What did you do your private training in?

In which aircraft did you (mostly) train for your private certificate?

  • Cessna 150/152

    Votes: 54 36.5%

  • Cessna 172

    Votes: 44 29.7%

  • Piper Cherokee

    Votes: 23 15.5%

  • Piper Tomahawk

    Votes: 5 3.4%

  • Piper, High wing

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Beechcraft Skipper

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Beechcraft Musketeer, Sundowner, Sport

    Votes: 2 1.4%

  • Grumman AA series/Yankee

    Votes: 3 2.0%

  • Champ, Chief, Luscombe, Cessna 120/140

    Votes: 4 2.7%

  • Other

    Votes: 13 8.8%
  • Total voters
    148
Soloed in a Cherokee 150. Yes, there was such a model.

Finished private in a brand new 1973 172. N20268 & she's still flying.
 
172SP, child of the magenta line.
 
150 in 1963 (no, I didn't wear brogans when I was flying).

stan%20cooper%20c-150%201962%20lowry%20afb%20med_zpsmdlpxppo.jpg
 
Started and soloed in a Cherokee 140. After about 20 hours in the 140, I bought a C-172L and did the rest of my training.
 
Kritchlow said:
Voted C152. Regardless what anyone thinks I believe it's the best trainer there is. Completely different than a 172 imo.
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I did all my training in a 172, then later had the opportunity to fly a 152 a few times. I was expecting not to like the 152, because, you know, its a smaller, cheaper, slower plane. Man was I wrong, the 152 is nice flier, fun to fly!
 
Pilawt said:
That looks like a 140A modified with tri-gear!
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Jeff, I suppose that's possible, but the aero club inventory listed it as a 1959 150. Sadly, I stored some things at my parents' house for a couple of years after I separated from active duty and was working on Johnston Island, and my original logbook got "misplaced", so I don't have a record of the tail number.

The early 150s had tall gear and that very spindly nose strut. Here's the '59 150 brochure cover. The cover photo shows the "Inter-city commuter" trim with fancy paint and wheel pants.

1959%20150%2001_zpsnjek8jlp.jpg
 
Stan Cooper said:
The early 150s had tall gear and that very spindly nose strut. Here's the '59 150 brochure cover. The cover photo shows the "Inter-city commuter" trim with fancy paint and wheel pants.
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Here's what the '59 150 looked like on the ground with weight on the gear -- similar to later 150s. Factory 150 main gear was mounted lower and further inboard than in your photo. 150 main gear also curved downward slightly. The main gear in your photo appears straight, even slightly bowed out, like 140 main gear. The 150 nose gear has very little strut visible above the oleo shaft, and the torque link faces aft. The nose gear in your photo doesn't look like a Cessna design at all.

The flaps in your photo are the small 140A/170A style plain flaps, not the 150's barn-door semi-Fowler flaps.

That's a very rare bird indeed and a very interesting photo.

Screen Shot 2017-10-18 at 10.46.44 AM.png

Also, the airplane in your photo has the factory Model 140A paint scheme:

Screen Shot 2017-10-18 at 10.47.02 AM.png
 
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Pilawt said:
Here's what the '59 150 looked like on the ground with weight on the gear -- similar to later 150s. Factory 150 main gear was mounted lower and further inboard than in your photo. 150 main gear also curved downward slightly. The main gear in your photo appears straight, even slightly bowed out, like 140 main gear. The 150 nose gear has very little strut visible above the oleo shaft, and the torque link faces aft.

That's a very rare bird indeed and a very interesting photo.

View attachment 57213

Also, the airplane in your photo has the factory Model 140A paint scheme:

View attachment 57214
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Ah ha! I think you're right. I have a higher resolution photo I cropped on the gear, and there's a tell-tale patch right where the 140 main gear would have been. I think I remember the vertical stabilizer and rudder were rounded like the 140, too.

1962%20Lowry%20AFB%20closeup_zpswdsmuzcx.jpg
 
LOL that uniform! I don't know if they had that when I went in in '67, but that shirt may have been an accessory item I think.
 
Primary in a 172
Tailwheel in an 11CC chief
 
Piper Tomahawk... the pic in my avatar is the day I passed my check ride...

