Are Old Logged Hours Still Valid

MBDiagMan

MBDiagMan

Final Approach
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Doc
I flew much of my Private Pilot training 20 years ago and then have taken it up again recently with the same instructor I flew with 20 years ago. He studied my logbook and said that all requirements were there except for three things; long XC, 2 more hours under the hood and night XC.

Unfortunately he has been near impossible to schedule time with and has seemingly just turned greedy, wanting to sell time and rental, and not focused on working through the learning process with the student.

I live in the boonies so my choice of instructors is EXTREMELY limited. I found someone who I will now fly with. Upon meeting him and talking with him, he said "we are going to start all over again." I have no trouble with that since hopefully I will move along faster due to my previous training and the fact that I have solo'd since I started again.

What I'm questioning is that if I understood him correctly, he said the reg's are changing all the time and you will have to do all the requirements again. He is the ONLY CFI that I have talked to since starting over who has told me that.

I am still in the process of getting to know him and gaining trust in him. I feel good about him on most all fronts except for him saying this. If he were simply saying he wanted to start over again I have no trouble, but since he says my old hours are no good, I'm wondering if there is a hidden agenda.

Thanks for your comments,
Doc
 
Doc:

1. Your hours are your hours- if you have your log book, they still count.

...that said...

2. Any instructor worth his or her salt will want to ensure that you have proficiency in all required tasks, which may happen quickly, or may effectively be a "do-over" - but I bet you knew that...

...that said...

3. I am mildly concerned about an instructor who contends the old hours don't count. Of course, I am interpolating from what you wrote, and may be way off.

--

So tell us where you are, maybe we can help. You may be better-off doing your flying in solid chunks, over here in the DFW area, where there are many flight instructors, some of whom actually know what they are doing.
 
SC,

Thanks very much for the response. In the last several months in trying to find a way to work through this, I did indeed consider spending some time in the Dallas area and just take one of the fly your butt off courses for a few weeks. My Mom lives in Grand Prairie so I could stay there while I did it.

I didn't want to burn my vacation that way, plus I really like flying in the boonies, away from the TCA, the air traffic and with PLENTY of big pastures to set a plane in should the need arise.

That said, I am now further in that decision process, because I am buying a plane and hangering it at an airport near here. The new instructor is my IA. If he doesn't work out as an instructor, there's another instructor there that also has tailwheel experience. My first hours were in a taildragger and the plane I bought is a taildragger.

Since I chose to put money in a plane as part of my training expense, I really need to learn in my own plane which means flying out of this airport. I am about 120 miles from Dallas.

I will be seeing the new instructor again today and will discuss this further. I fully expect him to "start over" in flight training and move me along with his method, no problem. What I object to and am concerned about is that I already have things like XC and landings at a tower controlled airport done and in my logbook. It sounded like he wanted me to do that over. That's the one thing I would like to avoid until I get my PPL and start building my XC time.

Thanks again for your responding.

Doc
 
Doc, they are valid still, but the CFI has to sign you off (eventaully) that he knows you are competent for ALL tasks. So you'll have to alt least demonstrate them to his satisfaction.

The value of old hours, is......everything will move faster toward signoff.; it's a good bet after a layoff you don't quite have the mastery you thought you did- but htat between you and he.
 
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MBDiagMan said:
What I object to and am concerned about is that I already have things like [...] landings at a tower controlled airport done and in my logbook. It sounded like he wanted me to do that over.
Click to expand...

The radio / tower nonsense is probably well worth a re-do (at least based on my experience as a re-tread). Flying the airplane is the easy part.
 
The trouble with being way out in the boon docks is there is no incentive for the few instructors available, to get you finished off. It is lost income for them as soon as you graduate.

Your instincts are correct, it is about the money. If you paid one of them to ferry you and your plane to a "fly your butt off school", in the long run, it will probably save you huge dollars in training costs.

Before you go, contact the FYBO school and get a list of what you must do prior to getting there. Most want a valid medical and a current written.

Radio communications is easy once you understand the authoritative voice your talking to is a real person, just like you, who is trying to get through the day without screwing up, same as you. Your both in the same boat, so lighten up on them. You can even joke around a little as long as you are not wasting air time.

