pilots out there

[Focker]

I have decided to go for pilots license. want to fly to my boat
any one out there have advice?

[SHAKEN Not Stirred]

One of the best things I ever did !!!!
It took a bit more effort than I thought.....
It will consume every weekend if you let it......
Do it in the Winter....Summer is too hot.
What airport are you near by, or considering.
Later,
CJG
:D

[Kachina26]

I'm working on it right now. I don't think I will ever get the wife up in one of those things though. Pretty bumpy at times.

[Sleek-Jet]

Fly often... I would suggest every few days. Don't let the flight schools blow sunshine up your skirt, it's going to take 50 - 60 hours to get your licsense.
It's going to be challanging, but worth it. The private pilot liscense is the most work of any. Have fun though, you're supposed to be enjoying it. :D
Are you going to be buying an airplane and learning to fly it, or are you going to rent???

[HocusPocus]

i would rather drive.

[Throttle]

i would rather drive.
with aname like hocuspocus you should be able to snap your fingers and be there... :rollside:

[DaveA]

Fly often... I would suggest every few days. Don't let the flight schools blow sunshine up your skirt, it's going to take 50 - 60 hours to get your licsense.
It's going to be challanging, but worth it. The private pilot liscense is the most work of any. Have fun though, you're supposed to be enjoying it. :D
Are you going to be buying an airplane and learning to fly it, or are you going to rent???
Word up.
Tell us more about your intentions-
Or you can do what I did....built on the lake right off the end of the runway...
DaveA

[rvrhlic]

i would rather drive.
Dtiving sux!! flying is the way to go, 1.5 hours to the river from LA, it is the best. JUst flew home this afternoon.

[Riverkid]

Altitude is your friend... :cool:

[Focker]

One of the best things I ever did !!!!
It took a bit more effort than I thought.....
It will consume every weekend if you let it......
Do it in the Winter....Summer is too hot.
What airport are you near by, or considering.
Later,
CJG
:D
near burbank and van nuys i live in simi

[Focker]

Fly often... I would suggest every few days. Don't let the flight schools blow sunshine up your skirt, it's going to take 50 - 60 hours to get your licsense.
It's going to be challanging, but worth it. The private pilot liscense is the most work of any. Have fun though, you're supposed to be enjoying it. :D
Are you going to be buying an airplane and learning to fly it, or are you going to rent???
want to buy a plane after i get my license
my cousin has been flying for 20 years from san diego to everywhere
he flew up to parker two weeks ago and it took about an hour.
just seems an extension to my boating life
have sky dived and would love to fly

[Sleek-Jet]

want to buy a plane after i get my license
my cousin has been flying for 20 years from san diego to everywhere
he flew up to parker two weeks ago and it took about an hour.
just seems an extension to my boating life
have sky dived and would love to fly
Cool.
You can usually get a break on the hourly rate of the airplane if you buy "block" times... i.e. 10 or 20 hours at a time on account.
Take your instructor out for lunch, breakfast, (or a beer :D ) once in a while. You can get some of the best instruction over a burrito or Bud, and it's cheaper than ground school.
Get the written out of the way as soon as you can. People get wrapped up in flying (the fun part) and then never take the written, and end up never finishing. Get it done quick and you won't have to worry about it.
Oh yeah, but a decent headset... the green ones with "DC" on the side are nice (David Clark).
Don't use a GPS on your cross-country. Flying and navigating is an art, appreciate that and learn how to do it. You never know when the batteries are going to quit. :hammerhea
If you have any questions or problem, drop me a PM and I'll be glad to help. :D

[HocusPocus]

Dtiving sux!! flying is the way to go, 1.5 hours to the river from LA, it is the best. JUst flew home this afternoon.
no thanks.. i spent 12 years in the Air Force and flew all over the world. got to sit next to the boom operator during a couple refueling missions for an SR-71 and a B-52. won an NCO of the month and went for a 45 minute ride in a T-38 which was a blast. now im done flying and no way am i going in a private plane.
happy landings. :)

[Mardonzi]

Sleek has some great advice... Listen to him.
I would also suggest getting yourself one of the home video or DVD courses. Study the syllabus that you are going to be flying prior to your flight (i.e. cross country, controlled airspace, etc...) and then armchair your flight afterwards. It's amazing how something that doesn't make much sense at the time will finally click. The courses also make a great refresher tool for your BFR.
The suggestion of block time is a great one. You already know you are going to be spending the money on stick time,, go for the discount.
The last word of advice that I have is to pick your instructor well. If you don't feel comfortable with an instructor, don't hesitate to make a change. You will run into 2 types,, those that are building the hours and using your dime to do it and those that already have the hours and are doing it for the love of it. I would strongly suggest the latter of the two. There are a few Airline types that teach on the side as well as some of the older pilots that do it for currency and to "pass the torch".
I had both types, and definately prefer the older, more experienced type.

