My new hobby. Mixture rich, flaps up...
 

I've been lucky enough to be able to hang around airplanes pretty much all my life and was even given the chance to get a pilots license at 17, but because of my fear of tests, I have never actually went to flight or ground school, thus no ticket. I have been flying for years in the right seat, so this will not be new to me, but I get to start at the beginning and learn what I have taken for granted all these years.

A few months ago, bored, I watched 16R on Hulu again and after getting a little emotional - don't worry, no tissues were needed - I thought about putting my fears aside and going for it. A few weeks ago, one of my friends on Facebook started to post about his first flights. That did it, I watched 16R again - getting a bit emotional again and decided I needed to do this. I have been itching to start, but a work project and leaving for a little R&R tomorrow made me postpone things until the first week of August.

Today, I created an account at the flight school I will be using and also set a tentative date of August 4th to go for my first lesson and first official log book entry.

I hope that one day, I'll be able to fly this plane from the left seat, as PIC.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1279946753.jpg
Right now (license not withstanding), hours and insurance prevent me.

Since this is the digital age, photos and vids of progress to follow as I progress.

This is going to be fun. I can't wait!

Very cool Dave... kudos and many happy landings.

BTW, when I saw the thread title, I thought you had taken up gas powered R/C's. :D

You need to get your rear over to Arizona and I will give you a flight in a real airplane! You know, one with a tailwheel! :)

A pic where I gave the 10 year old boy in the pic a birthday flight. He flew 45 minutes of the flight!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1279948018.jpg

John: No way! That was the plan years ago, but I love R/C soaring. I may decide to get my glider rating though.

Joe: I'll be in Page for a few hours tomorrow. ;) Right on! Is the kid going to get a license when he gets older?

Dave,

Yes, the son and Father are now both wanting to get their license and start flying. Mom had a great time but has had enough for now.

Don't stress about the testing parts. The guys who give checkrides are just making sure you'll be a safe pilot. With everything you've seen over the years you'll be way ahead of the game. Plenty to learn still but remember most people don't even know how to read the altimeter when they first get in the seat.

I still love it after 16 years and almost 10,000 hours. Well OK I love flying a plane like Joe's a little more but it's always a thrill.

Very cool Joe!

Jess, it's the written that has been my worry. :) I'm not too worried about the check ride. I'll pass, I can do this!

This is one of my life goals. I'm a big Piper fan.

You are going to build some memories Dave! I remember getting overly excited talking about power on stalls and power off stalls. You will do good on the tests.

I wanna do this at some point too... Have to wait a few years though...

Good luck Dave! I know you can do it!

Me too. I just graduated from college... Now I'm applying to Navy OCS. People have this misconceived notion that you just walk into the recruiters office, sign a piece of paper, and leave the next day. Applying to OCS is way more involved.

Awesome man! Where are you flying out of? I used to teach out of KSMO (CFI/CFII/MEI) and still know a bunch of the people over there. And enjoy the low-wings - I'm very partial to the Pipers versus the Cessna 172s. If I'm ever out that way again let's rent a plane for an hour or two and do a little flying!

Study your emergency procedures until you can do them in your sleep!

Hey Jeff, I'll be flying out of VNY. It's home, I think it's right and if porcupine911 can solo there, I can too. :) The club (not really) I'll be at has a Piper Warrior as well. I'll start on the 172, I'd rather start with the high wing, then move to the low wing as landings become more routine.

Let me know if you do set foot back here again... ;) Flying with you would be great!

Both are excellent trainers but I happened to learn and do all my training (all the way through CFII) in the low wings, so I'm partial to them. They tend to float a lot more which (IMHO) makes you a bit better at landings because you're forced to be more precise with your airspeeds. The Cessnas will float too, but not as much and if you're a couple knots fast on approach won't appreciably give you a different result whereas that'll float you another 100' in the Pipers.

I've done a lot of flying in/out of KVNY - there used to be a place called American Aviation up there (don't know if it's still around) that had an inexpensive Seminole I rented on a x/c trip to Dallas some years ago. Fun airport - and you can fly there at night which is great (unlike KSMO which is saddled with restrictions because of all the rich NIMBYs living around the airport). It does get busy on the weekends but the controllers are great and do a terrific job.

When on 16L (I'm sure you will be a lot) make sure to track the extended centerline to your crosswind turn - I've seen too many guys start "drifting" a bit too close to the departing traffic off the parallel for my liking. Oh and TPA is lower than standard because of the traffic on approach to KBUR, but I'm sure your instructor will go over all that with you.

Make sure you get over to KAVX for lunch!

As for high wing/low wing, I'm going to have to feel this one out. I know what you are talking about, since the last 20 years I have only been in a low wing. We'll see, 172 to start, I can always switch later.

As for KAVX, been there a few times. Fun times! The optical illusion of the landing. You really do deserve the burger - if you make it.

This one also has been keeping the flame alive.
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Pitch, power, trim and have fun! :D

Oh, and real airplanes do have a tailwheel.

Lucky SOB! That's one of my dreams that I'm yet to make a reality (time and money). Enjoy it Dave!

This is one of my eventual goals as well. When I have the time and the money....

Screw the flying part. More impressive is your courage to face your fear of wriiten tests head on. So many people go thru life (me included at times) avoiding challenges that stand in the way of accomplishing goals they aspire to.

Proud of you for taking that step.

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".