Going for my first flying lesson on Monday...

Sounds very exciting!
Keep us posted - this is a goal if mine as well to get a pilot's license.
How many hours of instruction do you need or are working for?

 

FAA minimum is 40 hours 10 of which must be solo for the private pilot certificate. National average is between 65-75 i believe.

 

Cracks me up!! I never had an instructor tell me this wonderful bit of wisdom!

Questions like: "What is that BIG Hawk doing in my airspace?" Damien, congrats of your continued progress. When do you go for it?

Eddie, my hangar partner is a Capt. with American Airlines and also a Certified Flight Instructor (CFI). I think you met him at the open house on 12/9/12. You guys would probably get along famously! Following LouB747's model, he and I have flown around for years with hardly a scratch He has also instructed some of the guys from the P.E. Institute. When you are ready to pull the trigger, let me know and I can introduce you.

 

This is what I do all the time. I have all of the frequencies written down in order that I need for departure or arrival. At really complicated airports like ATL I have a copy of the 10-9 page with the frequencies for each runway and ground control color coded on the chart next to the area the frequency applies to. This is something I find challenging so I have developed some techniques to help me out.

 

Would it be a good exercise for you to look up the frequencies on you own? You'll need to do that eventually.

Or look the frequencies up first and see if your frequencies agree with his frequencies?

I'm contemplating starting what you're now doing... just thinking through the process...

 

I do the full flight plan.. he just tells me what airports to plan for. I have to set the course, the fuel, get the weather, fill out and file the flight plan, alternates return route etc etc.
Before the flight he will look over my plan, make sure i have the correct wind corrections, distances, fuel burn calculations, Mag headings and deviation, compass headings, check points, VOR frequencies, ETE's as well as looking at the route on my sectional chart to make sure they compare..Then off we go...
Apparently spelling isn't part of my flight plans..

If your thinking of starting training..get on it..i waited 20 years to long to start and am loving it now.

 

Airport/Facility Directory (AFD).
You buy these at your FBO or sign up for a subscription at a place like Sporty's.
The FAA publishes them by Region and a new one comes out every 2 months.
If you sign-up for Sporty's subscription service, good to get a current Section Chart too.
Airport/Facility Directory

Or look up the airports on AirNav.com.
For example, here is the info on my home airport:
AirNav: KJYO - Leesburg Executive Airport

You can also get the same data loaded into various iPad apps.
And it is in the Garmin G1000 panel if you fly one of those.
I fly a G1000 but carry the current paper docs with me in the cockpit in case the power goes out!
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If you have an IPAD subscribe to either Foreflight or WingX. If you don't, get one. You'll get every chart in the nation, weather, and flight planning for less than $100/yr. Its just crazy what the IPAD and apps have done for flying.

 

+1!

 

Find a fellow pilot who has one and check it out. View the apps on both full size and mini before buying. I have a full size and don't think I would want any smaller as the pages fit well and are readable without having to adjust size, especially instrument approach plates.

 

My school just bought the mini i-pad and we used it on Sunday for the first time. The full size is better as you say but in a small cockpit like the 172 its a little cumbersome. I thought i would use it instead of a knee board but the glare was too much. I have been using foreflight on my i-phone for a while but it is much better on the i-pad.
Probably over kill using the i-pad in a G1000 plane, but you can never have too much information.
Are you guys using the i-pad with the data service or just the wifi version ??

 

This comment made me think of my training, which was just about 30 years ago. I saw my old logbook the other day, so copied the first few pages. Looks like stalls started on lesson 2 for me. I was at a "141" school, so they followed a prescribed syllabus as long as you could keep up. Lesson 9 was first solo flight. I remember the tail number and paint job on that 152 like it was yesterday. I sorta wish I could do it all over again. Good times!
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Just looked at my log book. Did my first stalls, recovery and power off stalls on lesson 7 at about 9 to 10 hours.
Up to then I had done , climbs, descents, slow flight, turns around a point, Vx + Vy, glide, Class C & D transition, pilotage, dead reckoning, and every lesson included at least 2 landings, or at least in my case "controlled impacts with the ground"
So not really sure what is too much to soon. I have always got the impression that my instructor is pushing me but not beyond my capabilities or what is safe.
I remember my first class C and D transition flight, KVNY, through Burbank airspace then to SoCal departure to Bracket Field and back again all while doing pilotage and dead reckoning, I was so over whelmed with everything going on all a once, i really thought to myself "this flying thing is too much work and no fun after all".
Now about 30 hours later it is fun, everything is either happening slower or I'm more in command of my faculties.. I love flying just over the Hollywood sign all the while looking over at the 737's coming right at me out of Burbank..
I don't think I'm following "141" because i don't have to do certain things by a certain time, but i do come away from every lesson having either learned something new or improved something else, usually both, so i know its money well spent.

 

Hey, we were learning to fly at the same time!

 

using a 141 approved flight school is the best way to learn... a flight school should have several airplanes and instructers allowing for better/consistant lesson scheduling... having a plane and instructor ready on YOUR schedule... also FAA records show approved flight schools graduate licenced pilots in fewer hours... 141 schools can graduate pilots in as few as 40 hours, while the independant instructor / school requirement is a minimum of 60 hours... that a 50% increase in cost of lessons by going with an independant, money which can go toward further training beyond the basic 152 trainer...

 

I definitely agree with 141 schools. The curriculum is governed by FAA guidelines and the learning process is well organized. However, I don't think you can really graduate in 40 hours these days unless you're learning in a remote area. Any schools within or adjacent to class B or C airspace wil require more time simply due to more things going on. I think the national average as a whole is probably 60 hours or so.

 

I always like visual aids! Here is a photo of my ipad mini suctioned cup to the side of the canopy. It fits very nicely and does not obstruct anything other than the air vent (which is fine in the winter but may be in the way in the summer!). It can also fold out flat against the canopy if not in use. The plane is a Diamond DA40 with the G1000.
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