Who else is working on a private pilot certificate?

There's some pretty good stuff on the net.....

For FREE practice knowlege tests, theres:

http://www.mywrittenexam.com/mwe/default.asp

http://www.exams4pilots.org/

http://www.risingup.com/tests/

That ought to keep your mind busy for weeks!



Then for schooling, safety, and alot of other neat stuff..... there is:

http://flighttraining.aopa.org/index.cfm?priority=SX04AWS

You should join AOPA, to access all their features.
Pre-Solo to Flight Test Prep... Class topics, relevant articles, interactive courses and quizzes with certificates of completion, and videos,
all pertinant to the new student.

I joined, and it'$ a few buck$ well $pent IMHO.


And now.... back to studying..........

 

Ah...my first post, hello, all!

I just got back in the saddle this morning after a long (nearly a year) struggle with the FAA. I'm THE healthiest person I know, but the fact that I had some occular migraines as a child really made them stop and wonder. Which is fine, I know flying can be a dangerous thing and it certainly requires complete sensory function. So, I had to get examined, produce history (there was none because the events were never severe enough to require treatment), so on, but finally I got my 3rd class. I have around 20 hours, and I'm more than ready to start racking up some more.

It turns out the time off may have been beneficial. Eveything felt fresh and much easier than I remembered it. It was fun. I don't think I'll ever get numb to takeoffs -- such a cool feeling.

 

Great News Tripp!
Good luck, And..... Welcome aboard!

Good to hear that the Oklahoma City Med Examiner has a sense of fairness.
He's currently got my application... I too needed a deferral. But mine is for a for bypass surgery half a decade ago. And Yes I'm the healthiest person I know too. I meet the FAA's "Avg Weight for a pilot" and workout every day for an hour or so. Don't smoke or drink. Can't say I don't carouse though....

Hopefully, I too will get the slip allowing me to be an Official "Student Pilot"
In the meantime, I'll just keep flying with the Instr. Who, BTW, says I'm doing very well, and keep the plane under control.
(well, except for those 60kt crosswind landings anyway....)
I've got some 30 odd hours, starting back in 1962, and on and off for the past 44 years. Now it's my turn!!
This time around, I'm starting all over, and I've got a contiguous 12 hours, (not taking into account the previous time,) and I'm going all the way with flightschool !

Cross your fingers for me...

 

Good for you! Sounds like you have gotten yourself into a good routine, and I'm sure your overall health reflects that. I'm sure they'll give you the green light. It takes forever to get mail from the medical center, doesn't it?

I too started a while ago, when I was 10 to be exact. I became a little upset by the fact that I couldn't solo, get my license, pretty much anything, and when I was 12 the drums came along and I went down the road to becomming a professional musician. Airplanes remained fascinating to me, but flying was definitely eclipsed by my musical pursuits and eventually fell off completely.

About one year ago, I had a revelation while on a surf trip to Hawaii -- flying had started to scare the crap out of me! I don't know how or why it happened, but something made me very uncomfortable on that trip. Could have been the dirth of legroom, I dunno. Anyway, I'm very attracted to things that scare me (not stupid things that will cause unecessary harm), so I signed up for flight lessons again, and I've been having a blast! Especially this morning!

 

Yes that experience scared the hell out of me.
Not so much the surgery, but what could have happened.
I vowed to myself, never again!
And have become healthier than anyone I know.
I sure hope you're right "Green Lantern".

Sure does! doesn't it????
It's been almost 2.25 months, since it was submitted...And I know,
they'll still want more info.... So I don't see any results coming before midsummer....
If it does, I'll be pleasantly suprised!

I've been in flight school since last Nov. Taking things slowly, as there's no rush... and I get to fly anyway....
Instr wants me to solo ASAP.... Am I boring him??
But I need that sheepskin,.... er... um...medicali diplomae (Yeah that's it!) first.

Got a buddy I'm training with. He's got 120+ hours, so far, and waiting to get his schedule,
(He's out of town alot) the Examiner's schedule, and the weather to cooperate, so he can "Checkride", and finish all this "gotta fly alone" stuff...

When he does, we're gonna share the flight workload. Good for both of us.
Two heads, better than one and all that....


So tell us about "This Morning"...!

 

I've been in flight school since last Nov. Taking things slowly, as there's no rush... and I get to fly anyway....
Instr wants me to solo ASAP.... Am I boring him??
But I need that sheepskin,.... er... um...medicali diplomae (Yeah that's it!) first.



So tell us about "This Morning"...![/QUOTE

It was explained to me by a CFI that they like for you to solo quickly so that you start developing a sense of self-reliance very early in the process. I can understand that, because when I kept some flights that I had booked during my medical debacle, I started to wonder when I was going to let go of that sense of secuirty. That's actually why I stopped flying for a bit, I knew the longer I went with a CFI, the more used to it I would be. Plus, it became rather expensive to continue flying for fun and to not really be getting things done. Thankfully, it's all over!

