42 year old rookie "RIGHT RUDDER!! RIGHT RUDDER!!"

[Wade]

Well I have finally started my journey to try and get my PPL. I have always wanted to fly ever since a cropduster pilot took me flying a couple of times one summer when I was 8 years old. Now 34 years later the time, money, and family commitments have finally converged into the perfect storm to allow some "ME" time. So this is how my initial training has gotten started.

I took a discovery flight with the wife and the youngest to make sure they want to be in the air and they loved it. The CFI was a really great guy and I liked him so I told him, "I want to join the club as soon as I get my medical and fly a few times a week to try and knock it out as efficiently as possible.". "Ok great lets fly tomo and then I'll work on getting a schedule worked out.", the instructor says.
Then he calls me back a week later and says "He is not able to fly that much and I will have to split time between him and the other instructor." Hmmmmm first roadblock! Caution flags went up and that doesn't sound to good to me, I like structure and systems. I figure the best way is to stay with one instructor throughout the process. So I tell him I am going to think about it and get back to him.

While this is happening I have my medical done and I have a prescription for 10mb of Lexapro that I got on my doctors advice about a year and a half ago when I was going through a real stressful business deal. I rarely take the medication anymore and haven't refilled it in over 3 months, but I put it on the report. BAM!! second roadblock and this one is serious! So I am currently in the stop use wait 90 days SI process and getting letters and other crap from my doctor blah, blah, etc., etc.! So much for getting it done as quickly as possible.

Now I can't Solo without my Medical so I figure I will check out other intructors, schools, clubs, etc, and take a lesson here and there so I am ready to rock and roll when I get my medical. I currently have 7 hours and have flown 5 different planes and I love it! I am kinda glad I didn't stay with the original guy and just fly with him and their 172 the whole time. I have learned a ton about flying and learning the different FEELS of airplanes. I don't have a good system and flow worked out yet and I have been concentrated on the visual pictures and feel of the flight manuevers instead of the instruments. I hope as I get more experience in a familiar plane I will find my instrument flow. At this point I have flown a 150, 2 172's, a Cherokee 180(I like it super ez to fly), and a Cherokee 6( felt like a 747 to me way to much going on). I have gotten them all in the air and on the ground without a instructor taking over except for on my first lesson when I got groundshy pulled up way to soon and floated half way down the strip. I also have one minor foray into the gravel on taxi after landing, because the "right rudder" (I am already sick of hearing that) was really sticky on one plane. I am also getting more confident on the radio and can now understand what is happening with the other aircraft around me. The CFI I have flown with the last 3 times said he thinks I could solo after a couple more hours in the same plane to get a good pattern routine figured out. I still feel confused and disorganized especially when one landing is a short full flaps steep descent pattern and the next one is a long shallow glide path and 10 degrees flaps.

Next week I am going to a different school that is a Kitfox dealer and teachs backcountry flying to see what a taildragger experimental feels like. I would also really like to fly a 182 and a high horsepower backcountry plane like a Maule sometime after I get my Medical.

 

[Mason]

You may find the road to the PPL more expeditious if you stick with one model of aircraft and one instructor for awhile. And work on getting that medical. There's nothing wrong with sampling different aircraft for fun, but it will take you longer to solo and longer to get that certificate.

 

[Vance Breese]

A student pilot I am working with is 72 years old and has never flown any type of aircraft.

He is working on his sport pilot rating and needs a driver’s license and a signoff to solo.

I feel flying more than one model aircraft and flying with more than one instructor is a good idea before you make a decision on exactly what you want to achieve and how you are going to achieve it.

I am blind in one eye and have had a traumatic brain injury and that did not prevent me from getting a second class medical. It just took more work and time.

 

[MAKG1]

You may find the road to the PPL more expeditious if you stick with one model of aircraft and one instructor for awhile. And work on getting that medical. There's nothing wrong with sampling different aircraft for fun, but it will take you longer to solo and longer to get that certificate.

While that's all true, he doesn't seem to be budget limited, and it's gonna take at least 90 days no matter what. So, have fun!

If budget allows, why not do the kind of exploration most of us do after the checkride?

