Just came back from the intro flight....Disappointing results.

[Sac Arrow]

Trust me, the cost of aviation once you get in to it will be a rude shock.

 

[paflyer]

How did you only get .3 for time if you were in the air over 30 minutes?

You can count Hobbs time. That means the moment the master switch comes on, you are getting training.

Some Hobbs are activated by oil pressure (i.e., engine running at or above a certain RPM).

 

[Matthew]

How would you determine if the quality of the school is up to par? As a new student I wouldn't really know.

How would I know if Maintenance of the plane is up to par too? I always thought the newer the airplane the better but that is not necessarily the case.

Talk to several of the CFIs. Buy them lunch (they'll be grateful) and pick their brains. Use it as a job interview for the CFI AND the flight school. You are the one doing the hiring.

Newer vs older planes don't always seem to have a maintenance correlation. They'll still each need oil changes on certain intervals, they'll each need inspections on certain intervals. They'll each have something that needs to be adjusted or tweaked in some way. Sometimes it's not a big deal and you can live with it. But even something simple like a burned out landing light that they don't replace for weeks can tell you something about how they maintain their equipment.

 

[paflyer]

most flight schools would like you to pay up front, (Time value of money).

That would probably be insane. Place goes under, you're out.

So you can learn for a few hours at one school and then learn at another? As long as it's in your logbook?

ABSOLUTELY! Personally I think I used three different schools for my PPL.

 

[comanchepilot]

Interesting comment about lefties . . .since left handed pilots exceed their expected random distribution in the pilot community by 3-4 to 1 and USN carrier qualified pilots are about 5-1 the expected ratio and 6-1 in the original astronaut community . . .

meaning about 10% of the general population is left-handed - and 30-40% of all pilots are left handed, 50% of Navy pilots are left handed and 60% of the astronauts selected for Mercury, Gemini and Apollo were left handed. . . a very interesting bias.

 

[Clark1961]

Interesting comment about lefties . . .since left handed pilots exceed their expected random distribution in the pilot community by 3-4 to 1 and USN carrier qualified pilots are about 5-1 the expected ratio and 6-1 in the original astronaut community . . .

meaning about 10% of the general population is left-handed - and 30-40% of all pilots are left handed, 50% of Navy pilots are left handed and 60% of the astronauts selected for Mercury, Gemini and Apollo were left handed. . . a very interesting bias.

Ya, lefties seem to be driven to over-compensate for their inherent weaknesses...

 

[Timmer]

I think people may be taking that left-handing comment out of context. If there's one thing I've learned in my short time around pilots, it's that they have very peculiar sense of humors and all around personalities

 

[SixPapaCharlie]

Trust me, the cost of aviation once you get in to it will be a rude shock.

I always heard this.
Flying is expensive. Owning is expensive.
I figured it would be pricey but I do okay so I figured minor budget stretching would accommodate most of it. Inever imagined just how INSANELY expensive it would be.

I want a panel for the passenger side to house avionics. Just the empty box that I can add some gauges.

Lowest quote so far: $8500 Can't be more than $50 worth of material.

Needless to say we are removing the ADF to make room for Engine monitor.

When you buy a plane buy a plane that already has everything you want in it already. Takes a pile of money and an act of God to get anything new added.

 

[Bonchie]

Technically it's once the aircraft moves under it's own power. Practically speaking, most folks use Hobbs time, which is usually the time the prop is spinning.

Our Hobbs uses the master switch, but it's pretty immaterial.

The time between the master switch coming on and the prop spinning is like 30 seconds.

 

[frfly172]

Your home base is 48 x,they have a group of pilots that meet on Friday mornings. Stop by and pick their brains. Also SRQ has two very capable flight schools on field. I winter at SRQ and keep a plane on the field. There is also an eaa chapter ,they may be able to give you some input. I believe they have a few instructors as members. Good luck

 

[steingar]

How would you determine if the quality of the school is up to par? As a new student I wouldn't really know.

I didn't go to "school", I bought a textbook and read up. There are also DVD courses available from the Kings, Sporty's, and Odin knows who else. And tons on the internet. Can't see what one needs a school for, though I always have ben a bit of a self-starter.

How would I know if Maintenance of the plane is up to par too? I always thought the newer the airplane the better but that is not necessarily the case.

Unless you own it, you don't (even if you won you might not). That said, most rental equipment has to go through 100 hour inspections, which I would hope catch the most egregious squawks. The funny thing is most of these aircraft are flown daily, thus their engines are in far better shape than aircraft that are flown less often.

