Do you dream of taking to the skies with your own hands on the joystick? Not sure how to turn your ambitions into reality — or if you’ll even really take to being in control of a plane? Well, a trial introductory flight could be just what you’re looking for.

Many flying schools offer trial introductory flights as a way of exposing potential students to what being in the cockpit is really like. After all, there’s a fairly significant difference between spending a flight sitting comfortably in the passenger seat or being the person in control of actually landing the plane. Flight school can be quite expensive, so you want to be one hundred percent confident that learning to fly is something you really want to pursue before making the investment. 

Continue reading to learn a little more about what to expect from a trial flight and how to find the right flying school for you.

What’s involved in a trial flight?

What a trial introductory flight consists of can depend on the flying school. Generally speaking, the purpose of a trial flight is to give you a good understanding of the processes a pilot follows, and then how it feels to take control of the aircraft. An experienced instructor will guide you from start to finish.

The pilot will likely start by providing an introduction to the plane you are going to fly, and brief information as to how the controls work. You may then conduct a pre-flight check on the aircraft, just as all pilots do before every time before they go flying. Once you get up into the skies, they will show you some basic manoeuvres before handing you the controls and letting you try it under their guidance.

Most flight schools will provide a few different options as to the length of the flight and the type of plane you go up in. Some people choose to undertake a trial introductory flight as a one-off experience, perhaps as an exciting gift or the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. Others end up logging the flight as the first minutes of their flight training — the beginning of your journey towards becoming a pilot!

Can anyone take a trial flight?

Again, the answer to this question really depends on the flight school in question. While all flight schools have stringent requirements that must be met before someone can operate a plane, trial introductory flights don’t tend to be held to the exact same rules.

The school may ask if you have any pre-existing health conditions that could prevent you from safely flying. Other than that, a trial introductory flight is for pretty much anyone!

Finding the right flight school for you

With quite a few different flight schools out there, how can you be sure that you’ve chosen the right one?

Well, in the case of a trial introductory flight, you want to be spending a meaningful amount of time in the sky. Make sure the school offers a flight length of at least 30 minutes — 60 is even better! If you’ve chosen to buy the flight as a gift, for a birthday or an anniversary, perhaps, check out what add-ons they offer. Wouldn’t it be great to have video footage commemorating your time above the clouds? 

Finally, check out the other pilot training courses the school offers, particularly if you are using the trial flight as a test of sorts to see if you want to progress towards becoming a pilot. Most flight schools will allow you to log the time spent in the trial flight as actual training towards a licence if you do proceed. Also, a school that offers a wide range of courses will also generally have more experienced instructors, which is important.Above all, make sure that you take the time to enjoy your trial introductory flight! Who knows, this could be the start of a new and exciting path leading you up into the sky towards a pilot licence or even a career as a professional pilot!

It always feels better when you are with your partner. Positive vibes from each other decrease the worries and provide a helping hand to each other.

Your emotions are always taken care of by the immigration department of every country. No country wants you to be alone, and this is the reason the concerned authorities formulate their partner visas in a way that you do not have to stay away from your partner for long when overseas. One who wants to apply for a partner visa can consult with a partner visa specialist.

Provisional Partner Visa in Australia

Australia offers provisional partner visas under subclass 820 and subclass 309. This particular visa allows the individuals who are the spouse or a de facto partner of an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen to live in Australia. The temporary partner visa is granted first and the applicant is allowed to live in Australia for two years with their partner. If they wish to live for more time or permanently, the applicants can apply for a PR Visa to live in Australia.

Benefits of the Provisional Partner Visas

The following rules apply to the provisional partner visa holder. These rules can also be considered as benefits. So, here are some of the benefits that a provisional partner visa holder can enjoy!

• They can stay in Australia until the government decides their permanent Partner (Migrant) visa (subclass 100)
• They can stay, work and live in Australia for two years
• They may include dependent children or stepchildren in their visa application
• They may study in Australia without any government funding
• They may travel to and from Australia as many times as they want
• They can attend up to 510 hours of free English language classes under Australia’s Adult Migrant English Program
• They can get health coverage through Medicare

The visa costs around AUD7,160 for the main applicant, which covers both the temporary and the permanent Partner (Migrant) visa (subclass 100). Additionally, there is a fee for each family member who applies for the visa, unless they hold a Dependent Child visa (subclass 445). There is no fee for subclass 445 visa holders.

For detailed information on provisional partner visas in Sydney or Melbourne, please feel free to contact one of our MARA agents!

