Hello from NYC/Hudson Valley

[Brandon Hicks]

Brandon, you might save money if you both go on each other's training flights. It might be 1.5 times as much, but not twice as much. Have fun!

That's a great point actually and would only be possible if going for a regular Private License since the Light Sport planes won't have a 3rd seat!

 

[AggieMike88]

There is also the medical hurdle, being over 40, I have it in the back of my head that if I go PPL and don't do well on the medical I am S.O.L as the they say.

Which is why you DO NOT go for the live exam until you have reviewed your medical history from the FAA perspective, added to your knowledge bank how the FAA does aviation medicals, and know beyond 100% that you will be issued your medical without any unexpected hand grenades going off in your face.

If you do have questions in this area, start a thread in the Medical Topics forum and we can try to help.

 

[Eric Gleason]

Brandon, welcome to POA and the flying community? I'm down your way regularly as one of my best friends lives in Kingston. Coincidentally, the father of one of his good friends helped build the Old Orchard airport and is still part of the club. I live in Albany and am part of a club based at ALB.

Some thoughts after reading through the thread:

• Most people get over their motion sickness when they're in control of the plane. Try to take your intro flights very early in the day, if possible, when the wind is usually much calmer.
• The FAA doesn't require any insurance. You may need renter's insurance while you're flying a school's aircraft, and that only costs a few hundred a year.
• I'd skip the Sport Pilot rating and go straight to the Private. IMHO, the promise of the Sport Pilot rating was that it would make new & simple aircraft available to fly cheaply. That hasn't materialized. Light sport aircraft are relatively rare as trainers and rentals.
• If it's feasible, do what @Shepherd says and learn to fly in a J-3 Cub or a Champ, then transition to a more capable plane later on. You'll be a much better pilot for it. The added expense is negligible in the long run.
• The suggestion to ride along on each other's lessons is a good one. If the instructor tries to charge extra, tell him to go fly a kite and find a new instructor.
• Most students take 50-60 hours total to earn their private rating. Renting a plane for 100 hours between the two of you will cost $10,000 or so. If you can swing it, it may make sense for you to buy a plane to learn in. Aircraft partnerships are also common and worth looking in to. Aircraft availability at a busy school can often be an obstacle to learning, and ownership fixes that problem.
• A non-profit flying club is also a good way to get into it. I think the closest opportunity for you might be at the South Albany airport, which is a bit of a hike. There's a Champ club in Middletown, and that would make an excellent trainer. http://www.thenewyorkchamps.com/
• You'll soon learn that most small 4 seat planes can't carry 4 adults and enough fuel to go very far.
• Don't be afraid to fly with a couple of different instructors to find a good fit. The right instructor is more important than anything other factor. Many instructors will take it personally, but many won't. Don't let it bother you if they do. You're hiring a professional to teach you highly technical skills, so make sure you're hiring the right one.

 

[Brandon Hicks]

Thank you Eric. We have our discovery flight later this week at the Orange County school. I did let them know that even though our Discovery flight is scheduled for a LSA, we're still weighing the options and will speak more with the owner about which track makes the most sense in-person.

Really appreciate all the warm welcomes and good advise here. You guys rock.

 

[Skip Miller]

Meriden airport MMK was nice with cheap fuel, but there is a good size hill right at the end of 36 that the 150 on a hot day did not like to see in front of her nose. Not a problem, but who likes to have a mountain right off the end of the runway.

Announce on CTAF, then dogleg left. No more mountain! -Skip

 

[Matthew Rogers]

Well of course a turn left is in order, but it turns out there is a slightly smaller hill on the left too! A little valley between them at a 45 is the path I took.

Just pointing out some info about that airport that might be helpful to know for anyone flying a lower powered plane. It is not listed on Airnav and the runway is only 3100’. Not that that is really very short, but again - 150 + hot day = slow climbs.

 

[kath]

One of the big ones for the OP, who is based near NYC is this: A sport may not act as pilot in command of a light-sport aircraft in Class B, C, or D airspace, at an airport located in Class B, C, or D airspace, and to, from, through, or at an airport having an operational control tower unless you have met the requirements specified in §61.325."

You *can* go into those airspaces as a Sport Pilot.
You just need an instructor endorsement, that you've gotten training in all that tower-y and airspace-y goodness. (That's what 61.325 says)
It's training that would be part of PPL training anyway, and fer sure any training for anyone anywhere close to NYC. So I don't see this as a distinction worth worrying about.

 

[spiderweb]

You *can* go into those airspaces as a Sport Pilot.
You just need an instructor endorsement, that you've gotten training in all that tower-y and airspace-y goodness. (That's what 61.325 says)
It's training that would be part of PPL training anyway, and fer sure any training for anyone anywhere close to NYC. So I don't see this as a distinction worth worrying about.

But that's exactly why it is important.

You need training to go into D, C, and especially B, and ESPECIALLY NYC Bravo. If you're going to do all that, why do sport?

I trained everything from a Bravo airport, so when I go up through NYC airspace a few times each year, it is a non-event. I doubt a Sport CFI is going to sign off a sport student into NYC Bravo "for the fun of it."

 

[Brandon Hicks]

Hi all,
Thanks for the continued input. My wife and I have our first discovery flight tomorrow morning and we will be discussing this more with the school and instructor. At this particular school, LSA training is in a Tecnam P92 and regular PPL in a DA20 or DA40.

If we really get into this, the question is not really IF we go on to the PPL but when. Being able to go up together and bomb around a little bit by ourselves somewhere between the LSA ticket and the PPL might be worth a little more. We'll see.

One advantage of the DA40 for our training though is that we could tag along in each other's training flights which would be cool as someone else mentioned above. The DA40 also happens to be one of the planes I'd like to own personally one day and would probably be what we did our IFR training in if we go on to do that at the same place.

This particular school we are flying at tomorrow is part of LifeStyle Aviation so their rental fleet is mostly Diamonds and they have a DiamondShare program set up there as well. We're exited and my wife has 3 types of ginger/ginger candy all ready to go !!

 

[Mike Marino]

Brandon Hicks, just curious how things are panning out. Did you stick with Take Flight? What are your experiences so far?