Aviation Megathread 10: I'm dumb as shit

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Aviation Megathread 10: I'm dumb as shit

dupersaurus: Aug 1, 2012; Futurism was an art movement where dudes were all 'CARS ARE COOL AND THE PAST IS FOR CHUMPS. LET'S DRAW SOME CARS.'

What's there for a pilot to do if they don't want to make a career out of it and can't afford their own plane, other than occasionally renting a 152 and puttering around a bit for fun when it's nice outside? Is volunteer piloting a thing? I really want to get my license, but it's a lot of money to spend just to tick something off the bucket list.

# ¿ Jul 25, 2017 18:51

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# ¿ May 6, 2024 07:27

dupersaurus: Aug 1, 2012; Futurism was an art movement where dudes were all 'CARS ARE COOL AND THE PAST IS FOR CHUMPS. LET'S DRAW SOME CARS.'

Captain Apollo posted:

This is all related to money, but I notice a lot of people aren't good at studying and hitting the books when they get into flying. If you're good at studying and are dedicated to chair flying you can save yourself a lot of money. However, the economics are simple. Bare minimum is still probably around 7k. Do not start flying lessons until you have 7k in a bank unencumbered IMHO. So if it's a bucket list item, make sure it's one you're willing to work for.

Coming up with the money for lessons isn't a problem (lord knows I've probably spent that much on other hobbies over time), I'm just trying to answer the "what then?" question for myself. Something like volunteer piloting sounds attractive but I don't know if that's a thing that exists.

# ¿ Jul 26, 2017 16:06

dupersaurus: Aug 1, 2012; Futurism was an art movement where dudes were all 'CARS ARE COOL AND THE PAST IS FOR CHUMPS. LET'S DRAW SOME CARS.'

Do you get any agency in the selection or are you entirely at the whims of fate?

# ¿ Oct 27, 2017 00:40

dupersaurus: Aug 1, 2012; Futurism was an art movement where dudes were all 'CARS ARE COOL AND THE PAST IS FOR CHUMPS. LET'S DRAW SOME CARS.'

All else being equal, is there a benefit to going to a flight school at a big airport over a small one, or vise versa? It seems like a small airport could be more convenient? The big airport in this case being RDU, so it's not big big but still fairly busy. But it's all of 10 minutes away from me, and the next option is closer to 40.

# ¿ Oct 31, 2017 14:26

dupersaurus: Aug 1, 2012; Futurism was an art movement where dudes were all 'CARS ARE COOL AND THE PAST IS FOR CHUMPS. LET'S DRAW SOME CARS.'

Thanks guys. Anything I should look for in determining if a school's got it's poo poo together?

Rolo posted:

Hey man I take offense to that. I worked at a shitshow at RDU.

Can you name names to avoid?

# ¿ Oct 31, 2017 18:14

dupersaurus: Aug 1, 2012; Futurism was an art movement where dudes were all 'CARS ARE COOL AND THE PAST IS FOR CHUMPS. LET'S DRAW SOME CARS.'

I mean, speaking as a Real Life Adult working on saving up for my license, I do wish I did it when I was young and lacking annoying things like obligations.

# ¿ Jan 19, 2018 03:13

dupersaurus: Aug 1, 2012; Futurism was an art movement where dudes were all 'CARS ARE COOL AND THE PAST IS FOR CHUMPS. LET'S DRAW SOME CARS.'

https://twitter.com/NWSAWC/status/969572219977457665

# ¿ Mar 2, 2018 15:13

dupersaurus: Aug 1, 2012; Futurism was an art movement where dudes were all 'CARS ARE COOL AND THE PAST IS FOR CHUMPS. LET'S DRAW SOME CARS.'

Couple of recommendation questions:

Online ground school? The school sells Sporty�s starter kit with the online school, would there be a better place to go?

Decent headset that doesn�t break the bank? As much as I�d like to :homebrew:

on the pricier stuff you guys have talked about, I probably shouldn�t right off the bat.

dupersaurus fucked around with this message at 13:37 on Jun 28, 2018

# ¿ Jun 28, 2018 03:27

dupersaurus: Aug 1, 2012; Futurism was an art movement where dudes were all 'CARS ARE COOL AND THE PAST IS FOR CHUMPS. LET'S DRAW SOME CARS.'

helno posted:

You can always look for a used ANR headset.

