Bucket List

saracelica

saracelica

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saracelica
Okay Henning you can ignore this post if you want.

Back to flight training. Going to take it nice and slow. No hurrying through things. Making sure each maneuver is solid and good to go.

Asked my CFI/friend if he'd show me Spins in the Cessna 172SP that we use. (One of my other friends is getting his CFI and said they're pretty cool to do) He said we would after I pass the checkride. <sigh> Guess we'll do it next summer (he doesn't want to show me something not on the test)

But in reading the postings about Spin Training...there was mention of "Falling Leaves" and I found out what those were. It's now on my list.

Was wondering what else should be on my "Aviation Bucket List" Not necessarily to be proficient in but more "Cool things an airplane can do"
 
I've flown everyone in my family except my Mom and Dad. Dad was afraid of flying after years of corporate flying with some scary "events". By the time I became legal for passengers, he wanted no part of flying. As much as I wanted to share my new joy.

That was 1990.

Lost my Dad 10 months ago, so taking my Mom is on my bucket list. I don't think I will fulfill my dream. But still on my list.

If you have the chance, make your dream come true.
 
saracelica said:
Okay Henning you can ignore this post if you want.

Back to flight training. Going to take it nice and slow. No hurrying through things. Making sure each maneuver is solid and good to go.

Asked my CFI/friend if he'd show me Spins in the Cessna 172SP that we use. (One of my other friends is getting his CFI and said they're pretty cool to do) He said we would after I pass the checkride. <sigh> Guess we'll do it next summer (he doesn't want to show me something not on the test)

But in reading the postings about Spin Training...there was mention of "Falling Leaves" and I found out what those were. It's now on my list.

Was wondering what else should be on my "Aviation Bucket List" Not necessarily to be proficient in but more "Cool things an airplane can do"
Click to expand...

My dreams start next weekend, and I'll work a third job if I have to in order to afford them.

I have my first tailwheel lesson at a new airport with a grass strip and small paved runway with obstructions and crosswinds! That was my dream, to get a TW endorsement, do a small bit of acro, see a spin and recover, do unusual attitudes / upset training / etc . . . and just be able to rent and solo a really neat plane - the Citabria with no flaps!
 
saracelica said:
Back to flight training. Going to take it nice and slow. No hurrying through things. Making sure each maneuver is solid and good to go.

Asked my CFI/friend if he'd show me Spins in the Cessna 172SP that we use. (...)
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Spins are fun, but before that, didn't you have trouble trimming? Are you comfortable with it now? Flying with 2 fingers on the yoke?
 
zaitcev said:
Spins are fun, but before that, didn't you have trouble trimming? Are you comfortable with it now? Flying with 2 fingers on the yoke?
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I love the trim wheel. I wish I could tell ALL new students the joys of it. So far no one gave me good list of things I should look forward to as far as training after my PPL. I can't afford the IFR so I would like to have other things to look forward to.
 
saracelica said:
I love the trim wheel. I wish I could tell ALL new students the joys of it. So far no one gave me good list of things I should look forward to as far as training after my PPL. I can't afford the IFR so I would like to have other things to look forward to.
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The short list:

1) No more training. Just fly wherever and whenever you want (weather and spouse permitting).
:wink2:
 
saracelica said:
I love the trim wheel. I wish I could tell ALL new students the joys of it. So far no one gave me good list of things I should look forward to as far as training after my PPL. I can't afford the IFR so I would like to have other things to look forward to.
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Actually, I think Kimberly did - get a tailwheel endorsement. It will make you a better pilot.

Most of the other big 'bucket list' items are going to cost a bit of money (like getting a multi-engine addon, seaplane rating, fly a warbird....etc), so if you can't afford an IR, I'm not sure you'd really want to spend your money on the other stuff.

A bucket list is going to vary so much from person to person. It could be something as simple as flying to a big air museum or camping with your airplane or it could be something like spending a ****load to fly an F-4 Phantom.

So, what do YOU really want to do with an airplane?
 
She was probably thinking she couldn't afford the IR because it may take hundreds of hours of instruction.

I'm putting camping with my airplane on the list. I'd really like to fly out to W95 sometime soon and camp on the beach / surf fish.

For the OP; did you find a new CFI?
 
kimberlyanne546 said:
My dreams start next weekend, and I'll work a third job if I have to in order to afford them.

I have my first tailwheel lesson at a new airport with a grass strip and small paved runway with obstructions and crosswinds! That was my dream, to get a TW endorsement, do a small bit of acro, see a spin and recover, do unusual attitudes / upset training / etc . . . and just be able to rent and solo a really neat plane - the Citabria with no flaps!
Click to expand...


I don't need no steenking flaps! I only know my little plane has flaps when I do the preflight. It slips so beautifully that I never bother with them unless the instructor is having me do something with them. If I'm high, just drop a wing and feed opposite rudder and it comes down like an elevator.
 
saracelica said:
I love the trim wheel. I wish I could tell ALL new students the joys of it. So far no one gave me good list of things I should look forward to as far as training after my PPL. I can't afford the IFR so I would like to have other things to look forward to.
Click to expand...
This really depends on what you want to do in aviation. Since I found that it is plainly impossible to make any use of aviating in a slow airplane our West, my next stop was a Complex endorsement and a Mooney checkout. However, I do have (barely) sufficient funds for this. Also, I started ranging as far as I could, because that is the expected mission. In local conditions it means 350nm legs, under flimsy pretexts. You will see that it's different from local flying, due to weather. Of course your plan is likely to be different.
 
