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

Reporting from a good weekend in the Houston area.
Saturday ended after ~4 hours of flying with one sacrificed shirt :-D
In the morning flight (no winds, no turbulence) landings where going well and my CFI noted he might solo me today, he was planning on Sunday, but since it was going well.
This is when my landings got worse (subconscious effort, i guess).
So we took the scheduled break.

As we got closer to the afternoon session, he grabbed my logbook. I knew what that meant...
So we go up for about 1.5 hours and winds and turbulence picked up from the morning, I end up a bit high wings parallel over the ground.
At this point I figured, the solo will be another day (somewhat relieved, it;s not a race).
We take a 30min break and go up again.
Things just clicked and landings are better.
At some point, he's like, "Hey do a full on taxiway Bravo" ... "Just drop me off over there", Final words of encouragement "Don't f**** up" which I comment, as in skydiving "Don't Suck".
That was the moment when I got nervous, I was happy to not have eaten lunch, not sure if it would have stayed down.
And as many before me state, the moment you roll in the plane and the right seat is empty is just very unsettling at first.

Off I go... 3 touch-n-go's

First landing was OK, but the relieve was amazing. I counted in my head "2 more to go".
Hair on my body was standing up.
Second landing bouncy, I was not happy. The self talk, which was constant, turned into a self insult with the firm order to make it up in landing 3.
3rd landing, was my best landing ever, wheels touched the ground, you could barely feel it...

And then ti was time to pick up my CFI and taxi to the hangar for the celebratory shirt sacrifice...
 
TimRF79 said:
First landing was OK, but the relieve was amazing. I counted in my head "2 more to go".
Hair on my body was standing up.
Second landing bouncy, I was not happy. The self talk, which was constant, turned into a self insult with the firm order to make it up in landing 3.
3rd landing, was my best landing ever, wheels touched the ground, you could barely feel it...

And then ti was time to pick up my CFI and taxi to the hangar for the celebratory shirt sacrifice...
Click to expand...

Great feeling huh? Congrats!
 
Congrats!!!

TimRF79 said:
First landing was OK, but the relieve was amazing. I counted in my head "2 more to go".
Hair on my body was standing up.
Second landing bouncy, I was not happy. The self talk, which was constant, turned into a self insult with the firm order to make it up in landing 3.
3rd landing, was my best landing ever, wheels touched the ground, you could barely feel it...
Click to expand...
 
TimRF79 said:
Reporting from a good weekend in the Houston area.
Saturday ended after ~4 hours of flying with one sacrificed shirt :-D
In the morning flight (no winds, no turbulence) landings where going well and my CFI noted he might solo me today, he was planning on Sunday, but since it was going well.
This is when my landings got worse (subconscious effort, i guess).
So we took the scheduled break.

As we got closer to the afternoon session, he grabbed my logbook. I knew what that meant...
So we go up for about 1.5 hours and winds and turbulence picked up from the morning, I end up a bit high wings parallel over the ground.
At this point I figured, the solo will be another day (somewhat relieved, it;s not a race).
We take a 30min break and go up again.
Things just clicked and landings are better.
At some point, he's like, "Hey do a full on taxiway Bravo" ... "Just drop me off over there", Final words of encouragement "Don't f**** up" which I comment, as in skydiving "Don't Suck".
That was the moment when I got nervous, I was happy to not have eaten lunch, not sure if it would have stayed down.
And as many before me state, the moment you roll in the plane and the right seat is empty is just very unsettling at first.

Off I go... 3 touch-n-go's

First landing was OK, but the relieve was amazing. I counted in my head "2 more to go".
Hair on my body was standing up.
Second landing bouncy, I was not happy. The self talk, which was constant, turned into a self insult with the firm order to make it up in landing 3.
3rd landing, was my best landing ever, wheels touched the ground, you could barely feel it...

And then ti was time to pick up my CFI and taxi to the hangar for the celebratory shirt sacrifice...
Click to expand...


CONGRATS, pilot!! Great feeling, huh?
 
Question about the XC requirement.
The one with the instructor has to be:
"One cross-country flight of over 100 nautical miles total distance"
The solo has to be:
"One solo cross country flight of 150 nautical miles total distance, with full-stop landings at three points, and one segment of the flight consisting of a straight-line distance of more than 50 nautical miles between the takeoff and landing locations"
Does that mean it is one flight, as long as you don;t leave the plane?
For example, for the 100 mile flight with instructor, can this be from Airport A to a random point 100nm from point A and then turn around to land at airport B (Which is less than 100nm from point A)?
Also are the 100nm direct distance or flight distance, for example, would this trip qualify:
https://skyvector.com/?ll=29.202281... 2903N09534W 2902N09547W 2859N09558W PSX KPKV

For the Solo XC,
Can this be from A, to B (fulls stop landing), to C (full stop landing), to A (full stop landing).
If distances are A to B 20, B to C 80 and C to A 50?
 
