Advice, please: too old to fly?

As I recall, if you've lost your medical, sport pilot is closed to you until
you get your medical reinstated. Being 72 myself, and unless a four-place is
vital to your enjoyment, I'd keep my focus on buying a sport pilot qualified
plane and go sport pilot all the way without risking being disqualified for
both. Good luck either way!
"R.W. Behan" wrote in message
...
Thanks for the headsup on medical standards. I checked your link and see
no problems there except perhaps hearing. I do have hearing aids in both
ears: is that a showstopper? (The leftseat.com site wasn't clear on
that.) Thanks.

Dick B.


"abripl" wrote in message
oups.com...
With your enthusiasm and past experience you should be able to pass
your private training.

The main issue is your health. Is it OK to pass the FAA medical. For
FAA medical standards see http://www.leftseat.com/FAAforms.htm

Also expect to pay about $6K for your training. The average training
flight time is more like 60 hours and not 40.

"R.W. Behan" wrote in message
...
Thanks for the headsup on medical standards. I checked your link and see
no
problems there except perhaps hearing. I do have hearing aids in both
ears:
is that a showstopper? (The leftseat.com site wasn't clear on that.)
Thanks.

Dick B.


Do a search for the deaf pilots association. You'll find the answer is that
it's not a showstopper.




"abripl" wrote in message
oups.com...
With your enthusiasm and past experience you should be able to pass
your private training.

The main issue is your health. Is it OK to pass the FAA medical. For
FAA medical standards see http://www.leftseat.com/FAAforms.htm

Also expect to pay about $6K for your training. The average training
flight time is more like 60 hours and not 40.

I'm no in anyway telling you not to build. BUT they are available to
purchase.

http://www.barnstormers.com/Experime...lassifieds.htm

"R.W. Behan" wrote in message
...
Richard:

I once had the plans to build a 30' bluewater sailboat. Then a
knowledgeable friend said buying a boat was much faster than building one.
I took his advice (bought a Westsail 32) and never looked back. Maybe I'm
in need of sensible advice again, and you and Sky Daddy are providing it.

I do note, though, that Zenith airplanes seem rarely if ever to be on the
market.

Anyway, thanks. Probably much smarter at my age--and God knows
quicker--to buy than to build.

Cheers,

Dick B.


"Richard Riley" wrote in message
ups.com...
Dick, I'm glad to hear it.

But I agree with Sky Daddy, above - strongly consider buying a
completed 701. Even the simplest plane takes a couple of years to
build, and you can almost always buy used for less than the cost of
building yourself. When you're done with it you'll be able to sell it
for near what you've paid.

Dick

The following item was in this weeks Monday AVWEB...

"Cliff Garl satisfied a lifelong dream and may have set a record of sorts
last week. The 91-year-old Shoreline, Wash., student pilot soloed for the
first time over Arlington Airport. "You go into a nursing home and you'll
see people a lot younger than he just sitting there," Garl's 75-year-old
instructor Joe Bennett told The Seattle Times. "I actually don't know of
anybody, even in their 80s, who's soloed." According to the Times, the FAA
didn't have records of any student pilots over the age of 90 in 2004 and
showed only 59 in their 80s. Garl told the Times he was nervous before the
flight but once in the cockpit of the Cessna 172, the training took over. As
might be expected, the medical was Garl's biggest obstacle -- even though
he's in good health."

The full acticle went on to say that Garl hopes to attain his PP
certificate.

Go for it! Aloha, Dave Fase

"R.W. Behan" wrote in message
...
There can be no better source of advice than this group for my question:
am I too old to take up flying--and building an airplane?

I have to agree with Stan.

The only reason to try to get a medical would be if there's something
like a 172 or Cherokee around that you want to get some of your
training in.

The key to the Sport Pilot category is to never *LOSE* your medical,
and never be turned down for one. If you think you have to try for a
medical, find an AME and ask him for a NON-FAA physical exam, to find
out if you will pass a real FAA physical. If he says you wouldn't,
don't take the real exam and fly on your driver's license.

