|
ProFootballGuy posted:Probably been covered dozens of times in this thread, but what's the real story for career-changing into flying, at age 29+? My PPL training (as nascent as it is) has only confirmed my love for aviation. I left my $55k/y computer technology job for aviation 7 years ago. I worked inside, on my feet for 50-60 hours a week, every holiday, every weekend, and took calls at home (sometimes in the middle of the night (loving rats set off the alarm)). At 7 years (6 at the company) I'm still a regional FO making <$35k/y (with no upgrade in sight). I'm under the weight of a "small" $50k student loan. I still work weekends (but by choice for now) and its still sucking the life out of me. Circadian rhythm is a bitch, when I get home I'm completely useless for an entire day or two. I love what I do but I miss flying for fun. It use to be a choice, now its "Oh the METAR shows +FC? Ok, guess we'll just go take a look".... Yea. And I'll leave the union politics, company propaganda, bankruptcy, etc alone. I can't move up in my company and no where else (except super low paying time building jobs) will answer my resume. In those 7 years you'd have made $805k more than me, enough to buy and operate your own plane and enjoy it (BTW over 10 years that'd be over a million dollars extra). As for family life, thank god I have an awesome wife but there are times it wears on her as well. Sure, I can hop on a plane anywhere in the world tomorrow, but I can't afford to do ANYTHING once I get there. Will the industry change? Maybe. Everyone predicts a huge shortage but for you go jump in RIGHT NOW you'd have to get a 4 year aviation degree ($100k+ in debt), then instruct until you have 1000+ hours (at $20k/y) before you can even get to my starting point (Starting regional FO makes $20k/y). Is it worth it? I dunno. I love flying but I hate my job and this industry right now. Edit: If you think you can live on <$35-40k/y for then next decade. I'd think about doing that at your current job and buying a AWSEFT fucked around with this message at 14:35 on Aug 16, 2013 |
#
?
Aug 16, 2013 14:25
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 7, 2024 21:06 |
|
|
The thing is that this is all dependent on what company you work for. When I first got hired, things were great for about 12 months. Then things started going down hill and have only become worse. The problem is that it's very hard to predict what's going to happen in this industry and making a lateral move to another airline is effectively pushing the reset button on your career. As I tell people all the time, I love my work but I hate my job.
|
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2013 15:37
|
|
|
AWSEFT posted:Edit: If you think you can live on <$35-40k/y for then next decade. I'd think about doing that at your current job and buying a Buying a new plane seems 10 times more retarded than buying a new car. edit: That said the Cessna TTx owns hobbesmaster fucked around with this message at 16:12 on Aug 16, 2013 |
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2013 16:05
|
|
|
ProFootballGuy posted:Probably been covered dozens of times in this thread, but what's the real story for career-changing into flying, at age 29+? My PPL training (as nascent as it is) has only confirmed my love for aviation. I'm going to throw this out there. It's maybe not the most realistic suggestion but its on the continuum of "possible". I know you said you are 29+. You might want to consider giving military aviation a go. I only know the Navy specifics. If you are 29 you are actually technically too old to get an OCS contract for pilot. However, you can get a waiver for up to 48 months so you might still be in the window. I'm assuming that you have some sort of 4 year degree. If not, disregard what I said. You'll have to put with silly poo poo at OCS and in the service once you get commissioned but if you really really want to get some quality flight training and not get completely burned out on flying, and not take quite as big a pay cut, I'd give it some consideration. Just an option to consider but at your age I'd put it on the lower end of 'practical'. e: It's probably important to note that should you go this route (and again I'm only speaking Navy here, I'm not sure how it is for Air Force and Army) you are essentially locking up about 10 years (roughly 2 years plus 8 year commitment after wings) of your life assuming you complete pilot training successfully. vulturesrow fucked around with this message at 16:22 on Aug 16, 2013 |
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2013 16:06
|
|
|
hobbesmaster posted:Buying a new plane seems 10 times more retarded than buying a new car. I didn't say new. =P
|
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2013 20:00
|
|
|
Knockknees posted:I think I've met the GA pilot that everyone hates the most. May I recommend you pass onto him: http://www.uscg.mil/safety/docs/CRM/Darker_Shades_of_Blue.pdf While the article is mainly about a failed corporate environment who didn't want to punish the golden boy of the Wing, it covers every aspect of a pilot who thinks the rules don't apply to them and wants to push the limits because it's never hurt him before. ProFootball Guy: As for switching careers at age 29+, I don't know EXACTLY how old you are but look into the Air National Guard. Get your fix on the weekends, keep your high paying job now. Do not give up a 150k/year job to get a job in aviation. Nothing wrong with an overhead break, it's the fastest way to enter the pattern and land - the initial point should be no different then reporting an X mile straight in for sequencing. xaarman fucked around with this message at 22:12 on Aug 16, 2013 |
|
#
?