John
 
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Thanks for the further responses.

Yes, I do realize that I don't have the beginner skill that I had when I gave it up 20 years ago. Worse yet, I'm now 62 instead of 42, so my learning ability is not as keen either. I have flown 6 hours with another instructor going through maneuvers, touch & go's etc, before he solo'd me with five hours. From that I learned, as I expected, I am starting over again to a considerable extent.

I do indeed understand the new instructor wanting me checked out in all areas, and I THINK that he is merely being thorough and applying his own teaching method and curriculum. I'm good with that. What concerns me, if I correctly understood what he was saying, is that he is telling me something that is not true. This is unsettling during the early part of the process of getting to know and trust him.

Maybe I'm simply being overly suspicious and misunderstood him.

Thanks again,
Doc
 
John Baker said:
The trouble with being way out in the boon docks is there is no incentive for the few instructors available, to get you finished off. It is lost income for them as soon as you graduate.

Your instincts are correct, it is about the money. If you paid one of them to ferry you and your plane to a "fly your butt off school", in the long run, it will probably save you huge dollars in training costs.

Before you go, contact the FYBO school and get a list of what you must do prior to getting there. Most want a valid medical and a current written.

Radio communications is easy once you understand the authoritative voice your talking to is a real person, just like you, who is trying to get through the day without screwing up, same as you. Your both in the same boat, so lighten up on them. You can even joke around a little as long as you are not wasting air time.

John
Click to expand...


Thanks John,

I do have a valid medical and recently passed written. To oversimplify, all I need is to learn to fly and get signed off for the checkride.

I have heard mixed opinions of the "fly your butt off" approach. Some folks say it's great while others say that if you fly in small chunks and let it soak in is better. It would save a lot of money in that I would get all those hours and effect quickly, burning very little insurance, hanger and prorated annual costs. If I got past it quick, I could then go on and start building XC time.

Actually towers don't bother me all that much although I would rather fly around out here in the boondocks. When flying before, I flew into Tyler Pounds (easy) and Addison (intense.) I have a great book on Pilot's Radio Communications that has been a great refresher and I often listen to LiveATC to help.

Thanks again,
Doc
 
Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
The radio / tower nonsense is probably well worth a re-do (at least based on my experience as a re-tread). Flying the airplane is the easy part.
Click to expand...
Don't forget, an awful lot has changed in this area since you last flew.
MBDiagMan said:
Yes, I do realize that I don't have the beginner skill that I had when I gave it up 20 years ago. Worse yet, I'm now 62 instead of 42, so my learning ability is not as keen either. I have flown 6 hours with another instructor going through maneuvers, touch & go's etc, before he solo'd me with five hours. From that I learned, as I expected, I am starting over again to a considerable extent.

I do indeed understand the new instructor wanting me checked out in all areas, and I THINK that he is merely being thorough and applying his own teaching method and curriculum. I'm good with that. What concerns me, if I correctly understood what he was saying, is that he is telling me something that is not true. This is unsettling during the early part of the process of getting to know and trust him.
Click to expand...

Good luck!

Alan
 
Contact Tom Richards in Lamar MO, pay him to get down to you and ferry your aircraft. I can't think of a better person to one-on-one you to completion.
 
Fast with someone professional beats slow with a yahoo any day of the week. Good luck.
 
bbchien said:
Contact Tom Richards in Lamar MO, pay him to get down to you and ferry your aircraft. I can't think of a better person to one-on-one you to completion.
Click to expand...

Bruce,

Is Tom Richards a seasoned tailwheel guy?

Thanks for the suggestion and detailed info.

Doc
 
PilotAlan said:
Don't forget, an awful lot has changed in this area since you last flew.
Click to expand...

I didn't want to burn my vacation that way, plus I really like flying in the boonies, away from the TCA, the air traffic and with PLENTY of big pastures to set a plane in should the need arise.
Click to expand...

Indeed, yes. In fact, many of us come-latelies could not even tell you what airspace used to be a TCA.
 
MBDiagMan said:
Bruce,

Is Tom Richards a seasoned tailwheel guy?

