Just starting out...

Was on vacation this week, so decided to drop by the nearby GA airport and
go for a flight to see if I really do want to get my pilot's license. Let's
just say that I'm hooked and leave it at that. It's a good thing the
Instructor was busy scanning the sky because had he looked at me, I would
have felt silly with the big **** eating grin on my face. I ended up
leaving the airport with a manual, logbook, student record, fuel testing
cup, a reserved spot in groundschool that starts in January, and time booked
for the next three weekends to fly.

It was only in a 152, which seemed really small when we got in (getting in
and out seemed to be the hardest part). The instructor ran the throttle,
mix, and assorted switches... I got to fly the rest of the flight (apart
from flare and touchdown). We took off, flew around for a bit, got lined up
with the runway (it's a good thing the instructor was there to tell me where
to turn and when... the runway just seemed to appear in front of me without
really realising how we got back). I've spent quite a few hours on PC
simulation, which I think paid off. He'd say something like, "I'm going to
throttle down to decend, just adjust attitude to keep your speed at 60
knots," but didn't explain what gauge to look at or what to really do.
Nonetheless, I nailed it because of the familiarity I had with the
simulator. He said we could probably do the next several exercises all at
once, since we pretty much did most of it in the intro ride anyway (climbs,
straight and level flight, decents, turns, etc.) I'm pretty sure I'm the
lowest time pilot on this newsgroup (got to log 0.5 hours of dual
instruction time). Anyhow... I'm hooked (but I pretty much knew I'd be).

I had been talking about doing this for some time... reading magazines,
lurking here, checking out websites and such. Looking forward to the
journey.

Anyone else fly out of Les Cedres (just West of Montreal)?

I would have felt silly with the big **** eating grin on my face.

Yeah, I still get that same dumb look some times, even after 9 years.

I had been talking about doing this for some time...

Glad you took the plunge. Enjoy the journey and welcome to the club. Keep
us posted on your progress.

Carl

"Jase Vanover" wrote in message
...
Was on vacation this week, so decided to drop by the nearby GA airport and
go for a flight to see if I really do want to get my pilot's license.
Let's just say that I'm hooked and leave it at that.

SNIP

Jase,

Congrats and welcome to the world of flying!

I just "earned" my wings back in October.

Be sure to check out rec.aviation.student as well...great folks who can be
very, very helpful.

Good luck and report back often.

Jay Beckman
Chandler, AZ
PP-ASEL
Still nowhere to go but up!

"Jase Vanover" writes:

Anyone else fly out of Les Cedres (just West of Montreal)?

Got back from our first visit to Montreal last month. A beautiful
area and I'm sure spectacular from the air. Enjoy your training and
experiences---and someday do a cross-country to California!

BF

Even though I never flew a C152 until after I got my license, never refer to
it as "only a 152". It's an airplane an can fly. In fact it's a very
nimble aircraft. I flew a cross country in one today and had a wonderful
time, yes they are small. But when you rent, they can be a lot easier on
your wallet! Now granted it isn't a new C172SP but it's not meant to be!
--
Chris Ehlbeck, PP-ASEL
"It's a license to learn, have fun and buy really expensive hamburgers."

"Jase Vanover" wrote in message
...
Was on vacation this week, so decided to drop by the nearby GA airport and
go for a flight to see if I really do want to get my pilot's license.
Let's
just say that I'm hooked and leave it at that. It's a good thing the
Instructor was busy scanning the sky because had he looked at me, I would
have felt silly with the big **** eating grin on my face. I ended up
leaving the airport with a manual, logbook, student record, fuel testing
cup, a reserved spot in groundschool that starts in January, and time
booked
for the next three weekends to fly.

It was only in a 152, which seemed really small when we got in (getting in
and out seemed to be the hardest part). The instructor ran the throttle,
mix, and assorted switches... I got to fly the rest of the flight (apart
from flare and touchdown). We took off, flew around for a bit, got lined
up
with the runway (it's a good thing the instructor was there to tell me
where
to turn and when... the runway just seemed to appear in front of me
without
really realising how we got back). I've spent quite a few hours on PC
simulation, which I think paid off. He'd say something like, "I'm going
to
throttle down to decend, just adjust attitude to keep your speed at 60
knots," but didn't explain what gauge to look at or what to really do.
Nonetheless, I nailed it because of the familiarity I had with the
simulator. He said we could probably do the next several exercises all at
once, since we pretty much did most of it in the intro ride anyway
(climbs,
straight and level flight, decents, turns, etc.) I'm pretty sure I'm the
lowest time pilot on this newsgroup (got to log 0.5 hours of dual
instruction time). Anyhow... I'm hooked (but I pretty much knew I'd be).

I had been talking about doing this for some time... reading magazines,
lurking here, checking out websites and such. Looking forward to the
journey.

Anyone else fly out of Les Cedres (just West of Montreal)?

have felt silly with the big **** eating grin on my face. I ended up
leaving the airport with a manual, logbook, student record, fuel testing
cup, a reserved spot in groundschool that starts in January, and time
booked for the next three weekends to fly.

Good job, Jase. You'll never regret learning to fly.

Some advice that'll save you some money:

- Treat flight training like a semester of college. Fly Mon/Wed/Fri --
study Tue/Thu. You'll finish up faster, and save yourself money in the
long run.