Aug 16, 2013 22:04
|
|
|
Well that was quite a rant last night wasn't it? Having sat on it for a day, I still stand by what I said entirely, even if it did come out a bit unfiltered. Speaking on behalf of everyone else, I think some of what makes us so upset is that we see a lot of our previous selves in you wide-eyed, excited new pilots. I know I feel like I could somehow recapture that spirit, but I haven't figured out how to get there just yet. SCOTLAND posted:Dang MrChips, that post I'd rather not say out in public, to be honest, as I've said some unkind things about them in the past. If you're wondering about the 2 am wake-ups, they come out of the fact that our clients are almost all oil companies doing employee shuttles up to McMurray, and a lot of them want their guys up there for a 6 am shift start. xaarman posted:Nothing wrong with an overhead break, it's the fastest way to enter the pattern and land - the initial point should be no different then reporting an X mile straight in for sequencing. No, but when was the last time you saw a GA pilot fly a properly tight circuit? Flying an overhead break makes it all too easy to fly that lazy, three mile wide circuit in your 172. 
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2013 01:50
|
|
|
MrChips posted:No, but when was the last time you saw a GA pilot fly a properly tight circuit? Flying an overhead break makes it all too easy to fly that lazy, three mile wide circuit in your 172. Being an instrument-rated pilot, you'd think I'd know the proper answer to this question, but what IS the proper distance to be in the pattern? At my first school, operating at a commercial, Class C airport, I was told "runway half way up the strut on downwind" (Cessna 152) to the point where it stuck, yet I've had two people* bitch about my "jet patterns" at uncontrolled airports for doing what I learned first. *One was a somewhat hot girl who had just gotten Private and was talking, not complaining. She gets a pass. 
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2013 02:18
|
|
|
This seems like an appropriate place in the conversation to drop this gem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6q2VKsvQEQ MrChips posted:Having sat on it for a day, I still stand by what I said entirely, even if it did come out a bit unfiltered. Speaking on behalf of everyone else, I think some of what makes us so upset is that we see a lot of our previous selves in you wide-eyed, excited new pilots. I know I feel like I could somehow recapture that spirit, but I haven't figured out how to get there just yet. Yeah. I hate to take a dump all over someones ambitions, especially when I had those exact same ambitions only a few years ago. I still like the flying aspect of my job. It doesn't quite have the same thrill it once did but it beast the hell out of sitting at a desk staring at a monitor all day. It's the other stuff that gets to you, the schedule, the lack of pay, the uncertainty, and just the toll on your non work life in general. I'm still holding onto the belief that somewhere out there is a job resembling the one I thought I was getting into. Only time will tell.
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2013 02:58
|
|
|
In a no wind situation, the proper spacing should be where 30 degrees of bank for one continuous final turn gets you aligned with runway centerline.
xaarman fucked around with this message at 03:34 on Aug 17, 2013 |
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2013 03:02
|
|
|
xaarman posted:In a no wind situation, the proper spacing should be where 30 degrees of bank for one continuous final turn gets you aligned with runway centerline. If you do the turn radius math this works out to just under half a mile for most single engine piston aircraft near sea level. Add in a little bit for fudge factor and a short base leg to check for traffic and half a mile is a pretty good rule of thumb. If you were trying to fly the traffic pattern in something with a little more pep, say an SR-71 at it's highest published speed, you'd have to fly the pattern slightly wider. 185.3 Nautical miles to be specific. If you wanted to fly something truly fast, an X-15 for example, your 30 degree banked turn would require just under 800NM. Of course you'd have to divert mid turn because it would take 18+ minutes and the x-15 would burn through it's 15,000lbs fuel load in just over one minute.
