Flight instruction

Flight training is a course of study used when learning to pilot an aircraft. The overall purpose of primary and intermediate flight training is the acquisition and honing of basic airmanship skills.

Flight training consists of a combination of flight lessons given in the aircraft or a simulator and ground school, where theory is learned in preparation for the written examinations.

Although there are various types of aircraft, many of the principles of piloting them have common techniques, especially those aircraft which are heavier than air types.

In addition to providing flight instructors, flight schools commonly rent aircraft to the students.

The oldest flight training school still in existence is the Royal Air Force's (RAF's) Central Flying School formed in May 1912 at Upavon, United Kingdom. The oldest civil flight school still active in the world is based in Germany at the Wasserkuppe. It was founded as "Mertens Fliegerschule". Its current name is "Fliegerschule Wasserkuppe".

A type conversion, commonly known throughout Australia and Europe as an endorsement, or in the United States as a "type rating", is the process undertaken by a pilot to update their license to allow them to fly a different type of aircraft.

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