Thanks a lot for that info and welcome Dudley.

No I haven't chosen them based solely on their military background. I have
spent some time, limited as it may be, but got a really good feeling from
the people I did talk to. As the weather gets better and spring starts, I
will be spending more time over there and asking many many more questions to
make sure they are the instructors for me.

Shane O
Clear skies, and Adrenaline Flying to all!!


"Dudley Henriques" wrote in message
ink.net...

"Shane O" wrote in message
m...
Good evening everyone. I have spent the last several hours reading and
catching up on the posts in this group. Yeahh that means I am a newbie
to the group. Also I am a newbie to Aerobatic flying.

Currently I am a low time 120 hour straight and level private pilot. I
started my IFR rating but ran out of money and am on the path of
reorganizing my finances to continue flying. I have acquired the bug
from other aerobatic flyers and have decided to take the journey through
this airway and see where it leads. My goal is to start training in the
coming spring/summer at a flying school nearby where I learned my (Y A W
N) straight and level. They specialize in acrobatics and most of the
instructors are ex-military with more flight hours than I think I have
been alive. So I know they are a good choice.

Everyone in this group appears to be pretty friendly and I hope that I
can turn to you from time to time with some of my questions and hopefully
share some of my experiences.

Shane O
Clear skies, and Adrenaline Flying to all!!

You have chosen a good path to follow here, and from the sound of it, you
are positioned fairly well to get a good acro instructor.
Just a bit of advice FWIW. The military is a great training program, and
most of the pilots who come through the military aerobatic training are
pretty good, but there are exceptions, and as a new student to acro, it
will pay you to know this. Don't just blindly accept a military background
as the criteria you need for picking your acro instructor.
Spend a little time with these pilots before choosing one. Find someone
who not only can fly, but fits in easily with you and your personality.
Acro instruction requires more "blending" of what's projected to you by
the instructor than in any other kind of flying. You want someone who can
explain in terms YOU can understand, because in acro instruction, you prep
verbally, execute the maneuver completely, THEN review what you did, so
it's critical YOU understand before you execute. This is an "art form"
that some acro instructors don't have regardless of how well they can fly
themselves. Just be aware of this.
I'm sure you'll do fine. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help
in any way. I'm usually around :-))
Dudley Henriques
International Fighter Pilots Fellowship
Commercial Pilot/CFI Retired
for email; take out the trash