So much to tackle at this point, but I will get it all sorted out.

It is a big world. I'll quote the airplane builders, since building an aircraft is a huge project. They say just fabricate one part at a time. I'd say the same to you. One thing at a time. Find an airport near you and see if you jive with any of the CFIs. That should do for now.

I'm going to first tackle the medical first so I will know for sure that I am airworthy. Going to set an appointment with the doc right after the holiday.

Thanks!

Good idea, though unless you have crap vision or some outstanding medical condition you should be all right.

 

[Matthew]

I'm going to first tackle the medical first so I will know for sure that I am airworthy. Going to set an appointment with the doc right after the holiday.

Good idea. I don't know how old you are, I've been assuming you are on the younger side of 25. That puts you in the age bracket where a lot of ADD/ADHD meds have tripped up student pilots unknowingly. If you've ever taken anything like that, even if you stopped a long time ago, don't see the AME. There are ways to deal with it, but it's very much a problem if you don't deal with it first.

 

[James331]

Good idea. I don't know how old you are, I've been assuming you are on the younger side of 25. That puts you in the age bracket where a lot of ADD/ADHD meds have tripped up student pilots unknowingly. If you've ever taken anything like that, even if you stopped a long time ago, don't see the AME. There are ways to deal with it, but it's very much a problem if you don't deal with it first.

What he said,

Here's the guide for AMEs (Aviation Medical Examiners) it has all the parameters for blood pressure, eye sight, history etc. I'd give it a look before you fill out your medexpress application for your AME.

https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/avs/offices/aam/ame/guide/

 

[Ghery]

Ya, lefties seem to be driven to over-compensate for their inherent weaknesses...

Everybody is born right handed. Only a select few overcome the handicap.

 

[Matthew]

What he said,

Here's the guide for AMEs (Aviation Medical Examiners) it has all the parameters for blood pressure, eye sight, history etc. I'd give it a look before you fill out your medexpress application for your AME.

https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/avs/offices/aam/ame/guide/

AOPA used to, and might still have, something called Turbo Medical on their website. It's a nonbinding medical form. Similar to TurboTax, you just fill it out like you would the real medical, and it flags anything suspicious and gives you some hints on what's going on.

If it's still there, you probably need to be an AOPA member to log on. AOPA does have free 6-month student memberships, and you get a pretty good student pilot magazine each month. It's worth checking out.

 

[FloridaPilot]

Trust me, the cost of aviation once you get in to it will be a rude shock.

There are things in life you cannot put a price tag on. I know it's going to be expensive but I will always regret the things I didn't do in life.

Flying yesterday was fun and if I could I would go up again today, right now! I tried to book an intro today but I haven't gotten a call back I will do another next week with someone..I don't know who yet.

For budget reasons I will take my time, and learn as I go. I will study the books, (Which is going quite well because no one is telling me to "Hurry up"). I'm reading Rod Machado's PPL book which is very good!

 

[FloridaPilot]

I always heard this.
Flying is expensive. Owning is expensive.
I figured it would be pricey but I do okay so I figured minor budget stretching would accommodate most of it. Inever imagined just how INSANELY expensive it would be.

I want a panel for the passenger side to house avionics. Just the empty box that I can add some gauges.

Lowest quote so far: $8500 Can't be more than $50 worth of material.

Needless to say we are removing the ADF to make room for Engine monitor.

When you buy a plane buy a plane that already has everything you want in it already. Takes a pile of money and an act of God to get anything new added.

Thanks for that!

I knew aircraft parts are expensive but I didn't know it was THAT bad...wow.

Couldn't you find a used part like that especially due to the fact it's only a casing?

 

[FloridaPilot]

Your home base is 48 x,they have a group of pilots that meet on Friday mornings. Stop by and pick their brains. Also SRQ has two very capable flight schools on field. I winter at SRQ and keep a plane on the field. There is also an eaa chapter ,they may be able to give you some input. I believe they have a few instructors as members. Good luck

I have been going to Manatee Airport on the weekends for months and I barely see anyone there when I go. Even on Saturdays. I don't go Friday mornings because I'm at work, I will take one of these Friday's off and go there and see....May I ask how did you know that? There isn't a billboard anywhere in the airport.

