List of things to work on after getting PPL?
- Thread starter wildb
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eman1200
Touchdown! Greaser!
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Bro do you even lift
safety and everything else.
iflyvfr
Pattern Altitude
I'd say learning about weather. I didn't really think of it holistically before I got my cert. It helps to look at weather on a national, regional and then local level. There's lot's of information on weather.gov for example. I'm no expert but I do look at WX different today and I've seen some of it up close and personal, even VFR.
For example, at first rain and showers will keep you on the ground. But with experience, and hopefully a good, conservative pilot friend who understands wx better, you will learn those conditions can be very doable. What you see is a rain cloud doing what it does. To my right was 10+ miles viz and my out. By simply driving around it, I was in the clear in a minute or two.
With much lower hours that would have caused me to freak.
For example, at first rain and showers will keep you on the ground. But with experience, and hopefully a good, conservative pilot friend who understands wx better, you will learn those conditions can be very doable. What you see is a rain cloud doing what it does. To my right was 10+ miles viz and my out. By simply driving around it, I was in the clear in a minute or two.
With much lower hours that would have caused me to freak.
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AggieMike88
Touchdown! Greaser!
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The original "I don't know it all" of aviation.
Crosswind landings and takeoffs.
Go get your CFI and work some simulated emergencies (your 3000 feet AGL and 4 miles from the runway and the engine just quit... Can you confidently deal with the emergency including a dead stick landing? As you took off, one of the main gear tires blew... prove to yourself you can land the plane safely.... Have your CFI get you lost and fail both your GPS and your iPad. Now find your way home or to another suitable runway.)
Find a grass runway and do real soft field operations.
Load the aircraft to near gross takeoff weight and learn the difference in how it handles.
I did this soon after my PPL and really has helped me.
Go get your CFI and work some simulated emergencies (your 3000 feet AGL and 4 miles from the runway and the engine just quit... Can you confidently deal with the emergency including a dead stick landing? As you took off, one of the main gear tires blew... prove to yourself you can land the plane safely.... Have your CFI get you lost and fail both your GPS and your iPad. Now find your way home or to another suitable runway.)
Find a grass runway and do real soft field operations.
Load the aircraft to near gross takeoff weight and learn the difference in how it handles.
I did this soon after my PPL and really has helped me.
jordane93
Touchdown! Greaser!
This.
JCranford
En-Route
Take a few shortish XC"s. Youll find PLENTY of stuff you need to work on.
drotto
Cleared for Takeoff
Kinda wish I could have just done fun stuff. I moved right into getting my complex and HP sign-offs and am now doing IFR. Mainly because there is a plane available to me, but not legal without those items.
Stearman
Pre-takeoff checklist
Continue to practice your "airwork" maneuvers - stalls, steep turns, etc. Try "Dutch rolls." Staying sharp on that stuff will go a long way toward making your flying crisp, precise, and elegant. Make every single landing a challenge. Hit your spot, or pretend it's a soft-field, etc. Don't get in the habit of flying like most of us drive...kinda half thinking about it.
Go for a tailwheel endorsement too. That's a great way to get into different types.
Go for a tailwheel endorsement too. That's a great way to get into different types.
Caramon13
Pattern Altitude
Yeah and have fun too! I was doing a maintenance flight on my plane last night after an oil change, etc..stayed in the pattern and then was gonna head down to KPGD and back. Instead got about halfway, dropped FF and just flew around looking at stuff. Did a few T&G's at another airport for fun, looked at an area I'm going camping at this weekend from the air, etc.
I did my PPL and hopped right into my instrument afterwards (short break but still). I'm enjoying not having to "accomplish" something everytime I go up. Just enjoy being in the air.
I did my PPL and hopped right into my instrument afterwards (short break but still). I'm enjoying not having to "accomplish" something everytime I go up. Just enjoy being in the air.
BigBadLou
Final Approach
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Lou
I concur, go fly for fun.
May I make a bold suggestion? Rescue some dogs (via PilotsNPaws.org), that will make you fly some X/Cs and increase your proficiency in reading weather and flight planning ... and you will feel good about doing something great with your airplane. And don't forget the underestimated value of dog kisses!!
(I got a lot of dog pictures on my cubicle wall to remind me of the great pups I've flown, a lot of co-workers ask about them )
May I make a bold suggestion? Rescue some dogs (via PilotsNPaws.org), that will make you fly some X/Cs and increase your proficiency in reading weather and flight planning ... and you will feel good about doing something great with your airplane. And don't forget the underestimated value of dog kisses!!
(I got a lot of dog pictures on my cubicle wall to remind me of the great pups I've flown, a lot of co-workers ask about them
)
steingar
Taxi to Parking
Put up your sectional on a cork board. Every time you land at a new airport, put a pin in that airport. Make it a point to get a new pin every time you fly.
MAKG1
Touchdown! Greaser!
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MAKG
This question cannot be answered without flying with you.
You tell us, what gives you the most trouble? Practice that to proficiency.
You tell us, what gives you the most trouble? Practice that to proficiency.
Gucci Pilot
Pattern Altitude
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Gucci Pilot
Learn to use more advanced versions of flight planning besides the paper way such as DUATS. Go get a high performance, complex, or tailwheel endorsement.