yeah i'll get ya "members only" av-gas cheap. and joe can land here and show ya the ropes in some NON-CONGESTED AIRSPACE unlike kalif.. good luck watch yer 6!

good luck on your flight training, persistence will pay off for you.
Remember you need three things to be successful at flight training,
The time to dedicate to reading and study and flight training, ( fly as much as you can in the shortest period of time)
The money to pay for your training. ( have all of your funds available so there wont be any gaps in your training)
The persistence, ( be prepared for each lesson, study hard)
any one of these three are missing put your money in the bank.
Have a safe flight!

If this is an option go to a 141 flight school ,
you may be able to get your private, commercial, instrument, multi engine , CFI, CFII, MEI in 6 months.
figure about 30K for all of this, but you can then go to work as a teacher.

Night flying was always my fav! You are going to have a blast!

Good stuff Dave.

I remember that fist solo flight as one of those "ah ha" moments in life—one of those moments when you realize that what you can do and make out of your life is really unlimited.

I let my PPL lapse quite a few years ago, but getting it current again is high on my bucket list.

Great decision Dave. Don't worry about the written - there are lots of good study aids that will help you pass with "flying colors." Good luck and enjoy the journey. One of the best decisions I made in life was to pursue aviating.SmileWavy

When it comes time to take the written tests, just buy a set of the red Gleim books and study them just prior to taking the tests..... piece of cake... easy to get high 90's on the tests that way.... and I never went through any "official" ground school.

Just take your lessons in the cheapest plane they rent. Transitioning to other aircraft types will be much easier once you have learned the basics in just one airplane. No sense wasting time and money in trying to learn different aircraft when you are supposed to be concentrating on the basics of flying.

I am typing this on the morning I should be enroute to Oshkosh in my little Piper. :( Rain is blocking my path and has wreaked havoc on the Oshkosh airshow grounds... Supposedly they are presently parking all new arrivals only on pavement as they have had over 17" of rain in the last month or so and recent heavy rains have turn the place into a soggy mess. I hope they re-open the vintage aircraft camping areas by tomorrow and I won't have to deal with moving all my camping gear to different locations during the week. :(

When I was an examiner that was the first thing we looked at. Study your azz off and get 85 or better on the written. It makes the oral and good part of the flight a lot easier. "A just passing grade" does not give any one a "warm and fuzzy" feeling about the person taking the test...

Its not hard and with the computers and calculators these days you should not have a problem. Any questions, you know how to get ahold of me...

Well maybe. Joe could show you some "off airport" landings and having fun out here in the West. No, we are not going to land on the side of a mountain but there are some very nice back country strips that only helo's and light planes can get to that have beautiful scenery around and nice places to visit.

Joe.. your sedan in purdy. more pictures please.

and more pilots the better! good luck!

Dave,

Flying is all mental...the skills to aviate, navigate, communicate are all in the mind.

The written is a way of confirming that.

When I was in flight school, I would memorize every flight, every procedure talking, walking.

Take the written in advance the same way...talk your way through it.

Ok, here are a couple but do not want to hijack Dave's thread!

Joe

~~~~

Original dash from 1948:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1279989583.jpg

Interior. Very nice leather with confor foam. Stays comfortable for the entire day.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1279989682.jpg

With my work aircraft...
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1279989628.jpg

I love the airplane! Both of 'em!

Nice ride there Joe.
For someone who's never been off the ground i'd love to learn to fly.

Nice Ride joe!

Dave - what's the cost about? I think in a couple of years maybe I'll give myself a 40th birthday present if things are going well financially.

Good for you Dave!

I have to agree with Mrmerlin. Due to funding issues, and a family, and a single income, my training stretched to almost nine months. Sometimes it felt as though the first half of the lesson was relearning the previous lesson. And at the time a Piper Archer seemed complicated. :>)

The first solo (7-12-91) was the realization of my #1 dream. First cross country's were excellent.

I completely dedicated myself to our ground school and although my instructor kept telling me I was ready to take all the tests (written, oral, flying) I spent a full month at the library almost every day studying. If I wasn't studying, I was out flying. It really paid off for me. Each test was a piece of cake.

Although I don't fly as much as I would like to and I have never achieved any additional ratings (Single Engine Land, only) it's still fun every time I have the opportunity.

Enjoy every minute of this ride! Your gonna love it!

Joe, That is one beautiful aircraft!

Karl
88 Targa

Congrats! Get a copy of Van Sickle's "Modern Airmanship." This book explains lots of technical topics in a pleasant and easy to read manner.

PM me if you'd like some free aviation books. I have tons of stuff collecting dust on my shelves. I've been working for years as an Pilot/Instructor/SME for an airline......now I just need to switch careers so that I can make enough money to fly for fun on the weekends :)

Just on the ground in Aspen. Will respond with comments when I get the laptop plugged in.

These are kind of fun and useful too:

For landing GLUMPS
G Gas, Main Tank
L Landing Light
U undercarriage, wheels down
M mixture rich
P power/prop
S seatbelts

I only use one in my plane

If you can ride a bike, you can fly a plane. You would not believe how it changes your outlook on things. No longer is the world "right, left or straight" as you can turn any direction you wish, go up or down and so on. It opens you up in so many ways.

Some answers....

I have no idea how much this will cost today... Ground school and instructor (the hourly will add up over time tho) are relatively inexpensive. Airplane rental is around $100 an hour for a 172 at VNY, probably the going rate most places. I will most likely be using Richard Mend for my ground school instructor.

As for funding this, that is not a problem. That has been taken care of years ago. All I have to worry about, is flying as much as possible and study, study, study.

I really have no interest in turning this into a career. I would eventually like to get my IFR rating, but that's about it. I love flying R/C gliders and love watching birds fly, especially hawks and eagles. If I could come back in another life as anything I wanted, I'd be a hawk or eagle. A pilot's license will be as close as I can come to this. At this point, I really need to do this for myself (re: tests) and also to be able to say to people - "Yes, I do have a license and I do enjoy flying".