I went back to my first CFI - the one that is a friend. He's been pretty good and laid back but firm when needed.

I was thinking someone would come along and say "I did tailwheel endorsment training and I became a better pilot afterwards" or "I've always wanted to fly a hot air balloon" or the "Falling leaf is a fun maneuver to get good at" I can't give good examples becuase I don't know what's possible. :)
 
saracelica said:
I was thinking someone would come along and say "I did tailwheel endorsment training and I became a better pilot afterwards"
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Is that what you want me to say????

It is true. First thing I did after getting my PPL was get checked out in a 172 (did my PPL in a PA28) so that I could see how different airplanes handle and have more options to fly. The next thing I did was to get my tailwheel endorsement.
 
saracelica said:
I went back to my first CFI - the one that is a friend. He's been pretty good and laid back but firm when needed.

I was thinking someone would come along and say "I did tailwheel endorsment training and I became a better pilot afterwards" or "I've always wanted to fly a hot air balloon" or the "Falling leaf is a fun maneuver to get good at" I can't give good examples becuase I don't know what's possible. :)
Click to expand...

Can't speak (type?) to the tailwheel endorsement because I never got one.

You aren't that far from Adrian. Glider rating in the spring? (That's on my list for someday whan I don't have two jobs, and...)
http://www.localhangar.com/cgi-bin/clubs/club_home.pl?CLUBNO=4


Anything like falling leaf, wingover, lazy 8, spins, etc. can be fun just to do for the fun.
 
A tailwheel/basic aerobatic course will make you a much better pilot no matter what you do later in your flying career. Better yet get checked out in something like a Stearman or Great Lakes. That will make you an even better pilot. Don
 
Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
You aren't that far from Adrian. Glider rating in the spring? (That's on my list for someday whan I don't have two jobs, and...)
http://www.localhangar.com/cgi-bin/clubs/club_home.pl?CLUBNO=4
Click to expand...

I'll "second" the glider recommendation. I actually started training in gliders (the venerable Schweizer SGS 2-33A; about 10 hours flight time) before switching to powered airplanes to get my private pilot certificate. While I would have preferred to get the a PP in gliders first, FAA regulations are written such that it is less of a hassle to get powered first and then get a glider add-on. And there are a lot of options to get training and a computerized sign-off to take the PP single engine land written test (e.g. King, Sportys, Gleim, etc.,) but many of those sign-off options don't exist for the glider written.
 
I would do gliders but I rode in one twice. My CFI got his rating in a glider and took me up one hot summer day. It was fun once we were in it but he said it's hideous trying to get the training. Because you can't go on crappy days (no thermals) and on nice days everyone and their brother is out. The first thing you learn is to land the dam* thing. Then wait for everyone else to get their turn and then go up and come back to land it. So I'll pass on getting my glider rating.....
 
That's not how it works around here... if you book the glider for an hour or two, you can stuff as many tows into that time block as you can get, if there's no lift.

There were times I came back and said, "I'm done early, feel free to take it." and other times I would roll up and ask for assistance to get her hooked to the tow-plane again.
 
saracelica said:
I would do gliders but I rode in one twice. My CFI got his rating in a glider and took me up one hot summer day. It was fun once we were in it but he said it's hideous trying to get the training. Because you can't go on crappy days (no thermals) and on nice days everyone and their brother is out. The first thing you learn is to land the dam* thing. Then wait for everyone else to get their turn and then go up and come back to land it. So I'll pass on getting my glider rating.....
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I got my glider rating in a club where everyone pitches including the instructors. Most ops were on the weekend with training flights having priority in the morning and mostly solo (or with pax if rated) in the afternoon when the lift had picked up. The training for ASEL pilots focused on takeoff, tow, and landing so the lack of lift in the AM wasn't much of a factor. Typically each student would make 3-4 flights of 15-20 minutes each day. I think I took my checkride after something like 5 days of training. There are commercial outfits that can even go faster than that but they cost quite a bit more. The advantage there is you aren't expected to hang around all day and help but in the club you tended to learn a lot even when you were on the ground.
 
saracelica said:
I love the trim wheel. I wish I could tell ALL new students the joys of it. So far no one gave me good list of things I should look forward to as far as training after my PPL. I can't afford the IFR so I would like to have other things to look forward to.
Click to expand...

I did - !

Tailwheel training.

Well, I will tell you how it goes and then we can decide. Not sure if I will love it or hate it. Knowing me, I will just get mad that I "don't get it" on the first lesson.
 
Fearless Tower said:
Is that what you want me to say????

It is true. First thing I did after getting my PPL was get checked out in a 172 (did my PPL in a PA28) so that I could see how different airplanes handle and have more options to fly. The next thing I did was to get my tailwheel endorsement.
Click to expand...

