Flying lessons normally run under two paths. Firstly, at a flight school with a flight instructor following a certified syllabus. The second path is with a flight instructor under private lessons in which they can follow what structure they wish, as long as all certificate requirements are met. The purpose of basic and intermediate level flying lessons is to hone the skills of basic airmanship and consists of two parts:

• Flight lessons: within an aircraft or training device
• Ground school: usually in the form of a classroom lecture given by the flight instructor is where the theory of flying is taught to the student as there are written, oral and flight exams required for the licenses

Many aircrafts while thought different adopt the same techniques when piloting them. Flight schools as well as paying for the lessons rent the aircrafts to students and pilots at hourly rates, the rate determined by Hobbs meters or Tach timers which only count time while the engine is running. The instructors can also be hired for tuition without an aircraft for proficiency and recurring training.

The oldest flight school in the Royal Air Force’s Central Flying School in Upaven, United Kingdom, this school was founded in May 1912. The oldest civil flight school still active however is in Wasserkuppe, Germany, founded as “Mertens Fliegerschule” but is now named “Fliegerschule Wasserkuppe”