Thanks for the suggestion and detailed info.

Doc
Click to expand...

Yes, he and his wife own a Citabria and fly it off of their farm. They are both two of the nicest people you'll ever meet.
 
SCCutler said:
Doc:

1. Your hours are your hours- if you have your log book, they still count.

...that said...

2. Any instructor worth his or her salt will want to ensure that you have proficiency in all required tasks, which may happen quickly, or may effectively be a "do-over" - but I bet you knew that...

...that said...

3. I am mildly concerned about an instructor who contends the old hours don't count. Of course, I am interpolating from what you wrote, and may be way off.

--

So tell us where you are, maybe we can help. You may be better-off doing your flying in solid chunks, over here in the DFW area, where there are many flight instructors, some of whom actually know what they are doing.
Click to expand...

SC,

Do you know any tailwheel people in the Metroplex, preferably Grand Prairie, Arlington or RedBird that might could do this? I heard that there is a DPE lady that teaches in a Citabria in Midlothian. Midlothian would be an easy drive from my Mom's house in Grand Prairie.

Thanks again,
Doc
 
I had a 20 year layoff as well. My hours were still "legal valid" but certainly not very "practical valid". In essence, I did "start over" but not from the point of having to re-log the required hours, just relearn and demonstrate the required skills. It wasn't a complete do-over - a lot of stuff came back fairly quickly.
 
azure said:
Indeed, yes. In fact, many of us come-latelies could not even tell you what airspace used to be a TCA.
Click to expand...

Yep, I should have said Class B Airspace, but that sounds funny to me. To this old codger, that beehive between Dallas and Fort Worth, in my mind, will always be the "TCA."

Doc
 
gkainz said:
I had a 20 year layoff as well. My hours were still "legal valid" but certainly not very "practical valid". In essence, I did "start over" but not from the point of having to re-log the required hours, just relearn and demonstrate the required skills. It wasn't a complete do-over - a lot of stuff came back fairly quickly.
Click to expand...

My layoff was closer to ten years (I ran out of money when I was a kid getting my PPL) but I had a similar experience. For all intents and purposes it was like starting over again. The flying part - not that hard but it was mostly getting up to speed on everything else.
 
Doc

It was 25 years for me. You know what you need to pass the check ride, go up and enjoy the time with the instructor but keep on task. View it as he's a safety pilot thing. I still enjoy going up with a CFI once every 6-8 months.....I always learn something new.

Go for it and good luck
 
Early hours don't count? Hell, those ones about killed me - I count em' twice!
 
Only four years for me, and not much had changed on the charts and in the FAR/AIM, but my review was so thorough, it uncovered not only faded knowledge, but gaps. There were tasks I just had not performed enough before my hiatus, and things I hadn't been exposed to much in my training.

My age wasn't a factor, but I had four years' worth of "not thinking like a pilot"... I think that "use it or lose it" counts more than age-related reflex or acuity issues. I'm convinced that most old folks who have grown dull-witted have just not been challenging themselves mentally; they dig themselves a rut that's hard to get out of. Younger people do that, too, but as a specific skillset that's 90% mental, flying just needs to be practiced, or a fog settles in, no matter what your age may be.


There are pilots who started flying when they were older than you, Doc, and they've performed as well as many youngsters. They did it because they were keen on learning, even if they got tired sooner or moved a little more slowly. We're not talking Top Gun school here, just re-acquiring your legal right to go up there and keep learning about flying, and regaining the confidence that you're safe to continue where you left off.


FWIW, I managed to get back up to speed within the "1 hr for every year off rule", which seems to be the norm... two flights, and a lot of talking. You will probably do the same, Doc- maybe with less "hours per year", depending on how much you really learned the first time when you logged those old hours, and on how thorough your ground schooling was. Sounds like you have a good attitude regarding study; that will be a huge advantage. Self-discipline is definitely something an older student usually has less trouble with.

If you decide your best option is to go with the instructor who seems to want you to chuck your old logbook, that will be a bitter pill to swallow, but a little humility never hurt any pilot.
 
