So, student pilots.. Who are we and where do we stand?

Was a bit windy down your way yesterday Timmer (flew into CRQ), but other than that "your" weather was VERY NICE :)
 
That's because I didn't have a plane reservation yesterday ;)

And yes, it was a gorgeous weekend except for Friday morning when my last flight was scheduled (0800-1300) which was OVC at 1200' until 1400.

I hope you had a good flight and time down here!
 
Was a nice flight from TOA. Only on the ground at CRQ long enough to reset radios and VOR points for the flight back. Have friends in Carlsbad so my guess is I'll be back....
 
Old Fart said:
Was a nice flight from TOA. Only on the ground at CRQ long enough to reset radios and VOR points for the flight back. Have friends in Carlsbad so my guess is I'll be back....
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How was the approach and landing at Palomar (KCRQ)? I want to make that flight soon. Any issues or tips?
 
MrGumpo said:
First solo this morning!
8:50 AM, my CFI got out and told me to do three full stop landings.

8mph crosswind 90 degrees off the runway, other than that a perfect morning to fly!

I'm back so I had ' good' landings, and the airplane is useable again, so they were all great. :D
Best start to a week ever.
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For me, that was more of a turning point than a feeling of accomplishment. Everything from that day on truly felt like 10 steps closer to my PPL. Congrats! :)
 
register@teamandras.com said:
How was the approach and landing at Palomar (KCRQ)? I want to make that flight soon. Any issues or tips?
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Where do you fly out of?

I am looking forward to my first flight towards your area. My instructor mentioned we'll be doing a flight to SNA during my upcoming lessons.
 
Timmer said:
Where do you fly out of?

I am looking forward to my first flight towards your area. My instructor mentioned we'll be doing a flight to SNA during my upcoming lessons.
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John Wayne (SNA) is my home airport (I can see it from my office at work!). You will have a beautiful flight from San Diego to here; almost all coastline.

My goal is to get some more experience heading your way too.
 
Just gotta dodge the artillery shells over Camp Pendleton! :)
 
Timmer said:
Just gotta dodge the artillery shells over Camp Pendleton! :)
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Yup! When I flew south once next to Camp Pendleton, part of my flight plan was double-checking with SoCal to confirm that restricted area R2503D was cold. My Plan B was to stay out of the restricted area by flying farther away from the coast if I needed to.
 
Well gee,,,,all these solos and here I am just happy having survived stalls and slow flight. I was scared ****less before the lesson on stalls....afterward I realized there is a bit of fun with them (when done properly). Next lesson is just going to be more practice with stall recovery and some ground reference maneuver refreshment.
 
Hey, it took me a bit to get the landings down...even now they are not perfect yet but good enough. I plan on working on them until I am happy with them...


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pikespeakmtnman said:
Well gee,,,,all these solos and here I am just happy having survived stalls and slow flight. I was scared ****less before the lesson on stalls....afterward I realized there is a bit of fun with them (when done properly). Next lesson is just going to be more practice with stall recovery and some ground reference maneuver refreshment.
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I really came to enjoy stalls. When you get right down to it, they're far more benign (when done properly) than the layman's imagination would suggest.

The other day I took an active duty USAF guy (non-pilot) up for his first flight. He wanted to "do a stall". We did one, no sweat. When we got back down, he said he was under the impression that a stall was a nose-vertical, hang-on-the-prop maneuver. It's unclear where he got that idea, but I may have had similar imaginative ideas before actually performing my first one and realizing that it's really pretty docile and fun.
 
asechrest said:
I really came to enjoy stalls. When you get right down to it, they're far more benign (when done properly) than the layman's imagination would suggest.

The other day I took an active duty USAF guy (non-pilot) up for his first flight. He wanted to "do a stall". We did one, no sweat. When we got back down, he said he was under the impression that a stall was a nose-vertical, hang-on-the-prop maneuver. It's unclear where he got that idea, but I may have had similar imaginative ideas before actually performing my first one and realizing that it's really pretty docile and fun.
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That's not too far off from what I expected that they would be. I'm training in a CTLS which stalls VERY benignly but I still found them to be fun. Overcoming that fear was a big step for me, now I feel like many of my other fears are equally overblown but I will still have to experience it before I know the level of my overreaction.
 
Ive probably got about 10 more hours to go, including taking a long solo XC which I've probably booked 3 weeks in a row only to be cancelled due to weather.

PNW winters = prepare to stretch out your training for a few months if youre a weekender like me.
 