[Kachina26]

Cool.
You can usually get a break on the hourly rate of the airplane if you buy "block" times... i.e. 10 or 20 hours at a time on account.
Take your instructor out for lunch, breakfast, (or a beer :D ) once in a while. You can get some of the best instruction over a burrito or Bud, and it's cheaper than ground school.
Get the written out of the way as soon as you can. People get wrapped up in flying (the fun part) and then never take the written, and end up never finishing. Get it done quick and you won't have to worry about it.
Oh yeah, but a decent headset... the green ones with "DC" on the side are nice (David Clark).
Don't use a GPS on your cross-country. Flying and navigating is an art, appreciate that and learn how to do it. You never know when the batteries are going to quit. :hammerhea
If you have any questions or problem, drop me a PM and I'll be glad to help. :D
Man those DC's are ugly, but I hear they are the hot ticket. Quite a few on ebay. I bought a set of Avcomms. My instructor who has DCs said he would almost rather have a pair of Avcomms. I got a set of the 900's with a bag for under $170. I found (and bought) a used set as well for $100 . Be careful, this is more addictive than boating :jawdrop:

[Spotondl]

Make sure you take at least a few of your lessons out of a busy airport... Van Nuys or Burbank for you... If you only fly out of remote airports you will be easily overwhelmed by the sheer radio traffic if you ever fly into a busy region let alone keeping track of the airborn traffic. Ground time at a busy airport sucks but it is important to learn something about congestion...
Whiteman airport is also a good one for you... not sure if Santa Paula is up and running. Either one is a nice and quiet environment to learn and you will be flying up there anyway because that is the designated practice airspace around here.

[Mardonzi]

I'm partial to the Peltors myself,,, they are lighter and fold up nicely for storage....

[Focker]

Cool.
You can usually get a break on the hourly rate of the airplane if you buy "block" times... i.e. 10 or 20 hours at a time on account.
Take your instructor out for lunch, breakfast, (or a beer :D ) once in a while. You can get some of the best instruction over a burrito or Bud, and it's cheaper than ground school.
Get the written out of the way as soon as you can. People get wrapped up in flying (the fun part) and then never take the written, and end up never finishing. Get it done quick and you won't have to worry about it.
Oh yeah, but a decent headset... the green ones with "DC" on the side are nice (David Clark).
Don't use a GPS on your cross-country. Flying and navigating is an art, appreciate that and learn how to do it. You never know when the batteries are going to quit. :hammerhea
If you have any questions or problem, drop me a PM and I'll be glad to help. :D
ill take ya up on your offer i intend to go righta away.

[Kachina26]

You will run into 2 types,, those that are building the hours and using your dime to do it and those that already have the hours and are doing it for the love of it.
My instructor told me about this as well. He has finished teaching many a student because their instructor found a "real job". Many are building hours looking for their break in the commercial industry. He said, "I already have a job, I do this for fun". Great attitude.

[Focker]

thanks everyone. My cousin has been flying for over 20 years. he set his plane down on the fwy last year in san diego . between him and u guys i am looking to great advice. i will update

[JustMVG]

near burbank and van nuys i live in simiCheck out spme o f the flying clubs at both VNY and BUR. they can be cheaper and better instruction for your buck. I'll go thru my book and see what #'s i still have, you could also try Pacoima, Whiteman airfield, no jet traffic and while it's in and under BUR traffic you'll get more touch and go's in and the practice area north of the 118 fwy is closer, VNY is very crowded, and you might depending on the time of day you'll be going up, alot of your time will be spent in the pattern. Just my .02's worth. Learned to fly at BUR but that was in the early to mid 70's. Good Luck and will be some of the best money you'll spend.
MVG

[Focker]