The Bose X can be found for $3-400. Just be sure to pay attention to the listing to be sure it is a dual GA plug headset.

Where should I be looking? Ebay and my local craigslist are showing double that at minimum

# ¿ Jun 28, 2018 19:35

dupersaurus: Aug 1, 2012; Futurism was an art movement where dudes were all 'CARS ARE COOL AND THE PAST IS FOR CHUMPS. LET'S DRAW SOME CARS.'

How superficial am I for wanting to train in the Archer instead of the 172 because the Archer has a proper throttle lever? (And not because it�s :10bux:

cheaper)

# ¿ Jul 5, 2018 01:56

dupersaurus: Aug 1, 2012; Futurism was an art movement where dudes were all 'CARS ARE COOL AND THE PAST IS FOR CHUMPS. LET'S DRAW SOME CARS.'

I mean, I guess the real deciding factor is that the 172 is glass and the Archer is analog, which is probably better for learning in. Students probably can�t pick out any real differences between the planes (other than those levers feel cool)

dupersaurus fucked around with this message at 02:28 on Jul 5, 2018

# ¿ Jul 5, 2018 02:26

dupersaurus: Aug 1, 2012; Futurism was an art movement where dudes were all 'CARS ARE COOL AND THE PAST IS FOR CHUMPS. LET'S DRAW SOME CARS.'

helno posted:

Most of the time I hold the throttle by the base of the lever with my hand on the base to avoid inadvertent movement due to turbulence.

Yeah kinda see what you mean now

First lesson doing patterns was windy enough that a couple people were camping under final taking pictures and got baby�s first approaches on video (went pretty well, 20 years of playing sims finally paid off)

# ¿ Jul 10, 2018 01:20

dupersaurus: Aug 1, 2012; Futurism was an art movement where dudes were all 'CARS ARE COOL AND THE PAST IS FOR CHUMPS. LET'S DRAW SOME CARS.'

PT6A posted:

Our dispatcher just said, "gently caress him, charge him ground-brief time if he's not ready, maybe he'll learn when it costs him money."

Also our dispatcher is a current PPL student so he's probably going to be an awesome pilot eventually, because he gets to hear all the things the instructors are bitching about on any given day

I'm definitely trying to use y'all's bitching to inform my learning, so keep it up plz

My wife came home from work having heard about regionals being hard up for pilots and paying for people to get their ratings, and said I should do that. She was oddly undisturbed by the worse pay and worse hours than my current job. If only I was ten years younger...

# ¿ Jul 23, 2018 17:59

dupersaurus: Aug 1, 2012; Futurism was an art movement where dudes were all 'CARS ARE COOL AND THE PAST IS FOR CHUMPS. LET'S DRAW SOME CARS.'

So far all the bookings at my place have been 2.5, actual air time just shy of 2.

# ¿ Jul 24, 2018 00:56

dupersaurus: Aug 1, 2012; Futurism was an art movement where dudes were all 'CARS ARE COOL AND THE PAST IS FOR CHUMPS. LET'S DRAW SOME CARS.'

I get the feeling that the used aircraft market is pretty strong if you don't need the latest and greatest. Buying a 30 year old car is a tricky thing, but buying a 30+ year old 172 is a perfectly sane thing to do. Could probably buy an old one and install a bunch of modern stuff and still come out ahead...

# ¿ Jul 24, 2018 19:49

dupersaurus: Aug 1, 2012; Futurism was an art movement where dudes were all 'CARS ARE COOL AND THE PAST IS FOR CHUMPS. LET'S DRAW SOME CARS.'

cigaw posted:

Well, after lurking this thread for ages, I am now (kinda technically, start date is Oct 8th) a student pilot.

I'm looking at all sorts of ~~expensive~~ exciting things, such as ipad-compatible kneeboards, flight bags and headsets. Will gladly take recommendations on the the first two, as these don't seem to be discussed here as often as the latter.

Would a combination of this non-aviation headphone and this microphone adapter thing be worthwhile considering? Or is it just a janky arrangement and at that combined price point I might as well grab a used Lightspeed Sierra for an ANR headset?

