My boss took me up in his plane Monday. And man that just rocked. Never been in a small plane before. Once we were up he let me take the controls for a few. And holy @%$&^, that was very challenging and not what I thought it would be like. I was very surprised on how the plane felt, never experienced anything like that before.

A few years ago I thought about getting my license(VFR), but I was in College and had other things on my mind and it would have been difficult to afford it. But now I am in a different place in life, and can afford it and not much on my mind.

So now with the help from my boss, I am looking into it once again. It does seem a little intimidating but I am sure that will pass. And hey, at least getting time off work wont be an issue

So any pointers or something you could share, like what should I look for in an instructor, supplemental reading any pit falls that one can get stuck in when there starting out.


Thanks!

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Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun. Orbiting this at a distance of roughly ninety-eight million miles is an utterly insignificant little blue-green planet whose ape-descended life forms are so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea ...

In my teens I had ten hours of glider flight. I was a couple of hours from soloing. Unfortunately I had to quit the course for lack of money (there were univer$ity obligations to meet). I had to postpone my dream of becoming a pilot, and never took the time to resume. Maybe one day...

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There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.

I know we have several pilots here, just give them a few days to show up.

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Everything I need to know I learned through Googling.

I'm a private pilot (about 465 hours) with an instrument rating. I also own my own plane (a significantly upgraded 1967 Piper Cherokee 140). Welcome to the world of general aviation! I hope you do go after your pilot's license.

First of all, you have more options about what kind of flying you want to do today than were available a few years ago. If you live in the US, you might consider going for your Sport Pilot license first and then go after your Private Pilot rating. The Sport Pilot rating limits you somewhat but these limitations aren't that significant when you're starting out. For starters, a Sport Pilot is limited to flying a two-seat airplane with a slow landing speed and a maximum cruise speed of 120 knots (138 MPH). The plane can have a max takeoff weight of about 1300 pounds. There are a lot of interesting new planes that meet the Light Sport requirements. If you're lucky, you might find a flight school in your area that offers this option.

As for an instructor, I personally like the older ones who aren't looking at flight instruction as their ticket to an airline job. In my experience, they tend to be more knowledgeable (they often have a lot of experience) and patient than the younger instructors. By all means, you need someone who can teach. It's an old cliche that "Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach." However, there are a lot of people who can do things but are completely incapable of teaching others how to do those things. Spend some time talking with your potential instructor and see how well he or she can explain concepts like navigation, weather, or flying in the air traffic control system. If the instructor can't break down the concepts into understandable terms (and it may take more than one attempt depending on your incoming knowledge and experience), then look elsewhere. Likewise, if you get some instructor on a macho trip who wants to "weed out the weak", go elsewhere. Those morons do a terrible disservice to would-be private pilots.

Flying is a hell of a lot of fun. It's also an expensive addiction. I urge you to make sure you have enough money on hand to fly regularly (twice a week or more often is best). The longer you stretch out your training, the more it'll end up costing. You may have to save up for a while before you begin flight training. If so, then that might be a good time to get your ground instruction out of the way. There are some good books like the classic "Stick and Rudder" that can help you understand the basics of aerodynamics and flying. Some of the better flight simulation programs can help shortening your learning curve according to articles that I've read.

Keep us posted on what you decide and how things are going. And again, welcome to general aviation!

I'm a private pilot with a few hundred hours with an instrument rating, but with several thousand hours as a navigator (backing up the pilots...) in the USAF.

Go for it! If you have any questions, please PM me.

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I am Mugs, of the Alien clan of Usa, Nordamerica, a Terran, of Sol.

"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort." - Herm Albright

Hey thanks for the info. I did find out about the Sport Pilot License today, but not sure yet who might offer that in my area. That option might be a good way to start, just to get off the ground. And the suggestion was made that I should train at an airport with a control tower which makes sense but probability a little harder. Also I think I will be starting the ground school soon. I am definitely going to look for a flight simulation program. I will probably start it on my own then take a few classes and see where I am at, if I need more formal education before taken the written. Pulse I have a Corvette in the shop and am unsure of how much that is going to cost. So I will have some time to recoup $ from that.

This place was also recommended http://wvfc.org/, mainly to be able to rent from. Though I did take a look at the Instructors that they had. And yes I think I would like an 'old timer', as a pose to a person just teaching so they can get there an airline job, like you had mention. Though the price did vary a lot from Instructor to Instructor. Some of it I can tell why but it was a little difficult to compare.

Also it was mention that I should get the medical out of they way, since that could take time for it to go through and I dont want to have to wait for that.

I still have not broke the news to the missus, haha she wont like it but neither did she like the vette She keeps saying that I am in a mid life crisis thing, but I am only 32, bored and like to be challenged. I tell her just to wait, for when I do

So I guess I have to decide on which type of license that I will start with, then find an instructor while I am taking the ground school and then take off.

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Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun. Orbiting this at a distance of roughly ninety-eight million miles is an utterly insignificant little blue-green planet whose ape-descended life forms are so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea ...

