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Old December 31st 04, 05:59 AM
Shane O
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Well, that is a really good question. The truth is I have no idea yet! I
am going to spend some time talking to the instructors about the pros and
cons of each of their planes. Let them assist me in making that decision as
well as some flights to make sure I know the feel and can be comfortable.

Here is a list of their aircraft. I am sure a couple are not acro but most
are. A couple are way out of my league and/or too expensive for continuous
training.
Citabria 7ECA (1976) $69/hr
Citabria 7ECA (2002) $78/hr
Super Decathlon 8KCAB $104/hr
Grob 115C Bavarian $95/hr
Grumman AA-5B Tiger $95/hr
Pitts Special S2C (Yes, C) $199/hr
Extra 200 $184/hr (tach time)
Cessna 152A Aerobat $64/hr
Cessna 172 Skyhawk $82/hr
Waco Classic YPF5C $199/hr
L-39C Jet $1595/hr

Shane O





"Dudley Henriques" wrote in message
nk.net...
Sounds like a plan to me :-)
What will you be flying if you decide to go acro?
Dudley

"Shane O" wrote in message
m...
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