Any fixed-wing pilots here?

[IndyUSMC]

I have the full set-up with the yoke, throttle, rudder pedals, etc... I have a blast flying around in the sim but I'm sure things are a lot different when you're really flying and the risks are real and not virtual.

You would be surprised on how much this helps your learning when moving to a real plane.

 

[MikeDVB]

You would be surprised on how much this helps your learning when moving to a real plane.

The biggest thing for me in the beginning was learning to use my feet as well as my hands instead of just one or the other.

I've never been particularly good at drums either - coordinating my hands/feet to two different beats was hard - but I did eventually overcome that... Not to say I'm a great drum player [I know a few beats, that's about it].

Ultimately so long as I'm willing to put forth the time and effort I should be able to make anything happen.

 

[Maximinus Thrax]

My wife's family lets us keep their 1947 Cessna 140 based at Crawfordsville as long as she flies it once in a while and we pay the operating costs. We've hooked up with a CFI friend of ours to help me get my certifications next summer. Can't say that I'm looking forward to waiting until then to actually get everything done. I'm lucky in that I won't have to worry about paying to rent an airplane or pay a CFI. He's just happy to have a chance to fly and get more tailwheel time. We'll trade that for free lessons.

 

[ratfortman]

I dont know how old you are, but one thing I always recommend to someone who wants to be a pilot is the Air National Guard. They will pay for college tuition, and send you to pilot training. You come out with multi engine turbine time, and are just part time. You have to find a unit that has airplanes (Fort Wayne is the only one left in IN), and it is competitive.
The other option if you are college age is to find a university that offers a flying program. They can be real pricey. I heard that there may be a flying program at that school up in W Lafayette?!
If you are beyond your 20's, try to find a CFI who can teach you in a taildragger. Its so much better training than a decked out nosewheel plane. If you can keep a taildragger going straight on a concrete runway with a crosswind, then you can manage just about any plane.

 

[MikeDVB]

I dont know how old you are, but one thing I always recommend to someone who wants to be a pilot is the Air National Guard.

I'm 27 with a wife and child - I don't plan on going into the military at this point unless I'm forced [i.e. the country needs me legitimately].

They will pay for college tuition

College - been there, done that - they didn't teach me anything I didn't already know which was boring.

and send you to pilot training. You come out with multi engine turbine time, and are just part time.

I'm certainly looking for the best way to accomplish it financially but I'm not going to make an obligation to any form of military for that purpose alone. I'd have to want to join the ANG to consider it and I do not, presently, wish to do so .

Nothing against those that are/were in the ANG.

You have to find a unit that has airplanes (Fort Wayne is the only one left in IN), and it is competitive.

I am sure I can find a plane out of all of the people I know that have them. I'll rent if worse comes to worse but it'd be better/cheaper to use a friend's plane.

If you are beyond your 20's, try to find a CFI who can teach you in a taildragger. Its so much better training than a decked out nosewheel plane. If you can keep a taildragger going straight on a concrete runway with a crosswind, then you can manage just about any plane.

I've always found [generally in life] that it's best to learn the hardest because everything else becomes butter... That said - sometimes you just can't do that.

 

[remauto1187]

In the Navy and the FAA we call the F-16's LAWN DARTS! Thats what they become when that single engine flames out and wont restart. They dont give the guard units the latest and greatest, they get jets that would have been decomissioned in any other full time unit. They were New in 1976. Even the F-14 Tomcats which were commissioned in 1974 the navy was smart enough to get rid of them because they were so old and easily replaced by the Super Hornet.

Dont mean to scare you all, but ask a fellow technician (FAA) in my office how it was to have a pilot license. Last year he was a passenger and the pilot landed long at some podunk airport in southern Indiana and the plane went into a creek bed and now he is paralyzed from waste down for the rest of his life (in a wheel chair), broke his back in multiple places not mention his face and teeth. He will never be a technician again and the FAA is deciding whether they will find him another position that he can do OR Terminate his employment. It went from the joy of having his license to now...this mess.

The odds just arent with you in a plane crash. Happens more often that you think. From puddle jumpers to commercial to military aircraft. I still havent been able to get a straight answer as to how many FAA technicians have died that take a small plane or helicopter to a remote site in Alaska (on the job). Not something they advertise.

Yeah sure it would be fun, but to me, it just isnt worth the cost for the license, plane/maintenance/fuel and my life. If my truck breaks down I can just pull over and fix it when I get the parts!

