1st flight ever

MAKG1 said:
It's gonna be bumpy that time of day. Not unsafe unless there are thunderstorms going by, but it does add variables to a first flight. I recommend doing this as early as possible. Sunrise is best, but you'll never get an instructor to roll out of bed that early.
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I took your advice and re-scheduled from 15:30 to 9:00.
 
I would say try to avoid the cliche comments that might be made by first-time flyers, like "is there a movie on this flight" or "what time does the beverage cart roll through?" and try to come up with something better. maybe randomly start making fighter plane machine gun noises, or go into a bizarre Captain Kirk rant like this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toG6aSQFF7Y

CFI's love that kind of stuff :goofy: :yikes:
 
I'm just gonna tell him I heard that DA-20's are good for rolling and that it looks super easy on YouTube.
 
Welcome Adam. Have a great time and Happy Father's Day!
 
Where are you getting your discovery flight? The school i got my PPL at had nothing but DA-20's and DA-40's.

I fly nothing but the 20 and 40. They are good planes. Love the 40 though more:)
 
Legiox said:
Where are you getting your discovery flight? The school i got my PPL at had nothing but DA-20's and DA-40's.
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In Atlanta and it's the same here, DA-20's and DA-40's for training but they rent out many different kinds of planes.
 
Skylane81E said:
Got my private in a DA-20, still love that thing
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Awesome, looks like a sweet little plane.....really wish Sunday was tomorrow!!

PS -- I'm originally from Cinci....still am able to get my Skyline fix thanks to Krogers here in Atlanta. :yes:
 
Beats not getting any but it still just isn't the same, was saltier than what you get at the restaurant.

Get the private and come to HAO, there is a skyline around the corner, I'll buy you a 3-way
 
So, there's a chance instead of a DA-20 I'll be in a Cessna 172. I really want the Diamond but it is what it is.

Total beginner question, which I know will be answered Sunday morning by the CFI but when you go to take off do you pull back on the yoke to get in the air and then stop pulling (and the plane continues to climb) or do you have to continue pulling on the yoke until you climb to the height you want?
 
AdamSte81 said:
Total beginner question, which I know will be answered Sunday morning by the CFI but when you go to take off do you pull back on the yoke to get in the air and then stop pulling (and the plane continues to climb) or do you have to continue pulling on the yoke until you climb to the height you want?
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Well, with all of four hours under my belt take my answer with a grain of salt (and I'm certainly interested in correction), but controlling the yoke in general is more about applying pressure to it than moving it (though it does move). Until the trim is adjusted you'll probably have to apply continuous light pressure to maintain a gentle nose-up attitude initially and then increase it as you gain speed. Flying is about picking an attitude (the orientation of the plane) and using control pressures (and trim adjustment) to maintain it, and then occasionally checking instruments to see if that attitude is working. At least, that is how I'm appreciating it (but I'm also fighting habits from many years of flight simulators where staring at instruments is the norm for a lack of anything else to look at).

The instructor will certainly give you feedback on how you're doing. The key is gentle pressure, but maintaining or increasing it until the plane is oriented where you want it.
 
You'll see but he's right you'll use the trim to help once you start reading you will see and once you fly you will learn it all quickly it's wild path. From start you'll learn so much so quickly good luck
 
AdamSte81 said:
So, there's a chance instead of a DA-20 I'll be in a Cessna 172. I really want the Diamond but it is what it is.

Total beginner question, which I know will be answered Sunday morning by the CFI but when you go to take off do you pull back on the yoke to get in the air and then stop pulling (and the plane continues to climb) or do you have to continue pulling on the yoke until you climb to the height you want?
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I'm going to be a stickler and point out that height is called "altitude" in aviation.:) But to answer your question, every takeoff is going to be a little bit different. Generally speaking however, the trim tab will be set so that once you lift the nosewheel off the runway, you can alleviate some of the back pressure and the airplane will still climb. From there, you can use the trim tab to stabilize the climb at your desired climb airspeed.
 
If you're flying in a Cessna, then you'll find out that part of you pretakeoff procedures is to set the trim to the take off position on the trim wheel. As you hit near 55 knots you'll notice it doesn't take much back pressure at all to get that thing gaining altitude.


