Discovery flight

Alex T said:
I hope I am not in that position during my discovery flight. When I scheduled the flight I was told that I was going to be able to taxi and fly the plane with instructor guidance, hopefully thats true. Do you recommend the book Stick and Rudder?
thank you!
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I think Stick and Rudder is good in how it describes the basic behavior of airplanes and phases of flight and what the pilot is looking for visually at various stages. It assumes you know nothing of flying or any acronyms, lingo, etc. Speaking of acronyms, there are so many acronyms thrown around on this site(and aviation pubs), when I first joined here, I could hardly figure out what anyone was saying.

If you want a free alternative, download the faa's Airplane Flying Handbook pdf and read chapter 3. link
 
whereisrandall said:
On my first flight, I'd already been through a bunch of ground school and YouTube/ King School vids (askcaptainscott is good.) I did the preflight and runup, called tower for clearance and taxi, then knew takeoff speeds and when to do what.

As soon as we were off the ground, I was maxed and my brain freaked out.

We had a great lesson (CFI did the landings) and she commented that it was like I was on the 12th floor of a building but had no idea how I got there.

You could lean in hard and show up super prepared, or relax and observe mostly - either will be rewarding. If you're considering continuing, then it's worth the extra time to study beforehand.

My girlfriend flew 40 hours with me on a trip last year before deciding that she was ready to learn how to fly. We're going up today. But had she decided back then, she'd likely be ready to solo now.
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I am always watching King School and Askcaptainscott!!

Interesting story. Thanks for the advice, I will do some studying but when I get there I rather relax and see how things are in person!

that's a long trip but best of luck to her on her training!
 
MAKG1 said:
Taxi is unusual, but that's great. Just remember that Cessnas steer like supertankers (big delay), and you will be backwards if you ski or sled. An ideal discovery flight will leave you with the controls whenever you're a few hundred feet or more off the ground. Takeoff and especially landing is a heck of a lot to ask of a completely green pilot.

It's a firehose of information. Stick and Rudder is overrated, IMO. For the most part, the arguments are correct; it's just that the nosewheel argument was settled 60+ years ago. And there is a lot of space dedicated to spins, which are important but really shouldn't be your focus just yet.

The discovery flight is a lot like an interview for your flight instructor. The most important thing for you to determine is how well you can work with him/her. It's a mistake to think of it as an exhaustive lesson or as a sightseeing flight. See if you can learn the basics, such as level turns. Don't try to learn it all at once, or you'll just get overwhelmed.

As your first CFI test, ask him what you should read to prepare. See if the answer works.
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I agree with you. I just want to get the feel of just having the controls, but most importantly observe to see if I really want to get into flying.

That's why I haven't read the books because many of the reviews are about the book being too old with outdated information. However I am going to read it for fun!

Thank you for the advices!
 
eman1200 said:
I think it mostly depends on you and what your plan is. are you just going up for a fun disco flight and that's it? if so, u might not need to read anything. if you think you're the type of person that wants to know more about the systems and the gadgets and whatnot, read up! if you're planning on training, hellz yeah read up!
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Yes I am that person always curious about things plus I am interested to start flight training so I am going to read and do my research! Thanks
 
exncsurfer said:
I think Stick and Rudder is good in how it describes the basic behavior of airplanes and phases of flight and what the pilot is looking for visually at various stages. It assumes you know nothing of flying or any acronyms, lingo, etc. Speaking of acronyms, there are so many acronyms thrown around on this site(and aviation pubs), when I first joined here, I could hardly figure out what anyone was saying.

If you want a free alternative, download the faa's Airplane Flying Handbook pdf and read chapter 3. link
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Although I've seen negative reviews about the book what you mentioned makes me want to read it even more now. Sometimes I find myself there, where I am lost and can't figure out what is going on when watching videos of pilots flying.

Thanks for the link to the book and for helping me out!
 
Alex T said:
Although I've seen negative reviews about the book what you mentioned makes me want to read it even more now. Sometimes I find myself there, where I am lost and can't figure out what is going on when watching videos of pilots flying.

