Best Place to Learn to Fly?

Hi folks,
If you want to learn to fly and have half a year or more to take off
and live anywhere in the USA, where would you go to learn to fly?

I ask this because I have the opportunity in 2006 to live anywhere
(preferably in the US) to fulfill a dream I've had since I was 5. I am
25 years old now and am self-employed and therefore can live anywhere
for the time being on a moderate income of around 50K.

So, if I could focus all of my time and energy on flying lessons, where
would you go? Alaska? Seattle area?

I am just interested in a PPL, not commercial, but I want to learn from
the best. I also prefer small town airports to big metros.

So, lets hear it!

Riverside Ca.

wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi folks,
If you want to learn to fly and have half a year or more to take off
and live anywhere in the USA, where would you go to learn to fly?

I ask this because I have the opportunity in 2006 to live anywhere
(preferably in the US) to fulfill a dream I've had since I was 5. I am
25 years old now and am self-employed and therefore can live anywhere
for the time being on a moderate income of around 50K.

So, if I could focus all of my time and energy on flying lessons, where
would you go? Alaska? Seattle area?

I am just interested in a PPL, not commercial, but I want to learn from
the best. I also prefer small town airports to big metros.

So, lets hear it!

Southern California. Weather has a huge effect on how often you can
fly. I trained at SMO Santa Monica and was able to fly almost every
day. Now I live in Oregon, and there are nowhere near as many
opportunities.

SoCal all the way. Plus, you get to learn in a busy airspace that'll
prepare you to fly almost anywhere. It's a great learning environment.

See, I actually disagree with the idea about learning in busy airspace.
Learn to fly the airplane first, then learn about aviation later. Granted
you have to do all that to get a PPL but the noise and distraction of
radios, other traffic, VORs and all that jazz really distract from the
basics of stick and rudder skills and pilotage.

If I had to do it all over again, I'd learn in a Cub or a Taylorcraft at a
little farm strip in the middle of nowhere, at least until time for my QXC,
then I'd move into a 152 with all the kit and learn how to talk to people.

My .02 worth.

Also, give some thought to Arizona or Florida which have excellent weather
but not the intensity of the traffic that SoCal has.

Shawn
"Ben Hallert" wrote in message
ups.com...
Southern California. Weather has a huge effect on how often you can
fly. I trained at SMO Santa Monica and was able to fly almost every
day. Now I live in Oregon, and there are nowhere near as many
opportunities.

SoCal all the way. Plus, you get to learn in a busy airspace that'll
prepare you to fly almost anywhere. It's a great learning environment.

Some great points Shawn, but I wonder if it's that clear cut. I now
live in Oregon where most people learn basically how you described.
Something that's becoming increasingly clear is that the pilots around
here really don't like using the radio. They get uncomfortable talking
to controllers, and talk about how they never file VFR flight plans,
use Flight Following, or any of that.

The other day, I flew to Portland. When I mentioned where I was going,
all the guys in the lounge looked both interested and nervous, and a
couple of them made comments to the effect of how they don't feel
comfortable in controlled space (presumably class D-). I've heard
another pilot refer to class C as his personal class B.

Where I learned, I didn't have a choice but to pick up the radio stuff,
and it took hardly any time. I don't think I missed out on learning
any flying basics, and the added load during training with the
instructor onboard helped me learn important cockpit resource
management. I have a feeling that people who learn in the boonies
might be at disadvantage when entering stricter airspace. Not because
they are worse pilots, but because they're having to spend brainpower
figuring out/using unfamiliar radio procedures while navigating in a
high traffic, unfamiliar environment. I had that, but I learned with
an instructor in the right seat to be my net until I had it down pat.

I mentioned that I had transitioned class bravo down in SoCal, and only
one other guy at the lounge had done that, and it was this alien,
exciting thing for them to hear about. These guys are way better
pilots then I am, but high traffic/class bcd airspace intimidates them,
and that's just not right.

Ben,
I think there's a valid point in what you're saying. Lack of confidence
keeps people from really going out and experiencing things they've learned
about, and that needs to be overcome.

What it points to for me is that maybe there ought to be two phases to
training, more distinct than they are now. There's the flying part, (Cub,
farmstrip, stick and rudder) and there's the aviation part (radios, nav
aids, ATC, other officialdom). Many of the pilots I know are perfectly
comfortable going into Class D airspace but would by absolutely useless in
anything other than near perfect conditions and enormous runways - they can
aviate but they can't fly. I learned at Scott AFB, mixing it up with C-9s,
helos, A-10s and anything else that came in transient. Every movement was
with full ATC. I could handle all that stuff. But I didn't learn how to
really fly an airplane until I got into a Cub group and spent hours in the
pattern learning how to really handle the machine.

My point, I guess, is that radio skills and aviation confidence are
necessary, but I'd rather see someone learn how to fly the airplane properly
before being distracted with the other things too early in training. But,
that's just how I see it from the perspective of a 400 hour PPL, so that's
all the value the opinion has. I guess it's a bit like learning to drive.
Your old man probably took you to an enormous parking lot somewhere first so
you could learn how to work the pedals and turn the car without hitting
anything. Later he took you out on the streets where you had to deal with
traffic lights, signs, and other drivers.

