FRUSTRATED TRAINING???

well you either want it or you don't. the test is if you really enjoy doing it then, thats your answer if not then that your answer. Aren't those good flights always the best... I had one the other day. Final at ABQ in a 172 @ 145kkts with a 737 in front and behind me, i haven't landed that fast before, makes 65ts look easy... what part of AZ are you in?

 

I hope to have my IFR rating by Christmas time next year. then on to commercial after that. I don't look at the bills when i fly, it get me too depressed if i do. i just sign in the X and go. Your right that some will throw in the town and many do hence only 1-2% of the of the US even has a pilots license. Why do the 2% of us do it? i think this quote sums it up best

"For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return."
- Leonardo Da Vinci

And our need for speed . I enjoy crosswind landings it makes it that much more difficult. Every time i fly i try to get that much closer to my desired touch down point and wind just make it that much more difficult/fun. I can get it with in 10 feet in a 10kt crosswind in a 172.


Yep on final at 145 and i flared at about 120, longest float ever for the air speed to bleed off.

Well I'm headed off to Palm Springs Int tomorrow to build CC time for my eventual Commercial license.

 

no problem

Im guessing that you have a 355 because of your name. what type/year is it? I really like the 355 berlinettas. i want one, some day i guess...lol

 

Being in the training loop it is normal to get somewhat frustrated from time to time as regards to progress, future, etc.

Having learned to fly now 30 years ago, allow me to voice an opinion.

First and foremost, if money is a cause for concern, (and it is for many if not most of us) you need to look at it from another perspective. For most of us who do not use an aircraft for business, it is usually impossible to justify the expense from a purely financial perspective. Flying is a voluntary hobby and not a necessity in life. That being said, the rationale I have always used is that I fly because I WANT to fly. NOT because I can justify it by any economic means. I CAN'T!

That's really all there is to it. The same goes for my owning an aircraft. There is no economic justification. I have one because I WANT to have one at my disposal. (fortunately it has been an appreciative investment, but that was never the reason for owning one)

Once you can get to this point, the rest will fall into place because you have come to peace with perhaps the largest question in your own or anyone elses mind. (ESPECIALLY wives, girlfriends, etc.)

Flying takes more than just the committment to achieve the private and maybe an instrument rating. One must maintain practice and proficiency to be current and safe and be able to utilize an aircraft for the vast possibilities flying allows. They are truly varied and wonderful.

You will also need to assess what it is you want to get out of earning your license. Do you want to just go out on nice days for the $100. hamburger? Do you want to take trips, vacations, business perhaps, aerobatics, bore holes and return, etc.

For me, I recognized early on that personal flying represented a safe efficient and economical means of transportation. A good mix between driving and commercial airlines. For me my airplane is an RV. Nothing more and nothing less. It is an extension of my mobility which begins for all of us as walking. Then to roller skates (it's an age thing), bicycles, cars, and finally an airplane.

I have traversed most of the country and parts of Canada in the past 30 years, and have been to places I never would have normally gone and have met many of the nicest people I have ever met. It is impossible to place a price on those experiences. THAT is all the justification I ever needed.

So, search your soul. Is this just a transitory whim, or are you in it for the long haul? It's not like a ferrari. A ferrari will take you no farther than a VW bug.

Remember... A mile of road will take you a mile. A mile of runway can take you ANYWHERE!

Good luck and Godspeed.

Planeflyr

 

Great quote!

 

As far as I'm concerned, you should never have been inserted between two 737's when you were flying a 172. The controller put his load on you and should have done something to sort things out better than that. There are things like wake turbulence and standing vortexes left by a jet that could have done you in.

 

yes there could have been but by the time i had gotten there the 373 had been gone for a good 1-2 min or so and since they sink it was not a problem by the time i had gotten there.

 

A 172 sandwiched between a couple of heavys should not be a problem if everyone is doing their jobs. i.e. controller, and the 3 aforementioned pilots.

I used to fly into Windsor Locks, Bradley field (BDL) in Hartford Connecticut a lot, when I lived in NY, with my Cherokee 140. Almost without fail I was given the instruction "Cherokee 01J, keep your speed up as long as practical, 727 6 o'clock 3 miles."

Yes, I too, came in screaming at almost cruise speed only to taxi off and see a woosh of an aircraft go by over my shoulder. It proved to be great training for operations into airports which handle all levels of traffic. Once you are comfortable with the mixed traffic you will fear no airport.