Why are you copying me?

I got my PPL.

I immediately (in less than a month) got checked out in a 172 - though I'd flown it before.

I am now going next weekend for my first tailwheel lesson.
 
Glider. Fun, cheap, excellent skill builder. IR is overrated- unless you have a compelling travel need/interest or you geek out on submarine driving. Just flying around a bunch is a loftier goal(and scarier to some) then hopping back in the training cue. Whatever you do make sure it is fun. How about skydiving?
 
How about flying in Alaska? It is awesome!

You can do that w/your ppl. Just rent a plane and go.

my .02
 
rbhankins001 said:
How about flying in Alaska? It is awesome!

You can do that w/your ppl. Just rent a plane and go.

my .02
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I'd love to come to Alaska...not just to go flying either. I have some friends that offered me their couch as well. That is one long commercial flight though!
 
saracelica said:
I'd love to come to Alaska...not just to go flying either. I have some friends that offered me their couch as well. That is one long commercial flight though!
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Figure about a week each way in a Cessna 150. (allowing for weather etc.)
 
saracelica said:
That is one long commercial flight though!
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It WOULD be, if you couldn't fly yourself, in your own plane! Why would you fly commercial if you have a PPL?

On my post-PPL "bucket list": Buy my own plane and never fly commercial again unless it's across an ocean. And even that's "iffy". Did you know there's a mini-Oshkosh type event in Bavaria, near the town of Tannheim? They call it Tannkosh. I want to go there. Eventually, some day, I want to fly there - from here.
 
DaleB said:
It WOULD be, if you couldn't fly yourself, in your own plane! Why would you fly commercial if you have a PPL?
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Because renting an airplane to fly the same distance is far more expensive than the airline flight. The economies of scale at work.

Dan
 
saracelica said:
Asked my CFI/friend if he'd show me Spins in the Cessna 172SP that we use.
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Make sure you do a weight and balance calculation before you spin that 172SP. We have one and it's not in the Utility category unless we take the rear seat out. The seats in the new 172s are around three times the weight of the older ones, and there's a rack of radios and autopilot servos in the tailcone. All of it moves the CG aft and out of the Utility into the Normal (no spin) category. It's a pain.

Dan
 
Dan Thomas said:
Make sure you do a weight and balance calculation before you spin that 172SP. We have one and it's not in the Utility category unless we take the rear seat out. The seats in the new 172s are around three times the weight of the older ones, and there's a rack of radios and autopilot servos in the tailcone. All of it moves the CG aft and out of the Utility into the Normal (no spin) category. It's a pain.

Dan
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Can't you just put some ballast in front of the CG? Properly secured of course.
 
gismo said:
Can't you just put some ballast in front of the CG? Properly secured of course.
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You'd need a prop spinner made of lead. The 172's CG is about where the pilot sits; you'd have to find some place to add weight ahead of him. Concrete shoes?

Dan
 
Dan Thomas said:
Because renting an airplane to fly the same distance is far more expensive than the airline flight. The economies of scale at work.
Click to expand...
I guess you missed the, "in your own plane" part of my post... along with the entire second paragraph.
 
kimberlyanne546 said:
My dreams start next weekend, and I'll work a third job if I have to in order to afford them.

I have my first tailwheel lesson at a new airport with a grass strip and small paved runway with obstructions and crosswinds! That was my dream, to get a TW endorsement, do a small bit of acro, see a spin and recover, do unusual attitudes / upset training / etc . . . and just be able to rent and solo a really neat plane - the Citabria with no flaps!
Click to expand...

Now were talking! That is fly in right there! Good on you!
 
My bucket list is to land and take off in every state. I am down to 2 in the lower 48, Alaska, and Hawaii.
 
Dan Thomas said:
You'd need a prop spinner made of lead. The 172's CG is about where the pilot sits; you'd have to find some place to add weight ahead of him. Concrete shoes?

Dan
Click to expand...
How about lead rudder pedal covers? Some Bonanzas have 20 lbs of lead mounted in the front of the engine bay, ought to work on a 172.
 
How about coming to each of the PoA flyins in a year?
Land in all 49 of the states on the continent (and then add in Hawaii!)
 
From what I understand the Cessna 172 that I can rent wouldn't make it to Hawaii.
 
saracelica said:
Guess we'll do it next summer (he doesn't want to show me something not on the test)
Click to expand...

That's good thinking, since Mr. Murphy has promised to prevent you from getting into a spin until after you get your ticket.

What a line of bull. He should teach above and beyond the PTS, not just checkride items. Must be an old school ATP instructor. ;)
 
gismo said:
How about lead rudder pedal covers? Some Bonanzas have 20 lbs of lead mounted in the front of the engine bay, ought to work on a 172.
Click to expand...

Satisfying regulatory requirements for such a thing might be well beyond what it's worth. Easier to take the back seat out, and even that's not as easy as it used to be. You should see and compare the differences between the old and new seats. The new have to comply with the new regs that require strength to take something like 23Gs. They're built like bridges and are mounted very solidly with lots of hardware.

Dan
 
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