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CarvinCT

Filing Flight Plan
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Jan 27, 2015
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CarvinCT
Hey everyone.

Finally fulfilling a lifelong dream to fly. I took a discovery flight when I was a kid, but my folks couldnt afford to get me further in my dream.

Got out of high school, joined the Army, then life happened. So, other than a boatload of time in computer simulators while my friends were playing the latest CAWADOOTY, I have no experience to speak of.

Now i'm 32, a reservist, and working a career that finally allows me to pursue this. I always said I'd do it "later..." and now that I'm 32 I figure later is now.

I've done a couple intro flights various places to get a feel for a few schools, and am attending a local club meeting as well. I dream of eventually being able to own an airplane and take advantage of my odd work hours to do what I do on motorcycles now: see that I have the entire day free and the weather is beautiful, wife at work and kid at school: time to go enjoy the day.

I was, until moving to TX, a motorcycle safety instructor. TX has some additional requirements I haven't met yet, so I haven't taught in about a year and a half.

Looking forward to my new adventure
 
You have come to the right place. This forum is inhabited by pilots/mechanics/controllers of all stripes and they are all ready to help you. Just fire away with the questions.

Bob Gardner
 
Excellent plan. I do a lot of my flying while the wife works and the kid toils in school.
 
Where in TX are you?
Seems you are in one of the places where aviation is a booming hobby.
No shortage of instructors, clubs, planes in this area to train in and fly.

I also waited until later which for me turned out to be 36 and It was one of the best choices I ever made.

Welcome to POA.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
Where in TX are you?
Seems you are in one of the places where aviation is a booming hobby.
No shortage of instructors, clubs, planes in this area to train in and fly.

I also waited until later which for me turned out to be 36 and It was one of the best choices I ever made.

Welcome to POA.
Click to expand...

Dallas. I work for Microsoft at the Las Colinas building

Yeah, there's a lot of activity around here.

I took the first intro flight a few weeks ago and i've had airplane on the brain EVER since

Come on, megamillions!
 
CarvinCT said:
Dallas. I work for Microsoft at the Las Colinas building

Yeah, there's a lot of activity around here.

I took the first intro flight a few weeks ago and i've had airplane on the brain EVER since

Come on, megamillions!
Click to expand...


I work in Las Colinas as well. Great views of DFW traffic out there.
Where was your intro flight?

Mine was in Denton and I trained in Gainesville. Met a good CFI and now friend out there that had rates more in line with what I could afford.
 
Did one with a freelance instructor out at Addison, did another with aviation air. Checking out the RFC club as well.

Trying to shop around and make a good decision
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
I work in Las Colinas as well. Great views of DFW traffic out there.
Where was your intro flight?

Mine was in Denton and I trained in Gainesville. Met a good CFI and now friend out there that had rates more in line with what I could afford.
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Bryan,

Stop hitting on the new guys! Sheesh!!!


-Brian
 
Welcome...you have come to the right place. There is a wealth of opinions....errrr, I mean expertise here on POA!
 
Welcome! I can attest to what others have said about the great resources here. I got my ticket last year at the ripe young age of 45 and it took me almost two years because of life/finances/you-name-it getting in the way. Ask questions, read the standard materials, search the forum, and most of all have fun learning to make that bird do what you want it to!

Oh, and don't fret it when you hit those mental blocks and can't land good, float the landings, mess up the runway directions, turn the wrong direction, etc. A quick search on the forums will reveal that you're not the only student pilot who went through those issues and more.

Enjoy!
 
Welcome to POA, sounds like you're well on your way to begin taking lessons. It's a fun adventure for sure!
 
Yep, welcome to PoA. To help get you going, download the free ebook at www.FreeFlyBook.com. It will answer just about any question you could have regarding becoming a pilot. It's also an excellent primer on the basic aeronautical knowledge that a pilot needs. No signup required, just click and download.
 
Welcome! Most of us here don't know anything, but that won't stop us from telling you right from wrong. ;)

Any idea what plane you'll use for training?
 
Welcome from another metroplex guy! Depending on where you live, look into the Texins flying club at McKinney airport. Very good rates, membership dues and CFI fees. I haven't joined yet but I plan to soon. (And no, I'm not being paid to say this... LOL)
 
Welcome!!

Good luck with your flight training. It will be a Fun Ride!!!

Two weeks back I took off from Tyler KTYR and the sky was so clear I could see the Dallas Skyline 100 mile away. Great Day. Flying is so much fun.
 
New guy: Welcome - it's fun here.

