My PPL, a seven month journrey.

bjohnsonmn

bjohnsonmn

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Nov 2, 2011
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Shakopee, MN
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bjohnsonmn
Hello POA Folks.

I've been reading the boards on and off over the last few months. Some times reading other people's stories, and even getting a few laughs in! (Operation frozen butt cracks me up). So now, I thought I would share my story of training, in hopes that somewhere out there, someone else might benefit from this retelling.

I am a busy traveler for work (And mostly on the commercials), so I will tell the story over the next few weeks. Thankfully, I have kept a very detailed logbook, and have great memories from my training. Please feel free to comment, ask questions, or even poke a little fun along the way!

Best Regards,
Brad Johnson
PPL ASEL
 
Lesson -1, What's it like?

Like many interested PPL hopefuls, I had never flown in a single engine plane. But, I am lucky enough to live in an area with an active GA community, one person with a PA-28-180 at KFCM happen to be a good friend of a good friend, and was happy to take me up for a brief flight over the town I live in.

After we got in the air, I was able to see first hand if this was something I thought I could do, and sure enough, I figured it was worth a shot. It was late may, and I took Joe's advice. He said, "There's a great flight school on the other side of the field you should check out, but try other schools too. You will be spending a lot of time with your instructor, so it is important you find someone you like."

That line has become my first advice for someone looking at getting into GA as a pilot. While I love my flight school, and have become good friends with my instructor (more on him later), I am glad I tried out other schools. It gave me perspective, which comes in handy later on in the process (more on that too, but on a different day)

So, before you commit, try a few schools out, and seek some "hanger talk" about schools in the area.

Lesson 1 will be next.

Until Next Time,
Bjohnsonmn
 
Do continue! I just found my old posts of my training days (on another site) and sent them to a pilot who requested them, he is almost at his checkride and going through all the stuff I went through.

Your stories WILL help student pilots.
 
I sadly didn't discover forums till well after my private pilot checkride, but, It helps me today!
 
ajstoner21 said:
I sadly didn't discover forums till well after my private pilot checkride, but, It helps me today!
Click to expand...


Andrew,

It appears that you've been moving along since I met you at the Air Salvage safety seminar. Have you done the gliders and Multi engine since that time, or have I just missed it?

BTW, you're right, the learning goes on forever, that is if we're lucky.
 
Lesson 2 - Flaps, what a drag...

The quote from the title of this post is priceless, primarily because of how my instructor says it.
For an experienced pilot, it wouldn't have been a bery interesting flight, but for a newbie, getting a plane to fly so slow, it almost wants to drop out of the sky is a bit unnerving. We left the confines of KFCM for an area I would soon become acquainted with as being, "The Practice Area". After a flying a while, changing airspeeds, and getting used to feeling the plane for coordinated flight, we moved on to slow flight. At first, it scared the crap out of me, the stall light flashing in my face, something I had been told was a warning just a few days earlier while watching my ground school DVDs. But, by the end of the lesson, I started to realize the fun that could be had with slow flight, something I will cover toward toward the end of my training stories.
Lesson learned: Slow flight may just seem boring, but it's good to know that, Flaps are more than a drag, they are your friend! Flying by the seat of your pants is real. And, I picked the right instructor!

Until Next Time!
 
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