Anyone here a private pilot?

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John Connor

John Connor

Lifer
Nov 30, 2012
22,757
619
121
It's amazing the skills those repo guys have though. To know how to fly various planes is pretty cool. :cool:

Of course I know how to fly various planes in FS2004. :awe: But I did have to pull the 200 page + manual on the PMDG 737 and watch various YouTube instructional videos.
 
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manlymatt83

Lifer
Oct 14, 2005
10,051
44
91
Kaido said:
^ listen to this guy, he has some super interesting stuff to say about airplanes :D :thumbsup:

Also, now that you've been bitten by the aviation bug, you need to read "Flight of Passage" by Rinker Buck:

http://www.amazon.com/Flight-Passage...dp/B00BEFNI7W/

Not only one of the funniest books I've ever read, but also a great story about a couple of kids who flew across America in a Piper Cub - living the dream! Although they would probably be shot by Homeland Security if they did it today :biggrin:
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Thanks! :) Bought it and will read it!
 
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manlymatt83

Lifer
Oct 14, 2005
10,051
44
91
skyking said:
Was it worth it? It was for me. I have several log books of good times, no regrets.
One of my friends got the bug flying with me, and has moved out to Danbury CT. He would be a good guy to get with. He has gone as far as the instrument rating.
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I would be interested in meeting them!
 
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manlymatt83

Lifer
Oct 14, 2005
10,051
44
91
Mutilator said:
Got my private pilot May 2013. Started training the previous July and had a few times where I would go an entire month if not more between flights depending on the weather, plane, and instructor availability - morning fog was a PITA for me. I was aiming to fly once or twice per week but for me it ultimately didn't matter. I was able to retain what I had learned from each lesson and after I had a dozen or so hours in the real thing I purchased FSX, TrackIR, and the Saitek Cessna setup and started using that the proper way. Got all the goodies - GEX, REX, UTX, home airport I fly out of, etc. and used it just like I was flying the real thing. It was a training tool, not a game. I remember early on even doing imaginary walk around preflights on an invisible Cessna in my kitchen lol. Eventually I even put my Ipad Mini on my yoke mount and used Foreflight in the sim as well and would practice my cross country flights ahead of time.

I was ready for my check ride a couple hours before the required 40 minimum. Ended up taking it once I had around 41 or 42 hours and surprisingly had very little stress that day. The average these days is up in the ~60-80 hour range I believe. I don't think I landed on my own on the first flight, but know I did on the 2nd. Some people will go dozens of flights before their instructor will hand over the controls for a landing. Everyone learns in different ways and at different paces. That's something you have to keep in mind. It doesn't matter how long it takes you to solo, it doesn't matter how long it takes you to get your certificate, all that matters if that you stick with it and enjoy the process. Less than one quarter of one percent of people are private pilots. It's kinda like riding a motorcycle - as soon as you get one you're instantly part of a club. You immediately have something in common with pretty much everyone you meet at every airport you land at.

Now that I'm back to working full time I don't get to fly as often as I'd like - kinda like during my flight training my days off work and the weather don't always seem to see eye to eye. The last time I flew was back at Labor Day when I (finally) took my nephew up for the first time. Flew around for about an hour and took pictures and videos of our houses from about 2500ft. Needless to say he enjoyed it quite a bit. This was the 3rd or 4th attempt at getting that kid off the ground. Each time I'd have to cancel due to fog, or low clouds that hadn't quite lifted and broken enough, or someone being sick. Hell, one time I even went and flew around the pattern a few times by myself to get my required landings before carrying passengers out of the way, landed and got my passengers briefed and seatbelted in and damn if the plane didn't want to start back up afterwards no matter what I did, even asked an instructor to make sure I was doing everything right. That one sucked the most. I know we could have waited 30 minutes and it would have been fine but he hadn't been feeling well that weekend anyway so we just called it off and waited until the next time he visited. We were convinced he was just cursed and wasn't meant to leave the ground lol. But in the end it all worked out and I held up my end of the bargain - gave a kid a memory he'll never forget, and delivered him home safe to Mom at the end of the day.

And for those of you thinking about starting this process... go take an introductory flight. If you have a flying club nearby do what I did, show up on a Saturday afternoon and meet some people, get a tour, etc. I ended up going up with president of our club that day while she went up for some simulated instrument approaches. This was the first time I had ever been in a plane. Little nervous at first but after 10 minutes in the air I realized I was perfectly relaxed with my hands resting on my lap instead of clinching on to whatever they could grab like they had been doing at takeoff lol. As for costs - yes ultimately you're going to spend several thousand dollars to learn to fly (and continue flying) airplanes. But it doesn't all come at once. If you have $200-300/month you can learn to fly a plane. That'll get you 2-3 flights per month which may be enough if you can retain what you learn. Yeah, it might take longer than someone that can fly 2 or 3 times a week but then again it might not. And flight hours are flight hours... they all add up and you keep that log book forever. So yeah, maybe life does get in the way, but one day you can come back to it, knock off the rust, and get back up to speed and finish what you started.