Check out spme o f the flying clubs at both VNY and BUR. they can be cheaper and better instruction for your buck. I'll go thru my book and see what #'s i still have, you could also try Pacoima, Whiteman airfield, no jet traffic and while it's in and under BUR traffic you'll get more touch and go's in and the practice area north of the 118 fwy is closer, VNY is very crowded, and you might depending on the time of day you'll be going up, alot of your time will be spent in the pattern. Just my .02's worth. Learned to fly at BUR but that was in the early to mid 70's. Good Luck and will be some of the best money you'll spend.
MVG
thank u

[SoCal_fun]

Have fun and get ready to sweat! At least when I was learning, every time I came outta a lesson I was drenched and a few times queasy. My PPL instructor was an ex Navy pilot and he loved to yank and bank that C-172 like it was an A-4.
I agree with the idea of the video courses. The King series are a little corny, but helped me out a lot in post lesson reviews.
I haven't flown much for the last couple years with the kids and other toys consuming most of my $$ but once the bug has bitten you it's hard to stop thinking about it.
:chi:

[Throttle]

I'm flyin now! :devil:

[JustMVG]

And as silly as it may seem the Pro pilot software fro Microsoft and the yoke and rudder addons, can be a real help even if it helps you to just get used to coordinating your stick and rudder movenments, and you can fly a C-172 and do some practice work, it's never going to be as good as the real thing but hell a kid stole an airplane back east and flew for a bout a half hour and did soe landings and take offs and did pretty darn good for never hasving flown aexcept at home on the computer. Get your self a good head set and the intercom add on for your real flying, beats yeling and you wont have to second guess what the tower tells ya, and pick up an hand held transceiver if you can afford it.
Good luck and it seems like it's real hard and there is ALOT to learn, the flying is the easiest part of the whole process, its the radios and communicating the the tower and all the wedding cake tier BS that can get real confusing.
Not trying to scare ya 'cause once you have got the hang of everything you'll blow every bit of money to get back up there. Get pics when they cut the tail off your shirt when you graduate. Most of us have had it done to us.... Enjoy

[Sleek-Jet]

Get pics when they cut the tail off your shirt when you graduate. Most of us have had it done to us.... Enjoy
I wish I could find my shirt tail... I think I lost it in one of my moves. :hammerhea

[ThongMagnet]

Anything with a Prop, a rudder, and utters :D . Look into the Home Built market ( vansaircraft.com). Get there quicker faster.

[JustMVG]

I wish I could find my shirt tail... I think I lost it in one of my moves. :hammerhea
Sleek are we old school or what :D :D do you have anything framed, that you remember like it was yesterday???

[Sleek-Jet]

Sleek are we old school or what :D :D do you have anything framed, that you remember like it was yesterday???
A few...
Hey, if you don't get one of your good shirts ruined when you solo... you're not a real pilot. :D

[fat rat]

no thanks.. i spent 12 years in the Air Force and flew all over the world. got to sit next to the boom operator during a couple refueling missions for an SR-71 and a B-52. won an NCO of the month and went for a 45 minute ride in a T-38 which was a blast. now im done flying and no way am i going in a private plane.
happy landings. :)
That bring's back some memories............did the boom operator let you take the stick? :cool:

[Stoneman]

Make sure you get a good instructor, not someone just building hours like previous post. My first instructor was a young kid that the school out of Corona said was very good. I had a hard time learning from him and he didn't show for some of the lessions I had scheduled. Later, I went to Riverside and hooked up with a retired guy who needed some extra income and loved flying. He fell asleep and was snoring during my cross country flight, kind of funny now but at the time I was a little nervous.
Aviate, Navigate, communicate!

[sam pioske]

Go do it !!! later in life you will have great memories. I quit flying but still look up when a plane is around. You pilots will smile when i tell you i took a c150 to SFO some years ago. that and many other things are why i'm not flying.

[JustMVG]

Go do it !!! later in life you will have great memories. I quit flying but still look up when a plane is around. You pilots will smile when i tell you i took a c150 to SFO some years ago. that and many other things are why i'm not flying.
a150 from where and was it your solo???
I can just hear the tower "Uh Cessna 444 Juliet Lima can you speed it up a bit you have a 747 heavy turning final"? you "I'm Givin er all she got " in a thick irish accent. Ahh the good ole days