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It doesn't take much yoke pressure to do anything in a 172, especially at low speeds. Crank it up into the yellow and you still won't have too much pressure, though it will be noticeably more than at low speed.

Now, a 182 is another story entirely. Pull that out of trim and you're getting an upper body workout. But that isn't the reason for trim adjustments (but it helps). It makes your control inputs much more precise if they have a light touch centered on zero, than if it is small changes to a significant static force.

It's not precise, but a given trim setting (and flap configuration) favors a specific airspeed. If you're faster than that airspeed, the aircraft will pitch up to slow you down (and will climb momentarily until that happens). If you're slower, it will pitch down. Never rely on this alone because the aircraft will overshoot and then pitch the other way unless you stop it.

The important part about a climb is not to make it do more than it "wants" to. If you're losing airspeed, get the nose down. Maintain a specific preplanned airspeed. Generally, in a 172, 75 knots . That gives you the most vertical feet in a given minute (called "best rate of climb," or Vy). More than 1000 feet off the ground, you might climb a little faster as that gets the nose down and gives you better forward visibility.
 
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AdamSte81 said:
So, there's a chance instead of a DA-20 I'll be in a Cessna 172. I really want the Diamond but it is what it is.

Total beginner question, which I know will be answered Sunday morning by the CFI but when you go to take off do you pull back on the yoke to get in the air and then stop pulling (and the plane continues to climb) or do you have to continue pulling on the yoke until you climb to the height you want?
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It's best to fly an airplane with the wings installed correctly anyway so you're really getting a bonus with the 172. Ask your neighborhood birds where they have their wings... on the top! They make good sun shades and allow you to see the ground below.

Don't be disappointed with the 172. It's a fantastic airplane! :D
 
Matthew said:
My advice - don't do it. Go to a water park and spend the day on the paddle boat instead. Otherwise you'll get sucked into flying, take lessons, get your Private, spend all day on forums, forget to shave ( and THAT's just the women! ), fly every chance you have a couple extra bucks in your wallet, forget your kid's birthdays, ... It's vicious!

Oh - and welcome to the board!
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Nailed it...

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Sorry guys! I LOVED IT!!! My CFI was awesome, very informative, thorough and laid back. We took the DA-20 up to about 4,000 feet and did some turns (he showed me a steep turn but I didn't attempt it, I was still getting used to the rudder and aileron at the same time thing). He asked if I wanted to do a "touch and go" and of course I obliged, he landed and then I throttled back us back up and took off again. All in all it was awesome, in the near future I really hope to begin lessons.
 
AdamSte81 said:
Sorry guys! I LOVED IT!!! My CFI was awesome, very informative, thorough and laid back. We took the DA-20 up to about 4,000 feet and did some turns (he showed me a steep turn but I didn't attempt it, I was still getting used to the rudder and aileron at the same time thing). He asked if I wanted to do a "touch and go" and of course I obliged, he landed and then I throttled back us back up and took off again. All in all it was awesome, in the near future I really hope to begin lessons.
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He is officially HOOKED...:yes::yes:..

Welcome to our disease..:wink2:
 
It's a little early for a steep turn, but if you enjoyed it, no harm done.

Now I wanna go flying. No time today...maybe tomorrow.
 
MAKG1 said:
It's a little early for a steep turn, but if you enjoyed it, no harm done.
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He asked me if I wanted to see a demonstration of 1 and I said sure. He seemed like a kid in a candy store being in that plane, he must really love flying. His day job is as a pilot for corporate chartered flights so I guess he can't get enough of it. :lol:
 
People don't generally instruct for the money....there just doesn't seem to be that much.

The important thing is to find an instructor who consistently teaches you stuff, and complements your learning style.
 
AdamSte81 said:
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/241646336225872337/

This is where I took the lesson.....
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Heh, cute.

When I was learning, one of the other local clubs ran out of fuel and flipped a nice G1000 172SP on the mud some 500 feet short of the threshold. Only minor injuries, but that thing was sitting out on the mudflat for several weeks for all of us to stare at as we came by in the pattern.
 
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