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2013 03:31
|
|
|
MrChips posted:God help us all. AWSEFT posted:Yes, yes I can. Congrats Apollo! azflyboy posted:Oh dear lord... Thanks All. The checkride was definitely different. I was tested over Human Behavior and the Principles of Learning/Levels/Maslows Hierarchy of Needs. Those are very easy for me because my current job is essentially all of that stuff put together. Next up was Flight Instructor responsiblities. Chatted a bit about how I'm not supposed to be the sheriff or narc of the airport, but to keep an eye out and make sure nobody dies. We began to ask me about endorsements but as soon as I brought out the 61-65E we went to the next subject. He did make sure to mention that if the endorsement document has been revised up to letter 'E', that I better make sure I'm endorsing what I think I am by referencing the proper reg, 61.87 etc. I then taught Runway Incursion and a proper Weight and Balance. W&B was easy since I teach them as two separate subjects and combine them afterwards. Taught Steep Turns - Ended up drawing vertical and horizontal components of lift and talked a lot about load factor and all that jazz. Flying Portion - I used my M20C that I have 300 hours in now. That made it really easy. I had also been sitting right seat in my and another friends Mooney for the last 3 months so I was quite comfortable doing the right seat flying. Just....no brakes Real easy, he said he was a private pilot here to do a complex checkout. Okay no problem that's easy. Talked about how the Mooney is the only airplane with a proper tail.... (he is a helo guy so he chuckled) Did Steep Turns, Climbs, Power off Stalls, Lazy Eights, S-Turns across a road. Soft field and short field landings and takeoffs. My soft field landing was probably the best one I had ever done, and we ended on that. I'll extrapolate if anybody has any questions, I know I was desperate to find out what the CFI ride was like especially since no one in our area had taken the ride with our examiner. I gave 1.8 hours of Dual today.  My dad was a flight instructor so yesterday and today were the culmination of a dream I've had ever since I was 2 years old!
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2013 03:44
|
|
|
I remember getting yelled at for using a walking cow for my turns around a point. Congrats again!
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2013 03:46
|
|
|
I know this has been asked before but I cant remember the answer. Whats best for logging part 121, Logbook Pro, or Log Ten Pro? I have an iPhone and an iPad, but not an Apple computer, so I wont be able to use the Log Ten desktop app. Also, Logbook Pro imports my times from my airline and cloud syncs, I am not sure if Logten does that. On the other hand, Log Ten seems very polished and has good reviews. Whatever I pick will be a long term thing so I need to choose wisely...
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2013 03:55
|
|
|
CBJSprague24 posted:Being an instrument-rated pilot, you'd think I'd know the proper answer to this question, but what IS the proper distance to be in the pattern? It's absolutely not a by-the-book answer, but I once had a grizzled old timer tell me, "In a piston single, it'd be right embarrassing to be in the pattern, lose the engine, and be unable to make the airport..."
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2013 05:23
|
|
|
MrYenko posted:It's absolutely not a by-the-book answer, but I once had a grizzled old timer tell me, "In a piston single, it'd be right embarrassing to be in the pattern, lose the engine, and be unable to make the airport..." Math time!  A "normal" descent path is about 3 degrees, or 300' per nautical mile. This is a glide ratio of about 20:1. The power off glide ratio for a Cessna 173 is about 9:1. If you engine were to fail 1 mile out at 300' you could only glide 2700' probably less considering you're likely to have flaps out. Assuming you were aiming to touch down 1000' down the runway this still leaves you a few thousand feet short of the runway. If you do the "turn at 45 degrees to the runway" trick you're actually going to be covering about 1.3 miles to get to the runway (180 degree turn + half mile final). If this were a straight line distance that would mean that you'd lose ~860' between starting your turn and reaching the runway. Of course it's not a straight line distance and you're going to need more than 860' because your gliding efficiency decreases significantly during a turn. What's the upshot of all this? If you're flying anything other than a power off approach you're out of gliding distance from a few seconds BEFORE you start your descent all the way to short final.
