Recent content by TexasAdam

Alright, consensus is to do it. I've got a trip (commercial) to Phoenix in March. Is there a CFI or school in that area that folks can recommend? How much time should generally be budgeted? I'm a low-time pilot....

What is it? When should you get it? What sorts of things does it cover? If I'm flying somewhere like Tahoe or Santa Fe that's located in/around mountains is it recommended or is it more for folks who want to fly through valleys with their wingtips 250 ft. from the walls?

Thanks again, everyone, this has been helpful. To clarify, the bicycles are a nice-to-have, not a need-to-have ("Room for two bicycles is a big plus") and I have calculated pax weight (around 350) and the baggage we'd need (50 w/o bikes, 100 with) for the trips we'd be taking in this plane. I...

Thanks for the info (validation?). Sounds like our missions are/were pretty similar. Two hour legs are perfectly acceptable for us and we're going to use this a lot for camping. That being said, I'm guessing you couldn't get bikes in the luggage area even with wheels/saddle removed, esp...

Hi Everyone - As always all thoughts/insights/comments are appreciated, you've all provided a lot of food for thought. It sounds like the trifecta I originally mentioned are maybe a little less plane than what I need (or at least what I think I need). Thanks!

I know it's hard to be picky at that price point but I'm going to be anyway. From what I've seen there are basically three options: 1) Cessna 150; 2) Piper Tomahawk; 3) Grumman AA-1. There are also an assortment of taildraggers out there but I'm not very taken with them (although if there are...

It's almost depressing how low the lake is. Flying in from Phoenix a few weeks ago and it looks like exposed bone. I've never really explored gliding but they seem to have a pretty good operation. Thanks for the tip! Another, more general, question. If I fly into a smallish airport (say...

You guys are awesome, thanks for the tips. I'm pretty curious about the seaplane concept. I know there's a company that teaches out of Lake Travis (I'm in Austin) and I may make an inquiry when I'm done with the PPL. I'd always thought I'd get the Instrument ticket next but there's so little...

Hey party people - One of the things the wife and I are most excited about once I finish the PPL is being able to go camping places that are little far for driving. I've yet to find a good online resource on places to fly-in and camp in and around Texas. We're open to parks that have landing...

I took a pretty standard 9-5 gig out of school since, well, I needed a job. And while I was far from miserable there, I had a wide variety of interests and after a few years I started itching to explore some of them. So I quit and worked for free for a while to get my foot in the door...

I'm not a pilot nor am I a veteran of anything, but I'm not that far from 26 and went through a very similar "what the hell am I doing?" phase. It's not uncommon, and I'd bet you're not the only one in your cohort going through it. I came out of it better, stronger, and happier, so I...

Thanks for all the input (and warm welcome), folks! I'm definitely more in the "run it as a business" camp as opposed to the "maybe I can get some folks to pay for my own personal airplane" one so it sounds like some calls to all the schools and FBOs in the area (Austin) is in my future. I've...

Hi Folks! I'm a post-solo student pilot with a little over 15 hours. I'm on track to finish my PPL right at 40 hours, hopefully just before Thanksgiving. I want to go on to earn my instrument rating in the spring, and am seriously considering purchasing a plane to train in. I'd also like to...