So, student pilots.. Who are we and where do we stand?

Passed my instrument checkride today. Absolutely beautiful day but it was super deceiving. It was the most turbulent flight I have had after 350 hrs. By the end both me and the DPE felt nauseous. I was literally fighting the controls the whole time. I asked him how he would characterize the pirep. He said he'd call it continuous moderate.
 

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My 3rd IMC encounter. 1st for the family on board. On my way to Chicago to see Dr. B to renew my medical.
 

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ahmad said:
Passed my instrument checkride today. Absolutely beautiful day but it was super deceiving. It was the most turbulent flight I have had after 350 hrs. By the end both me and the DPE felt nauseous. I was literally fighting the controls the whole time. I asked him how he would characterize the pirep. He said he'd call it continuous moderate.
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Congratulations!!! What a great achievement Ahmad :)
 
Congrats Ahmad.

I did my first solo flight back around Thanksgiving and did well. Standard 3 laps around the pattern, my first attempt didn't look or feel right so I decided to go around, I followed that with 2 of the smoothest landings I've had up to that point. I was excited after it was over but the next day, I just kinda felt underwhelmed like it was no big deal. It's weird, a lot of other people say it was one of the most exciting days of their lives and I'm just not feeling it. Don't get me wrong, I fully grasp the accomplishment and I WISH I felt better about it but I think maybe I'm more focused on long path that's still in front of me.
Did anybody else feel that way? Or am I the only wet blanket here?
 
Mooneymayhem said:
Congrats Ahmad.

I did my first solo flight back around Thanksgiving and did well. Standard 3 laps around the pattern, my first attempt didn't look or feel right so I decided to go around, I followed that with 2 of the smoothest landings I've had up to that point. I was excited after it was over but the next day, I just kinda felt underwhelmed like it was no big deal. It's weird, a lot of other people say it was one of the most exciting days of their lives and I'm just not feeling it. Don't get me wrong, I fully grasp the accomplishment and I WISH I felt better about it but I think maybe I'm more focused on long path that's still in front of me.
Did anybody else feel that way? Or am I the only wet blanket here?
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thank you. maybe you didn't feel that because you realize you want to accomplish a whole lot more than just flying around the pattern. for me I just wanted to learn to fly. during taxi for my solo I dropped a few hoooooly sxxx and profanities because I couldn't believe I had this privilege of flying. I felt that same rush of emotions during my 1st family on board trip and then later during my 1st solo imc. I love flying so every little thing feel big for me.

good luck with the test of your journey my friend.
 
Quick recap: started lessons in late 2021 with a fantastic instructor. Ex-USAF instructor, DPE, great personality fit. 9 hours in it was clear his DPE schedule was not conducive to continuing my primary training. Took 18 months off, mostly thinking, "maybe I buy that retirement sailboat and cruise the Caribbean?" October of this year, happened to run in to a friend of my wife's, who is working towards a commercial aviation career. She encouraged me to contact a local guy she knew. I was hesitant, but did. He hooked me up with another CFI, and we hit it off on my "re-Discovery Flight."

Basically started over, but with a solid foundation to build on. 12 or so hours later, with the new instructor, I soloed today. No panic, no fear on my part. Nothing other than a brief thought of, "When I take off, it's all on me if anything goes wrong" while I was taxing to the runway. Might have had two of my best landings ever (that second one was ugly, in my opinion, but safe).

Doing those three patterns and landings on my own is one of the (several) high points of my life. But, I wouldn't have made it to today if it weren't for my first instructor and, just as importantly, the current one. While I'm proud of having soloed, I feel like it's not my accomplishment alone. I'm sort of standing on the shoulders of giants. You know? But, maybe that's how this thing goes?
 
jrhillma said:
While I'm proud of having soloed, I feel like it's not my accomplishment alone. I'm sort of standing on the shoulders of giants. You know? But, maybe that's how this thing goes?
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I think that pretty much describes virtually anything that we do in this modern world.

Nonetheless, soloing an airplane is a great accomplishment that illustrates a lot of discipline, hard work and study, and is also a testament to your temperament and trustworthiness. So congrats to that, and best of luck on the rest of your journey!
 
As of this morning, I'm an active student. My "discovery flight" in a C172 turned into a full-on lesson after a few minutes briefing with the CFI. Taxi, takeoff, standard turns, steep turns, climb, descent. I have a long way to go, but this was a great start!
:happydance:
 
MacFlier said:
Logged my first 2 hours of multi-engine training today. Now I want to buy a twin...
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haha. That's awesome. I just got my high performance and complex aircraft endorsements 2 weeks ago and now I don't want to fly my C150. lol

I'm probably going to start multi training in the coming months.
 