My wife once made the mistake of saying, "Whatever makes you happy", so I went out and bought a 1/4th interest in a Cessna 172. I told her about it a few weeks later. She says she'll never say that again. When working with your wife, be sure you don't come down with a case of AIDS - Aviation Induced Divorce Syndrome. I've seen it happen. I'm now the sole owner in my Cherokee but to be honest, I really don't fly it enough to justify owning it by myself. I'm considering selling a 1/2 interest in the plane to lower the true hourly cost of operation (a number I hope my wife never asks about.)

If you can find a place that offers Sport Pilot training, then you can skip the medical exam. If not, you'll need a 3rd class physical.

Instructor rates can vary based on their experience and ratings. For example, there are two primary instructor ratings - CFI and CFII. A CFI is a Certified Flight Instructor. A CFII is a Certified Flight Instrument Instructor. As you might imagine, a CFII usually charges more because they're licensed to teach people going for their instrument rating. All you need for a private pilot license is a CFI.

The numbers cited on that website you provided are typical for many student pilots. While the FAA requires 35-40 hours of flight time before going for your flight test, many students end up taking considerably longer. One of the big reasons is that they don't fly very often so it takes them longer to learn the skills. If you can fly at least twice a week, you'll probably need fewer hours and save a lot of money.

The company seems to offer a wide range of aircraft to rent. The choice of plane is often a matter of convience and personal preference. Cessna 152s are the least expensive to rent but they are pretty cramped inside. Cessna 172s are great planes (Cessna celebrated the 172's 50th anniversary this year) and Warriors are good, too. I've owned high wing and low wing planes and both designs have a lot to recommend. Cessnas have better downward visibility but I feel the Pipers have better overall visibility. This is important - see and avoid is one of the cardinal rules of safety.

I earned my private pilot licence when I was 18, but have not been active for many years. I owned a Cessna 185 on floats for four years when I worked on the north coast of BC. It served as my pick-up truck. I hanker for that plane now and then. I also really enjoyed flying the Cherokee Archer (PA-28-181) and wouldn't mind owning one, but sometimes I wonder what it would be like to own a Cessna 177 Cardinal. However, renting is cheaper (when I bought the 185, the owner of a small floatplane airline I knew said to me, "Why'd you go and do that? You may as well stand on the dock here and throw your money into the water!" But good luck finding a floatplane to rent. . .)

Anyway, you'll be wise to follow Larry's advice regarding the continuity of training: have the monetary and time budgets clearly figured out before you begin, and then go at it steadily, with several hours of training per week at regularly spaced intervals. That way you'll be constantly building on your previous experience instead of re-learning. I went from first lesson to flight test in 53 days, logging about 43 hours.

I hope you're able to pursue it. It'll be enjoyable.

Firstly you should be aware that different instructors have different styles of teaching. Some like to hog the plane and only let you fly during the specific manuver you are practicing that day and some let you fly the plane yourself as long as you seem to be flying right. Schedule your lessons with the one that doesn't hog the plane.

Also, None of the instructors that I flew with including the owner of the company seemed to know how to trim the airplane right. If you have to push or pull the wheel constantly to maintain level flight you are not in trim and flying will be tiring and could be dangerous in turbulent air.

If the wheel requires you to pull on it you should turn the trim wheel back and keep turning it until you can let the steering wheel go and still be flying level. If you have to push the steering wheel to stay level you should push the trim wheel forward and keep turnung it until you can let go. When you are in trim you can let the steering wheel go and give it a hard push and the plane will find its way back to level.

My favorite instructor wore glasses and couldn't see if there was a plane on the runway from the downwind leg when we were directly across from the runway (about 900 feet). He let me fly all the time. I soloed way before the course sylabus called for and figured out myself how to properly trim the plane and even taught all the instructors how to do it. They were just turning the trim wheel one notch one way or the other because they were misinterpreting the trim instructions.

You should wear hard heeled shoes and keep your heels on the floor with the balls of your feet on the rudder pedals unless you are braking. The hard heels let your heels slide on the floor when you push the pedals and if you keep your feet off the floor then it will be tiring and your leg muscles will start trembling in short order. It also keeps your feet off the brakes when you push the pedals because the brake pedals are at the top of the rudder pedals.

Also you should watch your instructor when he is landing. If he leans into the turns then he is using a kinisthetic sense for landing. You might want to ask him to let you put your shoulder aganst his when you are learning to land as he will still be leaning into turns that he expects you to make and that will guide you and help you develop your kinisthetic sense faster.

SAMU is right about the importance of properly trimming the plane. When properly trimmed, you can release the controls and the plane will stay pretty much straight and level. It may eventually drift off a bit over time but it shouldn't make any immediate deviations. I really came to appreciate the importance of properly trimming my plane when I went for my instrument rating. Flying single pilot IFR without an autopilot is a lot of work. It's even more work if the plane deviates rapidly when you look at a chart or reach to tune a radio. That's one of the things I like better about my Piper over the Cessna 172 I used to own - I can trim the Piper in yaw and pitch instead of just pitch in the 172.