Any Other Pilots Here?

[Howardlong]

When they send you up for your first solo it's generally and a lovely day, no crosswind and there's special lube in the donkey that stops it from conking out.

I did a lot of my IMC training at Cranfield: never landed, but did loads of approaches.

You're lucky. I did my PPL a couple of years ago, it took me 25 hours to go solo and 75 total to get my ticket over a 5 month period. I was 48. It taught me a lot, not just about flying, but about myself. I thought, how hard can this be? Isn't it just like learning to drive but with a few more knobs and levers? To some extent it is, but it's also psychologically quite demanding at certain stages of flight, your mind is running at full capacity and there is no option just to "go outside" and take a breather. I can see why women make better pilots, they are much better at multitasking, and you need to be able to do that as well as play back a large number of recipes on demand.

[IO390]

Starting my PPL at 14 here in the Old Dart - got ten hours logged thus far on a few 152s, flying out of Cranfield (nice 6000+Ft runway with full ATC coverage). On circuits at the moment, trying to nail the landings, but winds get a bit high here! I understand about the trainer/hire planes condition though - on my trial flight out of somewhere else, my door came open mid-flight and the engine promptly stopped on touch down (its only now I realise the instructor was a bit harsh with the mixture. You should try doing stalls with a stall warner operating at 5kt below stall speed! Got two years to kill until my first solo unfortunately, but hopefully I can nail landings, complete PFDs and steep turns and start nav before my 16th! It always amazes me that they send up solo-ers without any idea about practised forced landings!

Dad works at Gulfstream (used to work at Monarch) so I have been interested in aviation from a young age, and would love to get a job working as a hangar boy!

If you want to do your PPL in the most hassle-free way, forget the flying and stop doing it right now. Do your exams, someone like you will learn very quickly and will be ready to solo in no time. But although no exams are required, no one in their right mind would let a student go solo without having them at least do the air law exam, so now you have to spend a few weeks sorting out one exam, in which time you're out of practice and need more lessons.

Get all the exams done, then you have 2 years to do your flying without having the burden there.

@Howardlong having good avionics in a capable tourer is brilliant. My father (FAA cpl/ir) goes all round EU in his TB20 which is kitted out accordingly. PA28s are great for general flying, but the shorter legs are somewhat restrictive. IFR around europe really allows you to use your PPL properly. Flying over the alps is spectacular, as is being able to go to Croatia in 5 hours for the weekend

[tggzzz]

I am a Commercial pilot I Ferry Single Engine and Light Twin Aircraft Mainly USA over the Big Pond to Australia & Asia!

Umm, silly question, but how do you get one of those piddy things across the Pacific pond?

Good navigation skills, travel tanks, and big balls.  Because if you do it long enough, you will be ferrying a glider.

Jest not! From http://www.aviationbanter.com/showpost.php?s=0dc5e9cce10d6c93dc3e2698019a5782&p=902210&postcount=6
"I also remember a story in Soaring about the Russia team (three LAK 12's) getting towed to a contest by one AN-76 across several hundred miles of open ocean!"

[JackP]

I know about the air law exam, I was just commenting from my perhaps skewed perspective. In terms of exams, I would love to do them now, get the hassle over before I start GCSEs and then A-levels, but they only last two years IIRC, in which time you have to have passed your QXC and checkride (AKA. 17+ years of age).

[IO390]

I know about the air law exam, I was just commenting from my perhaps skewed perspective. In terms of exams, I would love to do them now, get the hassle over before I start GCSEs and then A-levels, but they only last two years IIRC, in which time you have to have passed your QXC and checkride (AKA. 17+ years of age).

Yes, they expire after two years. 14 is a tricky age to start lessons because, as you say, you have 3 years before you can have the PPL. If you were to carry on with lessons then you'd be able to fly to PPL standard long before you could have the PPL, so one could either give it a break now and pick it up later or just carry on flying for fun, if the money is available. Perhaps try to find someone who flies and cost share with them? Or take up gliding maybe, that's another option.

[JackP]

Yes, I know (now!). I am very fortunate that my family is in a position to afford this... expensive hobby (which is likely to lead to more though). I do feel a bit funny about the costs involved in this, and I always feel that I can't convey my gratitude enough. However, I know my Dad has a great time talking with the pilots in the flight lounge, and I think he is starting to think about taking back up the hobby (he did ten hours years ago, but the company went bust and apparently he never could land!). Our plan for now is to slow down the lessons to about one a month (hopefully a balance between minimum expenditure and keeping me current) now that I have completed the basics, which leaves about 16 hours before I can solo. While a bit annoying, experience is never a bad thing IMHO and I know the rules are there for a reason (well, sometimes. CAA ~= Campaign Against Aviation?!). I fly two seaters atm, so cost sharing isn't an option (a 172 is only £10 more an hour, but the whole dynamics are different and I struggle enough holding off the 152 after the roll out!).

[jc101]

I have a PPL but for Helicopters not planes, although a friend who owns one is trying to persuade me to 'upgrade' to a fixed wing licence too.