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2013 06:49
|
|
|
I uploaded a photo of a plane interior to facebook...
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2013 20:55
|
|
|
DNova posted:I uploaded a photo of a plane interior to facebook... She's cute.
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2013 22:27
|
|
|
Captain Apollo posted:Thanks All. The checkride was definitely different. Holy poo poo, I NEVER would have passed my CFI if the ride had been like that. I did a few maneuvers from the right seat and taught a basic pre-solo lesson from a canned lesson plan I had. That's it. Did it with a DE. Things sure have changed in the last 29 years. Well done, CA Apollo.
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2013 22:38
|
|
|
Took my brother and his wife on a hiking trip today. See if you can spot our helicopter in the picture. Here it is 
CraZy GrinGo fucked around with this message at 23:09 on Aug 17, 2013 |
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2013 23:07
|
|
|
Doesn't sound like he had you teach chandelles or any of the comm SE maneuvers? Kind of surprised about that. Also, none of the demonstration stalls? I got all of that stuff...
|
|
#
?
Aug 18, 2013 06:05
|
|
|
The Slaughter posted:Doesn't sound like he had you teach chandelles or any of the comm SE maneuvers? Kind of surprised about that. Also, none of the demonstration stalls? I got all of that stuff... Lazy eights and 8s on pylons....... Power off stall with a secondary stall.....
|
|
#
?
Aug 18, 2013 07:15
|
|
|
CraZy GrinGo posted:Took my brother and his wife on a hiking trip today. See if you can spot our helicopter in the picture. Okay this is freaking amazing and I'm really jealous by the way.
|
|
#
?
Aug 18, 2013 23:56
|
|
|
Next week I begin my first job getting paid to fly. Any tips for first time flight instructors? I'm taking a class along with it which should help smooth it out a little bit.
|
|
#
?
Aug 19, 2013 02:59
|
|
|
Congrats Cpt Apollo, sounds like we had a very similar checkride. We spent about an hour on FOI stuff, teaching process, laws of learning, instructor responsibilities, had me teach Vmc because my initial was actually my MEI, then we went and flew and had a blast (I was in the zone that day and the weather was awesome.) Some bittersweet news, I passed my CFII the other day... on my second try. I've never busted a checkride before and this one was infuriating. The examiner hated me from the start, and I should've taken that as a hint to discontinue. We get in the airplane and on my last approach he starts hurling insults, grabbing the controls, telling me to use shortcuts I've never learned and barked at me to pull off my foggles and look for the airport because traffic was getting congested and he changed my MAP last second. I pulled them off and saw the airport but it was too late, I dipped below the mins and he called it. The whole experience was a nightmare and I told him I couldn't fly with him anymore after the retake. I know some examiners will try to confuse and distract you, but this was over the top and now I have a bust, ugh.
|
|
#
?
Aug 19, 2013 03:58
|
|
|
Sorry to hear that Rolo. Was this a fsdo guy or a dpe? Why do you think he hated you?
|
|
#
?
Aug 19, 2013 04:13
|
|
|
Gringo, it looks like you may have already hiked there but if you didn't there's a really cool set of ruins you should check out. They're on the side of a cliff overlooking sycamore canyon. Right here Horrible MS paint sectional/picture combo:  They're just on the border of a wilderness area and they're on the side of a mountain so it may not be the best idea to go visit them in a helicopter but if you want to do another fly and hike there's a dirt road that ends just on the other side of the hill. Stupid Post Maker posted:Any tips for first time flight instructors? I'm taking a class along with it which should help smooth it out a little bit. Try not to die. In all seriousness, just treat it like you did when you were practicing teaching with your CFI instructor. You'll probably be a little bit awkward for a while but you'll figure it out with time. Plan on learning as much in your next 50 hours as you did in your entire CFI training. A class isn't a horrible idea but nothing can fully prepare you for dealing with real students.
|
|
#
?
