Thoughts on my Private Pilot License

I recently obtained my U.S. private pilot license. This is something I couldn't have even imagined a year ago. Back in Russia, when I started taking weekend exploratory flights with an instructor, the mere idea of earning a real U.S. PPL seemed so absurd and so far above my capabilities that I could only think about it in theory.

When I arrived in the U.S. and completed the standard relocation checklist, I thought I might give my dream a try — more out of curiosity than anything else. I was still doubtful about whether I could actually get the license: maybe I wouldn't be able to understand fast-paced aviation English over a noisy radio, maybe I wouldn't have enough time, maybe I was just too stupid or too slow.

Nevertheless, I selected a flight school here in Austin and started flight lessons with the simple goal of flying and having fun. They say you should dream big to stay motivated. That didn't work for me. What worked was focusing on the next tiny step and just doing the work. Complete one more ground school lesson. Fly around the airport and focus solely on maintaining correct airspeed. One baby step after another.

The entire training took twice as much time, three times as much money, and ten times as much effort as I expected. I almost crashed on my first solo flight. Three times I had to reschedule the final exam (the checkride) due to weather. But here I am: I've acquired this new skill.

I think this process applies to any skill, not just aviation. There are no "elite" skills that are impossible to acquire. People may say it's too late to start programming if you have no CS background, or that you can't transition to machine learning research without a PhD, or start a startup if you're over 50. Everything is possible if you execute in baby steps, receive real feedback, and continuously try to improve. But you should be ready to put in real effort and sweat — much, much more than you initially expected.