intend to do the same, and hopefully fly solo for my first time.
Hello! My name is Tom, and I’m a licensed pilot and G11 student at Halcyon. I’ve attached a picture of me flying the mighty Cessna 172 Skyhawk to stunning Rottnest Island, Western Australia.
Approaching Rottnest Island in a Cessna 172 | Credit: Tom ‘25
I’ve been flying since I was 10 in Los Angeles, CA and have accumulated hundreds of hours in single and multi-engine planes and helicopters across the United States, Australia, and the UK. Even before I first took to the air as a pilot, I’ve had a love for aviation, even dreaming of creating “Tom Air” from as young as I can remember. I’ve seen a bunch of amazing views and had a lot of fun with flying, and I fully encourage everyone reading this to give flying a go!
As Ezra and I can agree, flying is an extraordinarily fun experience to have and something that a career can be made out of, too. The feeling of being high up in the air, wherever you’d like on the planet, cannot be replicated. We strongly recommend that you, if interested, look into it. After all, why not take the leap, and wing it?
The Halcyonite 
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