I could keep typing but this is already long enough... and I've gotta get ready for work. :p
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Absolutely amazing post. Thanks!!
 
skyking

skyking

Lifer
Nov 21, 2001
22,809
5,974
146
One suggestion I have is, don't "payday" a pilot's license or rating. Have both the money and time available before you start.
If you have a break in training of more than a week or two, you will spend a comparative fortune doing a review each time. For this reason the winter is a harder time to get it done. Not impossible mind you, just harder. It requires more dedication.
If you can keep at it, it is quite possible to finish the rating and get your license in near the minimum of 40 hours. I went at it like that, and it took 46.
I would have been done a bit sooner, but I had an engine failure and off field landing on my first solo cross-country flight and it took a month to get the plane going again.
 
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manlymatt83

Lifer
Oct 14, 2005
10,051
44
91
Just a quick question for those who have pilot experience: are you allowed to post the pictures you take out the cockpit window to social media (taken while not in control of the plane, of course).
 
ultimatebob

ultimatebob

Lifer
Jul 1, 2001
25,134
2,450
126
boomerang said:
I watch Airplane Repo, does that count for anything? :)
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I like that show! I'm curious how "real" it is, though. I figured that most of it is staged, but I'll bet that the real pilots in this thread can point out the fake parts pretty easily.
 
John Connor

John Connor

Lifer
Nov 30, 2012
22,757
619
121
manlymatt83 said:
Just a quick question for those who have pilot experience: are you allowed to post the pictures you take out the cockpit window to social media (taken while not in control of the plane, of course).
Click to expand...


What? Nothing in the FAR that I know of.
 
C

Compnewbie01

Senior member
Aug 8, 2005
603
4
81
The Cessna 172S is a great plane and I flew it 95% of my flight training. I got my license last year and took a total of 9 months to clock ~50 hours (instruction + solo). I would have had it done in 6 months but due to weather and minor plane maintenance issues I had to reschedule several lessons towards the end. In fact my check ride was rescheduled TWICE because of the plane.

However, I do agree that you should only start if you have the money/time to see it through start to finish (at least $10,000 and minimum 1 lesson per week). Anything less and it will take a lot longer to get the license.

One bit of advice is to never do anything you aren't comfortable with especially weather related. If you don't check weather before every flight you might get stuck landing in a 20+ knot crosswind which isn't fun as a student pilot with low hours. In fact, don't ever underestimate weather.
 
OutHouse

OutHouse

Lifer
Jun 5, 2000
36,410
616
126
I quit after my first solo, reality hit me and it was a hobby I would not be able to maintain, but hey I can say I flew a plane all by myself. If I had the money I would switch and go helicopter. My absolute dream would to have a house in a aviation community with a private strip and my hanger would have a huey in it.
 
alkemyst

alkemyst

No Lifer
Feb 13, 2001
83,769
19
81
John Connor said:
I don't trust helicopters. If it doesn't have wings to glide with I don't want to be in it.
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Not all planes can glide.

One of the tricks some pilots do here especially with gliding planes is to do a long spiral up over land and then head out to the islands. That way if they lose an engine or two, they can usually make it at least close to land.
 
Red Squirrel

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
70,778
13,869
126
www.anyf.ca
manlymatt83 said:
Just a quick question for those who have pilot experience: are you allowed to post the pictures you take out the cockpit window to social media (taken while not in control of the plane, of course).
Click to expand...

I read somewhere that it's not legal to take pictures of the Eiffel tower because it's copyrighted, basically any picture taken of it is automatically their property. Not sure how common laws like this are with other landmarks/places, but it would be something to watch out for I guess. Probably really hard to enforce though especially if you post on Facebook or something and only your friends see it. I would not worry too much. I'm sure everybody who goes on vacation to France takes their pic with it and you don't really hear of lawsuits.
 
repoman0

repoman0

Diamond Member
Jun 17, 2010
5,191
4,574
136
manlymatt83 said:
I'm going once per week. Out of Hanscom actually!
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Awesome! I got a ride in the copilot seat of a Piper Warrior III with my coworker out of Hanscom for some work stuff and ever since then, I really want to start learning as well. Maybe our lessons will overlap and I'll see you there..

Good luck man
 
Red Squirrel

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
70,778
13,869
126
www.anyf.ca
OutHouse said:
helicopter in a box :D

http://www.rotorway.com/
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A helicopter kit that you put together yourself what could possibly go wrong? :D

On serious note that actually is pretty cool. 86k for a helicopter is pretty good, that's like a high end SUV.

I think I want one for Christmas. Supposedly they are harder to pilot than a plane but the dashboard looks pretty simple, I'll figure it out. :hmm:
 
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