X/C training question

Rotor&Wing said:
Gee, ya think? :rolleyes2: In real world operations 200-250 hours is considered low time. And the military guys that do make it through are not always considered superior aviators after receiving their wings. As a good case in point I've witnessed ex-military guys in the airline wash out of training while a civilian guy breezes through, and visa versa. Aptitude is with the individual and not necessarily the program they go through.

Point being here not everyone starts out in a basic trainer nor is it necessary.
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Well, you raised the issue of military folks flying extremely high performance aircraft in that amount of time. My point is that from a business perspective, the civilian pilot training world in this country cannot use the same selection tools or accept the same attrition rate that the military does in order to achieve that goal.
 
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jasc15 said:
Im always amazed to hear of people who buy a plane before they begin their lessons. Is this relatively common? I couldnt imagine what a commitment that would be, especially if you havent flown before. I am close to getting my PPL, and am nowhere near considering buying a plane.
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Not as uncommon as you may think but not the norm to be sure. I live in an affluent area and there are a lot of new Cirrus's around with a lot of new pilots on the registration card. I know a couple of CFIs in the area that specialize in that sort of training. There is enough of it to keep them busy.
 
Ron Levy said:
Actually, they do, more or less. Each service has some sort of flight screening program in light planes before the candidate even goes to flight school. For example, USNA does theirs at a local flight school, and sets training goals that they must meet or have their pilot training orders cancelled.
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That might be true now but I know two Navy guys one who told me he learned in a T-34 and never flew a piston airplane until he got his civilian ATP. The other one who is a few years older said he learned in a T-28 which was really surprising to me. Both of them are excellent pilots BTW.
 
Everskyward said:
That might be true now but I know two Navy guys one who told me he learned in a T-34 and never flew a piston airplane until he got his civilian ATP.
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That used to be true. The Navy came late to the flight screening program party. OTOH, they started folks in T-34's, which are a lot lower performance than the T-37's that were the first plane in Air Force UPT (the T-41 screening program occurring before starting UPT).
The other one who is a few years older said he learned in a T-28 which was really surprising to me.
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That's surprising to me. I didn't think anyone got to skip Primary in T-34's (the piston-powered B-model in my day, and the turboprop C-model later).
Both of them are excellent pilots BTW.
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As well they should be to have worn the Wings of Gold.
 
Ron Levy said:
That's surprising to me. I didn't think anyone got to skip Primary in T-34's (the piston-powered B-model in my day, and the turboprop C-model later).
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I don't quite remember his explanation but I think only a few classes did that while they were either experimenting or switching from one program to another. My guess is this would have been in the mid 1970s
 
Everskyward said:
I don't quite remember his explanation but I think only a few classes did that while they were either experimenting or switching from one program to another. My guess is this would have been in the mid 1970s
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The Army for a time was doing their initial flight training in UH-1 Hueys after they got rid of the TH-55's (smaller Hughes 269).
 
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