After finishing my tailwheel endorsement in a Cub early this summer, I got distracted from training when I purchased a small experimental aircraft (Fisher Celebrity) and subsequently dumped a bunch of my aviation budget into repairing it and modifying it to my liking. It's ready to go now, but the weather sucks for open cockpit flying. Going forward, I am committed to spend all my rental time chipping away at Instrument rather than boring holes in the sky every couple weeks to stay proficient. First IR lesson was last week and consisted of some basic climbs, descents, turns, and combinations thereof, and tracking an RNAV approach inbound. Second lesson is on the schedule for Monday, and I guess we're working on holds and entries. We can't really encounter any actual IMC with a Skyhawk during our Minnesota winters, so I'm going to keep nibbling at IR training for the rest of the season, hopefully log some time in the approved simulator, and then try to get into some flyable IMC this coming spring and summer. Rough goal is to get IR checkride-ready around the end of 2024 and log 100 hours in the biplane during that same time.
 
Got my class 3 med cert this morning. 5 lesson flights scheduled over the next 8 days...fingers crossed for the weather to hold!
 
First post. Seems like good enough thread to post in. Took about 2 years to get my medical (special issuance) and have been slowly training for the last 14 months. I seem to be a slow learner unfortunately. Getting close to my first solo.
 
Howdy!

Still very green at 7.3 hrs TT, and loving every moment of it (when the weather cooperates and I actually get to go up, that is!)

Currently in medical limbo so I'm knocking out all my Dual up front and will start soloing once OKC shows me some mercy.

Long term goal is to get IR, Tailwheel, and ASES endorsements. Would like to build a kit plane someday, if time & finances allow it.

Glad to be a part of this community.
 
First post! Obtained my Part 107 at the beginning of the month and passed my first class medical on Monday. Starting to work on training with the eventual goal of CPL or ATP. After wanting to start training for the last few years - I figured 2024 would be a great year to start!
 
Hey all you beautiful peoples! It’s been awhile since I’ve posted. Update on journey: Passed Commercial written, and Oral, no issues. Had a hiccup on practical (short-field landing & power-off 180) Retested and passed practical. Commercially rated pilot! Completed all lesson plans, have been practicing teaching grounds and flights! Everything is coming together and I am feeling confident, as my next ground with my instructor is IACRA stuff in preparation for scheduling my CFI ticket checkride. Will check back in after my ride and post results. (Also took my CFI written today and passed that as well)
 
strikes2k said:
First post. Seems like good enough thread to post in. Took about 2 years to get my medical (special issuance) and have been slowly training for the last 14 months. I seem to be a slow learner unfortunately. Getting close to my first solo.
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Update: Passed my stage check last week and flew my first solo today. Just a couple touch and go's but still very satisfying to reach this milestone.
 
Successfully made five landings last night in a 10 knot headwind - no really bad ones and a couple that felt spot-on. The last two were just after sundown, with runway lights, and that was just plain fun. It feels like I'm finally getting the hang of it.

I know that I have a long way to go, but I'm building the confidence that it's just a matter of time and practice.
 
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Going out today for the first lesson. Medical was a bit of a headache but got passed that. Already completed and passed ground school. Missed a couple questions that were on GPS, it wasn't covered much. This is flying thing is way out of my wheelhouse. Found an instructor that isn't a time builder. Should be an interesting day.
 
I just broke 200 hours total time during an instrument lesson. We're past the basic attitude flying stage and beginning to fly approaches, and I've already blasted through a localizer after forgetting to hit the CDI button and switch to VLOC, which I understand to be a rite of passage. Both rental planes (172R and 182 RG) are down for a 100-hour inspection right now; as a result, my night currency is about to lapse for the first time. Whoops
 
fast99 said:
Going out today for the first lesson. Medical was a bit of a headache but got passed that. Already completed and passed ground school. Missed a couple questions that were on GPS, it wasn't covered much. This is flying thing is way out of my wheelhouse. Found an instructor that isn't a time builder. Should be an interesting day.
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Weather has been crappy. Finally got out today. Very blustery 15-30 mph winds. At one point plane rocketed up 1000'. Guess that's better than down. Did some turns, keep the altitude relatively steady. Can see it will take time to get relaxed especially with these conditions. Going out again tomorrow weather isn't supposed to improve much.
 
