Any pilots here?
- Thread starter InOmaha
- Start date
My toxic trait is when I read your title, my first thought was "not officially, but I feel certain I could fly and land one with all of my flight Sim and video game experience".
I considered getting my license at one time, but never pursued it. I'd prefer rotary wing to fixed wing, but it's not likely either will ever happen.
From the limited research I did a few years ago, the best/most frequent advice I saw was to research and seek out a great flight school with a good safety record and pass rate. The quality of your instructor can literally determine your success (and your survival too I guess).
I considered getting my license at one time, but never pursued it. I'd prefer rotary wing to fixed wing, but it's not likely either will ever happen.
From the limited research I did a few years ago, the best/most frequent advice I saw was to research and seek out a great flight school with a good safety record and pass rate. The quality of your instructor can literally determine your success (and your survival too I guess).
YGBSM
Member
I've been flying for almost 50 years. 28,000 hours. Learning to fly is a blast but it is also a lot of work. Don't think about minimums. Sure you can get your PPC in as little as 35 hours but don't do it. Find a good instructor. Interview them, fly with a few, and have them give you their first lesson and outline their training program. Get your instrument rating. Not just to fly in clouds, but because it makes you a smoother and more precise pilot. Train constantly. Spend an hour with an instructor every 90 days until you finish your instrument rating. Then fly with one every 6 months. As for buying an airplane ask yourself how you feel about rental cars. Does it piss you off to see how they are treated or do you just want to use it and go on to other things (like Suzy in college)? If you're picky, buy the plane and keep it in great shape. They're like Jeeps. You'll want a glass panel, then a Garmin stack. a winch.... wait, no... no winch...
My best friend is a pilot and has 5 planes. The one thing that has be a constant thorn in his side is paying for 'Annuals' yearly on all 5 planes, sometimes AVGas prices are crazy depending on where in the US he flies, and paying for hangar fees. Planes require lots of work and as YGBSM has eluded to can be very expensive adding the correct avionics and do-dads getting it setup like you want. I go flying with him all the time. He is both IFR and VFR rated and i ask him questions all the time. I took one of the pilots exams when i got my Drone Pilots license as it was required for being in the same air space and having to learn the VFR sectional charts took me a while before it all clicked.
Listening to my friend talk to ATC makes me nervous because there is a cadence to ATC and they are all different. Plus having to repeat instructions or headings back and remember frequencies and vectors seems like a lot but i'm sure thats what training does for you and over time it becomes second nature.
What kind of plane are you considering and how fast do you want to go? LOL.
Listening to my friend talk to ATC makes me nervous because there is a cadence to ATC and they are all different. Plus having to repeat instructions or headings back and remember frequencies and vectors seems like a lot but i'm sure thats what training does for you and over time it becomes second nature.
What kind of plane are you considering and how fast do you want to go? LOL.
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My wife's cousin is learning now. Tech guy so he bought a simulator that is laid out exactly like the plane he wants to buy.
My niece got married recently and her new F-I-L flew his new plane to the wedding. He's only been flying a year, but his brother was a fighter pilot and flies international freight.
Talking to them sparked an interest. Doing some research I was surprised how slow some planes are and how little weight they carry. That got me looking even deeper.
We flew in a plane and landed on a glacier in Alaska using skies. It was a great experience.
I like learning new things. This seems like something that would keep the mind sharp.
My niece got married recently and her new F-I-L flew his new plane to the wedding. He's only been flying a year, but his brother was a fighter pilot and flies international freight.
Talking to them sparked an interest. Doing some research I was surprised how slow some planes are and how little weight they carry. That got me looking even deeper.
We flew in a plane and landed on a glacier in Alaska using skies. It was a great experience.
I like learning new things. This seems like something that would keep the mind sharp.
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Just starting the mental part of wrapping my head around it. I could stick with 2 people and luggage or shoot for bigger and try to get the 6 adults in the family with very limited luggage.
I worked for a guy that had a private jet and pilot. I'm not there for sure.
I find it interesting that planes can be found for $60-100,000. That's new car prices anymore. Like anything, price varies by quality, age, speed, etc.
KennethS
TJ Expert
How the hell do you make that downgrade? That’s the equivalent of “I was a Formula 1 race car driver and now I drive a UPS truck.”
Friends I knew in school joined the Air Force and flew C130s so when they got out they could fly commercial airliners.
He flew for the Israeli air force for decades, retired, then decided to pick up freight flights to travel the world. Had to learn the big planes.
He flew to the US for the wedding, hopped a freight from CA to NYC then flew a plane back home.
I guess it's a decent part time job if you don't like people. Beats flying for something like Spirit Airlines.
He flew to the US for the wedding, hopped a freight from CA to NYC then flew a plane back home.