"This morning", actually a few mornings ago now, was great. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, and everything just felt new and much easier. I'm pretty anal and I expect a lot out of myself, so it was nice to get back to flying and realize that, somehow, I had become more precise and aware than I had been when flying regularly. Go figure. Sometimes, I guess that's what it takes. I also flew today, and it was another gorgeous day, except for 10 gusting to 20 knot crosswinds. The air was pretty smooth around 3,500, though. Nice day for some general refresher airwork. We did a few power on stalls, our favorites, and I decided that I was a wuss for ever worrying about them! Just gotta watch that ball...

 

Well I'm getting ready to leave for todays flight trg.
will try to do nothing but pattern work today.
Gotta learn to put it down,( in those "Hurricane force" Xwinds....... )
Right now, they're 340@15 G20. My Rwy is 32/14

Learning the Crab and Slip method. So far, I have had 1.5 hrs of xwind tng...
That's just about 7 or 8 attempts, at getting it right.
[No T. & G's, allowed on the weekends, gotta do a full stop, & taxi back around]

Probably a wuss for admitting it, but I'm not at all comfy, with this kick out method.
When I wait till I think I'm low enough, I feel the instructor kicking for me.
If i try to do it when I think he's going to kick, I'm fighting his feet....(too high)
I will overcome this wussdom though... ( One way or another.)

It's frustrating! ....for us Anal types, with high standards for ourselves...
On most of the other skills so far, I've nailed it with just one demonstration.
That glider training 44 yrs ago, certainly helped there.

So any of you other guys...... don't feel bad if you're having trouble...
(sigh...) You're not the only one.

Will report back tonight.... Gotta go now.

 

(sigh!)
1500hrs:
The winds caused Wussdom to gain the upper hand again today.
varying from about 290 to 320 deg, @20 kts G26. Rwy 32 / 14

Instructors viewed some "Cessna Citations" (stall speed - 84 KIAS) having a wee bit of the bouncy on final,
and decided, the bettor part of valor ... and all that.

So no one, flew today. There's some wind shear on the southern approach, in windy conditions. Usually just
causes a bit of a dip on one wing at lower wind speeds. Good for practice. Adding a little more power, can make up for it.
But today, it must have been frightful.

So we did some required ground work, inside where it was warm and cozy..
Better weather next weekend... (I hope...)

1700 hrs. ...... Dinner


.

 

Oh well...20-26 kts would probably have been pretty uncomfortable in a light plane. I know I would barf.

The good thing about training during this time of the year is the wind. We'll be crosswind aces by the time the checkride rolls around!

 

Yep! Specially in a One five twWwWo0o0o0oo0oo0o!........

Hmmm..... Howzat?? If we don't even get to go up......

But yep! King Videos, call X-winds the normal landing situation
it's the calm quiet days that are the exception...

Let's get some North wind blowing decals to paste on the aircraft, like the Aces did in the war when an enemy plane got shot down....

 

Good point...of course, they won't always be howling at 26 kts, so we should be able to get some time in! Yesterday, my flight instructor told me after the flight that if he was a really low time pilot, he probably would not have flown. I like being able to get some experience in those conditions, even if my stomach doesn't. I figure if my training process is as difficult as possible, by the time I really know what I'm doing everything will be much easier!

 

Yes ! Let's hope so.. I'm suffering from altitude withdrawal...
It's been 15 days since I've gotten my "Alt. fix"...with SIX more days to go!!!
I only get to fly weekends.. and the past six, with the exception of one or two,
have been fraught with bad weather, rain, snow, and/or wind.

..Losing out on all that great low density air too!!!

We did a ground session yesterday, And we discussed training me at a commercial level. Reason being he says,
is "Statistics show trainees only retain 50% of what is learned" so if he trains me at a higher level,
I may not retain more, but what I do retain will be within tighter parameters.
This is also fine with me, as I'll get the most out of what he's teaching.

We've agreed to raising the bar, as I get more proficient.
Right now, he's accepting tasks within the PPL tolerances.
When I meet those, CPL tolerances, will become the lower limits.

That way when I go for a checkride, and only have to perform within PPL req's, I'll have it made in the shade!



.

 

weathers been bad but starting training, schedule 5 lessons a week and im lucky to be able to fly 1. My timing just isnt right.

 

Guess what happened yesterday, as I got ready to go for a 8:30 AM lesson?

Yep! Less than 1 mile and ceiling went to zero. All within a half hour.
Then, it poured, cats and dogs...

