anyone have their private pilot's cert?
 

just curious. how difficult was it, and how long did it take?

no man. a pilot license requires some intelligence.

Why, you looking to make a drug run? :)

Funny you should mention it - I'm going to some schools this week to try and find a suitable course..
Love flying!

I have my Private Pilot's license. In fact, today I went to an FAA medical examiner to get my Medical up to date for the next 3 years.

It's not too difficult, it just takes time and money.. The more time you can dedicate to it the easier it is.

If you were to fly 2 to 3 times per week for an hour or two per lesson, studied the bookwork and took a good ground school you could easily do it in 4-6 months.

Have you done a demo flight yet? It's addictive!

yes, PP SEL, hi performance, taildragger since 1986, aircraft owner

if you are in the states it's still good to own an airplane

forgive me, did not answer original query properly.

it depends on how much you can fly during training. the national average in the usa is about 65 hrs flight time.

concentrate on finding a good CFI you get along with---best to learn at a tower control airport so you learn the radio work properly.

you can get your license in 3-4 months if you can fly 2-3 times a week.

my wife just became a pilot last year, and finally got her taildragger endorsement. she went to a professional flight school called american flyers. they are expensive, but she was able to fly alot and get done fairly fast (still it took her the better part of a year)

if you become a pilot it will have a profound effect on how you view the world.

I agree...

I learned to fly in San Jose's Class C airspace, which is actually under San Francisco's Class B. I feel more comfortable flying in busy class B airspace than I do out in the country at an "uncontrolled" airport.

American Flyers is a great school. I started my PPL at another school and actually finished up at American Flyers. They're very professional and are Part 141 certified, which means the FAA has authorized them to issue certificates directly.

Part 141 or Part 161 doesn't really matter though as long as you find a good instructor that's going to be around to finish you off. Look for someone with a lot of experience flying in different environments, someone whom you get along with and someone who loves flying!!

I would love to get my pilots license! Flying is the shiznit!

DH

I love flying, solo'd in about 12 hours. the entire course takes about a year for most people.

Take a course before you take the written, it's well worth it!

Brutal

i've been wanting to do it since i was like 12. i've read so many books and understand in & out how a plane works, basically.

i haven't done the demo yet, i was just checking out some of cessna's flying education stuffs. seems interesting. i think i will do that real soon.

i'm not entirely sure, but duncan aviation has their hq here, and i think there might be some stuff available there, or with anohter local company.


the only thing is after getting the license, you need a plane. how *good* exactly is aircraft financing? cessna has it, and would include your flight training, but the skyhawk starts at like $190k... arg!

[QUOTE]Originally posted by KC
[B]

I agree...

I learned to fly in San Jose's Class C airspace, which is actually under San Francisco's Class B. I feel more comfortable flying in busy class B airspace than I do out in the country at an "uncontrolled" airport.


small world, i trained at San Carlos, and used to tiedown at Gnoss field.

I'm actually an airline pilot. What everyone said is pretty much right on the money. Just go to the local airport and take an intro flight. They usually cost $30-$50.
I started flying at the age of 16 and now I work for Continental. I taught flying for 2 years and then got hired with Continental at the age of 22. I've been working here for about 3 years now and it's great! Fly during the day and work on line in the hotel rooms :)
I would suggest finding an airport with a lot of flight instructors so you can fly as often as you want. A few years back it was hard to keep a cfi (certified flight instructor) for the length of your training because the airlines were hiring them so quickly. Now it's a different story, there are lots of pilots out there looking for work, that's good news for you! ;) I don't think it is necessary to go to one of the big flight schools though, you can learn to fly at any airport! The first place I taught at was about $7,000 to get your private license (a big flight school), then I left there and worked at a local airport. It cost about $4,000-$5,000 at the local airport. Another thing that's nice about the local airports is you have a lot more freedom in my opinnion. The big schools are very structured and want you to learn their way and you go by their sylabus, not at your pace. I guess what it really comes down to is if you just want to go have some fun and cruise around the area on the weekends or you want go all out with a flight school.
If you need help finding a flight school, check out this web site. I run this one in my spare time http://www.private2atp.com If you live in the states you can punch in your zip code and it will find a bunch of local airports in your area :)
If you have any other questions, I'd be happy to answer them!
:thumbsup

the only thing is after getting the license, you need a plane. how *good* exactly is aircraft financing? cessna has it, and would include your flight training, but the skyhawk starts at like $190k... arg! [/B][/QUOTE]


the best bang for the buck is in used aircraft---the C-172 is a good starter airplane, and one 40 years old has 95% of the utility of the 2003 model at maybe 20% of the cost.

of course, you can fly without owning an airplane, but there's nothing better than owning.

and used aircraft are appeciating much faster than real estate.

advise, buy a used skyhawk for like 40K with decent radios, use it to learn to fly and save the aircraft rental, then sell it for 45K when you're done training in it, and trade up to a faster bird.

www.trade-a-plane.com
www.aerotrader.com

and a thousand other sources of aircraft listings.

airplay & models, thanks for the advice.

you can buy a skyhawk for $40k? that's not so bad. i've noticed even old planes are expensive :(. i'm looking for something fun, and trips.