Have to admit, anything over a few thousand feet makes navigation tricky, I can't read the road signs 

[JackP]

My Uncle went the other way - he has a frozen fixed-wing ATPL from the military, but now flies helicopters for the Police in Devon!

[rx8pilot]

I am a fixed wing MEL Pilot with Instruments. Not commercial, although I have coordinated air-air and air to ground photography. I have designed and built custom stabilized mounts for cameras on B-17, B-25, TBM Avengers, SBD Dauntless, Helicopters, King-Airs, etc. Checked out on 172, 182, 210 Cessnas, Piper Arrow, Seminole, Meridian Turbo Prop, Mooneys', Cirrus SR-22, Diamond DA-42 twin, and a few experimentals.

Everything I do is merely a way to get back in the sky again. If I had unlimited money, I would fly anything and everything every day. Aviation is financially heavy and will consume every dollar you have faster than you can say 'Cleared for take-off...' I have to sell a TON of circuit boards to be able to fly - which is why I got a pick and place machine.

Next up - helicopters.

[at2marty]

Not a pilot, but spent some time in the U.S. Navy as an aircraft maintainer (Avionics Technician).  Not only did I work on comm/nav equipment, but also sensors (RADAR, ESM, Acoustics).  After that I worked for several years as a maintenance technician for U.S. Navy flight simulators and tactics trainers.  From there I went on to develop, design and test upgrades to several different military aircraft flight simulators and tactical trainers.

Here is a shot of the cockpit of a Navy P-3 on approach to MCAS Kanaoe Bay, Hawaii.  Notice the rainbow colored throttle levers. 

[LabSpokane]

Have to admit, anything over a few thousand feet makes navigation tricky, I can't read the road signs 

My father handed me the charts for my first cross country navigational exercise in this order:

- AAA road map

- Sectional

[atferrari]

I'm not, but I was on the phone to a friend who is a pilot yesterday.

An aeroplane would make for an interesting Teardown Tuesday.

Not joking myself, yesterday I also met at the cafferteria, a friend who is pilot for people that could require his services anytime along the year. Too much pending of their calls. 

[Mechanical Menace]

I've all my BGA glider certificates and am currently working towards my Part-FCL PPL if that counts in the slightest.

[John Coloccia]

I was pretty active some years ago, but I stopped flying.  Finances and time...it's WAY more expensive to fly in New England than out in California, and the weather sucks for flying.  Just to give an idea, I used to rent a 7KCAB for $75 wet, and I could basically go flying anytime I wanted.  It wasn't unusual to sneak out at lunch and do an hour of aerobatics a couple of times a week.  We were building an airplane for a while, but I sold the project when I moved back east.  It's just as well.  I'm not into flying from point A to point B, really.  I just liked doing aerobatics mainly, and occasionally I'd take the wife on a longer trip, or for a $100 hamburger.

[Howardlong]

apparently he never could land!

Well I would hazard a guess there are many of us like that. That is a key difference between learning to drive a car and flying an aeroplane. Parking a car may take a bit of left a bit right a bit, but you can do it in your own time.

As I am sure you're figuring out, no landing is ever the same as any other. It is a skill to apply the right amount of power as well as appropriate yoke and rudder adjustments. It must really mess up with the mind of your average MBA who wants to proceduralise everything in a script. There are key things to aim for, and a general recipe, but you must keep tasting the food and add the right amount of seasoning at the right time, and know when to chuck it out, go around, and try again.

I've done about 350 landings in my brief pilot career, and had one unplanned go around and one unplanned RTO (rejected take off). The go around was when I was stuck behind a microlight at Barton who wouldn't get a move on vacating, and the RTO was on Saturday, and was due to pilot error after I had not set the aircraft up properly during a touch and go: after your PPL you don't do many touch and go's. The most important thing is to know when something is not right and act accordingly, it's a lot easier to stop when you're on the ground!

[mtdoc]

As I am sure you're figuring out, no landing is ever the same as any other. It is a skill to apply the right amount of power as well as appropriate yoke and rudder adjustments.

You got that right. I'm not a pilot but I have the upmost respect for those who are highly skilled. Like the guy below who 11 years ago dropped me and 2 friends on the Ruth Glacier in Alaska for a mountaineering trip. You can't tell from the photos because the skies cleared after the landing but he set us on the glacier in what was basically a white out. I was looking out the window the whole time and had no idea we were near the ground when we "touched" down.

[nctnico]

Having a pilot license would be cool but I doubt it is very cost effective versus just buying a ticket and go somewhere. I did 'steer' a single engine 4 seater airplane once. Being behind the throttle & stick of a jet fighter is still on my bucket list. No grazy aerobatics; just some turns will suffice  O0

[rx8pilot]

Having a pilots license is the worst possible way to save money. If you are a budget traveler - jump on the bus with 200 hundred people sharing that cost. I had a 2004 Cessna 182T - nearly $400k. Add to that, insurance, fuel, hangar, annual inspections, nav updates etc. That is for a 4 seat single engine airplane that tops out at about 170mph. I have spent at least $25k on training and currency flights. Touch and go's, IFR practice, etc adds up.