I waffled around a bit on headsets but in the end decided to suck it up and got a Zulu3. It's overkill for where I'm at now (and maybe ever), but I like to follow "buy once, cry once" when possible. If it flying doesn't work out in the end, the top-end headsets look to hold their value pretty well on resale. I had wanted to use the school's for as long as I could, but I didn't feel like they

Get a kneeboard with a proper pencil holder. Using the clip to hold it is a huge pain in the rear end.

# ¿ Jul 25, 2018 19:24

dupersaurus: Aug 1, 2012; Futurism was an art movement where dudes were all 'CARS ARE COOL AND THE PAST IS FOR CHUMPS. LET'S DRAW SOME CARS.'

PT6A posted:

What are your thoughts about taking PPL students to do circuits in marginal VFR conditions? We've had 4-6SM visibility in smoke for the past few days, and I think it's completely safe for dual circuits and actually a good experience for students to see what the bottom end of legal VFR conditions look like, and my supervising instructors have agreed inasmuch as they've shown no hesitation to sign my supervision sheets, but some other instructors with roughly the same level of experience as me (which is to say, quite new) have the attitude that students won't get much out of it and it's just a complete waste of time.

It's definitely more challenging for the students and thus more work for the instructor, but I don't see that as a bad thing necessarily.

I really want to try to get my instructor to take me up in MVFR sometime for the experience, but in these parts is often all-or-nothing so you can't really plan for it. Maybe once thunderstorm season ends I'll try to schedule in the morning or on rainy days and hope for the best.

# ¿ Aug 9, 2018 17:58

dupersaurus: Aug 1, 2012; Futurism was an art movement where dudes were all 'CARS ARE COOL AND THE PAST IS FOR CHUMPS. LET'S DRAW SOME CARS.'

Add to the lessons learned the hard way file:

Get your medical done long before you actually need it

# ¿ Aug 20, 2018 21:02

dupersaurus: Aug 1, 2012; Futurism was an art movement where dudes were all 'CARS ARE COOL AND THE PAST IS FOR CHUMPS. LET'S DRAW SOME CARS.'

Any hot tips on not being one of Those People? Other than "have a sense of self-reflection"

# ¿ Sep 6, 2018 14:50

dupersaurus: Aug 1, 2012; Futurism was an art movement where dudes were all 'CARS ARE COOL AND THE PAST IS FOR CHUMPS. LET'S DRAW SOME CARS.'

I�ve been a little surprised how comfy the Warrior I�ve been flying is. I mean it�s cozy but pretty pleasant. Just wish the yoke was a smidge higher so I could check the controls without smashing my thighs.

# ¿ Sep 29, 2018 01:27

dupersaurus: Aug 1, 2012; Futurism was an art movement where dudes were all 'CARS ARE COOL AND THE PAST IS FOR CHUMPS. LET'S DRAW SOME CARS.'

Speaking of stratux, do any of you guys have experience with it versus the stratus or sentry? Are you pretty much just paying for the form factor and internal battery?

# ¿ Oct 1, 2018 14:54

dupersaurus: Aug 1, 2012; Futurism was an art movement where dudes were all 'CARS ARE COOL AND THE PAST IS FOR CHUMPS. LET'S DRAW SOME CARS.'

I got to do the first half of my instrument time in a G1000 172 since it was an IFR day and my usual plane was a radio short, and holy hell that was sexy. Felt like I was playing a video game.

# ¿ Nov 5, 2018 00:20

dupersaurus: Aug 1, 2012; Futurism was an art movement where dudes were all 'CARS ARE COOL AND THE PAST IS FOR CHUMPS. LET'S DRAW SOME CARS.'

Everyone needs a boat friend and a plane friend

# ¿ Nov 20, 2018 14:52

dupersaurus: Aug 1, 2012; Futurism was an art movement where dudes were all 'CARS ARE COOL AND THE PAST IS FOR CHUMPS. LET'S DRAW SOME CARS.'

I mean having to always fly out to another airport to do pattern work isn�t terrible but maybe that�s why my school does 2.5 hour bookings

# ¿ Nov 29, 2018 04:17

dupersaurus: Aug 1, 2012; Futurism was an art movement where dudes were all 'CARS ARE COOL AND THE PAST IS FOR CHUMPS. LET'S DRAW SOME CARS.'

Yeah even though it�s only like 15 minutes to any of the options, my instructor was definitely nudging me to think about navigation things long before we started talking cross country proper.