i'ma go check those sites, although i hope there's something local, with the 2nd (maybe 3rd) alternate space shuttle landing strip and the longest runway in the states ( i though world.. could be wrong), AND duncan's hq, we should have SOMETHING, you'd think :)

i'm gonna check out the demo flight this weekend. if nothing else, there's a pretty big airport less than an hour away in a big city.

btw, what would you say the typical cruising speed of the single-engine is, preferrably the 4 (or even 6) place birds? the cessnas seem pretty slow. i don't know specs on the others?

what about the multiengine, like the cessna 310? i assume that's another can of worms with the faa, and definitely not a starter :)


what about something like these?

http://adcache.aerotraderonline.com/2/7/6/43207276.htm

http://adcache.aerotraderonline.com/2/0/0/43402600.htm


basically, in reference to size, type & age. i imagine an older plane would still be a good purchase, as long as it was well cared for.

I play flight sim 2002 about 10 hours a week.. Does that count?

I can land a 777 like a pro!!

IROC
The cruise speed on a cessna 152 is about 95 knots or 115 mph. The cessna 172 is about 100 knots or 130 mph. I'm not sure about the cherokee. I have time in a cessna 310 (my favorite airplane) Basically to fly the 310 you have to get a multi engine certificate. Most people get their single engine license first, then go for their multi, but if you really wanted to you could start off in the multi and never get your single engine license. Sounds kind of crazy, but it's been done :) If I were going to buy a plane to learn to fly I would go with either the 152 or the 172. The reason I would choose those is, THINGS BREAK! Parts for the cessna are relatively easy to get and are less expensive than other manufacturers. The other thing is cessnas are built like tanks. I taught in them for 2 years and I can honestly say, they've saved my ass more than a few times!

If you have any other questions.......I'd be happy to answer them.....

I went to American Flyers about 15 years ago. Five months and $20,000 later, Commercial Instrument, Multi Engine, Flight Instructor. Had a C310 for a while. Now just fly a couple time a year just to stay current. Good Luck.

that's a big plane.

Airplay, if you're ever in the bay area.. hit me up if you want to talk about porn and airplanes!! My two favorite topics ;)

kc at paycounter dot com

The plane I want is a Cirrus SR22..

~$300K new.. Cruises at 180kts..
http://www.cirrusdesign.com/images/sr22-a.jpg
http://www.cirrusdesign.com/images/sr22-e.jpg

check out the glass cockpit: (A PFD and a MFD in a single!)
http://www.cirrusdesign.com/images/avionics-b.jpg

http://www.cirrusdesign.com/images/avionics-c.jpg

Nice interior:
http://www.cirrusdesign.com/images/interior-b.jpg

A Ballistic Airframe Parachute for those catastrophic emergencies:
http://www.cirrusdesign.com/images/caps-a.jpg

They're a blast to fly... really fun airplanes!!

KC
The cirrus is a sweet ride! I think if I was going to get a single engine it would be a Lancair. Those things haul ass! I saw one that could cruise at 29,000 pressurized (of course) and do almost 300kts. The 310 is a great bird, I got my multi in that. I'd love to own one some day!

Here's me at work climbing through 28,000 doing 300kts
<img src=http://www.netessays.net/me/emb145.jpg>
<br>
<img src=http://www.netessays.net/me/emb145atewr.jpg>

Oz has a twin engine commanche. They problem with prop planes, IMHO, is they tend to be slow. He flies his cross country, but at 12 to 16 hours I don't think it's more effecient than commercial, even given the crap.

I'd love to have my license. Oz got his CFI so I could go left seat next time I fly with him.

a.

nah . . thought about it through the local university but after the whole 9/11 thing thought I would nix the idea because my cert. would probably be laughed at. (By the way, the local university is the one where the terrorists trained at)

where's John Travolta when you need him?

and i heard that Stephen Takacs is applying for a job as a stewardess

:Graucho

Im about 10 flying hours away from getting my PPL.

Been trying to find somewhere 'reasonably' priced in the Daytona area so i can get those last few hours in.

Been flying the De Havaland Chipmunk.

Regards,

Lee

European Lee
Hey, give this site a try.
http://www.private2atp.com
Punch in your zip code and it will give you all the flight schools within X miles of your location :)

Keep the dirty side down!

hmmm.....Maybe I'll get a job for these guys
<a href=http://www.hootersair.com/>http://www.hootersair.com/</a>

:thumbsup

Jesus Fucking Christ! When did they change the cockpit??? That is Bad Ass!!!!

Smegma
Did you notice the parachute? If you have problems, you can just pull the chute and float down to earth! Pretty sweet!

Thanks Man :thumbsup

Regards,

Lee

I am almost done with mine, but I haven't flown in 5 months! I was so close, I finished all the requirements, long cross country, etc. and prepare for the check ride, and then . . .

I am going to finish it up as soon as a few projects are complete :)

KC, I am in the North Bay, flying out of Santa Rosa, hit me uo. Would love to talk flying and porn!

Plugger
Stick with it! I would suggest jumping back in asap. The longer you wait, the harder it will be. I taught for 2 years and had several students go through those phases.

Good luck!
:thumbsup

that cirrus looks really nice... although $300k is a little much for me, atm. are there other aircraft that have that parachute deal? i thought i heard of it soemwhere else.


granted, shouldn't *need* it, but it's nice to have :)