J
jpmills
Guest
I'm blatantly stealing an idea thrown-out by a visionary on the Cessna Pilots Association message boards:
As our pilot population ages, it seems that there are an increasing number of hanger flyers who, for whatever reason (lost medical, health issues etc.) who are no longer flying. Many of these folks have a vast amount of experience under their belts that they may be willing to share with us young-uns for a chance to ride in the right seat. The problem is identifying them and finding one near your home airport who is ready to go flying.
I, for one, love to have more experienced pilots in the right seat to tell me what a great pilot I am. Or, more likely, provide constructive criticism on my flying technique. Perhaps a message board, such as this one, could help match us new pilots with the old salts who would like to accompany us during our practice flights.
Having done my instrument training with an instructor who was a retired General from the Air Guard, not only did I appreciate his breadth and depth of experience, but also the great stories he told about his time flying the F100 Super Saber. Many of these guys flew planes that were inherently dangerous to fly. Thier piloting skills were honed out of a necessity to survive those early fighters that were very unforgiving of any sort of mistake.
I'll never be as sharp as they were at their prime, but I'd love to learn from them. Often I do my practice flights alone due to a busy schedule and last-minute planning, and would love to have someone to call at the last minute for their company and experience.
Feel free to contact me if you are near PDK (Atlanta) and are interested. I've got over 350 hours, my own 182 (very well-maintained), instrument rating and haven't bent any metal...yet.
Or, better yet, a message board devoted to matching pilots may be useful. Food for thought...
Jimmy (james.mills@mindspring.com)
As our pilot population ages, it seems that there are an increasing number of hanger flyers who, for whatever reason (lost medical, health issues etc.) who are no longer flying. Many of these folks have a vast amount of experience under their belts that they may be willing to share with us young-uns for a chance to ride in the right seat. The problem is identifying them and finding one near your home airport who is ready to go flying.
I, for one, love to have more experienced pilots in the right seat to tell me what a great pilot I am. Or, more likely, provide constructive criticism on my flying technique. Perhaps a message board, such as this one, could help match us new pilots with the old salts who would like to accompany us during our practice flights.
Having done my instrument training with an instructor who was a retired General from the Air Guard, not only did I appreciate his breadth and depth of experience, but also the great stories he told about his time flying the F100 Super Saber. Many of these guys flew planes that were inherently dangerous to fly. Thier piloting skills were honed out of a necessity to survive those early fighters that were very unforgiving of any sort of mistake.
I'll never be as sharp as they were at their prime, but I'd love to learn from them. Often I do my practice flights alone due to a busy schedule and last-minute planning, and would love to have someone to call at the last minute for their company and experience.
Feel free to contact me if you are near PDK (Atlanta) and are interested. I've got over 350 hours, my own 182 (very well-maintained), instrument rating and haven't bent any metal...yet.
Or, better yet, a message board devoted to matching pilots may be useful. Food for thought...
Jimmy (james.mills@mindspring.com)