# ¿ Nov 29, 2018 04:56

dupersaurus: Aug 1, 2012; Futurism was an art movement where dudes were all 'CARS ARE COOL AND THE PAST IS FOR CHUMPS. LET'S DRAW SOME CARS.'

Well it took three months of waiting on the FAA, and finishing pretty much all of my dual requirements, but I finally got my medical and did my first solo :toot:

PT6A posted:

That's actually a very good point -- I could theoretically get started with things like map-reading and ground speed calculation without necessarily briefing on it ahead of time and adjusting the syllabus.

I also think it's a good way of breaking up the boredom of doing circuits at the same airport over and over again. Mind you, with narrower, shorter runways, elevation changes, and more obstacles, lord knows I'm going to be slightly less forgiving as an instructor with any fuckups.

I definitely quickly learned how the look of a runway affects your approach. There was one runway that was giving me all sorts of problems on approach, but after a couple of patterns I realized that the approach end was raised 20-30ft from the surrounding ground and I was judging based on the ground and not the runway. A nice little lesson on why you look down the runway.

I also think just having the cruising time before and after is a nice way to settle in and get comfortable.

# ¿ Nov 29, 2018 16:29

dupersaurus: Aug 1, 2012; Futurism was an art movement where dudes were all 'CARS ARE COOL AND THE PAST IS FOR CHUMPS. LET'S DRAW SOME CARS.'

PT6A posted:

The Tech thread in D&D has some much good opinions about autopilots and flight directors, let me tell ya!

Did you know that planes can now taxi and take off by themselves? I didn't, but clearly I just don't know as much about flying as fishmech.

I mean, there's nothing at all about your SA presence to suggest your expertise.

# ¿ Dec 4, 2018 20:21

dupersaurus: Aug 1, 2012; Futurism was an art movement where dudes were all 'CARS ARE COOL AND THE PAST IS FOR CHUMPS. LET'S DRAW SOME CARS.'

I didn�t really get flaring until I porpoised a few times and got the hang of really working the yoke to fix it. Sight picture only got me so far, I really just had to learn what it felt like to manipulate the plane in that moment.

# ¿ Dec 24, 2018 04:49

dupersaurus: Aug 1, 2012; Futurism was an art movement where dudes were all 'CARS ARE COOL AND THE PAST IS FOR CHUMPS. LET'S DRAW SOME CARS.'

First solo xc in the books :toot:

Highlights include a lot of chop, my silkiest landings yet, and a simultaneous approach alongside an A320

# ¿ Jan 6, 2019 22:52

dupersaurus: Aug 1, 2012; Futurism was an art movement where dudes were all 'CARS ARE COOL AND THE PAST IS FOR CHUMPS. LET'S DRAW SOME CARS.'

Yeah it�s a fun mix of humble and egalitarian, we�re all doing the same thing in the end. I got to make a 757 wait behind me on takeoff, but haven�t been around the 777 that flies out to Heathrow

# ¿ Jan 7, 2019 04:49

dupersaurus: Aug 1, 2012; Futurism was an art movement where dudes were all 'CARS ARE COOL AND THE PAST IS FOR CHUMPS. LET'S DRAW SOME CARS.'

Airliner talk is cool and making me want to drop everything and get on board. Local man murdered by wife over post he made on dead gay comedy forum, more at 11

Also, a 10kt wind restriction for solo xc is really annoying

# ¿ Jan 24, 2019 15:31

dupersaurus: Aug 1, 2012; Futurism was an art movement where dudes were all 'CARS ARE COOL AND THE PAST IS FOR CHUMPS. LET'S DRAW SOME CARS.'

PT6A posted:

For surface winds at each airport, or winds aloft?

Either way, with that restriction we'd get... *checks notes* ...roughly 5 solo cross-countries per year completed.

Our solo wind limits are 10kt crosswind component, 20kt steady wind, and gusting 25kts. There are still a lot of days we can't send people solo due to wind.

Surface. And not even crosswind, 10kt absolute.

# ¿ Jan 24, 2019 16:25

dupersaurus: Aug 1, 2012; Futurism was an art movement where dudes were all 'CARS ARE COOL AND THE PAST IS FOR CHUMPS. LET'S DRAW SOME CARS.'