Got a cute little puppy..... Not!~

I did get 4 hours of ground school though, so it wasn't a total loss.....
(Sigh!)
Third week, of weather sucks only on the weekend, when I'm off.

Today ..........sunny, in the 60's! Arrrrrrggggggghhhh!!!!!!!!
You guessed it! I had to work!

Oh Yeah.... Got a letter from the "Aerospace Medical Certification Division"

They're not satisfied with what I sent them.... They want more.
A hunting I must go....... A hunting I ........must go........
Now, need another report, and a test.
Yep, another two months......I guess.

If the weather keeps screwing me up, I might not fly again, till
after I'm a 3rd class guy....



.

 

Well Guys and Girls i did my first solo after my last visit here, it was so fantastic, we took off on our last dual circuit and the CFI said ok make this one a full stop and then we will pull in and you can drop me off then go solo, after that i was so nervous, that whole circuit i was nervous, so i pull in then drop him off. Went over to the holding point made my call, was quite nervous by now, i then pulled out onto the runway and lined up, then i was off and as soon as i was moving i thought it was terrific, i pull back at 55 knots and the thing just lifted straight off the ground!!, i was use to it kinda taking its time, so i climb get onto downwind make my calls, have to slow down as i was then behind another plane, we went so far out before he turned base, i then came around going on final waiting for my clearance, get clearance come in with 20 degree flap, flare over the runway and kept flying just above the runway until i touched down, pulled in, tower congratulated me!, it was just unreal!!!

 

Contratulations!

 

Congratulations!
Wow !

I was up yesterday, and we were doing dead reckoning....
My Instr, was quiet, for most of the lesson... and....
I imagined myself alone for the moment.

Yes, I know exactly that feeling of nervousness that you described....
even though I knew the Instr was beside me in reality. He was sitting back relaxed, and comfortable, except for the bumpies....

It is I guess, a whole lot different when you're alone for real...

 

Good news, C152!

 

Well i did my second yestarday and am hopefully doing 3rd today, yes i was very nervous again at the holding point but as soon as ur off the ground it was ok, my first one i pretented he was still sitting there, and lol i talked to him, but he didnt replay but the second time wasnt near as scary once airborne, much more confident, it is a unreal experience, cant wait till i get back to the 'training area' then do my training area solo a bit later on!, Its just a unreal feeling.
I went up the other night on sunset for a few circuits and it looked so pretty, all the lights of the airport and then the city looked unreal, then all the 'bank runs' coming in, i am at Bankstown and there is 3 parralel runway and there was three of us nect to each other landing, when i turned final we were all nicley lined up but then the Piper Chieftan and the other aircraft pulled awy for the 152 a little, lol, but it was great.
The first time i ever went flying i was turning onto final and coming staright towards us for the other runway was another trainer, that finished off my first flight with a bit of excitment.

Keep up the training guys, Thanks

 

Heh! Gotta watch those Aussies..... They're almost as bad as those U.S. East Coast low wingers, who fly opposite the runway direction at just above pattern......head on, into students taking off!

Oh....... And congrats again!

 

Yer some pretty crazy things in Australia, there was a crash at bankstwon yestrday, a 210 took off there was still sum runway had a engine failure then tried to pull up but ran off the end of the runway and there is a biggish drain which he ended up in, but no one was hurt so its ok, toook about 10 firetrucks just because they thought there could have been a big fire, lol, i think 2 would have done the trick.
Then today theres two Red Bull Barons and they fly over the rnway at bout 300 feet right on each others tail :O, and i was like wow, then the one at the back pulls of then jumps in circuit on downwind lol, the other one keeps goin till the end of runway then climbs crosswind onto downwind, lol, it was crazy.
Then it was time again to drop to instructor at the 'scare chair' and tear off, it was great 4 circuits, he said do 4, and 5 if reallly confident, so i went out on fourth and said AVG downwind for touch and go, then almost ready to turn on base i got a few real big gusts of winds, and it was a few bumps, so it was 'yer AVG can i make that a full stop'.
But it was great, went back and there was another guy flying after me who was going to be doing first solo!
Now i just need to wait till next saturday, last solo circuit for a while anyway, i get to get the plane and leave all on my own .

 

Im about 20 hours into my private and am getting ready to go fly right now. I am planning on going on to get my limited com. and fly an ag plane here in the northwest. I am having problems figureing airplane performance though, I have a learning block with this. Is there anyone else who had or has a problem with this. Any tricks or suggestions?

 

I've racked up almost 60hrs in this adventure. If the weather and the instructor's health hold up, I'll fly my pre-check eval on Sunday (Yep, Easter), and then it's all about scheduling the Big Day. Fingers crossed . . . . (like many others, this has taken MUCH longer than I anticipated)

 

As of last week!!

MY355

 

Congratulatians!, got some big trips planned already?