I guess it's a decent part time job if you don't like people. Beats flying for something like Spirit Airlines.
KennethS
TJ Expert
I got my licence when I was still in the USAF at the Andrews AFB aeroclub. That would have been around 1990. Learning to fly in the Washington TCA ( now called the Washington DC Metropolitan Area Special Flight Rules Area) sucked. Did I say sucked? I meant SUCKED! And trying to land a Cessna 172 behind a C-5A and in front of a FA-18 was a nightmare. I thought I was being cute and turned off at the first taxiway and the ^%$#@ Navy bahstad turned right behind me on the same taxiway. Ground control was nice when he told me to move. I hate smartass Navy guys.
Anyway it isn't cheap. AVGAS then, on base, was right at $2/gal. I think I was renting the bird for about $45/hr wet. It didn't take much to burn through $300 taking my girlfriend to Assateague Island to see the horses on the beach and then have a $10 lunch at a small airport diner off of the Rappahannock River. It was an interesting short and undulating runway (grass IIRC) with the diner adjacent to the runway.
Great memories. Lost my ticket when I got cancer.
Anyway it isn't cheap. AVGAS then, on base, was right at $2/gal. I think I was renting the bird for about $45/hr wet. It didn't take much to burn through $300 taking my girlfriend to Assateague Island to see the horses on the beach and then have a $10 lunch at a small airport diner off of the Rappahannock River. It was an interesting short and undulating runway (grass IIRC) with the diner adjacent to the runway.
Great memories. Lost my ticket when I got cancer.
I think if I went Bi-plane I would at least need a canopy like this. Fun to dream and only $150,000. Cheaper than a boat (or camper) and Truck to pull it. Not much room for the wife's luggage though.
If I had the bucks (and could get a med cert again), I'd get a Berkut 360.
My 17yo wants to be a pilot. We took him to see one flight school in Oxnard about a month ago. He's a senior in high school and has been getting the best grades he's ever gotten (so far). We're definitely encouraging him.
Personally, I will never fly in a single engine plane. Figure if the Jeep breaks down, I can hopefully pull over. If your single engine plane breaks down, you have larger problems. I just don't like flying though. I'll do it for vacations and such, but I would never want to be a pilot.
Just don't do helicopters:
About 10 years ago, I had a client at a previous job. Owner of the company, had money to burn. So he took helicopter pilot lessons. Long story short, crashed the helicopter on landing. He has permanent brain damage and did damage to one other student that sued him. His son was forced to start a new business because of the lawsuits. All of his staff left to work for the son. His business struggled for about another year before closing.
Personally, I will never fly in a single engine plane. Figure if the Jeep breaks down, I can hopefully pull over. If your single engine plane breaks down, you have larger problems. I just don't like flying though. I'll do it for vacations and such, but I would never want to be a pilot.
Just don't do helicopters:
About 10 years ago, I had a client at a previous job. Owner of the company, had money to burn. So he took helicopter pilot lessons. Long story short, crashed the helicopter on landing. He has permanent brain damage and did damage to one other student that sued him. His son was forced to start a new business because of the lawsuits. All of his staff left to work for the son. His business struggled for about another year before closing.
alittleoff
TJ Addict
A couple of years ago, I was kicking around the idea of getting an UltraLite. For $15k or less, I could have left the earth from my back yard. But then I got another TJ and grounded myself.
Now I'm kinda half fast looking for a pre-square body Suburban so I can tow my shit around and check off the bucket list trails.
Now I'm kinda half fast looking for a pre-square body Suburban so I can tow my shit around and check off the bucket list trails.
helicopter: 10,000 parts flying in loose formation.
YGBSM
Member
Just starting the mental part of wrapping my head around it. I could stick with 2 people and luggage or shoot for bigger and try to get the 6 adults in the family with very limited luggage.
I worked for a guy that had a private jet and pilot. I'm not there for sure.
I find it interesting that planes can be found for $60-100,000. That's new car prices anymore. Like anything, price varies by quality, age, speed, etc.
The V35 Bonanza used to carry the title "Forked Tail Doctor Killer." The reason, among others, was that people with disposable income would complete their private pilot training, get their certificate, and then buy an aircraft based on their income rather than their skill level. Now pilots are required to complete a complex aircraft certification before moving on to those aircraft. Step up, don't jump up.
i’m sorta a pilot, i refuse to believe in basic theory’s like lift so i beat the air into submission to create a tactical advantage.
photos stolen from a coworker CW2 Roxberry
photos stolen from a coworker CW2 Roxberry
There was a dirt landing strip down the road from me as a wee lad. Guy that owned it had a Bonanza, as did just about everyone else who would land there of a weekend. Sometimes there'd be 6 or 8 of them there. And one Piper Cub whose owner stored it there.
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