Well, if you ever wanted to fly your little training plane into the stratosphere, here's your chance

NWS Wilmington (OH) posted:

However, one look at any of the forecast
soundings shows how impressive/deep the stratospheric intrusion
is/will be -- with the tropopause (the separation between the
troposphere and stratosphere) expected to fall to as low as
3kft- 4kft AGL this afternoon -- which is almost unheard of for
these latitudes.

# ¿ Jan 30, 2019 20:55

dupersaurus: Aug 1, 2012; Futurism was an art movement where dudes were all 'CARS ARE COOL AND THE PAST IS FOR CHUMPS. LET'S DRAW SOME CARS.'

cigaw posted:

That�s really cool! Do you have a link you could share? Can�t seem to locate it.

https://forecast.weather.gov/product.php?site=NWS&issuedby=ILN&product=AFD&format=CI&version=1&glossary=1&highlight=off (from 1231 PM EST Wed Jan 30 2019, in case the link isn't permanent)

# ¿ Jan 30, 2019 21:47

dupersaurus: Aug 1, 2012; Futurism was an art movement where dudes were all 'CARS ARE COOL AND THE PAST IS FOR CHUMPS. LET'S DRAW SOME CARS.'

e.pilot posted:

Atlas is very much a destination for me. Sure I wouldn't turn down fedex or ups, but I'm also not going to be stressing out or going above and beyond to grind out requirements anymore. Time to hit the relax button and stop looking towards the next step.

Does the cargo hauling life differ any from the people hauling life?

# ¿ Jan 31, 2019 16:29

dupersaurus: Aug 1, 2012; Futurism was an art movement where dudes were all 'CARS ARE COOL AND THE PAST IS FOR CHUMPS. LET'S DRAW SOME CARS.'

e.pilot posted:

Yeah it's not for everybody. They vary a bit but most of their lines are 17on 13off. The 767 has a little better QoL according to my friend there.

There's someone in this thread that also works there that could give a much better rundown.

So airliner pilots have more off days? Do you need an ATP to haul cargo?

e.pilot posted:

In related news I WAS OFFERED AND ACCEPTED A CLASS DATE NEXT MONTH, I WAS HIRED!

woot woot

# ¿ Jan 31, 2019 17:18

dupersaurus: Aug 1, 2012; Futurism was an art movement where dudes were all 'CARS ARE COOL AND THE PAST IS FOR CHUMPS. LET'S DRAW SOME CARS.'

Anyone know the formula (or the search term to find it) for calculating altitude from a barometer reading when you have the QNH? I don't exactly know what I'm looking for any my googlefu isn't helping

dupersaurus fucked around with this message at 19:39 on Feb 5, 2019

# ¿ Feb 5, 2019 19:36

dupersaurus: Aug 1, 2012; Futurism was an art movement where dudes were all 'CARS ARE COOL AND THE PAST IS FOR CHUMPS. LET'S DRAW SOME CARS.'

simble posted:

Pressure or density altitude? One begets the other.

What the altimeter reads when set to QNH (is that indicated or true?)

e.pilot posted:

1� of mercury is equal to 1000� of altitude, so it should be QNH minus the actual barometer reading multiplied by 1000.

Example, let�s say QNH is 30.50 and your barometer is reading 24.00

30.50 - 24.00 = 6.5 x 1000 = 6500ft

Cool cool, I was starting to wonder if it was just a standard rate thing, thanks

# ¿ Feb 6, 2019 01:49

dupersaurus: Aug 1, 2012; Futurism was an art movement where dudes were all 'CARS ARE COOL AND THE PAST IS FOR CHUMPS. LET'S DRAW SOME CARS.'

Anyone know of a good visualization of the relationship of indicated and true altitude as you fly through varying air masses? For some reason I�m having trouble seeing it in my head. I think I�ve almost got it but would like to see it from someone else...

# ¿ Feb 17, 2019 01:34

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# ¿ May 6, 2024 07:27

dupersaurus: Aug 1, 2012; Futurism was an art movement where dudes were all 'CARS ARE COOL AND THE PAST IS FOR CHUMPS. LET'S DRAW SOME CARS.'

PT6A posted:

Good

Thanks that helped, but I�ve been resistant to words about this so I made myself a picture (that I think is right?)

(Red is indicated, and blue is the isobar you�re surfing and thus your true altitude)

In other news, I know the knowledge test is a random selection, but is it real random or is there some order to it that I can use to help studying?

# ¿ Feb 19, 2019 01:10

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