 

[FloridaPilot]

Good idea. I don't know how old you are, I've been assuming you are on the younger side of 25. That puts you in the age bracket where a lot of ADD/ADHD meds have tripped up student pilots unknowingly. If you've ever taken anything like that, even if you stopped a long time ago, don't see the AME. There are ways to deal with it, but it's very much a problem if you don't deal with it first.

I was 25....18 years ago!

Luckily, (Knock on wood) I haven't had to take any medication, never been in the hospital for a sickness! My blood pressure is a bit high but the weight loss has gotten it down. (I lost 20lbs just recently). I know I have to take my medical every 2 years, (+40 years old). which I take a medical every year anyway.

I was reading through the other forum about people just losing their medical...like poof, gone, disappeared!! just crazy but for another topic.

 

[frfly172]

I have been going to Manatee Airport on the weekends for months and I barely see anyone there when I go. Even on Saturdays. I don't go Friday mornings because I'm at work, I will take one of these Friday's off and go there and see....May I ask how did you know that? There isn't a billboard anywhere in the airport.

I am a member of eaa chapter 180 out of SRQ ,just before leaving FLAi stopped by airport manatee on a Friday morning. They usually have coffee and snacks ,they meet in the pilots lounge.

 

[txflyer]

Don't worry about the age of the airplane. Some older ones have upgraded avionics and are better equipped than some newer ones.

Some newer models might have fuel injection instead of a carb, but they all fly the same.

Might as well train in an old one, because unless you plan on plopping down a half a million on a new 172, that's what you'll be flying most of your aviation life.

 

[Art VanDelay]

Yeah, keep calling the CFI a "Trainer" that's gonna get their attention but not the way you would want.

 

[acrophile]

Technically it's once the aircraft moves under [its] own power. Practically speaking, most folks use Hobbs time, which is usually the time the prop is spinning.

Unless you're tied down in a movement area, you can just let the plane roll an inch when you start the engine, and thus make the Hobbs time coincide with the official definition of flight time.

 

[FloridaPilot]

Here is my log book,

It's looking mighty thin. Hopefully I can fill it up in time.




I was up for .6 not .3


So was that 1 hour?

 

[Matthew]

I was 25....18 years ago!

Luckily, (Knock on wood) I haven't had to take any medication, never been in the hospital for a sickness! My blood pressure is a bit high but the weight loss has gotten it down. (I lost 20lbs just recently). I know I have to take my medical every 2 years, (+40 years old). which I take a medical every year anyway.

I was reading through the other forum about people just losing their medical...like poof, gone, disappeared!! just crazy but for another topic.

You're younger than I am, so you're still a kid. Does your mom know you are doing this?

 

[Kevin87]

Here is my log book,

It's looking mighty thin. Hopefully I can fill it up in time.

View attachment 34410


I was up for .6 not .3


So was that 1 hour?

Yeah this is an hour of instruction. Keep on filling that log book up

Unless you are asking if .6 is an hour. .6 is not an hour, it is .6 of an hour. 36 minutes.

 

[FloridaPilot]

You're younger than I am, so you're still a kid. Does your mom know you are doing this?

I have to hang out with people older than myself, for some reason it makes me feel younger.

My mom thinks m going through a mid life crisis.....maybe I am but I always wanted to fly ever since I was a little kid!

 

[FloridaPilot]

Yeah this is an hour of instruction. Keep on filling that log book up

Unless you are asking if .6 is an hour. .6 is not an hour, it is .6 of an hour. 36 minutes.

Sweet! 999 hours to go!

 

[hindsight2020]

Yeah, keep calling the CFI a "Trainer" that's gonna get their attention but not the way you would want.

I caught that a while ago but bit my lip. It was eating at me, I feel better now thank you. The internet is a disease, my wife agrees.

 

[Matthew]

I have to hang out with people older than myself, for some reason it makes me feel younger.

My mom thinks m going through a mid life crisis.....maybe I am but I always wanted to fly ever since I was a little kid!

I have to hang out with people younger than myself. It's all I can find.

Tell anyone that brings it up - if it were a midlife crisis you would have just gotten a new sports car, a new motorcycle, a new wife, a new jetski, ..., anything else. Instead you are learning to fly a plane older than you.

 

[txflyer]

You can't 'train' anyone to fly. A good instructor finds and encourages the pilot within each person and releases that aha! moment in them.

I'm in the camp that some people cannot and should not be pilot material.

A good instructor will ferret that out and deal with it accordingly.