Skyking517 said:
Well tomorrow is finally my first lesson in the Warrior at KISM. I am very excited to get back into this, I have not flown in 20 years, I soloed in 1994 at 16, flew off and on until 1998 then ran out of money. I never did get my PPL, and now I am 39 and ready to do this, I will get this done. The kicker is I lost my log book, but good news on that coming soon. I know not 1 of those hours will really help me at this point, since I need to do it all over again for proficiency purposes, but eventually some of those hours will help. Cant wait to share my experience!
Click to expand...

I'm looking forward to watching your journey unfold. I got my Commercial SEL/MEL and Instrument in 2001 at the fresh age of 21. 9/11 hit, economy tanked, I ran out of money and life got in the way. Here I am 16 years later as a 37 year old, completed my flight review, IPC, and training for my CFI. A 121 carrier is the end goal. As with learning anything new, keep your head up and continue to strive to do better than the previous flight. Good Luck!!
 
Half Fast said:
Well? Are you going to tell us about it?

Fun, wasn't it? Well done, pilot.
Click to expand...
It was super easy. I did TUP-22M-STF-GWO-TUP. Forgot my headphone jack adaptor for my phone, so I couldn't listen to music like I usually do, but it was still fun.
 
TimRF79 said:
Question about the XC requirement.
The one with the instructor has to be:
"One cross-country flight of over 100 nautical miles total distance"
The solo has to be:
"One solo cross country flight of 150 nautical miles total distance, with full-stop landings at three points, and one segment of the flight consisting of a straight-line distance of more than 50 nautical miles between the takeoff and landing locations"
Does that mean it is one flight, as long as you don;t leave the plane?
For example, for the 100 mile flight with instructor, can this be from Airport A to a random point 100nm from point A and then turn around to land at airport B (Which is less than 100nm from point A)?
Also are the 100nm direct distance or flight distance, for example, would this trip qualify:
https://skyvector.com/?ll=29.202281241072015,-95.43759154749448&chart=301&zoom=2&fpl= KLVJ 2926N09512W 2921N09512W 2903N09534W 2902N09547W 2859N09558W PSX KPKV

For the Solo XC,
Can this be from A, to B (fulls stop landing), to C (full stop landing), to A (full stop landing).
If distances are A to B 20, B to C 80 and C to A 50?
Click to expand...

You can leave the plane, stay overnight, etc. I did a full stop and taxi back for my long solo xc.

No, it needs to be 100 mi pt to pt. Think of as if you were the examiner, how you know the student took the long way around? Direct distances are what are used.

Yes, that solo xc looks good.

In the end, your instructor should help make sure your plan meets the requirements.

Have fun!!
 
NHWannabe said:
Passed the written, not my finest hour. Long X-C and some hood time the only thing that remains. Prepping for a very long oral.
Click to expand...
Nice. Exactly where I'm at. Not looking forward to oral prep, but have to get through it..
 
Hello All,

Today was an absolute rough day. Winds were awesome, and we did some power off, and power on stalls. It got really interesting when we went to KGIF for some pattern work. Here is a video of my first stall in 22 years!

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="
" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
Skyking517 said:
Hello All,

Today was an absolute rough day. Winds were awesome, and we did some power off, and power on stalls. It got really interesting when we went to KGIF for some pattern work. Here is a video of my first stall in 22 years!

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="
" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Click to expand...


Nice job.

Yep, bad winds this afternoon. I had a rental scheduled but canceled after I got to the airport; not a light sport day. 20 knot or so gusts at KLEE. Orlando Int’l TAF was forecasting gusts to 32 knots.

When you’re checking wx ahead of a lesson, contact me. If I’m scheduled to fly, just forget about it. My schedule is a far better predictor of high winds or IFR than any TAF.
 
NHWannabe said:
Passed the written, not my finest hour.
Click to expand...


Passing is passing. Congrats! Don't worry about it and keep pressing on.

BTW - next time you get onto an airliner just remember that there's no guarantee the pilot scored better than 70% on any of his written exams, nor that he did even that well on his first try. Comforting thought, huh? :)
 
Half Fast said:
Passing is passing. Congrats! Don't worry about it and keep pressing on.

