Part 61 Flight Training

Private pilot lessons out of Ann Arbor

In the Cessna 152 and 172, with Michigan Flyers at KARB. Each lesson is a real flight with a reason, and each one adds a new skill on top of everything before it.

Practice area Pleasant Lake Gravel pits: west end of the Class D 10 NM Practice area Pleasant Lake Gravel pits: west end of the Class D 10 NM
FAA Detroit sectional, 29 OCT 2026 edition. For briefing, not for navigation: fly from the current chart. Tap the chart to open it full size.

The real chart you will learn to read. Early lessons fly west to the practice area, out from under the Detroit Class B: its shelves are the solid blue lines, each with its top and bottom in hundreds of feet.

Getting started

  1. Lesson 1: Discovery flight Next upOne flight
  2. Lesson 2: Why we fly, why we train Next upOne ground session, about 1.5 hours

To first solo

  1. Lesson 3: Getting the airplane ready Next upOne flight
  2. Lesson 4: The four fundamentals Next upOne flight
  3. Lesson 5: Slow down Next upTwo flights
  4. Lesson 6: The tower Next upTwo or three flights
  5. Lesson 7: When it goes wrong Next upTwo flights
  6. Lesson 8: The wind, and weather rolling in Next upTwo flights
  7. Lesson 9: Crosswind and slips Next upTwo flights
  8. Lesson 10: The triangle, dual Next upTwo flights, one each way around the triangle
  9. Lesson 11: Pre-solo check Next upA ground session for the knowledge test, a flight, then the club's phase check
  10. Lesson 12: First solo Next upOne flight

To solo cross-country

  1. Lesson 13: Out West, solo Next upA dual check, then three or four solo flights
  2. Lesson 14: The triangle again Next upA dual flight, then one solo trip to each field
  3. Lesson 15: Short and soft fields Next upTwo flights, in summer for the turf
  4. Lesson 16: Caught in the haze Next upFour or five flights, about 3 hours under the hood in all
  5. Lesson 17: Planning a cross-country Next upTwo ground sessions
  6. Lesson 18: Dual cross-country Next upTwo flights, each about 2 hours
  7. Lesson 19: Through the Bravo, dual Next upOne flight
  8. Lesson 20: Night Next upTwo or three flights, including the night cross-country
  9. Lesson 21: Solo cross-countries Next upA phase check, then three solo cross-countries; the long one takes most of a day

Checkride

  1. Lesson 22: Polishing Next upSeveral flights
  2. Lesson 23: Oral rehearsal Next upOne ground session, about 2 hours
  3. Lesson 24: Checkride rehearsal flight Next upHalf a day: an oral, then a flight

These pages teach the why and the flow. The numbers and exact steps for your airplane are in its own handbook and the club's checklist for it, linked from the airplane's page on michiganflyers.org.