A Week in Vero: Settling In Before First Flight

It’s strange how quickly something extraordinary starts to feel normal.

A few weeks ago, being in Florida felt surreal. Palm trees, blue skies, nearly 30°C heat in what would have been a grey British winter. Now? I’m starting to settle in. The novelty is wearing off — and I can’t believe I’m saying this — but I actually miss British food.

Beans, Bread & Walmart Reality Checks

No one prepares you for how much you’ll miss the basics.

Proper bread. Heinz beans. Food that doesn’t taste faintly sweet when it shouldn’t.

My first trip to Walmart was a genuine “deer in headlights” moment. The scale of it. The brightness. Entire aisles dedicated to things I didn’t know existed. I stood there trying to find something that resembled normal bread and questioning whether I’d accidentally walked into a parallel universe.

It’s funny — you expect the flying to be the big adjustment. Turns out, it’s the grocery shopping.

The Final Stretch of Ground School

We’re nearing the end of lectures now.

Six months ago, it was all theory — performance graphs, regulations, meteorology charts, limitations, memory items. Aviation felt academic. Structured. Predictable. If you studied hard enough, you could control the outcome.

Now we’re on the cusp of actually flying.

Working towards first solo doesn’t feel real yet. It’s strange knowing that soon I’ll be sitting in an aircraft without an instructor beside me, applying everything that’s lived in textbooks and question banks.

There’s definitely a touch of imposter syndrome creeping in.

You spend months proving you can pass exams. Then suddenly the question becomes: Can you actually do this?

Six Months Ago vs Now

Six months ago I was deep in ground school, running on caffeine and late nights. Life was revision, flashcards, mock exams, repeat.

Sleep wasn’t really a thing — it was more of a suggestion.

Now, for the first time in a while, I’m trying to catch up on all that lost sleep. Letting my brain breathe. Resetting before the next phase begins.

Because although it feels like we’ve finished something big, the reality is we’re just stepping onto the runway.

The academics were demanding. But flying introduces a different kind of pressure — one that can’t be solved with a highlighter and a set of notes.

Florida Heat & A Change of Pace

Nearly 30°C every day is a welcome change from the UK. The air feels heavier. The sun sharper. Mornings are bright and already warm.

It’s hard to complain about walking into class in sunshine.

And yet, even with palm trees outside, there’s a quiet shift happening internally. The focus is changing. The stakes feel more tangible.

This isn’t theoretical anymore.

The In-Between Stage

This week feels like an in-between moment.

Not quite a full-time flyer yet. No longer just a ground school student.

Somewhere in the middle — adjusting to life in Vero, missing beans on toast, wandering through American supermarkets in confusion, and trying to believe that soon I’ll be trusted to take an aircraft into the sky on my own.

It’s weird thinking about how much has happened in six months.

And it’s even weirder knowing the real journey is about to begin.

If this is the calm before the storm, I’m ready for it.

Well… after I find some proper bread.