BTW - next time you get onto an airliner just remember that there's no guarantee the pilot scored better than 70% on any of his written exams, nor that he did even that well on his first try. Comforting thought, huh? :)
Click to expand...

Hey now! I scored in the low 70s on my Private written, and flew for an airline 24 years. Didn't hurt anybody either. :raspberry::raspberry::raspberry::raspberry::raspberry:
 
Hi All,

Had an awesome day in the pattern in KISM. Wind was right across the runway, and it was a good experience for sure, we did check winds at other airports around and all were about the same as far as gusting goes. New video below is up on my site, please feel free to comment, this is lesson 3 and I a glad we got to fly today.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="
" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
Skyking517 said:
Hi All,

Had an awesome day in the pattern in KISM. Wind was right across the runway, and it was a good experience for sure, we did check winds at other airports around and all were about the same as far as gusting goes. New video below is up on my site, please feel free to comment, this is lesson 3 and I a glad we got to fly today.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="
" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Click to expand...


Nice job! Yep, looked a tad breezy. :)
 
Skyking517 said:
Thank you so much, a little reassurance is always good to hear, especially only 3 lessons in.
Click to expand...


I can sympathize about the winds. With the light sport I'm renting, I sometimes feel like a butterfly being attacked by a leaf blower. :)

Just remember, ...

 
Two good days in a row in Atlanta. Almost unheard of in 2018. Logged about 5 hours and soloed in my plane. I had previously soloed in a 172, then went and bought an Archer, so needed to re-qualify. Perfect day for a solo, no wind and not too many people in the pattern due to the holiday. Now on to XC, night and hoodwork.
 
Got a good day of flying in Saturday.
First 1 hour solo in the pattern, then 0.5 hours working on short field landing and take-off.
Then my CFI and I went off to the x-country, had dinner and did a night x-country back.
First time flying at night, so nice and calm at 7.5k ft..

Tallied up my hours first time Sunday, now at 28.6 hours total
 
Hello Friends,

This morning I got to the plane at 7am, we wanted to beat the wind, and it worked out great. I got in 8 landings total, some emergency power off landings, missed approaches. Below is a quick video from one of my 8 landings, please leave a comment and let me know what you think, thanks to you all.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="
" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
I'm 14 hours in and now it's pattern work and landing practice.. Can't seem to catch a break with the weather as regards wind (ah, Springtime). Two weeks ago, it was 14 knot winds down the runway, and since it wasn't X-wind, we went anyway.. Got in 5 landings before I had completely sweated out my shirt and said 'uncle'. Weather was perfect this last Friday right up until I finished pre-flight, then the winds picked up, seemingly out of nowhere. By the time we were holding short of runway 36, winds were variable from 230 degrees to 290 degrees at 12-15 mph, gusting to more than that. Still managed to get in 6 landings with 2 additional go-arounds because the X-wind was pushing us off track on final. Having a good time. I'd just about kill for a calm day, though.
 
Landing in X-Winds with an instructor will make you a better pilot for when you are alone (is what I keep telling myself)
 
I keep telling myself that, too..
 
Losing my CFI to an airline. Frustrating because I'm 80% of the way to the finish line. Hopefully the next one doesn't change too many things. Last thing I want to do at this point is backtrack.
 
ScottinIowa said:
Losing my CFI to an airline. Frustrating because I'm 80% of the way to the finish line. Hopefully the next one doesn't change too many things. Last thing I want to do at this point is backtrack.
Click to expand...


I feel your pain.

I lost 3 CFIs to airlines, and fell back each time. 3 CFIs told me, “You’re ready to solo as soon as we have good weather.” Then the CFI would quit, I’d lose 2 or 3 weeks before I could got onto another’s schedule, maybe lose another weekend to wx or personal business or family stuff, then have to fly a few lessons with the new guy to get back to where I had been a month prior.

Frustrating.

Hope your luck is better than mine.
 
It’s been a while and I lost a few months to maintenance issues on the plane. Sitting at 10.7 hours and on the edge of being able to solo.

Landings have gotten much better. I think working the procedural stuff (checklists, radio calls, altitudes, speeds...) while the plane was being fixed helped a lot. The downwind leg feels a lot longer now! Did some engine failure work in the pattern last flight and that went well.