Are you looking for ways to improve your business’ online presence? Do you need targeted visibility on Google? Then, you need to have effective local search engine optimization (SEO), because Google presents local results to people who search for businesses and places near their location. One of the most important ranking factors for local SEO is the presence of your business or organization on Google My Business (GMB) listing – or officially known as your Business Profile. Be it any business – big or small – claiming and optimizing your GMB listing is one of the simplest ways to gain traffic and customers. Without a well-optimized GMB profile, your chances of appearing in Google features – such as Search and Maps – are going to be frail.

GMB is a free tool – that lists your business’ operating information, reviews, posts, and so much more- that is considered as your company’s most visible asset for local search. According to Google, half of all the users who conduct a search for a local business will visit that business within 24 hours. But, if you don’t claim or optimize your GMB listing, then Google will provide the information that is available about your business to users, which may not always be accurate. So, to optimize your GMB listing, the first and foremost thing you have to do is claim your GMB profile. You have to verify and edit all the information about your business on Google and make the connection you need for prospects to find your firm.

Check out 5 other important actionable ways to turn your Google Business Profile into a 24/7 marketing and lead generation tool for your local business:

Fill out your profile: As local results favor the most relevant results for each search, it is important that businesses should have complete and accurate information in their GMB listing as it would improve their search ranking. However, to make it easier for Google to match with the right searches, give Google as much information about your business – such as contact details, category, attributes, and more – as possible. While filling out the profile:

• Make sure everything is accurate and grammatically correct.
  If possible, use the right keywords wherever possible.
• Make sure your business name, contact details and other information are consistent with the details on your website and social media profiles.
• Try to find the best relevant category that describes your business.
• Make sure you indicate the areas you usually service, especially if your business involves delivering goods or services.

Never leave any information to be guessed or assumed, because businesses offering the most detailed and accurate information will be easier to find in search.

Upload Images: It’s a known fact that photos/images are more engaging than text, and therefore adding more images to your GMB listing can help you in optimizing your profile. It is also a great way to encourage virtual visitors to get to know you and your business. In fact, Google says that businesses using photos or images on their listing are seen to receive 42% more requests for directions, 35% more clicks-through to their websites compared to businesses that don’t.

To optimize your Google Business Profile with photos, follow these tips:

• Load high-quality photos that have clear depictions and reflect your professionalism.
• Add at least one new image every seven days.
• Make your logo as your thumbnail photo.
• For your cover photo, use a photo that best represents your brand.
• Refer to Google’s photo guidelines for general photo specification and make sure to include happy customers, interior and exterior views, and team photos.
• Don’t use stock photos, and photos with special effects or branding because, Google is trying to represent your business as it appears in the real world.

Uploaded photos should capture your team’s personality, your work setting, as well as the interior and exterior of your office space.

Get and respond to Google Reviews: Do you know that Google Reviews help with your GMB page rankings? Yes, for instance, if your page has 20 or more reviews, Google is more likely to show your page in the mapped listings over a page that doesn’t have any reviews. With these reviews, people will also get an idea of what it would be like to work with you, as it paves a great way to build trust and give them a more personal acknowledgment of your work.

Getting reviews help, and interacting with customers by responding to their reviews also illustrates that your business values its customers and the feedback that they leave regarding it. Positive reviews – that obviously have a positive effect on potential customers when researching your business – will increase your business’ visibility in search results; therefore, encourage your customers to be honest and accurate in their review.

Set Your Multiple Service Areas: Very recently, Google rolled out a new feature where it allows businesses to list multiple service areas within their Google My Business listing, separate from their physical business location. If multiple service areas are applicable to your business, make sure to set your service area to a region, city or zip code, and apply multiple service areas. This helps Google to rank them equally.

Conclusion

Being a free and valuable tool, GMB helps you manage your business’ or brand’s online presence not only across Google’s own search engine but also within its growing portfolio of online utilities. Just like any SEO strategy, your GMB strategy should also center around providing as much quality information about your business as possible. For that, you have to make sure that the information entered is not just in your Business Profile but also in the sources that Google uses to populate it— such as your website, review site profiles, and even your social media accounts. Even though there are many ways customers can find your business, GMB helps to make your important business information more easily visible to potential customers who are looking for your product, service, or experience. It helps with local SEO by offering a chance to engage with your customers in various ways – such as reviews or posts – and provides useful insights on your customers’ purchasing paths.