 

[MikeDVB]

In the Navy and the FAA we call the F-16's LAWN DARTS! Thats what they become when that single engine flames out and wont restart. They dont give the guard units the latest and greatest, they get jets that would have been decomissioned in any other full time unit. They were New in 1976. Even the F-14 Tomcats which were commissioned in 1974 the navy was smart enough to get rid of them because they were so old and easily replaced by the Super Hornet.

Ha!

Dont mean to scare you all, but ask a fellow technician (FAA) in my office how it was to have a pilot license. Last year he was a passenger and the pilot landed long at some podunk airport in southern Indiana and the plane went into a creek bed and now he is paralyzed from waste down for the rest of his life (in a wheel chair), broke his back in multiple places not mention his face and teeth. He will never be a technician again and the FAA is deciding whether they will find him another position that he can do OR Terminate his employment. It went from the joy of having his license to now...this mess.

You could be just as injured [or even killed] by getting into a car, crossing the street, etc. You can't let fear run your life - if you do - you'll never really live.

But yes - flying is inherently risky.

The odds just arent with you in a plane crash. Happens more often that you think. From puddle jumpers to commercial to military aircraft. I still havent been able to get a straight answer as to how many FAA technicians have died that take a small plane or helicopter to a remote site in Alaska (on the job). Not something they advertise.

I'm sure everybody that has died in such a case was well aware of the risks or, at least, I hope they were.

Yeah sure it would be fun, but to me, it just isnt worth the cost for the license, plane/maintenance/fuel and my life. If my truck breaks down I can just pull over and fix it when I get the parts!

If your truck gets t-boned at 90mph by a drunk driver you could be just as dead - sh*t happens.

But yes - I understand where you're coming from and I appreciate your thoughts - not everybody thinks everything through completely but I've thought about it heavily including the risks/rewards/etc.

 

[remauto1187]

Ha!

You could be just as injured [or even killed] by getting into a car, crossing the street, etc. You can't let fear run your life - if you do - you'll never really live.

But yes - flying is inherently risky.

I'm sure everybody that has died in such a case was well aware of the risks or, at least, I hope they were.

If your truck gets t-boned at 90mph by a drunk driver you could be just as dead - sh*t happens.

But yes - I understand where you're coming from and I appreciate your thoughts - not everybody thinks everything through completely but I've thought about it heavily including the risks/rewards/etc.

30 days before that aircraft crash that same tech was trying to talk up his pilots license and was trying to get me to get one. I said I prefer to live. He said statistically you are more likely to get in a vehicle crash. I explained to him how there were a hell of alot more vehicles on the roads than there were aircraft in the air AND I was more likely to survive a vehicle crash than an aircraft crash.......
He was PARALYZED 30 days later...for life and "lucky" to be alive. Damn near bankrupt his wife and 6 kids in medical bills alone.

 

[MikeDVB]

30 days before that aircraft crash that same tech was trying to talk up his pilots license and was trying to get me to get one. I said I prefer to live. He said statistically you are more likely to get in a vehicle crash. I explained to him how there were a hell of alot more vehicles on the roads than there were aircraft in the air AND I was more likely to survive a vehicle crash than an aircraft crash.......
He was PARALYZED 30 days later...for life and "lucky" to be alive. Damn near bankrupt his wife and 6 kids in medical bills alone.

Anybody that partakes in an inherently dangerous activity: sky diving, riding a motorcycle, flying a plane, fishing the bearing sea, etc that doesn't carry health insurance and life insurance and has things to lose is not too bright IMHO. I hate insurance establishments as they're for-profit and will, more often than not, do their best to avoid paying out and will charge you as much as they can get away with - but I'd sooner pay for it to keep a $200k hospital bill down to $5~10k should the *worst* happen or life insurance to support my family in the event I were to pass than not.

I don't carry health insurance because it makes my prescriptions cheap or my doctor's visits cheap [I can afford them] - I carry insurance incase I ever end up in the ICU and/or dead. I do very much enjoy riding my motorcycle and, as such, carry insurance for the worst and always hope and pray for the best.

Don't misunderstand me as saying flying isn't dangerous/risky - it is - but everything in life is just a varying degree of risk and reward. Usually larger risk comes with larger reward but there's no hard and fast rules in life.