 

[FloridaPilot]

You can't 'train' anyone to fly. A good instructor finds and encourages the pilot within each person and releases that aha! moment in them.

I'm in the camp that some people cannot and should not be pilot material.

A good instructor will ferret that out and deal with it accordingly.

So how can you tell if someone is pilot material or not? inquiring minds want to know!

 

[FloridaPilot]

I have to hang out with people younger than myself. It's all I can find.

Tell anyone that brings it up - if it were a midlife crisis you would have just gotten a new sports car, a new motorcycle, a new wife, a new jetski, ..., anything else. Instead you are learning to fly a plane older than you.

So I let the cat out of the bag about my age. How old are you Matt?

 

[Mason]

I'm left-handed. Mostly. Eat, write, throw lefty, bat,bowl, golf righty.

It hasn't ever affected my flying.

Soloed in a Champ. Left-handed throttle, right-handed stick. Got time in a Cub, same thing. Got my PPL certificate in a 152, left handed yoke, right handed throttle. It all just seems so natural, I don't even think about it, you just get into the airplane, put your hands where they need to be and do what you need to do.

Flying right seat, same-same, hands reversed.

My CFI Sam always flew from the right seat, even solo. It just felt more natural to him.

 

[Mason]

Interesting comment about lefties . . .since left handed pilots exceed their expected random distribution in the pilot community by 3-4 to 1 and USN carrier qualified pilots are about 5-1 the expected ratio and 6-1 in the original astronaut community . . .

meaning about 10% of the general population is left-handed - and 30-40% of all pilots are left handed, 50% of Navy pilots are left handed and 60% of the astronauts selected for Mercury, Gemini and Apollo were left handed. . . a very interesting bias.

Us lefties have really good right brains <G>.

 

[txflyer]

So how can you tell if someone is pilot material or not? inquiring minds want to know!

I'm not an instructor, so I speak from practical experience.

I wouldn't bother buying my wife flying lessons for example. She freezes up. Panics. She's not afraid to fly, but if anything went wrong, you would not want her at the controls. She also has this really queer thing about bugs. I've seen her hurt herself getting away from one. If a wasp or a bee flew in the cabin, and she were the pilot, I'd hate to think what would happen....

Some people just don't have the nerves or the 'it' factor. You'll know it when you see it. Being an aviator is not everyone's cup of tea. Probably why we're only about 1% or less of the populous.

 

[AuntPeggy]

I think a couple of people here have offered to introduce you to a CFI that they believe would meet your needs. You can feel confident that in their expert opinions the school, instructors, and equipment are high quality. As far as you judging for yourself, you already have some experience. You have met an instructor whose teaching style does not mesh with your learning style. So, look for an instructor whose style works for you. You have experienced a school that is charging you differently from what you expect. So, look for a school that is not charging more without explanation and agreement. You haven't experienced poor equipment, but just watch out for airplanes that seem to have constant problems with maintenance. Since money is an issue, pay only for as much airplane as you really need. The more fancy the avionics, the larger the aircraft, the more it will cost per hour.

I agree with everyone else about the problems that flight simulators give new trainees. Buy a bath towel and hang it over the glare shield to cover most of the instruments so that you get into the habit of looking outside the airplane for visual cues.

 

[AuntPeggy]

Here is my log book,

It's looking mighty thin. Hopefully I can fill it up in time.

View attachment 34410


I was up for .6 not .3


So was that 1 hour?

No. That is tenths of an hour. Each tenth of an hour is 6 minutes (60/10). So .6 is 36 minutes and .4 is 24 minutes. Both entries together are equal to an hour. BTW, because the CFI on that first entry did not put in his instructor's certificate number, it doesn't count as instructional time. You got cheated there, too.

 

[AuntPeggy]

So how can you tell if someone is pilot material or not? inquiring minds want to know!

As an older student, you probably will need a few extra hours to get the hang of it.

As far as being told someone is not pilot material, I don't know how to tell. I went through a dozen instructors and about a year of training by going out every possible day and working, working, working at it. I have a friend who is a CFI and was ready to give up on his student when finally one day, it just started working for him. This instructor had been saying to Hubby (also a CFI), "How do I tell him he just won't get it?" and then it clicked.

PS, As long as we are revealing ages, I'm now 71.

 

[timwinters]

So how can you tell if someone is pilot material or not? inquiring minds want to know!

Would you rather solve a quadratic equation or correct others' grammar on Internet forums?