Any fixed-wing pilots here?

[IndyUSMC]

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!

So many errors in this post. Any one with a little Google fu can prove all of your statements false. I an not going to because I do not want to drift this thread nay more than it already has.

 

[remauto1187]

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

Have to laugh at this.

Maybe you should try to learn how to read and comprehend, BOTH at the same time. They were carried away by ambulance and one is paralyzed for life. I guess your sense of humor and mine are way different. But FYVM anyway!

 

[Tactical Dave]

I am also active in the Civil Air Patrol and what you have written is not very accurate.

To fly in the CAP you do have to be at least a private pilot, but it is not just show up and fly. Yes there is funded flying, and yes there is no required time commitment, but there is much more to it than what you have posted.

Civil Air Patrol is more about community service and not a place to fly for free. There are also opportunities to be part of the crew and you do not need to be a pilot to fly on missions. There are many opportunities to participate in ground missions, everything from Public Affairs to Safety and logistics.

There is also a very large youth program.

it was a general overview.......


i knew mission pilots that were very active and I knew pilots that would just take cadets up once a month for the free hours.

he knows about it now and knows he can fly for free in super high tech birds in exchange for some of his time..... He can get the details on his own.

 

[ces6508]

Make sure you can pass a III class Medical. You need it before you solo. Also get your written out of the way. Lastly fly as much as you can. Twice a week if you can. Good luck.

 

[Leadeye]

Flew my Piper Lance for 20 years, finally gave it up, high costs and worsening eyesight. Really hard to do but you have to be realistic about life.

 

[SaintsNSinners]

Don't become a pilot someone may use an electronic device

 

[Smokepole]

I'm no youth so it doesn't apply .

As far as CAP - I'll do research regardless to see what it's all about. If it's a way that I can fly in a subsidized fashion all while performing some sort of civic duty it's something I'd definitely have to think about - understanding I'm saying this with 0 actual research done on CAP.

This should get you started: Civil Air Patrol - United States Air Force Auxiliary

IF you are planning on doing it, commit and do it. Don't be like me. I have loved most everything about flying all my life. I have had the good fortune to fly in many different types of plane from a glider to Cessna 172, Piper commanche, etc. up to a 747. Even jumped out of a few perfectly good airplanes as well. Just never got around to getting the license. Reasons were either not enough time when I had the money or not enough money when I had the time. Then I had kids. That shot the whole shebang in the ass. I'm now 50+ and still look up when I hear a plane or anything that flies. Kids are getting older and I hope that I can get my license before I turn 55. Better nate than lever. Er, I mean late than never.

You have most of your info. Get the rest, search out the school of your choice and JUST DO IT!!!! To coin a phrase.

 

[Smokepole]

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!

With your type of reasoning you should NEVER carry a gun, keep one in the house, enter a shooting range (you might shoot yer eye out) or fly on a passenger airliner. Or walk outside during a lightening storm. Dang, you must be LOADS of fun.

Heck, with the increasing numbers of home invasions just sitting at home on your couch in broad daylight is a risk.

 

[Sainte]

Troll fed.....

 

[Smokepole]

With your type of reasoning you should NEVER carry a gun, keep one in the house, enter a shooting range (you might shoot yer eye out) or fly on a passenger airliner. Or walk outside during a lightening storm. Dang, you must be LOADS of fun.

Heck, with the increasing numbers of home invasions just sitting at home on your couch in broad daylight is a risk.

Case in point: https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/break-room/325957-two-dead-westfield.html

 

[Smokepole]

Troll fed.....

Unfortunately. I apologize.

 

[remauto1187]

With your type of reasoning you should NEVER carry a gun, keep one in the house, enter a shooting range (you might shoot yer eye out) or fly on a passenger airliner. Or walk outside during a lightening storm. Dang, you must be LOADS of fun.

Heck, with the increasing numbers of home invasions just sitting at home on your couch in broad daylight is a risk.

Hey you are of course welcome to play the odds too....in fact I hope you do. But I have seen the aftermath in person and I will pass. I have to drive auto just about every day, I have to protect my family and myself, but I dont have to play the odds and go get a pilots license for joyrides on an aircraft that sucks the $$$ out of you and possibly your life as well.
So you go on with your bad self.... again....i implore you.

 

[Smokepole]

Hey you are of course welcome to play the odds too....in fact I hope you do. But I have seen the aftermath in person and I will pass. I have to drive auto just about every day, I have to protect my family and myself, but I dont have to play the odds and go get a pilots license for joyrides on an aircraft that sucks the $$$ out of you and possibly your life as well.
So you go on with your bad self.... again....i implore you.

