Hello! New pilot in training, and new to POA.

AdventurerDNA

Filing Flight Plan
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Jan 1, 2020
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12
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Greeley, Colorado
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AdventurerDNA
Good evening and Happy New Year. I just wanted to take a moment and introduce myself. My name is Jayson (Pittsburgh native but currently living in Colorado) and I am brand new to the world of aviation. I have decided to take a step into the unknown and pursue the path of obtaining my PPL. I took my intro flight on my 40th birthday last month in Loveland, Colorado. I have since purchased an online ground school, some reading material, an E6-B flight computer, a sectional plotter, as well as a sectional chart.

If anyone has any input, I would love to hear. From this moment forward I am committed to soaking up as much information about aviation as possible.

Cheers!
 
Here we will get you started right...

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Welcome to the asylum!
 
WELCOME to POA. Good luck with your pilot training.
 
Welcome!

After you pick the facility you are going to use, buy or download the POH, the handbook published by the manufacturer, for the plane they use for initial training.

Read it carefully, and expect the plane to perform very close to what the book says, no better, no worse. That will keep you out of trouble. The instructors will explain why you must make corrections, and how to do it, for non standard conditions.

If your E6B is a non electronic one, you will be amazed at how much it will calculate for you, and how long it will last. A WW2 pilot gave me his, and after 50 years of my use, I donated it to the College Park, MD aviation museum, in good working order. I still have a smaller, newer one which is adequate.

I refueled in Loveland 40 or so years ago, on the way back from Colorado Springs, nice stop, but a much smaller place then.

What took you to Loveland?
 
There’s about 40 or so POA’ers in various parts of Colorado. We need to schedule a lunch or something soon.
 
Welcome!

After you pick the facility you are going to use, buy or download the POH, the handbook published by the manufacturer, for the plane they use for initial training.

Read it carefully, and expect the plane to perform very close to what the book says, no better, no worse. That will keep you out of trouble. The instructors will explain why you must make corrections, and how to do it, for non standard conditions.

If your E6B is a non electronic one, you will be amazed at how much it will calculate for you, and how long it will last. A WW2 pilot gave me his, and after 50 years of my use, I donated it to the College Park, MD aviation museum, in good working order. I still have a smaller, newer one which is adequate.

I refueled in Loveland 40 or so years ago, on the way back from Colorado Springs, nice stop, but a much smaller place then.

What took you to Loveland?
Thank you for this information. The E6B I ordered is in fact the manual version. I wanted to learn and master the art of manually plotting my courses prior to purchasing the electronic version.

I currently reside in Greeley (just East of Loveland) for work in my respective industry. Picking Loveland for my intro flight was simply a choice based on logistical convenience.
 
Minor thoughts. Don’t put too much worry behind the first.

Sporty’s : Nothing at all wrong with their ground school. Just know that not all instructors will have access to it and MIGHT have a different syllabus. No big deal, anybody teaching should be able to handle quizzing your knowledge without caring which ground school material you used.

That said... remember everything one needs to know is in the “free” (well taxpayer funded) FAA publications.

Some folks do find they learn better or retain better from commercially produced stuff like Sporty’s or Gleim or Jepp or King or Rod Machado or...

But in the end the test material is the FAA publications.

If you get used to reading them, and their style of presentation works for you, “free” is always nice. :)

Well free to download. Companies that print hard copy do it really cheap though.

Even though I didn’t take this advice when I started either, because there’s so much cool stuff to buy... easy on buying stuff. Your instructor will be able to talk about what you’ll need, when, and pros and cons of the optional stuff. ;)

I still bought piles of stuff back then anyway. Hahaha. You know you’re a new pilot when your flight bag weighs 40 lbs. LOL.
 
Welcome to the madness. Spend some time in the medical section of the board and make sure there are no surprises in getting your medical. Do not show up for your medical just like that.
 
I am in training too, I was gonna fly in Loveland but found somewhere closer... I visited their school and everyone who is there is very nice. Someone I know trained there and they liked it. I would highly recommend checking it out.
 
Minor thoughts. Don’t put too much worry behind the first.

Sporty’s : Nothing at all wrong with their ground school. Just know that not all instructors will have access to it and MIGHT have a different syllabus. No big deal, anybody teaching should be able to handle quizzing your knowledge without caring which ground school material you used.

That said... remember everything one needs to know is in the “free” (well taxpayer funded) FAA publications.

Some folks do find they learn better or retain better from commercially produced stuff like Sporty’s or Gleim or Jepp or King or Rod Machado or...

But in the end the test material is the FAA publications.

If you get used to reading them, and their style of presentation works for you, “free” is always nice. :)

Well free to download. Companies that print hard copy do it really cheap though.

Even though I didn’t take this advice when I started either, because there’s so much cool stuff to buy... easy on buying stuff. Your instructor will be able to talk about what you’ll need, when, and pros and cons of the optional stuff. ;)

I still bought piles of stuff back then anyway. Hahaha. You know you’re a new pilot when your flight bag weighs 40 lbs. LOL.
Great advice on the FAA publications. Ill be having a look at those today. And yes, free is always nice!
 
Welcome to the forum. If you’re looking for opinions, you’ll find them here in great abundance:cool:

You’ll find that training is fundamentally developing a good connection with your CFI. I encourage you to make sure you feel comfortable with your instructor and if you don’t make a good connection, don’t hesitate to ask for a different CFI. There are a lot different learning/teaching styles and making the right match will make your journey smoother.

It ain’t easy but it ain’t hard either to become a pilot:D

Best of luck and always keep the goal in mind.

Cheers
 
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