Aug 19, 2013 04:38
|
|
|
Captain Apollo posted:Sorry to hear that Rolo. Was this a fsdo guy or a dpe? Why do you think he hated you? Local DPE that was available the day I wanted to do it. Almost nothing he was saying was constructive or helpful, just flat out insulting. He wasn't evaluating me at all, he was trying to teach me "his way" of flying, then screaming when I didn't do it. I got blessed out big time for calling "gear down and stabilized" when I was established on final like I was taught. "If you babble off one more checklist I'm gonna bust you!"
|
|
#
?
Aug 19, 2013 04:40
|
|
|
Stupid Post Maker posted:Next week I begin my first job getting paid to fly. Any tips for first time flight instructors? I'm taking a class along with it which should help smooth it out a little bit. Try and relax, and let the students do as much of the flying as they're safely capable of. I've seen several new instructors who basically don't let the student fly at all below about 1000' AGL on the first few lessons, which does them a huge disservice for learning takeoffs and landings. Especially with PPL students, airsick bags are a very good thing to carry. I keep two in a pocket in my kneeboard at all times, and it's saved me having to clean out an airplane on a few occasions. In the real world, pretty much no one actually does the rectangular course on checkrides. I've been instructing for about 1300hrs now, and have yet to see a PPL applicant asked to do that maneuver. Before you start really going into takeoffs and landings with a student, I'd recommend you have them watch the UND Aerocast videos ( http://www.youtube.com/user/undaerocast/videos ), on normal landings and faulty approaches. Some of the specifics are tailored to their rather OCD approach to training, but since the "faulty approach" videos were created as a direct result of their students doing about $500,000 in damage to airplanes with botched landings, the overall material is very good, and far easier to understand for most people than just reading through the Airplane Flying Handbook. Rolo posted:I know some examiners will try to confuse and distract you, but this was over the top and now I have a bust, ugh. Don't worry about having the bust on your record. A lot of employers basically ignore a failed CFI ride (I don't know if this goes for the CFII as well), since the pass rate on those is completely dependent on the FSDO, and has been rumored to be as low as 20% for some locations. What employers are looking for with failed checkrides is if there's a pattern of failures, and to see whether you learned anything from failed checkrides (you'll want something more nuanced than "the examiner was being a dick" as an answer to that one). I'd wager that a large number (if not an outright majority) of professional pilots have a failed checkride somewhere in their past, so as long as you're not making a habit of it and the failures aren't under 121 or 135, most employers probably won't do anything more than ask for an explanation and leave it at that. From your description, the DPE's conduct was completely unacceptable, so I'd seriously consider complaining to FSDO and/or Oklahoma City about him. Several FSDO's have been looking for excuses to purge DPE's (mostly Vegas and Scottsdale), so that may give them an excuse to revoke his examining status. Also, make sure you let the school where you did the training know what happened, since most schools have an unoffical "black list" of examiners they won't use, and I know of one DPE who did that kind of thing often enough that no one but the Chinese "pilot mills" will give them business any more. azflyboy fucked around with this message at 05:05 on Aug 19, 2013 |
|
#
?
Aug 19, 2013 04:59
|
|
|
Rolo posted:Local DPE that was available the day I wanted to do it. Send a complaint to the local FSDO (or the FSDO he's based out of.) If you write in a constructive manor chronicling the events on the ride and your reasons why you thought he behaved improperly. Take responsibility for the failure so it doesn't seem your whiny for the failure, but then reiterate that you were concerned about this DE's behavior on the checkride. They do keep record of this sort of this stuff and will pull people's letters for being asshats ect.
|
|
#
?
Aug 19, 2013 14:06
|
|
|
Rolo posted:Local DPE that was available the day I wanted to do it. That sounds like the guy I did my ATP with. Checklists are REQUIRED, like breathing, in the airlines. The FAA would bust a crew in a second for not using one and yet this is the second examiner (unless it was the same guy, we do live pretty close) that I've heard say that. Edit: Rolo: I emailed you and it says your email address is invalid. =/ AWSEFT fucked around with this message at 16:08 on Aug 19, 2013 |
|
#
?