- Expect delays, but don't accept them. You *will* get bumped by weather
(especially starting flight training in the late fall), and sometimes the
aircraft won't be available. Inevitably there will be times when your CFI
will be out of town.

Get used to it, but don't get used by it. If it happens too often, don't
feel bad or hesitate to complain to the flight school. If that gets you no
where, don't hesitate to switch CFIs.

- Remember, you are the student AND the boss. Be humble in the air, follow
instruction to the letter -- but be assertive with your money. I've seen
too many students let their training drag out forever by just "going with
the flow"...

- Find a mentor. If you know any pilots, latch on to them and suck all the
knowledge from them you can. Ask them all the dumb questions that you keep
forgetting to ask your CFI -- your lessons will make more sense, and you'll
impress your instructor.

Good luck, and keep us posted!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Thanks, everyone, for the encouragement.

Good tips Jay, and I'll try to keep them in mind. Training during the week
will be difficult this winter, as it is dark by 4 or 4:30, and I can't get
away from work too often during the day. Everything else makes sense, and
when the days start getting longer next year, I'll have to try to get out in
the evenings as regular as I can.


"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:Zdtqd.479747$D%.237832@attbi_s51...
have felt silly with the big **** eating grin on my face. I ended up
leaving the airport with a manual, logbook, student record, fuel testing
cup, a reserved spot in groundschool that starts in January, and time
booked for the next three weekends to fly.

Good job, Jase. You'll never regret learning to fly.

Some advice that'll save you some money:

- Treat flight training like a semester of college. Fly Mon/Wed/Fri --
study Tue/Thu. You'll finish up faster, and save yourself money in the
long run.

- Expect delays, but don't accept them. You *will* get bumped by weather
(especially starting flight training in the late fall), and sometimes the
aircraft won't be available. Inevitably there will be times when your CFI
will be out of town.

Get used to it, but don't get used by it. If it happens too often, don't
feel bad or hesitate to complain to the flight school. If that gets you
no where, don't hesitate to switch CFIs.

- Remember, you are the student AND the boss. Be humble in the air,
follow instruction to the letter -- but be assertive with your money.
I've seen too many students let their training drag out forever by just
"going with the flow"...

- Find a mentor. If you know any pilots, latch on to them and suck all
the knowledge from them you can. Ask them all the dumb questions that you
keep forgetting to ask your CFI -- your lessons will make more sense, and
you'll impress your instructor.

Good luck, and keep us posted!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Good tips Jay, and I'll try to keep them in mind. Training during the
week will be difficult this winter, as it is dark by 4 or 4:30, and I
can't get away from work too often during the day. Everything else makes
sense, and when the days start getting longer next year, I'll have to try
to get out in the evenings as regular as I can.

I was lucky enough to find a CFI willing to fly with me BEFORE work on
Mon/Wed/Fri.

This proved problematic with weather (morning fog often cancelled our
flights) -- but I found the air to be smooth, the traffic pattern empty, and
my mind much fresher. I found I was much more productive at work, too.

If you're an early bird, this is a good solution.

;-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Jase Vanover" wrote in message ...
Thanks, everyone, for the encouragement.

Good tips Jay, and I'll try to keep them in mind. Training during the week
will be difficult this winter, as it is dark by 4 or 4:30, and I can't get
away from work too often during the day. Everything else makes sense, and
when the days start getting longer next year, I'll have to try to get out in
the evenings as regular as I can.


"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:Zdtqd.479747$D%.237832@attbi_s51...
have felt silly with the big **** eating grin on my face. I ended up
leaving the airport with a manual, logbook, student record, fuel testing
cup, a reserved spot in groundschool that starts in January, and time
booked for the next three weekends to fly.

Good job, Jase. You'll never regret learning to fly.

Some advice that'll save you some money:

- Treat flight training like a semester of college. Fly Mon/Wed/Fri --
study Tue/Thu. You'll finish up faster, and save yourself money in the
long run.

- Expect delays, but don't accept them. You *will* get bumped by weather
(especially starting flight training in the late fall), and sometimes the
aircraft won't be available. Inevitably there will be times when your CFI
will be out of town.

Get used to it, but don't get used by it. If it happens too often, don't
feel bad or hesitate to complain to the flight school. If that gets you
no where, don't hesitate to switch CFIs.

- Remember, you are the student AND the boss. Be humble in the air,
follow instruction to the letter -- but be assertive with your money.
I've seen too many students let their training drag out forever by just
"going with the flow"...

- Find a mentor. If you know any pilots, latch on to them and suck all
the knowledge from them you can. Ask them all the dumb questions that you
keep forgetting to ask your CFI -- your lessons will make more sense, and
you'll impress your instructor.

Good luck, and keep us posted!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"



I got lucky during my training years. I worked 12 minutes from the
airport and I was taking two hour luches to fly almost every day.

Bryan

Hehe, another addict :-) Congratulations on the decision. It's one of
the best ones you'll ever make. Hang out on rec.aviation.student for
some more great stuff.

--
Jack Allison
PP-ASEL, IA Student, airplane partnership student

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth
with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there
you will always long to return"
- Leonardo Da Vinci

(Remove the obvious from address to reply via e-mail)