by "PyramidHat" (pyramidhat)
Published 05/31/2017 at 00:11
by "PyramidHat" (pyramidhat)
Published 05/31/2017 at 00:11
Tags: Planelopnik
STARS: 4
Right, then...
I’ve been taking flying lessons since last August. Now, at about 30 hours, I finally got my medical certificate and my instructor has been making very unsubtle hints (like “Do you think you’re ready to solo?”).
So, any plane flyers out there? Anything I can expect other that moderate terror and a faster than normal climb out?
"Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief" (flynorcal)
05/31/2017 at 00:18, STARS: 3
Ten years from now you won’t remember losing your virginity all that well but you’ll remember every last detail of your first solo.
If they think you’re ready to solo, you are. Trust your instructor on this and try to relax and call out your turns in the pattern and keep the altitude and speeds where they’re supposed to be and you’ll still shit yourself but otherwise be 100% a-ok.
Good luck. Take pics. Post them. I wanna see.
"PyramidHat" (pyramidhat)
05/31/2017 at 00:28, STARS: 0
Thanks! Whereabouts in NorCal do you fly out of?
"Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief" (flynorcal)
05/31/2017 at 00:39, STARS: 2
Palo Alto and San Carlos mostly. King City if I’m flying aerobatics. Which airport are you about to limited to a 25 mile radius of?
I’m jealous. Stoked for you.
"PyramidHat" (pyramidhat)
05/31/2017 at 00:44, STARS: 0
That would be KPAO! I belong to Sundance...
"Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief" (flynorcal)
05/31/2017 at 00:49, STARS: 1
Yessir. KPAO and Advantage Aviation.
What have you been training in? I started with 172's myself but my instructor is a friend with contacts so I learned a ton in 182s and Pipers along with some turbo 182s and whatever else I could get for gas. If I was paying for all of it the clunky old 172s were cheap and then turned out to be great for learning my IFR stuff. Learning on the old stuff teaches you how to do things properly... Same as cars.
"PyramidHat" (pyramidhat)
05/31/2017 at 01:04, STARS: 0
Right next door.
Started out with 172s, but every now and again they’re either booked up or out for maintenance, so I switched to the Cherokees, which are almost always available. Only gripe is one door and no windows to open like the Cessna, but other than that, I like them. Also like,the manual flaps,for some reason...
"Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief" (flynorcal)
05/31/2017 at 01:11, STARS: 0
They’re easier to land too. Especially in a cross wind, as the wind doesn’t get stuck under the armpit of the high wing like on the Cessnas.
Don’t they have some weird currency rules for rentals at your club? At Advantage after I was instrument rated (and before honestly) they’d toss me the keys to anything I was comfortable flying. As I understand it, and it’s likely wrong info, are they overly particular about details such as not wanting to rent a 172 if you haven’t flown anything but 182s lately or some such nonsense? If you can fly a 182 (or 210 or whatever) you can fly a 172 without a checkout but I don’t think that’s how they work? Or just rumor?
"facw" (facw)
05/31/2017 at 01:25, STARS: 2
"Jetstreamer" (jetstreamer)
05/31/2017 at 03:06, STARS: 1
It’s just another flight like the 30 hours before only now you can sing out loud without shame and fully enjoy the feeling of freedom up there ;). No reason to shit yourself or be stressed out, as soon as you lift off just enjoy it.
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
05/31/2017 at 07:52, STARS: 0
Flynorcal is 100% right- if they think you’re ready, you are. And mine was 17 years ago, and I still remember the details vividly.
I had a brief moment of panic on the climb out, when I looked to the right and realized there was no one with me to help if things went wrong, but that went away quickly. Had to follow a Citation on final, so of course wake turbulence was a concern.
You’ll be a little more sensitive to the engine noise, as well- making you more likely to notice a single engine misfire (mine did that)- but it’s nothing.
It’s a great achievement - focus on what you need to do, of course, but enjoy it, too!!
"PyramidHat" (pyramidhat)
05/31/2017 at 08:11, STARS: 0
Not that I’m aware of...admittedly, I’m still in 172 and Cherokee land, but from what I’ve looked at, if you have some time in a 182, then you can have a 172; if you have time in a PA32 or a BE35, you can have a Cherokee
http://www.flysundance.org/nn52535.html
http://www.flysundance.org/nn8256e.html
I think with the Bonanza, you need at least 350 hrs of flight time, but that doesn’t sound unreasonable as it is known as the Doctor Killer...
"PyramidHat" (pyramidhat)
05/31/2017 at 08:12, STARS: 0
What a pisser.
"Grindintosecond" (Grindintosecond)
05/31/2017 at 09:07, STARS: 1
I never told my students when they were gonna solo. I just told them to take me to the FBO, i had to take a leak, then signed their book with the endorsement. “Gimme 3 takeoffs n landings.”
They had huge smiles. You can expect more climb. For me, it was almost a let down because the procesd of each circuit around the pattern was so rote memory i didnt have to think too much about it. But you will realize something else. Nobody else is there to tell you to go-around. Its all on you.
Enjoy it.
"PyramidHat" (pyramidhat)
05/31/2017 at 09:44, STARS: 0
Thanks. I think perf ft world scenario, he’d had done it like that, but I had a hang up on the medical, so we were playing the waiting game...
"PyramidHat" (pyramidhat)
06/01/2017 at 23:49, STARS: 1
So I Thought it was going to be today, but the winds were not cooperating. Giving it another go on a Sunday...
"Flynorcal: pilot, offshore sailor, car racer and panty thief" (flynorcal)
06/02/2017 at 14:16, STARS: 1
Is it going to be at KHAF? Or will you find out when they ask you to pull over and to sign your medical wherever you happen to be? Some instructors have more flair than others with that sort of thing :)
"PyramidHat" (pyramidhat)
06/03/2017 at 01:24, STARS: 0
More than likely kpao. We haven’t landed at Khaf. While landing is landing, it’d be cruel and unusual to have me do my solo at an unfamiliar airport.