Step up to six seats and you are in $1mil territory for a new bird. Wanna go fast? Turbo props start at $2mil for a single engine 6 seater that can do around 300mph. on top of the purchase price, you will be burning 50+ gallons per hour of jet fuel at fast cruise. Around $250+/hr just for fuel in the USA.

Private aviation at any level is pure luxury for sure. In my Skylane (182) I could generally beat someone to destinations <500 miles because I could walk out of my house, file a flight plan and check weather on the way to the little airport 10 min away. The FBO would pull the plane and fuel it up before I got there. I would be airborne before I could even get parked at the commercial airport. Although my flight time is a lot longer, I would land take off a land at small airports very close to the final destination and have a rental car pull right up to the plane. I sign the paperwork and off I go - on my schedule. On a single day, I had face to face meetings in Oklahoma City, Dallas, and San Antonio before going home to Houston. Try that on a commercial airline schedule.

[EEVblog]

Although my flight time is a lot longer, I would land take off a land at small airports very close to the final destination and have a rental car pull right up to the plane. I sign the paperwork and off I go - on my schedule. On a single day, I had face to face meetings in Oklahoma City, Dallas, and San Antonio before going home to Houston. Try that on a commercial airline schedule.

Anyone can do that, just hire a plane and pilot for the day.

[rx8pilot]

Anyone can do that, just hire a plane and pilot for the day.

No question - just not on a commercial flight system referred to by nctnico. Super awesome and convenient at great cost - whether you or someone else is pushing the buttons. 

[mtdoc]

Having a pilots license is the worst possible way to save money. If you are a budget traveler - jump on the bus with 200 hundred people sharing that cost. I had a 2004 Cessna 182T - nearly $400k. Add to that, insurance, fuel, hangar, annual inspections, nav updates etc. That is for a 4 seat single engine airplane that tops out at about 170mph. I have spent at least $25k on training and currency flights. Touch and go's, IFR practice, etc adds up.

Step up to six seats and you are in $1mil territory for a new bird. Wanna go fast? Turbo props start at $2mil for a single engine 6 seater that can do around 300mph. on top of the purchase price, you will be burning 50+ gallons per hour of jet fuel at fast cruise. Around $250+/hr just for fuel in the USA.

Private aviation at any level is pure luxury for sure.

It even gets crazier at the super elite level. My sister in law comes from a family with a private jet.  My nephews had never flown on a commercial flight until recently. My brother and his family flew up to visit us in our small town several years ago and the pilots stayed in a hotel for several days just waiting to pilot them back in the jet.  I have no idea how much that 4 day trip cost her family but $10s of thousands I'm sure.  They've stopped traveling that way unless it's a trip with her family and I'm glad. Hard to explain to my boys why their cousins get to travel that way.

[EEVblog]

No question - just not on a commercial flight system referred to by nctnico. Super awesome and convenient at great cost - whether you or someone else is pushing the buttons.

But surely way less cost than owning your own plane and/or getting and maintaining a license and hiring your own plane to fly?

[rx8pilot]

But surely way less cost than owning your own plane and/or getting and maintaining a license and hiring your own plane to fly?

Definitely - the whole buying a plane and flying it idea is purely for fun.

Like I said,

Having a pilots license is the worst possible way to save money.

[Howardlong]

But surely way less cost than owning your own plane and/or getting and maintaining a license and hiring your own plane to fly?

Definitely - the whole buying a plane and flying it idea is purely for fun.

Like I said,

Having a pilots license is the worst possible way to save money.

All true. Same applies to boats, and some thing else, what's the line? If it floats, flies or ****s, rent it.

[John Coloccia]

No question - just not on a commercial flight system referred to by nctnico. Super awesome and convenient at great cost - whether you or someone else is pushing the buttons.

But surely way less cost than owning your own plane and/or getting and maintaining a license and hiring your own plane to fly?

It really depends.  For example, when I was out west, I seriously considered living over the mountains, and commuting into work with an airplane.  It depends on the plane, the area, and a lot of other things.  It wouldn't have cost much over simply driving, especially if it's a plane you build yourself and you can do all of the maintenance on it yourself.

You can still buy a nice plane for $20,000 or $30,000 that will cruise along at 100MPH, sipping about 6 or 7 gallons an hour.  Yes, you'll have to rebuild the engine every 2000 hours, and it will cost $15,000, but that's 200,000 miles.  There's not a whole lot else that goes wrong with simple planes like this, especially planes like Citabrias, which is my plane of choice.  Simple....fabric covered...built like a tank.  If you're in the right area, with the right kind of weather, it can actually be pretty practical.

When I lived in the high desert of California, it would take FOREVER to drive anywhere because you have to get over the mountains.  Occasionally, I'd just grab a plane if there was somewhere I wanted to go.  Obviously, it was more expensive renting than if I had owned, but it was just so convenient to turn hours and hours of driving, fighting traffic, etc into a quick 1 hour flight.