ebykowsky
Cleared for Takeoff
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2012
- Messages
- 1,405
- Display Name
- goalstop
Well, hopefully at least...
I went out to the airport north of PIT yesterday to check out the local flying club on a whim--it was 5PM, but bright and CAVU so I hoped I'd find someone there. It turned out to be a great decision!
When I got there, it looked like a ghost town--nobody outside except for a bunch of parked cars and one guy fueling a 152... I asked that guy where to look, and he directed me to a rusty old once-green hangar, filled with pilots. One of them took the time to show me around the club which has 3 172's, a 152, and an arrow and an archer... all pretty nice, well maintained planes. After shooting the breeze a little while longer, a guy walked in and offered to take me up in a 172--my first free flight! Turns out he went to the college I now attend and studied business as well. After a nice 30min. flight, we went back to the hangar, and one of the CFI's offered me some work buffing and detailing planes--he also owns the club's 152 on lease, so hopefully I can work for cheap/free flying time instead. All in all, this visit was a great way to get in the door of the GA community, make some great contacts inside and outside of the flying world, and have a shot to work for some flying time and spend even more time around the airport!
For those of you who have posted about costs of flying (and yes, I'm included in this bunch), I'd encourage you to look into a local flying club if you haven't already. It could be a great experience and it could help you both pay for training and get connected to some good, grassroots GA pilots; two things I never got from flight schools or my local FBO's.
I went out to the airport north of PIT yesterday to check out the local flying club on a whim--it was 5PM, but bright and CAVU so I hoped I'd find someone there. It turned out to be a great decision!
When I got there, it looked like a ghost town--nobody outside except for a bunch of parked cars and one guy fueling a 152... I asked that guy where to look, and he directed me to a rusty old once-green hangar, filled with pilots. One of them took the time to show me around the club which has 3 172's, a 152, and an arrow and an archer... all pretty nice, well maintained planes. After shooting the breeze a little while longer, a guy walked in and offered to take me up in a 172--my first free flight! Turns out he went to the college I now attend and studied business as well. After a nice 30min. flight, we went back to the hangar, and one of the CFI's offered me some work buffing and detailing planes--he also owns the club's 152 on lease, so hopefully I can work for cheap/free flying time instead. All in all, this visit was a great way to get in the door of the GA community, make some great contacts inside and outside of the flying world, and have a shot to work for some flying time and spend even more time around the airport!
For those of you who have posted about costs of flying (and yes, I'm included in this bunch), I'd encourage you to look into a local flying club if you haven't already. It could be a great experience and it could help you both pay for training and get connected to some good, grassroots GA pilots; two things I never got from flight schools or my local FBO's.
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