Broke 208h, and finally got my IR. Challenging weather on January and end of December made it difficult to schedule the checkride, huge weight off my back.

Flight with the examiner looked like this: take off from PWK on an IFR flight plan to KRAC, requested the ILS 04 circle to 32 landing to a full stop. Next, I had another flight plan from KRAC to C81, requested the RNAV-B, going to the published missed, then back to PWK with the VOR 16 approach. I messed up this last approach (tight timings, plus a last minute approach change by the examiner - was going for the RNAV 16, and was partial panel, less than 3 minutes from the air to being vectored). Did a retest and passed just fine. Sucks I couldn't pass it on the first try but doesn't matter now lol. A dream come true!
 
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Got in 10 landings today, on a small, narrow field without PAPI. I'm finally feeling like I'm flying the plane instead of the other way 'round - it's starting to be fun, the way it should be!
 
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Made a bunch of landings last night at KEFD, then finished off with a crosswind after dark at KLVJ (narrow, very poor lighting - that was stressful).

What really made the lesson memorable was seeing the A-10 that was sitting at the hold-short line waiting for my little Cherokee to complete a touch-n-go. :happydance:
 
StraightnLevel said:
Got in 10 landings today, on a small, narrow field without PAPI. I'm finally feeling like I'm flying the plane instead of the other way 'round - it's starting to be fun, the way it should be!
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Can I ask how many landings it took? Know everyone is different but I am having trouble getting the landings. CFI has helped on everyone so far, have around 40. Think I am over controlling, tail seems to want to pass the plane just before landing. CFI really hasn't said what I am doing wrong. May be this is normal.
 
fast99 said:
Can I ask how many landings it took? Know everyone is different but I am having trouble getting the landings. CFI has helped on everyone so far, have around 40. Think I am over controlling, tail seems to want to pass the plane just before landing. CFI really hasn't said what I am doing wrong. May be this is normal.
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As of today, I'm at 42 landings, 10 to a full stop. Quite a number of those were really shaky, and one early attempt came very close to a ground loop. It was probably 25-30 before I had the confidence to really believe I was going to put the plane down every single time without bending it, and it definitely takes time and practice to build consistency.

I am now confident that I can land the plane in reasonable conditions, but I still need a lot more practice. After 7 successive really good landings at the large field (KEFD), my final landing last night at KLVJ was a mess. I went around twice before finally getting it down properly. To be fair, it was really dark with gusting random winds, on a narrow little non-towered strip with "adequate" lights.

What has helped me is to think of using the rudder only to keep the nose pointed straight down the runway, and the yoke for everything else. My CFI prefers crabbing it in then straightening when you hit ground effect, but mentally I'm more comfortable separating the controls into yaw and pitch/roll.

Have you asked your CFI what isn't working?
 
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StraightnLevel said:
As of today, I'm at 42 landings, 10 to a full stop. Quite a number of those were really shaky, and one early attempt came very close to a ground loop. It was probably 25-30 before I had the confidence to really believe I was going to put the plane down every single time without bending it, and it definitely takes time and practice to build consistency.

I am now confident that I can land the plane in reasonable conditions, but I still need a lot more practice. After 7 successive really good landings at the large field (KEFD), my final landing last night at KLVJ was a mess. I went around twice before finally getting it down properly. To be fair, it was really dark with gusting random winds, on a narrow little non-towered strip with "adequate" lights.

What has helped me is to think of using the rudder only to keep the nose pointed straight down the runway, and the yoke for everything else. My CFI prefers crabbing it in then straightening when you hit ground effect, but mentally I'm more comfortable separating the controls into yaw and pitch/roll.

Have you asked your CFI what isn't working?
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Am going to ask about wed when we have a flight scheduled. There's a lot that happens in a short period of time. Had to abort 2 landings last week because they were so out of shape. Everything else I see improvement just getting a little frustrated with the landings. Thanks
 
It will click one day. I was a bundle of nerves until 100+ landings, and then it became more about feel and flowing with the plane than about consciously analyzing and responding.
 
I am signed up (and deposit paid) to get my CP-MES with Brooke’s Seaplane Service in August. Beech 18 on floats. Round engines. I’m looking forward to it!
 
We went through "unusual attitudes" yesterday. OK, that was a bit of an eye-opener. None of it caused me to feel particularly disoriented at the moment, but when we finished the flight I was flat worn-out. While I can handle it, it's not something that I want to deal with regularly until I get into IR training.

This led me to wonder what I can expect to experience in the DPE checkride. Is there a list anywhere that is easy to access and review as preparation?
 
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