Thanks for all the replies and encouragement. I am going to start flying with this instructor and see where it goes. He's an old salt, ex crop duster, experienced pilot. As long as I can get in 3 hours or more a week and he is teaching me thoroughly I will stick with him. Good news is that he says we will spend a lot of time training on the ground. My other instructor did not do that. I learned everything for the written on my own and learned how to plan a XC on my own. I think this guy is going to be more thorough than that.

I'm not sure exactly what he means by starting over, but I really don't have any problem with any of that. My biggest concern was that he was telling me something that I knew was not true OR I misunderstood what he was saying.

I WILL NOT start another log book. If he starts over again, the time will still be logged in the same book because as it stands now, the FAA counts those hours whether he does or not.

If I can't get enough hours with him, I will try the other instructor that flies out of my field and if that doesn't work I'll find a "fly your butt off" school and take some vacation. The guy in MO sounds like a good choice.

I'm now paying insurance, hanger fees, and just generally paying for flying whether I'm in the air or not, so I will fly one way or the other. I won't sit around and look at my plane setting in the hanger.

Thanks again,
Doc
 
I have found a tailwheel school at McKinney which is only a one hour drive from me. I have to get lots more details, but I've learned two details so far that may get in the way:

They are $10 an hour more expensive than my current instructor and Avgas is $2.40 more expensive there. This would a tremendous amount to the per hour cost. If this could serve to shorten the number of hours, then that might pay off.

I have gotten to know my new home instructor better and learned more about where he's coming from. He is not saying my hours don't count, rather that he wants to start from scratch and do it all. If it makes me a better pilot, no problem.

The problem I suspect that I am going to run into with him, is that I'm not going to be able to fly enough. I've told him that I want 3 hours per week minimum, weather permitting. He doesn't want to fly much on weekends. He did say, however, that if it doesn't work for me, to feel free to do something different.

I'm learning to like and trust the old fellow, but I'm afraid that 3 hours a week will burn so much hanger fee, insurance, annual usage, etc., that it might work better to do the FYBO even at an extremely higher hourly rate and fuel cost.

Thanks for your ongoing comments.
Doc
 
Assuming you've narrowed it down to just these two choices, it sounds like the bottom line is: do you have enough "extra" money to do it with the more expensive choice? If the extra cost isn't a show-stopper for you, I see no reason why you would go with the instructor who wants to "start over from scratch" but can't be available as often as you'd like.... just to save money.

I agree that if you fly more often, you should get done with less dual logged... that seems to be the norm. Reason #1 why it took me so long, in calendar time and hours, to complete my PPASEL was that I couldn't fly often enough. Weather and other factors will cause gaps in any training scenario, but if you can at least find an instructor who's available when you want to fly, you'll be ahead of the game.
 
rotty,

Yes, that's the trade off. Unfortunately my crystal ball is not tuned well enough to be able to guess if it would save enough hours to offset the added cost per hour. I have the money for the training, but I'm not just loaded with money either.

If the guy from McKinney will return my call so I can get further into the details, then hopefully I will be better prepared to make the decision.

I have almost three weeks of vacation to burn before the end of the year. Flying would be vacation to me, so if I can find a place to keep my beloved little rag wing plane out of the weather at that airport, I may go ahead and do the FYBO school.

Thanks for the thoughts.

Doc
 
I'm in the midst of a return to flying after a hiatus of my own. Not quite 20 years in my case but more than 6.

The tailwheel school... Four Winds? They never returned my phone call either. I left a message, waited a few days, and drove over there. I'm not sure if I just happened to get there before a student or there's usually someone there, but I talked to a CFI (sounded like he may have been an owner or something too). We had a good talk before a student arrived and they left to fly. Beautiful planes, the guy I talked to sounded great. They have access to a grass strip nearby and do a lot of the pre-solo stuff there before moving you over to tarmac. Their legend cub (which is what I was interested in flying) was down when I visited them (nosed over by a solo student according to an NTSB search), which took them out of the running for me (perhaps unfairly), but I think they have it back up now. They aren't cheap, but they sound like they love what they are doing which is a great reason to fly with them, and the planes look top notch. They are on my short list for add on training, despite the lack of an initial call back.