Thanks for the link to the book and for helping me out!
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The AFH has its shortcomings, but it's what you'll be tested on in the written test.

There are a lot of books out there of varying quality. I'm a fan of Machado. But I do think you're getting ahead of yourself. The first thing you need is a flight instructor.
 
MAKG1 said:
The AFH has its shortcomings, but it's what you'll be tested on in the written test.

There are a lot of books out there of varying quality. I'm a fan of Machado. But I do think you're getting ahead of yourself. The first thing you need is a flight instructor.
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Thank you for the honest opinion!
 
you are here.. you WANT to be a pilot
get the POH for THAT PLANE!!!
Read and follow the pre flight check list for that first flight.
you should be able to taxi,, run up and fly all the aspects of a flight with an instructor watching out over you..
I did it in 1978,,, and i did that,,, the same thing for many of my friends over the years.
Flying an airplane is really easy,
My friends were amazed when I told them that It was they,,,, that had took off into the air in a plane,,
and that They,,, were the Ones that were Flying us around way up there in the air....
 
FWIW, try to book the flight for early morning or sunset time.
I don't see a location in your profile so it is hard to guess. But daytime heating is a ***** and if your instructor won't climb you high enough, you will be in "the bumps" and it won't be as pleasant as it can.
Evening flights (just before the sunset) or early morning flights (as the sun rises) are the calmest yet with daylight.
But if you are okay with turbulence, don't worry about it and just go fly.

And as others have already said multiple times: ENJOY!! :)

And remember: you are paying for the flight so do what YOU feel is fun. Don't succumb to the pressure to do stalls, spins etc, just because "everybody else did it on their discovery flight". You should have FUN flying an airplane on your discovery flight. So do just that. :)
Again: ENJOY!
 
robert lomax said:
you are here.. you WANT to be a pilot
get the POH for THAT PLANE!!!
Read and follow the pre flight check list for that first flight.
you should be able to taxi,, run up and fly all the aspects of a flight with an instructor watching out over you..
I did it in 1978,,, and i did that,,, the same thing for many of my friends over the years.
Flying an airplane is really easy,
My friends were amazed when I told them that It was they,,,, that had took off into the air in a plane,,
and that They,,, were the Ones that were Flying us around way up there in the air....
Click to expand...

I will do so! Hopefully I have a similar experience. Thanks!
 
BigBadLou said:
FWIW, try to book the flight for early morning or sunset time.
I don't see a location in your profile so it is hard to guess. But daytime heating is a ***** and if your instructor won't climb you high enough, you will be in "the bumps" and it won't be as pleasant as it can.
Evening flights (just before the sunset) or early morning flights (as the sun rises) are the calmest yet with daylight.
But if you are okay with turbulence, don't worry about it and just go fly.

And as others have already said multiple times: ENJOY!! :)

And remember: you are paying for the flight so do what YOU feel is fun. Don't succumb to the pressure to do stalls, spins etc, just because "everybody else did it on their discovery flight". You should have FUN flying an airplane on your discovery flight. So do just that. :)
Again: ENJOY!
Click to expand...

I am located in Rhode Island, unfortunately my flight is already scheduled and it will be at 4:00 pm but I hope it is not a hot day. I don't think that turbulence/bumps will bother me but I can't really talk because I haven't experienced it in a small plane!

Thanks for the advice and I will enjoy it!!!
 
When I did mine, I already had some PC simulator time, had read a few books on the subject and showed up with my own headset and logbook (yeah, I was *that* guy, lol). But! The net consequence of showing my eagerness to get started, I basically flew the whole thing. I did taxi (with some help), and takeoff (with the CFI on the controls with me, but I was pulling the yoke). Did pretty much 90% of the flying, and on final he told me it was his airplane, but to stay on the controls with him to feel what he was doing (and if he said "my airplane!" to let go immediately and completely). Kept my feet flat on the floor ("I'll handle the rudder for you") except to feel what uncoordinated flight felt like.

I knew I wanted to do flight school before I did my disco, but upon return I was hooked deep!
 
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