There were a few times in my training I did use a 172...
 
mscard88 said:
LOL that uniform! I don't know if they had that when I went in in '67, but that shirt may have been an accessory item I think.
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I was in tech school at Lowry (Aurora, CO) in the winter of '62 and I had to purchase the shirt at the BX. Trousers were regular wool dress blues. The shirt was long sleeve and wool, so perfect for cool days when this skinny Florida cracker would have frozen in 505s (short sleeve cotton khaki). :eek:
 
7 hours to solo in a C-150, another 10 or so hours in a Cherokee 140, and the rest to PPL in a Beech Sierra. The Sierra belonged to the Beech Flying Club in Salina, Ks -- $16.00 per hour wet. (1977)
 
Stan Cooper said:
I was in tech school at Lowry (Aurora, CO) in the winter of '62 and I had to purchase the shirt at the BX. Trousers were regular wool dress blues. The shirt was long sleeve and wool, so perfect for cool days when this skinny Florida cracker would have frozen in 505s (short sleeve cotton khaki). :eek:
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Think we were issued 505s and fatigues, which all usually were starched like boards if you had it done at the laundry. That shirt was optional for when I was in.
 
Diamond DA20. Great training for my RV-9A, as both have stick controls, a slick airframe and free-castoring nose wheel.

My flight school at John Wayne had two of them...66NA and 253JP.

diamond-139-750x375.jpg
 
Shepherd said:
PA-11 Cub.
On floats.
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At last, someone learned in a high wing Piper. I thought there would have been more.

spiderweb said:
Zlin 242
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Neat!
zlin-aircraft-z242l-sp-tzz-2_max_1360329105.jpg


SoCal RV Flyer said:
Diamond DA20. Great training for my RV-9A, as both have stick controls, a slick airframe and free-castoring nose wheel.

My flight school at John Wayne had two of them...66NA and 253JP.

View attachment 57216
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I should have included Diamond in my list, along with Taylorcraft.
 
After seeing some of the other answers, I decided to add some details.
I actually flew a lot of different float planes, and amphibs, but I took my check ride in the PA-11.
Among the float planes and amphibs I trained in were:
J-3 Cub. It was 65 hp, no electrical system, I had to hand prop it while standing on the float. I think I weighed 115 pounds soaking wet. I'm told I put on quite the show trying to get it started.
PA-11 Cub. A sweet bird.
PA-18 Cub. A PA-11 on steroids. heh heh heh. I used to use this to dogfight the Cessnas. No contest.
Fairchild F-24W46 (165 hp) my all time favorite single engine float plane.
Republic SeaBee (not my favorite plane. Underpowered)
Grumman Goose G21, 2, 450 hp PW engines. My all time favorite. Period.
A mess of Cessnas on floats C-150, C-170 and C-172s, ehh, bland.
An early Piper 140 on floats. Because of the low wing it was a PITA to dock.
A couple of different types of Stinsons, a couple of Champs (also nice planes), a Luscombe, (someone wrecked it so I only got to fly it 3 times) a few T-Carts (also nice flying float planes).

Because I started flying so young, I had to wait a few years before I could take my check ride.
It was a different world back then. I was a fixture at the seaplane base, so people gave me their planes and I would fly all over the East coast to get them inspected or repaired, or whatever, and no one every batted an eye. When I was finally old enough to take my check ride I had over 800 hours logged in 17 different types. I did my single engine sea, multi-engine sea, and high performance rides all in one day. The next day I did my IR, and my commercial the day after that.
I wish I had owned a camera back then so I could have some pictures, but every penny I earned went right back into flying lessons.
 
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All of my primary instruction was in a Tomahawk. Really enjoyed that little plane. Flaps on that plane are pretty much just for decoration, though...didn't really experience the effect those could have until I got my Cherokee 180.
 
Ppl I learned mostly in the c152, but finished and did the check ride in a c172. Instrument in a warrior.
 
I did most of my PPL training in a C140, later in a Swift, took the check ride in a C152. It was a little hard to find an examiner the would give a check ride in the Swift. My dad owned the C140 and Swift, this was late 70's.
 
I know a few that would've done a ride in those.
 
Rod Broberg said:
The Sierra belonged to the Beech Flying Club in Salina, Ks -- $16.00 per hour wet. (1977)
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I instructed at Long Beach CA in the early '70s, where prices would likely be higher than in Kansas. Our '69 and '71 Cherokee 140s went for $16.00/hour wet -- except for N95174, which, because its single Narco Mark 12A had a glideslope and 360 com channels instead of 90, was our "instrument trainer" and went for $16.50. CFI time was $6/hour, of which we got half.
 
‘79 C172. CAP, $38/hr wet, no instructor charge. 1990 - 1991.
 
I started my PPL in 2001 in 152's, but moved into 172's mostly. However, I never finished it until January 2017. When I got back into it in October 2016, I wrapped up the last of my flight training in a Remos GX LSA.
 
Started with Skycatcher and finished in a 172. Instrument: Cirrus Commercial: Arrow IV
 
Started in a 150, back in 1988. Resumed in a Champ, which I flew for the SP check ride. No PPL yet, though.
 
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