As for "starting off from zero", every CFI I've talked to has used a variation on that, both for good reasons and bad.

Good:
1) CFI not wanting to make promises (s)he can't deliver. A CFI doesn't know whether you'll pick right back up where you left off or not. Promising something that is outside their control is a good way to destroy trust.

2) Preparing you mentally for the possibility that you might be a lot rustier than you think, so that you are happy when it takes only a few hours to regain a skill instead of frustrated that you are spending hours rebuilding a skill you had mastered already. Expectations are important.

3) Legally, the CFI who signs a student off to solo (or take a test, or anything) must know that the legal requirements have been fulfilled. The safest way to do that is to start out with lesson 1 and go through all the maneuvers, stalls, simulated emergencies, go-arounds, etc. that are required. This is starting off from zero, but that doesn't mean you'll take the same amount of time this time around.

4) Going through everything again is actually a good refresher. Those early exercises are designed to break a complicated task into discrete parts to make them easy to learn.

Bad:

a) Trying to get you to sign up for a "package" that includes more hours than you'll probably need. E.g. "The national average is 65 hours for a PP and your old hours don't really count because you'll need to re-learn a bunch of that, so we'll charge your credit card for $10,500 now and...."


Anyway...

I now have about 3 hours back in the left seat, and it's a really mixed bag. I was OK on the radio before - that's gone except I still have my phonetic alphabet (which I started using all the time outside of flying, so it's still current). Altitude is wandering hundreds of feet, etc. On the other hand, second time in this plane (and second landing, the first having been flown by the CFI), second lesson with my new CFI, I turned final to see a perfect runway picture, slid down a nicely stabilized final approach with just a few touches of power, flared, the wheels touched, and I held the nose up to bleed speed...no uncertainty about the outcome, no flailing with the controls, down and safe, if not as pretty as some could do. I think it took me 10 hours to do as good a landing the first time around. This gets back to that expectations thing... if I expected to land as well as I was landing with 20+ recent hours, I might've taken that as no big thing or been disappointed that I didn't do even better. As it is, I'm proud of not scaring the CFI to the point where he took over the landing. Expectations. :D
 
Ziege,

Thanks for taking the time to write such a thoughtful and useful post.

I talked at length to a guy from there today. There are several cons to this approach. It sounds like a couple of hours a day is all that we could fly and get anything out of it. He was up front in telling me that he does corporate flying which takes precedence over training. There is something in addition to everything else that could get in the way.

It sounds like there is no way I could do it this way with only three weeks vacation to work with. Even if I flew 2 1/2 hours a day, I would only get in 37.5 hours in three weeks and I don't think I could get in 2 1/2 hours a day.

It also sounds like I would have a tough time parking the piggy out of the weather over there. On top of that she would probably choke to death on $7 a gallon fuel. It just doesn't look like a viable alternative.

I am back to my new instructor and hope that I can get him to fly three hours a week.

From the conversation with this guy today, I think I now understand where I got the idea from my new instructor that my old hours don't count. The fellow I talked to today said that the person signing you off, must have personally done the supervision of the cross countries, checked all the requirements flying and other things himself. That is what my new instructor was trying to say.

Even though my hours with the old instructor were 20 years old, they were with him. Maybe he could have signed me off sooner. Even if that were the case, since I could only fly once a week with him, it would take who knows how long to finish at that rate.

At this point I suppose I will fly with the old crop duster until I learn that he can't fly 3 hours or more a week.

Thanks again for all the unselfish help offered on this forum.
Doc
 
MBDiagMan said:
Bruce,

Is Tom Richards a seasoned tailwheel guy?

Thanks for the suggestion and detailed info.

Doc
Click to expand...
Just call 'em up, figure out how to live there for three weeks, and do it. If you PM me I'll give you contact information. He's a TEACHER and not just an INSTRUCTOR. CRITICAL difference.
 
Hey Doc,
Sit down with your CFI and have the PTS book in hand... You and he go over it and notate what he wants you to do and what he expects... This gives both of you an objective work plan... As each PTS is met it is checked off... You know where you stand all the time...