Of course the controllers there were VERY GOOD at mixing the various types in complete harmony and when they gave me the "cleared to land" I knew the runway was mine and mine excluseively.

One evening, however, the controller was having a particularly hard time with the 727 who was following me. On more than a couple occasions he was asked to slow 10 or 20 knots because he was gaining on me closer than the controller wanted and in every case the pilot acknowledged he would do so... but didn't. Finally frustrated, the controller cleared me to land and instructed the 727 to "go around". Incredible! I immediately picked up the mike and replied "01J will go around, let the heavy land" for which I was thanked by the controller.

Damed if the 727 first officer didn't find me in the restaurant about a half hour later and buy my dinner! True story.

Just don't let the traffic fluster you. You always have the option to say back to the controller "unable" if you feel uncomfortable and work it out later.

Planeflyr

 

Yeah. IF EVERYONE IS DOING THEIR JOB. There is always that chance that someone ISN't doing their job and putting a 172 down at cruise speed isn't a landing, it's cruising into terrain. I suppose that doing it successfully gives one a feeling of accomplishment.......once, but seeing a friend killed in a wake turbulence incident when spacing was improper and getting into an aerial washing machine on spin cycle 4 times ( once behind a B-29 ) I refuse to accept the game of appeasing a controller.

 

Check this out for an example of how not to fly a stabilized approach.

Ouch!


http://www.videotiger.com/badlandingvideo.shtml

 

oopse...lol

 

I've been both following and occasionally contributing to this thread and with the utmost of respect for the other contributions made, and especially to those of Switches. I would like to offer a little elaboration on the idea of mixed light and heavy traffic.

I believe that it all boils down to maintaining the broadest degree of situational awareness as you can. Knowing where the other traffic is and where it is likely to be with reference to your own point in three dimensional space permits one the flexability to make decisions and adjust as circumstances dictate. Certainly a bout with wake turbulence can be life shortening. Your insurance company would not be happy with you rolling your aircraft up into a ball of Reyonlds Wrap either.

I believe the answer lies in the recognition of what both you and your aircraft are capable of, with safety as the key parameter, in the context of the bigger picture.

If one it to obtain the best advantage of light aircraft travel, one must learn to be proficient and confident in all the operations available including operations at the larger more commercially oriented airports.

In a larger degree it is not at all different from someone learning to fly at a small uncontrolled country airport and then have to go into a tower controlled GA airport. I have had people tell me, when they learned that I was flying out of Repuplic Field, that "You couldn't give me $50.00 ($50.00 was a good chunk of change in the mid '70's) to fly into that place." Republic (or Repulsive as I have often called it) was a zoo by anyones yardstick despite the fact that it did not handle ANY commercial traffic. Ho Hum! You learn to fly there and everything else becomes easier. Same with mixed traffic. One must remain vigilent and on your toes. Controllers can and occasionally WILL make mistakes. The ones you can catch will keep you in the game for a long time to come. Avoidance as the only option reduces the wonderful flexabilities that a light aircraft provides.

On the subject of controllers, I hope that most of us DO NOT view the situation as some sort fo competition of egos. I know in my training I have read much about the different "personality types" etc. For me, I have found that for the most part if one tries to comply with a controllers directions, NOT blindly, but with a good overall situational awareness, the outcome is frequently best for all.

One method I have used throughout my flying is to try to "sweettalk" the system as best as I can. If you want a certain outcome, i.e. runway preference, taxi preference, etc. try and position youself in space so that the controller will give it to you. If he or she doesn't then just ask. More often than not you will have your request honored - even if originally refused. Politeness and assistance to the controllers wishes may not be the most desireable option at the time but will be remembered the next time he or she hears your call sign. You win some and you lose some but you CAN tilt the scale in your favor WITHOUT coming off as a jerk.

I declare my soapbox on this subject placed back into long term storage.

Thanks you all for indulging my rantings.

Planeflyr

 

Nice, wouldn't that be the life wake up some day and say i think I'm going to drive me Ferrari to the airport and then fly my jet today. ahh a dream of mine as well...

 

College? A Ferrari in 6-8 years is in my financial plan, Real estate looks the way to go to fulfill that part. the new small jets are doable 1.5 isnt that bad if you plan for it well. Also i want an L-39 there super cool

 

I used to want a Ferrari...then I started flying.