Shawn

"Ben Hallert" wrote in message
oups.com...
Some great points Shawn, but I wonder if it's that clear cut. I now
live in Oregon where most people learn basically how you described.
Something that's becoming increasingly clear is that the pilots around
here really don't like using the radio. They get uncomfortable talking
to controllers, and talk about how they never file VFR flight plans,
use Flight Following, or any of that.

The other day, I flew to Portland. When I mentioned where I was going,
all the guys in the lounge looked both interested and nervous, and a
couple of them made comments to the effect of how they don't feel
comfortable in controlled space (presumably class D-). I've heard
another pilot refer to class C as his personal class B.

Where I learned, I didn't have a choice but to pick up the radio stuff,
and it took hardly any time. I don't think I missed out on learning
any flying basics, and the added load during training with the
instructor onboard helped me learn important cockpit resource
management. I have a feeling that people who learn in the boonies
might be at disadvantage when entering stricter airspace. Not because
they are worse pilots, but because they're having to spend brainpower
figuring out/using unfamiliar radio procedures while navigating in a
high traffic, unfamiliar environment. I had that, but I learned with
an instructor in the right seat to be my net until I had it down pat.

I mentioned that I had transitioned class bravo down in SoCal, and only
one other guy at the lounge had done that, and it was this alien,
exciting thing for them to hear about. These guys are way better
pilots then I am, but high traffic/class bcd airspace intimidates them,
and that's just not right.

"ShawnD2112" wrote in message
. uk...
See, I actually disagree with the idea about learning in busy airspace.
Learn to fly the airplane first, then learn about aviation later. Granted
you have to do all that to get a PPL but the noise and distraction of
radios, other traffic, VORs and all that jazz really distract from the
basics of stick and rudder skills and pilotage.

Well, the instructor could be doing most of the radio work for the beginning
flights, and you would be listening in, learning. When the instructor
thought you were more comfortable, you could start doing the radio work.

It must work, since tons of people have done it that way. But, ....
Different strokes for different folks, makes the world go round.
--
Jim in NC

Exactly, Jim, and that's how I learned as well. Only after gaining some
experience (and, to be fair, deciding that spam-can cross country flying
wasn't what I wanted to do) did I start to form this view. Not appropriate
for someone looking to really go places in airplanes or a
commercial-soon-to-be, maybe, but for my style of flying it would be very
suitable.

Cheers,
Shawn
"Morgans" wrote in message
...

"ShawnD2112" wrote in message
. uk...
See, I actually disagree with the idea about learning in busy airspace.
Learn to fly the airplane first, then learn about aviation later.
Granted
you have to do all that to get a PPL but the noise and distraction of
radios, other traffic, VORs and all that jazz really distract from the
basics of stick and rudder skills and pilotage.

Well, the instructor could be doing most of the radio work for the
beginning
flights, and you would be listening in, learning. When the instructor
thought you were more comfortable, you could start doing the radio work.

It must work, since tons of people have done it that way. But, ....
Different strokes for different folks, makes the world go round.
--
Jim in NC

On Sat, 21 May 2005 15:44:58 GMT, "ShawnD2112"
wrote:

If I had to do it all over again, I'd learn in a Cub or a Taylorcraft at a
little farm strip in the middle of nowhere, at least until time for my QXC,
then I'd move into a 152 with all the kit and learn how to talk to people.

Given that the poster said he had six months to do it in, I think this
is a great idea. Come to Hampton NH this summer or early fall and solo
the Cub, meanwhile enjoying the beach life. Then go off to San Diego
CA and do the spam can / ATC bit. Then it's late enough in the year to
brave Chandler AZ and do stalls and aerobatics in a two-cockpit Great
Lakes biplane....

That will be six months to remember the rest of his life.



-- all the best, Dan Ford

email (put Cubdriver in subject line)

Warbird's Forum: www.warbirdforum.com
Piper Cub Forum: www.pipercubforum.com
the blog: www.danford.net
In Search of Lost Time: www.readingproust.com

ShawnD2112 wrote:


If I had to do it all over again, I'd learn in a Cub or a Taylorcraft at a
little farm strip in the middle of nowhere, at least until time for my
QXC, then I'd move into a 152 with all the kit and learn how to talk to
people.

Hi Shawn,

I am in the middle of getting my taildragger endorsement - in a 1944 J-3
Cub. This baby was built for the Army and has the birdcage for the back
seat - great visibility. I find it outrageous fun. I got my PPL with 152's
and moved to Warriors after that. But this...so much more fun, more
challenging, in it's own way.

Doing this makes me wonder, at times, if students would be better off
starting out in something like a J-3. I think learning TD's makes me a much
better pilot..because it's a J-3 with a narrower envelope than even a 152
or a Warrior; because TD flying takes "feel" - especially since you can't
always see what few instruments you have with a CFI in front...and what few
you have don't include things like Turn and Bank and Artificial Horizons or
vert speed, etc. so, for example, your eyes have to be on the horizon, in
turns.

All that's a benefit, as I say, but it might extend time to solo out, and
these days people like to progress quickly. So starting students out in
TD's might not be best overall. It might add too many complications at the
start. But oftentimes I wonder if it would be worth it.

--
Saville

Replicas of 15th-19th century nautical navigational instruments:

http://home.comcast.net/~saville/backstaffhome.html

Restoration of my 82 year old Herreshoff S-Boat sailboat:

http://home.comcast.net/~saville/SBOATrestore.htm

Steambending FAQ with photos:

http://home.comcast.net/~saville/Steambend.htm