In my hands I would not spend much time doing much XC with you, as sitting there watching air flow over the wings for 2 or 3 hours to see if you can fly a compass heading and look for checkpoints does little to improve skills in today's GPS world - and you have done all this before... While VFR flight planning is not an extinct skill set, it takes a backseat to GPS map handhelds... Get one... Use it...

You need to get a visual diagram of the FAA wedding cake and the various airspaces with a high lighted list of what/who you need to talk with to enter each given airspace... Post it on the wall at home/office and every time you walk past, look and recite... Within days the fog of confusion will lift as it becomes rote memory...

You two need to go around the nearby airports with a tower, file practice flight plans, fly the planned circuit to each towered airport, land, take off, do it again... Calling approach control, departure control, Flight Service, etc. will be come second nature within a few hours... And you will get quality time handling your 'real' airplane on hard surfaces away from your usual airport - a two fer...

Get the KING School DVD for the PPL and go through it... This will knock the rust off the things you already know and give you a leg up on the new airspaces, etc...

And finally, hours from 20 years ago are not extinct - BUT, they bring little to the table now other than proving you can be trained.. What counts is what you do over the next 40 hours or so... Can you knock the rust off those old hours, develop a feel for handling the airplane, and show you have ALL the knowledge needed for him to send you to the DER for a check ride?

Finally, forget what decade you are in - I am a decade older than you and fly actively... I might not be as fast as I once was but I am a heck of a lot better at not getting into situations where I need to be fast...

denny-o and Fat Albert The Apache
 
Dr. O said:
In my hands I would not spend much time doing much XC with you, as sitting there watching air flow over the wings for 2 or 3 hours to see if you can fly a compass heading and look for checkpoints does little to improve skills in today's GPS world - and you have done all this before... While VFR flight planning is not an extinct skill set, it takes a backseat to GPS map handhelds... Get one... Use it...
Click to expand...
If I have a student that needs a GPS to complete their XC they'll be doing the XC again.
 
Step 1: Fire any instructor that makes you repeat the entire syllabus again, they're gouging you (as many CFIs are wont to do, unfortunately).
Step 2: Travel to a location with a CFI that can actually evaluate what you lack and teach you that, as well as make sure you can do the PTS (and nothing more....there's no need to waste money here).
Step 3: Get your PPL, track the expenses you had, go to the CFI that tried to make you repeat and show him the lost income, and then offer to buy him a cup of coffee or breakfast. Make sure he knows how well you did, and then also make sure he knows that you will NOT be using his services for any future ratings as well. Bonus points if you can spend the entire meal driving him further into sadness, say, for example, trotting out lost referrals as well.

CFIs that gouge money have no business being in the aviation business.
 
jesse said:
If I have a student that needs a GPS to complete their XC they'll be doing the XC again.
Click to expand...

I agree and I'm not even a CFI. There was a whole thread in, I think, a different forum about the pro's and con's of GPS. I think that GPS is the greatest advancement in flying since the wing, but I also believe that one should be at least somewhat competent at navigating by chart and VOR.

I am quite convinced that once I am cleared to do my XC that I will be able to do it with a chart and a VOR.

My $0.02,
Doc
 
Dr. O said:
Hey Doc,
Sit down with your CFI and have the PTS book in hand... You and he go over it and notate what he wants you to do and what he expects... This gives both of you an objective work plan... As each PTS is met it is checked off... You know where you stand all the time...

In my hands I would not spend much time doing much XC with you, as sitting there watching air flow over the wings for 2 or 3 hours to see if you can fly a compass heading and look for checkpoints does little to improve skills in today's GPS world - and you have done all this before... While VFR flight planning is not an extinct skill set, it takes a backseat to GPS map handhelds... Get one... Use it...

You need to get a visual diagram of the FAA wedding cake and the various airspaces with a high lighted list of what/who you need to talk with to enter each given airspace... Post it on the wall at home/office and every time you walk past, look and recite... Within days the fog of confusion will lift as it becomes rote memory...