I guess we all have our own battles. I’ve been missing flights due to maintenance and weather. My instructor has been amazing and has no aspirations of flying for the airlines right now.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Finally, after illness and crazy winds, I was able to get back in the cockpit and spend a good hour beating up the pattern. The first few landings were OK, not great but we lived to get back in the air. After that the next 7 were good to great. I believe I'll be doing my first solo sometime this week.
 
here's my story.

Only been in one small airplane my whole life, that was mid 80's. Always had a fascination with aviation, always looking up as they passed over the house wishing I could do that. Went to airshows, been to whiteman afb several times. About 10 years ago a buddy and I took discovery flights. The time just wasn't right. Just bought a house and shortly after got laid off from my job. So back to the back burner.

Beginning of March 2017 something bit me, I decided it wasn't something I wanted to do, it was something I was going to do.

On March 10 2017 took a discovery flight and talked to the instructor about everything involved, the averages and the whole only 8 out 10 finish thing, I told him i'll get some money lined out first, then I'll start. He offered info on financial aid, but no thanks, I want no debt.

So I got 7500 together and made the call. Could not get a return call. After several days I finally asked the lady at front desk if they didn't want my money. hour latter I got a call from the other instructor, went in to talk and got an AME recommendation and got my medical.

March 29 went in with medical and did iacra for student cert. then we went over the plan (part 141).

April 11 finally took my first flight lesson, well actually I went up on march 31 with a local cfi I had meet, and got to fly and log an hour in a mooney.

Didn't get to fly most of may due to cfi vacation and out of town work.

July 25 I soloed at 23 hrs. although a rush and wont forget, kind of a non event.

July 27 stage 1 check, passed.

October 7 took night cross country, bird strike going into Kansas City downtown, land and all good. head back and landing light had went out. what and experience.

October 9 I took first solo cross country. unforgettable. my crutch was gone.

November 17 stage 2 check, passed.

November 22 took another solo cross country, unforgettable, didn't get lost but had some trouble finding the airport.

November 30 took long solo cross country, unforgettable. first airport was good crosswind, little nervous, little scared. my crutch was gone. taxi back and check my pants. rest of flight and overall, awesome.

February 9 took stage 3 check, passed.

March 21 took end of course, passed. dropped e6b under the seat working the diversion. oh sheet! thankfully I had trimmed right so as calmly as i could, I slid the seat back and got it, finished diversion and moved on.

March 30 took checkride, passed. Felt good, soft field take off, best one ever. During climb, almost to altitude. What to do with alternator failure?( he had told me the oral could overrun into the flight). I was about to bust my altitude so i put the question on hold for a minute until i had leveled out and trimmed. Then talked him through what i would do and referenced the checklist. Planning was good and then the diversion, I dropped the dang e6b again, oh sheet, not again! Thankfully again i was trimmed right so again i calmly slid seat back, got it and finished the diversion, disaster averted. Now 80kts hold alt. Now maintain 80kt descend to 4000. Maintain 80kt climb 4500. Then foggles, maintain 80 kt, turn heading this, turn heading that. Take me to that vor. Unusual attitudes. Slow flight, turn heading this, turn heading that. Into power off stall, then power on stall. I didn't think it was going to end. Get stabilized and do steep turns. Emergency descent to 3500. Then power gets pulled, pick field and glide to it while doing my checklist. Once I proved I was going to make it, climb back to 1800 and go to that water tower, turn around point. Take us back to the airport. Still hadn't heard him say fail yet, so far so good. Short field on the second stripe past the numbers, hit the middle of second stripe. Go around then soft field on third stripe past numbers. Boom, middle of third stripe. Stop for a short field take off. (more right rudder dummy) Came back around for slip to no flap landing. Probably 3 of my best landing. We'll be full stop, still haven't heard fail. Come in a little hot turning onto taxiway, little excited at this point, don't screw up now.

Park, shut down and get the handshake. holy sheet, holy sheet! hard not to smile. debrief, he knew he caught me off guard with the alternator failure, I stumbled at first but flew the plane first, his question came second. Then more right rudder on that short field take off. Finished the paper work and walked out in disbelief. Was this for real. Did i just do that. holy sheet! That was the busiest 1.5 hr. I'm sure I missed a few details but that's the gist of it. That's where i stand, a student private pilot.

The owner signed off on my rental agreement but I don't think its going to truly sink in until I take my first passenger up. I still feel like I need to call up cfi and ask for permission to go fly.

So thank you POA, I may not have posted my journey on here but I still took some good information away from here and shall continue to do so. and a huge thanks to my instructor, Ive texted him twice to thank him. I plan on keeping him busy, archer checkout and tailwheel. I'd like to be in the arrow by end of summer but we'll see. just want to enjoy what I've done so far.
 
