Self Directed Learning Gives You Many Options

by Benjamin Vazsonyi

written in June 2021

I joined Pacific Sands Academy in January of 2020, right before the Covid 19 pandemic hit, and to be honest, my education has never been better!

Instead of spending 8 hours in a classroom, or as this year has panned out, endless hours on Zoom, I have had the fortune of pursuing true self-directed learning- pursuing my pilots license, studying many aspects of the pandemic, watching the national political scene, researching political systems around the world, asking deep questions, and most recently doing a deep dive into health and nutrition.

PART 1:Becoming a Pilot

About 2 years ago, I became interested in aviation. School was so time-consuming and draining that I didn’t have the time or motivation to actually pursue any type of pilot certificate. However, once I started Pacific Sands Academy, I had both the time and the energy to pursue pilot certificates, so that is exactly what I did.

In January 2020, I started glider lessons. In addition to weekly flight lessons, I completed a glider flight training manual. The glider port shut down in March 2020 because of the Coronavirus, so I haven’t been able to finish my glider flight training, but the experience I got from gliders was very good for my powered flight training.

I started my powered flight training in June 2020, and I have been working toward my private pilot’s license ever since.

On May 2nd, 2021, I flew solo for the first time. Flying solo was a great experience and I will hopefully get my private pilot’s license sometime around the end of 2021. After I get my PPL (Private Pilot’s License), I want to work on all of the ratings and licenses I need to become a commercial pilot.

*Update May 2023: I got my private pilots license in August 2022. My medical expired later that year and a have not been able to renew it yet. My goals have changed a lot since writing this post.