Aug 19, 2013 16:00
|
|
|
AWSEFT posted:That sounds like the guy I did my ATP with. Checklists are REQUIRED, like breathing, in the airlines. The FAA would bust a crew in a second for not using one and yet this is the second examiner (unless it was the same guy, we do live pretty close) that I've heard say that. My husband and I have been listening to the Finer Points at the suggestion of someone in this thread, and we love that it reinforces the idea that things like SOP and Checklists should be even more encouraged in the safety culture even if it is "just" GA. It just seems so crazy to me that any examiner would react that way.
|
|
#
?
Aug 19, 2013 16:12
|
|
|
azflyboy posted:Also, make sure you let the school where you did the training know what happened, since most schools have an unoffical "black list" of examiners they won't use, Rolo posted:I got blessed out big time for calling "gear down and stabilized" when I was established on final like I was taught.
|
|
#
?
Aug 19, 2013 16:58
|
|
|
KodiakRS posted:This is one of the few things that will actually work. Unless you have evidence official complaints basically become a he said she said deal and the FAA is going to side with the DPE almost every time. Sure. But when one has 10 times more complaints than others then they'll know something is wrong.
|
|
#
?
Aug 19, 2013 17:07
|
|
|
AWSEFT posted:That sounds like the guy I did my ATP with. Checklists are REQUIRED, like breathing, in the airlines. The FAA would bust a crew in a second for not using one and yet this is the second examiner (unless it was the same guy, we do live pretty close) that I've heard say that. New email is robswanson87 at gmail. Decided to finally make a professional one. Talked to the flight school about it, got some shocked looks, and a few students requested a different guy. Other than that I'll probably just consider it a "learning experience" and keep my students away.
|
|
#
?
Aug 19, 2013 19:01
|
|
|
Rolo posted:Some bittersweet news, I passed my CFII the other day... on my second try. I've never busted a checkride before and this one was infuriating. The examiner hated me from the start, and I should've taken that as a hint to discontinue. We get in the airplane and on my last approach he starts hurling insults, grabbing the controls, telling me to use shortcuts I've never learned and barked at me to pull off my foggles and look for the airport because traffic was getting congested and he changed my MAP last second. I pulled them off and saw the airport but it was too late, I dipped below the mins and he called it. The whole experience was a nightmare and I told him I couldn't fly with him anymore after the retake. Congrats on the CFII. I know how you feel on the nightmare checkride. My instrument checkride featured an examiner that probably should've found something else to do 20 years ago, featuring his own interpretations of the FARs that you actually learn from your CFII because he'll chew out and/or bust you on the oral if you give him the actual reg. (Sort of a "Look, here's what the regs say, but for HIM, say this.". To be fair, his concept makes sense.). I'm also one of the last remaining "pilot mill" guys that transitioned to the local school. He hates the mill's guts and will rip you for doing things their way (which I learned first), but won't get pissed at you per se because it's not your fault you learned the wrong way. Law of primacy is a bitch. I nearly busted the checkride on altitude because he wouldn't let me cruise out the plane, putting in full throttle after I leveled out twice. I almost didn't get the chance to nail the hold, ILS, VOR, and LOC approaches because of altitude PTS. When I DID pass, I just wanted to go home. When I considered starting commercial there, the CFII with whom I finished Instrument (who was loving awesome) suggested tag teaming between the two instructors. I told her no. I think she understood where I was coming from, because she seemed OK with it. CBJSprague24 fucked around with this message at 16:47 on Aug 22, 2013 |
|
#
?
