Congrats to Michael on passing his private pilot check ride!
For most pilots, the dream of flight starts early. For our newest Private Pilot, Michael Lembo it began at age six. After a significant personal journey and a lifelong fascination with airplanes, he finally decided to dive in “head first” and make that dream a reality. But as many aviators know, the path to the license is rarely a perfectly smooth flight.
The check ride is a high-pressure environment where it’s easy to build things up in your head. During his first attempt, a small error during simulated instrument flight (the “foggles”) led to a climb of a few hundred feet outside of standards—resulting in a failure.
While a setback like that can be devastating, he views it as a vital part of his education. “You learn by critique and feedback,” he says. “It teaches you to have tough skin. No matter what, it teaches you that you have to be on your game. Small things in a plane can turn catastrophic.” This resilience turned a difficult moment into a lesson in discipline and focus that eventually led him to that final, successful flight.
When asked what best prepared him for the final test, he didn’t point to a single maneuver, but to the school’s internal training structure. “Honestly, the stage checks—especially the Stage 2 check—are the most vital part of the training,” he explains. For students who haven’t experienced a formal check ride, these internal evaluations mirror the real thing, giving them a sense of what truly matters to an examiner.
Training isn’t always about a single “lightbulb” moment. Instead, he credits his success to a “baby step” process guided by his instructor, Alex. By keeping the atmosphere light but the standards serious, Alex helped him build the final product one lesson at a time. The real confidence came from small victories along the way, like nailing a short-field landing. “It’s those small things that make you succeed,” he notes.
Now that the “Big Moment” has passed and the examiner has officially said those life-changing words—”Congratulations, you’re a private pilot“—the feeling of accomplishment is immense. His advice for those following in his footsteps? “Practice. Anyone can do it if they apply themselves and realize you will make mistakes, but you have to learn and grow from them.”
With his “license to learn” now in hand, he already knows exactly where his first flight as Pilot in Command will be. He’s headed to Portland, Maine—a place he’s been visiting since he was a baby, but always from the passenger seat of a car. Next time, he’ll be the one at the controls.
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