Do the same thing when it comes time to renew. Get a pre-exam, if you
are going to fail, just let the old medical run out.

You should read and internalize the Richard Riley post
very carefully.

If you try and fail on a class III medical, you are totally
screwed virtually forever. Failure on class III eliminates
you from the sport category unless you can somehow
qualify for the class III later.

If you never fail and you have no medical problems,
you can fly sport without any further checking.

I'm with those that say you should find a completed
701 and get started!! Bill Hale

"Jim Logajan" wrote in message
.. .
"Morgans" wrote:
"Adam Aulick" wrote

Apparently the Savannah is a direct copy of the 701:
http://www.zenithair.com/stolch701/7-photo-copies.html#Ultraflight

Yep, and the 701 folks raise a lot of questions about the safety of said
copy. Go to Zenith.com and Poke around, before you make up your mind.

Try http://www.zenithair.com/stolch701/7-photo-copies.html

Zenith seems to want to have it both ways: claims it's an exact copy, yet
raises questions about its safety. If it were "just" a copy, Zenith would
be in the position of questioning the safety of its own design.

Granted, there is a lot of reading there, but not so, according to them.

There was one incident that I remember off the top of my head, but Z
increased it's gross, by re-engineering the spar, or something, a bit
beefier, and within a few days, S said their gross weight was up to match
it, with no noticeable change in the affected parts. There were more
examples, I think.

Do you really think Z would be stupid enough to say S was unsafe, if there
were no differences to point at?
--
Jim in NC

Gig, thanks for that headsup. I'll bookmark the link. I'd tried to find
Zeniths on the used plane links, but they're heavy to Cessnas and Pipers.
I'll sure keep an eye on the used Zeniths. Thanks again.

Dick B.


"Gig 601XL Builder" wrDOTgiaconaATcox.net wrote in message
...
I'm no in anyway telling you not to build. BUT they are available to
purchase.

http://www.barnstormers.com/Experime...lassifieds.htm

"R.W. Behan" wrote in message
...
Richard:

I once had the plans to build a 30' bluewater sailboat. Then a
knowledgeable friend said buying a boat was much faster than building
one. I took his advice (bought a Westsail 32) and never looked back.
Maybe I'm in need of sensible advice again, and you and Sky Daddy are
providing it.

I do note, though, that Zenith airplanes seem rarely if ever to be on the
market.

Anyway, thanks. Probably much smarter at my age--and God knows
quicker--to buy than to build.

Cheers,

Dick B.


"Richard Riley" wrote in message
ups.com...
Dick, I'm glad to hear it.

But I agree with Sky Daddy, above - strongly consider buying a
completed 701. Even the simplest plane takes a couple of years to
build, and you can almost always buy used for less than the cost of
building yourself. When you're done with it you'll be able to sell it
for near what you've paid.

Well, I just hit 30 and realized that I am too old to finish my PPL,
and will never try again. Since the arrival of my kid I had to face the
hard cold fact that I could buy lessons and avgas or diapers and baby
food and daycare. So all my PPL stuff is currently on Ebay.

So...
I don't look up anymore when I hear that piston single.
I don't want to ever get near an aircraft again.
It makes me sick even thinking about it.

Now I just gotta wean myself from accessing these forums.

Sad to hear.

From a percentage point of view;

5% of people are in the parade
15% of people are watching the parade
80% of people don't even know THERE IS A PARADE.

Jean-Paul
"greenwavepilot" wrote in message
ups.com...
Well, I just hit 30 and realized that I am too old to finish my PPL,
and will never try again. Since the arrival of my kid I had to face the
hard cold fact that I could buy lessons and avgas or diapers and baby
food and daycare. So all my PPL stuff is currently on Ebay.

So...
I don't look up anymore when I hear that piston single.
I don't want to ever get near an aircraft again.
It makes me sick even thinking about it.

Now I just gotta wean myself from accessing these forums.