Aug 20, 2013 00:21
|
|
|
Sorry for double-posting, but I wanted to shift this to its own post for ProFootballGuy: ProFootballGuy posted:Probably been covered dozens of times in this thread, but what's the real story for career-changing into flying, at age 29+? My PPL training (as nascent as it is) has only confirmed my love for aviation. I can't speak for the commercial side of things (others have covered that well, anyway), but if you do do at least some form of training, the main tip I can give you is to pick a good flight school. I know you've started out at one, but I guess what I'm trying to say is "If things aren't working, don't be afraid to look elsewhere". Read reviews, talk to people if you can, ask around. People will give you the "WE'RE AN AWESOME PLACE!" routine, but looks can be deceiving. The flashy Part 141 school may have enough Diamonds/Cirruses/whatever the GA plane that looks like a Cirrus but isn't is for a small Air Force, but may be flying purgatory. Similarly, the mom and pop FBO may have six planes, but the camaraderie is awesome. (Are you planning on getting some sort of aviation degree? Because if you're not, as has been discussed in the thread, you're flying 1,500 to get in the right seat anyway, which could make 141/142 less worth it. If you don't mind going to a Community College, you could shave off 250 hours with an Associate's assuming the government doesn't gently caress that up, too.) Your search should probably include the presence of decent-to-good equipment. The place at which I started had 152s that weren't great and 172s that were complete shitboxes. I'm talking "both 172s broke with no A&P to fix them, so they were down for a month with people waiting to do Instrument training" bad. I left before that happened, but had a lesson of my own become essentially worthless when the DME readout, on a lesson focusing on DME Arcs...was unreadable. The worst part was my CFII knew and said, out loud over the intercom, "Ohhh poo poo. This is the one where the DME doesn't work.". (Given that I'd been delayed three hours for clownshoes reasons just to DO the lesson and that he was a bit of a snarky prick to begin with, I really should've just "Right turn, Clyde"ed him.) When I expressed concerns to higher ups, the program director promptly berated me and suggested I, in essence, be "demoted" to the A&P program; the former Base Manager who had transferred into a management role but was familiar with our location apologized and refunded the cost of the lesson, basically saying "Yeah, that's not right, sorry." (I was vindicated a year later by the active Base Manager, who exclaimed, without mincing words, "And maybe we'll have planes that WORK now!" at a meeting announcing the closure of the pilot mill.) We were promised more advanced equipment that never came because they shut down before they were delivered. Not all schools are bad. The first batch of instructors at my first school were a great group of guys that made flying beaters worthwhile. The next school I went to had airplanes that actually worked (and a chief flight instructor that will probably kick your rear end if you pick on their students  ). I know it's difficult to find the right fit without actually going somewhere, but it's all a balance worth getting right early. Let me know if you want some more stories from the As for professional vs. flying for fun: MrChips posted:Having sat on it for a day, I still stand by what I said entirely, even if it did come out a bit unfiltered. Speaking on behalf of everyone else, I think some of what makes us so upset is that we see a lot of our previous selves in you wide-eyed, excited new pilots. I know I feel like I could somehow recapture that spirit, but I haven't figured out how to get there just yet. This is how I am today and it's the part that hurts the most. Several years ago, I was excited by the promise of enrolling and spending a summer (I started Private in high school) flying. The first segment of my training, if you will, was "living the dream". Much of the rest of it, for reasons both in and out of my control, has gone to poo poo and has led me to where I don't even want to tool around in a C-172 for fun. I'm still an aviation geek at heart, love sitting in the back, traveling, and learning about/discussing the world of aviation, but doing it? Not so much. As KodiakRS said in a post, your results may vary, so I hope things shake out better for you in your training. It's a wonderful world, but it has its downsides. CBJSprague24 fucked around with this message at 16:58 on Aug 22, 2013 |
|
#
?
Aug 22, 2013 16:54
|
|
|
On Tuesday I did a mock oral exam and mock private pilot practical checkride. I was able to distract him so easily and he got 1000ft off of altitude and couldn't do steep turns etc. Last night I flew with him again and he saw right through all my tricks and distractions and he was fully (acting) PIC during our oral and practical. Today is his checkride and even though I didn't sign him off, I still hope he does well! He improved about 200% from Tuesday to Wednesday night. I sure hope he got some sleep last night
|
|
#
?
Aug 22, 2013 17:26
|
|
|
Just got my first two R sides! Would have 3 but I didn't ensure positive separation after some Frontier decided he should start climbing at about 100fpm for no reason. Gonna get a redo tomorrow, hopefully I'll get it then.
|
|
#
?
Aug 22, 2013 23:46
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 7, 2024 21:06 |
|
|
Congrats. After the 3rd, how many do you have to go?
|
|
#
?
Aug 22, 2013 23:46
|
|