You two need to go around the nearby airports with a tower, file practice flight plans, fly the planned circuit to each towered airport, land, take off, do it again... Calling approach control, departure control, Flight Service, etc. will be come second nature within a few hours... And you will get quality time handling your 'real' airplane on hard surfaces away from your usual airport - a two fer...

Get the KING School DVD for the PPL and go through it... This will knock the rust off the things you already know and give you a leg up on the new airspaces, etc...

And finally, hours from 20 years ago are not extinct - BUT, they bring little to the table now other than proving you can be trained.. What counts is what you do over the next 40 hours or so... Can you knock the rust off those old hours, develop a feel for handling the airplane, and show you have ALL the knowledge needed for him to send you to the DER for a check ride?

Finally, forget what decade you are in - I am a decade older than you and fly actively... I might not be as fast as I once was but I am a heck of a lot better at not getting into situations where I need to be fast...

denny-o and Fat Albert The Apache
Click to expand...


Thanks for the thoughtful post.

I have already passed my written and have my medical.

I have been doing LOTS of reading and studying. I have gone through the King Videos including the extra ones on Weather, TO & Landings, Flight Tips, etc. I also have been reading Cross Country Flying and Pilots Radio Communications books. I also am pouring over the Tailwheel101 and Tailwheel 201 videos since I am having to get my tailwheel endorsement on top of everything else.

I plan on doing all my training with dead reckoning, charts and VOR's (I have two in my plane.) Once I get my PPL I will put a GPS and traffic detection in my plane and then start grinding out some XC hours.

Unless something changes, it looks as if I'm stuck with local lessons as opposed to traveling away for an FYBO school, although I haven't ruleed it out.

My current frustration is weather. There is no break in the weather in sight. VERY frustrating.

Doc
 
bbchien said:
Just call 'em up, figure out how to live there for three weeks, and do it. If you PM me I'll give you contact information. He's a TEACHER and not just an INSTRUCTOR. CRITICAL difference.
Click to expand...
Heck take a tent and camp in their field....
 
MBDiagMan said:
I am quite convinced that once I am cleared to do my XC that I will be able to do it with a chart and a VOR.
Click to expand...

GASP!!! VOR??? How about a chart and a FINGER? Draw a line on the chart and follow it with your finger.
 
Yep, the line and the checkpoints is how I will do it with the VOR's for the event that I get lost.

I live in pretty open country, so sometimes, crossing a VOR radial has to substitute for a landmark for checking groundspeed.

Doc
 
TMetzinger said:
Heck take a tent and camp in their field....
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There have been so many recommendations for Tom that I have not ruled this out. I plan on at least talking with him. The biggest obstacle for that approach, however, is beginning to look like being away from work for three weeks. True that I have three weeks vacation to burn, but being away for three weeks in a row, might be difficult to impossible. I will discuss this with Tom.

Doc
 
...being away from work for three weeks...
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I said before that I resumed training just recently. Another student started with my CFI a day or two before me. He did pretty much what you are talking about - a three week vacation to crank through in his case a Sport Pilot ticket. He was an out of towner with (as far as I know) no previous flying and he set an ambitious schedule.

On the plus side for him, I think he managed to get in four lessons for each of mine. In terms of hours per calendar day or actual vs. scheduled lessons he did much better than I have so far. I've been scheduled for every available day but because of work I fly at the end of each day and weather or some other factor has stopped a lot of lessons before they started. He was scheduled twice on each day and actually flew a higher percentage of his lessons.

Notice the past tense?

He actually quit some time last week. I don't know the whole story but he had four training days left and hadn't soloed so it isn't too far out of line to think he realized that he wouldn't finish in time and gave up. I don't know how much time he had at that point but it wouldn't be out of line to assume it was 15 to 25 hours. I know nothing about how he was progressing as a pilot.

His big mistake, of course, was trying to do an accelerated course in North Texas in May. We've been having winds in the 25-30kt range pretty frequently, thunderstorms, and in general a whole lot of spring weather...but that's one of the downsides of the vacation approach. Everything becomes more critical. I think it put a lot of pressure on everyone (one of my missed lessons was because our mutual CFI was exhausted after 10 solid days) and that can be counterproductive.

More food for thought.
 
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