 

[remauto1187]

A picture is worth a 1000 words....Greene County Daily World: Local News: Passenger files lawsuit against pilot in March crash near Shawnee Field (09/25/12)

 

[MikeDVB]

A picture is worth a 1000 words....Greene County Daily World: Local News: Passenger files lawsuit against pilot in March crash near Shawnee Field (09/25/12)

I get what you're saying - I'm well aware it's dangerous.

I'm not going into this blind, please trust me that I'm aware of the inherent risks. I appreciate your concern.

 

[Sainte]

I've been flying for over 25 years now, a few close calls due to the nature of flying that I do but, it's all part of it. Dying at 80, sitting on the couch ain't living.

 

[Maximinus Thrax]

I dont know how old you are, but one thing I always recommend to someone who wants to be a pilot is the Air National Guard. They will pay for college tuition, and send you to pilot training. You come out with multi engine turbine time, and are just part time. You have to find a unit that has airplanes (Fort Wayne is the only one left in IN), and it is competitive.
The other option if you are college age is to find a university that offers a flying program. They can be real pricey. I heard that there may be a flying program at that school up in W Lafayette?!
If you are beyond your 20's, try to find a CFI who can teach you in a taildragger. Its so much better training than a decked out nosewheel plane. If you can keep a taildragger going straight on a concrete runway with a crosswind, then you can manage just about any plane.

I don't know how familiar you are with the ANG Pilot selection process but you make it sound like a cakewalk. Competitive doesn't even begin to describe the process! It's downright brutal and if all one wants to do is fly then enlisting first (because getting a commission as a civilian is even more rare) and then jumping into the meat grinder for a pilot spot is the WRONG move. (Source: family and friends have done it, one succeeded and he had over 1700hrs of experience when he was selected...another gave up and joined the Navy) I briefly considered it as an option for myself at Ft Wayne...not the career path for me.

Going to Purdue just to learn how to fly isn't worth your money. Pretty much anyone here will tell you that (except the flight instructors: Biased much?). Get a different degree and learn to fly from the Lafayette Aviation FBO. They use many of the same instructors and you'll get a more useful degree while still getting trained. If you're a glutton for punishment and are determined to be airline bound then you can consider it but don't do it if you just want a new hobby.

 

[MikeDVB]

I don't plan on ever flying commercially. I don't want to do it for 'work' I want to do it because I believe I'll genuinely enjoy it.

That said - having the option to fly commercially would be a great 'back-up plan' should something change unexpectedly in my finances. From what I understand airlines are starting to lose a LOT of their pilots to retirement without nearly as many new pilots to replace them as they need/want.

 

[Farmritch]

What are we supposed to live in padded lined rooms?
Life is for living

 

[SaintsNSinners]

I flew in plane once... it had engines and wings and a tail.....


I also jumped from a few perfectly decent ones

 

[MikeDVB]

I flew in plane once... it had engines and wings and a tail.....


I also jumped from a few perfectly decent ones

Ha. You flew in one once - but jumped out of multiple?

Sidenote: I'm hoping not to let this thread get too sidetracked .

 

[SaintsNSinners]

Ha. You flew in one once - but jumped out of multiple?

Sidenote: I'm hoping not to let this thread get too sidetracked .

Flying consists of take off and landing..... I didnt land I plummeted

 

[Hoosier8]

Also, look at buying "block time" as it should be cheaper than trying to do an hourly rate. Or, if there is a flat rate for a license, look at going that route so there are no or, at the very least, fewer financial surprises.

also, check into the reputation of the flight school. Several friends of mine have gone for A&P licenses only to be told they failed a part of the Oral and Practical portion of the test. They got charged the $800 for the full test and another $200-300 to retake the one portion of the test they supposedly failed. If it were people I didn't know, I'd take it with a grain of salt but, I am talking about guys that have been doing composite work, rivet smashing and heavy aircraft maintenance for 10+ years. You want to avoid getting caught up in a scam school that is farming you for dollars by purposely failing you on a portion of a test to charge you again.

Nice thing about the A&P is that you have it forever after. I got mine in 76.

 

[Hoosier8]

A picture is worth a 1000 words....Greene County Daily World: Local News: Passenger files lawsuit against pilot in March crash near Shawnee Field (09/25/12)

Hmmm, they walked away from it, that is called a landing.

Have to laugh at this.

In addition, the suit on behalf of Jennifer Sutton, alleges negligence by Sears in causing loss of love, affection, services, consortium and the companionship of her husband.