Hello to all other students!

Third time is a charm as I finally got my first night flight in and on such a beautiful night. I did three fantastic landings except for my instructor giving me crap about some big white line off to the right of the plane on each landing. I don't know why they paint those off-center!

I learned a couple of things:
1) People aren't lying about how smooth flying is at night. Magical.
2) Holy crap are airports impossible to find!
3) I found the only way really to find an airport was to use lighted landmarks like freeways and piers to get your bearing and narrow down your field of view to look for a beacon, but even then, it's difficult.
4) Planes are much easier to see.
5) I really, really would not want an engine problem at night. "Well I can see where the freeways are and everything else is black: could be water, could be rocky hills, could be a business building park, a school bus parking lot, etc.

And, finally, once again proving that this whole experience is amazing.
 
Timmer said:
else is black: could be water, could be rocky hills, could be a business building park, a school bus parking lot, etc.
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Engine failure at night

1. Pitch for Vg
2. Landing light On (if you don't like what you see near the ground see step 3)
3. Landing light Off

Or so they say.
Disclaimer :This advice should not be substituted for that of a CFI. Consult with your CFI for actual night operating procedures. /Disclaimer

On a side note, night XC flights are my favorite.
 
I solo'd back in November and have finished my ground work as well as everything covered in the air with my CFI. Sitting on 30.1 hours right now. For the last 3 months it seems I have been snake bitten. When I can go out, I get IFR weather. Days I am slammed at the office, VFR with no wind. Murphy's Law I guess. Went out Monday and may slip out again tomorrow since this weekend will be filled with (once again) bad weather. In the last 6-8 weeks on weekends, there has been a total of about 6 hours of VFR weather which I took advantage of. Grrr.

Studying for my written right now, I plan on scheduling it next month.
 
Hi, Mark. That happened to me, too, I had a three month and a two month break so far, one right before soloing and one right after my first solo flight.

I've found it's best to do it in chunks if possible -- of course, that's hard to control if weather is the main problem. Flying once every couple weeks won't get you far instead of taking a month to study the books then get lots of flying done in the next month.

Definitely take advantage of the down time to study. If you're past the solo, the time will come quickly when you'll need your written done or you won't progress in lessons. Good luck! :)
 
Did my first towered airport work yesterday, 3 touch and goes at KTTN with radiowork. Eight landings in total all by myself. CFI ended the day by saying one more day like that, a day of ground school to make sure I know my stuff for the pre solo writen, and my pre solo test, and I shoud be ready for my solo. That translates to 2 to 4 weeks till solo. The girl that runs the school then followed up by saying it sounds like I am almost half way done with my training. Current total time 19.5 hours.
 
Be careful with the flight school manager's optimism. Very few people finish in 40 hours. You're 20 in and still have a lot to learn and do. Good luck with the solo coming up:)
 
Do not expect to finish at 40. I realize it will be more like 60. :D
 
I was trying to do some unfamiliar CTAF terminology the other day and I stumbled upon this thread, which - having since recovered from rolling on the floor whilst laughing - prompted me to register an account.

I'm just a newbie - took and passed my written test in the fall of last year before ever setting foot in the cockpit and have been working on my flight hours (mostly on the weekends) since then. I'm about 20hrs in and I'm finishing up the last of the manoeuvres required for the pre-solo phase check, hoping to maybe take to the skies on my own sometime this summer. Fingers crossed!
 
I haven't had a chance to come in here since Monday..

I passed my PPL check ride on 3/10! Perfect day for it too.


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I got in my second solo flight today. It was beautiful.

Clear, blue skies minus some low-level haze around the mountains. Gusty winds, giving me some great cross-wind practice on each landing, including one landing that tested my left and right quartering crosswind skills on the same landing.

I had a lot of fun. I'm feeling much more relaxed on the radio, although those touch-and-goes with gusty winds definitely kept me on edge for much of the time.

This is a strange and wonderful hobby I've gotten myself into ;)
 
AtlantaFalcons said:
I just did my checkride today and I'm a new private pilot!

I was nervous about the ride, but everything went great. It was a really great experience and it feels awesome to finally have my license! (or, for now, my temporary paper cert)
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Awesome!! Congratulations! :D
 
AtlantaFalcons said:
I just did my checkride today and I'm a new private pilot!

I was nervous about the ride, but everything went great. It was a really great experience and it feels awesome to finally have my license! (or, for now, my temporary paper cert)
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Congrats!!!
 
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