This is true. In 35 years of driving, with quite a lot of company miles where I was on the road for weeks/months at a time, I have seen a lot. And one can see the aftermath of driving a car every week on the news, ad nauseum. Far more often in fact than aircraft. I have known people that died in auto accidents, were maimed in auto accidents. My wife was an ER nurse for 10 years and has worked nothing but trauma units since and my mother was a career ER nurse for 40 years. I see and hear all of the stuff that can happen no matter what one does. And the fact is there are many things that one can do that have a far greater incidence of death/injury than air-flight. Your friends accident was tragic and untimely and happened to someone that did nothing to deserve it. Life is a risk no matter what you choose to do and when. As I pointed out a couple of posts earlier, riding the couch at home in Westfield has it's risks as well.

Flying is a passion for those that do it and unlike driving, the individual is in more in control of their own destiny flying than they are driving down the interstate or driving home after midnight on a weekend. The vast majority of accidents are due to ones own error, not that of another driver (under the influence or not) on the same road. You are focused on one incident that has taken a personal toll on you by way of your friend and he has my prayers. But you have chosen a strange place for your interpretation of the risk involved. Your comments here come across no different from the comments of myriad anti-gunners that have suffered a loss and go on a crusade against all guns for all reasons, stating the unacceptability of the risk involved no matter what and seek to impress their opinions and biases on those choosing to engage in the activity against their ill-informed advice. There is little difference in the approach and reasoning.

 

[Sainte]

It all boils down to the simple fact that as an aviator, YOU are responsible for the aircraft you sign for! It does not matter if 10 mechanics work on it, YOU are the one signing for it, you are the one with your arse on the line. My personal rule is there are no second chances at 3000 AGL......

as a mechanic, aircrew flight instructor and quality assurance inspector, I will NEVER allow inferior or second rate shoddy workmanship to fly. I gave a death notice to my buddy's fiancé, escorted his body home and presented the flag to her and their 11 month old daughter. That was by far the hardest thing I think I've done in my life. I never want to have to do that again, I couldn't imagine having to face someone's family and admit that the reason their family member wasn't coming home is because I allowed something to pass when it shouldn't.

 

[ratfortman]

two biggest lies in aviation
We're from the FAA and we're here to help.
Glad to have you, welcome aboard.

FAA; those who cant fly making life miserable for those who can

 

[avboiler11]

two biggest lies in aviation
We're from the FAA and we're here to help.
Glad to have you, welcome aboard.

You forgot "the great pilot shortage".

 

[ratfortman]

yeah, that was mostly a Kit Darby thing to promote his own interests. the age 65 thing didn't help. now its soon gonna be "fly till ya die"

 

[avboiler11]

as a mechanic, aircrew flight instructor and quality assurance inspector, I will NEVER allow inferior or second rate shoddy workmanship to fly.

In a Citation we used to fly, we were 6 legs out of a heavy check when we heard a noise from the nose after takeoff. When we landed we discovered a gear door was open...and the bolt securing it missing. Come to find out later that area was opened up as part of the check, and the technician used a bolt to hold the door up/closed to inspect another area and forgot about it.

The bolt used to hold it closed was installed backwards, without a nut or safety wire. And somehow it lasted 5 legs. We were unable to verify proper installation during preflight due to the fact the nose gear doors are normally closed on the ground.

The 16 year tech that did the work, an IA, and the plane's crew chief all missed it.

No big deal really, but it did cause me to think about the Air Midwest B1900 crew in Charlotte that crashed because their elevator had been totally mis-rigged.

I think pilots, by their nature, are control freaks who (as mentioned above) like to be 'master of their own destiny'. With Mx-induced failures, you aren't...and that is admittedly kind of troubling. Thankfully though, such issues are VERY few and far between...but Murphy always lurks...

 

[ratfortman]

Have you tried to go through the process of flying for the military? I have. I know others who have. We all came out on the other side unscathed, no emotional scars, no injuries.
We also served our country. Some of us went into combat. You know, that whole Duty Honor Country thing.
So, yes, I am a little bit familiar with the "ANG Pilot selection process"

I see I didn't quote before I replied. This was in reply to this post byMaximus:
"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."

 

[ratfortman]

Mike DVB
You have the enthusiasm and interest. Dont let anyone talk you out of it. There are various ways to go about it, none will be easy or cheap, as you probably already know. I keep a plane, but I also drive old clunker cars.
You mentioned using someone else's plane. I have known very few pilots with their own plane that will let a new student pilot use it to learn in. The insurance issue is not so easily overcome. One reason pilots choose to own is the knowledge that they know that no one else has been out playing monkey on a football with their plane. When you hop in a rental, you have no idea what kind of abuse the plane has been subjected to. Just a thought.
If you are near Columbus anytime, stop by BAK. We can get you a ride for sure in something.