Everyone else: I about cringed when I started reading.. Thought we were going to see another "help me fulfill my dream...".... It's been at least a month.. so we're coming up..
 
Welcome to PoA, lots of good knowledge here, and lots of discussions you'll see re-hashed over and over.

Occasionally the silliness goes a bit overboard, but not very often. 6PC is usually one of the culprits so keep an eye on him.
 
Welcome to PoA and the incredible experience of flying!
 
mjburian said:
Welcome! Most of us here don't know anything, but that won't stop us from telling you right from wrong. ;)

Any idea what plane you'll use for training?
Click to expand...

No idea, depends on where i complete the training at. If i go the club route, it'll either be a C172 or a Piper cherokee 180 depending on the club. At either of the FBO affiliated schools i checked out, it'd be the cessna also.

I'm gonna attend both Texins and RFC meetings and check em out.
 
First "real" lesson. Got a groupon a while back and since i'm still "interviewing" instructors I went and checked this place out.

Coordinating the feet, especially on the ground, is a bit tricky. I suspect this gets easier once you get over the weirdness of turning with feet. I was also kinda surprised at how eager the bird was to get into the air. Little bit of back pressure and she was climbing real strong. Turned right and headed south towards the lakes.

Did several turns in either direction, both at cruise speeds and also with flaps flying slow. I was also pretty surprised at both how different the controls felt with flaps extended, and also how slow she could fly.

Went over preflighting the bird and checklists for takeoff, cruise , and landing. Landed the plane with assistance from the instructor. I'm going to make myself feel good by telling myself i didn't feel a whole lot of control input from him :)

It was interesting. Once on a proper descent and trimmed right, it damn near landed itself.

Now the agony begins as I get my finances situated so i can start lessons in earnest. I'd like to try and fly 3x/week


Checking out a local club too, and meeting a CFI from that club tonight
 

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CarvinCT said:
First "real" lesson. Got a groupon a while back and since i'm still "interviewing" instructors I went and checked this place out.

Coordinating the feet, especially on the ground, is a bit tricky. I suspect this gets easier once you get over the weirdness of turning with feet. I was also kinda surprised at how eager the bird was to get into the air. Little bit of back pressure and she was climbing real strong. Turned right and headed south towards the lakes.

Did several turns in either direction, both at cruise speeds and also with flaps flying slow. I was also pretty surprised at both how different the controls felt with flaps extended, and also how slow she could fly.

Went over preflighting the bird and checklists for takeoff, cruise , and landing. Landed the plane with assistance from the instructor. I'm going to make myself feel good by telling myself i didn't feel a whole lot of control input from him :)

It was interesting. Once on a proper descent and trimmed right, it damn near landed itself.

Now the agony begins as I get my finances situated so i can start lessons in earnest. I'd like to try and fly 3x/week


Checking out a local club too, and meeting a CFI from that club tonight
Click to expand...

Great job.

I can't say for sure as I'm not a CFI and don't have many hours, but I imagine the goal for a CFI is for their help on control inputs to be as subtle as possible. Unless of course you really mess something up.

You really get a confidence boost the first time you land the plane and notice out of the corner of your eye that your CFI's hands weren't on the controls for the entire descent.
 
Fredbob711 said:
Great job.

I can't say for sure as I'm not a CFI and don't have many hours, but I imagine the goal for a CFI is for their help on control inputs to be as subtle as possible. Unless of course you really mess something up.

You really get a confidence boost the first time you land the plane and notice out of the corner of your eye that your CFI's hands weren't on the controls for the entire descent.
Click to expand...

Makes sense.

I can't wait until my next lesson. Unfortunately my Master's capstone just started and my wife's lasik ain't paid for... so ground school and youtube for me until then
 
Welcome from another fairly new guy.
CarvinCT said:
Coordinating the feet, especially on the ground, is a bit tricky. I suspect this gets easier once you get over the weirdness of turning with feet.
Click to expand...

Kicked my ass at first too. If you have operated a skid-steer before that makes it even worse (tendency to turn the OPPOSITE direction you want to go). Have fun with it and good luck!
 
Talked to a CFI at a local club and i'm meeting him for lunch next week for more discussion. Their main trainer is in for annual right now, which is fine by me since i'm not ready yet. They have some other nice aircraft too, once i am licensed and have more training.

I'm really stoked.
 
It took me two years to get my finances in order, but like you, I wanted to be able to commit to it. Have 15 hours since dec. 31. It was worth the wait to be able to go whenever the weather cleared.
 
Basically, i'm taking stock of my situation and waiting until i can commit to like 3 lessons a week, and lots of immersion.
 
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