Last time we checked in with Brooke, she was preparing for her first day of flight school at Flight Safety International. Now that she’s had a few weeks to settle in, she gave us the inside scoop on how becoming a full-time flight student has changed the way she’s able to study.
In Georgetown, Brooke was working a part-time job while trying to squeeze flight school in when she could, which made it tough to bear down and focus on flying. Now that she’s in flight school full-time and has access to an entire campus and its resources, her habits have changed. One thing that’s helped her a lot, she said, is having access to “cockpit time.”
“I guess the advantages are that I’m really able to focus on school,” Brooke said. “Like today I have off. I’m not flying, but I’m still going into school and doing cockpit time, sitting in the cockpit, running through my notes and studying. That’s the biggest thing is it’s literally me studying all the time. Doing this is like a full-time job.”
At Flight Safety International, Brooke essentially has unlimited access to cockpits of planes that aren’t in use. She admitted the cockpits aren’t always in great condition, but being able to sit in a cockpit and execute what she’s been studying has proven to be a major advantage.
“What’s really nice is I don’t have to schedule a time,” Brooke said. “I can just get my uniform, go to school, and as long as there are planes out there and ready, and unless there’s a lot of students there, there are always airplanes that are strictly for cockpit time, which is pretty cool.”
Every time she’s gone into the cockpit, Brooke has been able to focus on a different aspect of her studies. Being able to put into practice what she’s been studying through reading textbooks and creating notecards has been a huge advantage.
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“I never before had been able to go in and have cockpit time,” Brooke said. “I feel like that helps a lot. I was really kind of surprised… With this, I feel like I’ve already studied everything I need to do in the airplane, the aerodynamics and all that, and I’ve already got that down.”
Sometimes, she’ll take a classmate with her, which she said is yet another advantage. Walking classmates through what she’s learned helps her further cement what she’s learned, and listening to her classmates that have other skillsets has helped her learn, as well.
“It’s been different every time I’ve gone,” Brooke said. “Last time I went, I went with the guy that I’m flying with and I kind of showed him how to do the checklist. Whenever I show people how to do stuff, I’m also learning, I’m also getting better at it.”
Brooke compared her full-time student status to learning a language by being completely immersed in another culture. With the amount of time she spends around other flight school students and pilots, she’s basically forced to learn how they speak and how they operate. So far, it’s working out well for her.