Last edited:
Barneyfife said:
here's my story.

only been in one small airplane my whole life, that was mid 80's. always had a fascination with aviation, always looking up as they passed over the house wishing i could do that. went to airshows, been to whiteman afb several times. about 10 years ago me and a buddy took discovery flights. the time just wasn't right. just bought a house and shortly after got laid off from my job. so back to the back burner.
beginning of march 2017 something bit me, i decided it wasn't something i wanted to do, it was something i was going to do.
on march 10 2017 took a discovery flight and talked to the instructor about everything involved, the averages and the whole only 8 out 10 finish thing, i told him i'll get some money lined out first, then ill start. he offered info on financial aid, but no thanks, i want no debt. so i got 7500 together and made the call. could not get a return call. after several days i finally asked the lady at front desk if they didn't want my money. hour latter i got a call from the other instructor, went in to talk and got an AME recommendation and got my medical.
march 29 went in with medical and did iacra for student cert. then we went over the plan (part 141).
april 11 finally took my first flight lesson, well actually i went up on march 31 with a local cfi i had meet, and got to fly and log an hour in a mooney.
didn't get to fly most of may due to cfi vacation and out of town work.
july 25 i soloed at 23 hrs. although a rush and wont forget, kind of a non event.
july 27 stage 1 check, passed.
october 7 took night cross country, bird strike going into kansas city downtown, land and all good. head back and landing light had went out. what and experience.
october 9 i took first solo cross country. unforgettable. my crutch was gone
november 17 stage 2 check, passed.
november 22 took another solo cross country, unforgettable, didn't get lost but had some trouble finding the airport.
november 30 took long solo cross country, unforgettable. first airport was good crosswind, little nervous, little scared. my crutch was gone. taxi back and check my pants. rest of flight and overall, awesome.
february 9 took stage 3 check, passed.
march 21 took end of course, passed. dropped e6b under the seat working the diversion. oh sheet! thankfully i had trimmed right so as calmly as i could, i slid the seat back and got it, finished diversion and moved on.
march 30 took checkride, passed. felt good, soft field take off, best one ever. during climb, almost to altitude, what to do with alternator failure?( he had told me the oral could overrun into the flight). i was about to bust my altitude so i put the question on hold for a minute until i had leveled out and trimmed. then talked him through what i would do and referenced the checklist. planning was good and then the diversion, i dropped the dang e6b again, oh sheet, not again! thankfully again i was trimmed right so again i calmly slid seat back, got it and finished the diversion, disaster averted. now 80kts hold alt. now maintain 80kt descend to 4000. maintain 80kt climb 4500. then foggles, maintain 80 kt, turn heading this, turn heading that. take me to that vor. unusual attitudes. slow flight, turn heading this, turn heading that. into power off stall, then power on stall. i didn't think it was going to end. get stabilized and do steep turns. emergency descent to 3500. then the power gets pulled, pick field and glide to it while doing my checklist. once i proved i was going to make it, climb back to 1800 and go to that water tower. turn around point. take us back to the airport. still hadn't heard him say fail yet, so far so good. short field on the second stripe past the numbers. hit the middle of second stripe. go around then soft field on third stripe past numbers. boom, middle of third stripe. stop for a short field take off. (more right rudder dummy) came back around for slip to no flap landing. probably 3 of my best landing. we'll be full stop, still haven't heard fail. come in a little hot turning onto taxiway, little excited at this point, don't screw up now.
park, shut down and get the handshake. holy sheet, holy sheet! hard not to smile. debrief, he knew he caught me off guard with the alternator failure, i stumbled at first but flew the plane first, his question came second. then more right rudder on that short field take off. finished the paper work and walked out in disbelief. was this for real. did i just do that. holy sheet! that was the busiest 1.5 hr. i'm sure i missed a few details but that's the gist of it. that's where i stand, a student private pilot.
the owner signed off on my rental agreement but i don't think its going to truly sink in until i take my first passenger up. i still feel like i need to call up cfi and ask for permission to go fly.
so thank you POA, i may not have posted my journey on here but i still took some good information away from here and shall continue to do so. and a huge thanks to my instructor, ive texted him twice to thank him. but i plan on keeping him busy, archer checkout and tailwheel. id like to be in the arrow by end of summer but we'll see. just want to enjoy what i've done so far.
Click to expand...


Couldn't read it. Could you maybe edit it to add some capitalization and paragraph breaks?
 
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