 

[mscard88]

I agree with Mason, stick with one CFI and plane. You say you like structure but you sure aren't practicing it. Anything wrong with what you're doing? No. But if you fly with the same CFI you'll have structure and hopefully fly by the syllabus and all these hours will go towards meeting the requirements of the FARs. So much of what you said in your post is contradicted later by what you're actually doing, flying with different CFIs and different airplanes. Your time and bucks, your decision.

 

[Wade]

I wish I could go the expeditious route but the FAA rules didn't allow it so I am adjusting and just having a good time until December. I am glad in a way that it happened because I never would have made the decision to fly different planes with different instructors otherwise. I think in the long run it will make me a better pilot and it is a absolute blast flying the different planes.

I do feel like I am being held back and the hardest part is going to be not buying the first 172 I come across that looks like a good deal while waiting for my medical.

The crazy thing is if my medical is denied I don't think I can even get a Sport pilot license and all this will be for naught all over a stupid 10mb pill that I don't even need. No wonder more people don't learn to fly. My first impression seems that the FAA is more interested in keeping people out of the sky than promoting GA.

 

[Cajun_Flyer]

You're having fun? Who cares how you do it then. Normally I'd echo Mason's sentiments, but if money isn't an issue and you aren't looking to make a career out of it... just burning time til you figure out what's going to happen with your medical... then try out all the planes and CFIs you want. Enjoy

 

[azure]

From what Dr. Bruce Chien (@bbchien) has written here and elsewhere, if you were exposed to Lexapro for longer than 6 months and if you're still taking it *at all*, you will need the SI for depression treated with a SSRI and you're correct that it's very serious. You want to be working with Bruce or an AME of his caliber (if you're not already), and the road to an SI will not be cheap, it will not be quick, and the outcome is far from certain.. You might want to step away from flying until you get this resolved unless you have money to burn.

I had a totally different medical issue when I started flying and did not take this advice. In the time I was waiting for my SI I logged some 95 hours pre-solo. That was back when it was possible to learn to fly for under $100/hr, and it was a fairly straightforward issue that took only 4 months to resolve. Your situation is likely to take a bit longer and maybe MUCH longer, and flying is quite a bit more expensive today.

It's your money and your decision of course, but it may cost a lot more than you're expecting just to get your medical. If you haven't yet been to an AME you could work towards a Light Sport certificate, but it sounds like you have already been deferred and therefore you don't have that option.

You could still fly ultralights, or gliders.

 

[midcap]

Sorry to hear about your medical Op, I am sure you can get your medical done, only thing it takes is money and listening to Dr. Bruce.

 

[Everskyward]

You're having fun? Who cares how you do it then. Normally I'd echo Mason's sentiments, but if money isn't an issue and you aren't looking to make a career out of it... just burning time til you figure out what's going to happen with your medical... then try out all the planes and CFIs you want. Enjoy

I love it when people take the time to stop and smell the roses. I probably did that too much in the past, but I digress...

 

[Cluemeister]

By the way, I hear that new students don't use enough right rudder.

 

[lancie00]

Just fly! If you can afford it and are not worried about how long you private will take, fly anything and everything with which ever CFI is available. Now, once you get your medical and are ready to start some serious training, then find one instructor and one plane. Then once you have your license, go back to flying everything. I'm jealous.

 

[denverpilot]

Depending on how it's handled, that SI may get very expensive, besides being time consuming. I wouldn't wait at all to contact someone like Doc Bruce, who knows protocols and the required items like the back of his hand, like yesterday.

FAA is NOT there to guide you through the most *expeditious* and inexpensive path through their process.

It's kinda like dealing with the IRS. Hire someone who knows what they want, immediately.

As far as the flying goes, fly whatever you want to fly and can afford. You're definitely not on the fast track to a rating right now.

 

[Wade]

Had my weekly lesson today(flying once a week sucks) with my regular CFI and flew to a little 2k foot strip and did about 12 landings and T&G's. I am great at taking off but the landing is where things start getting a little dicey lol. Also, I pulled the mixture out instead of the carb heat once and that got the heart beat going for a few seconds until I noticed it. We flew in the 172 and it doesn't have the classic 6 panel instrument panel I like. So I was having a hard time finding the 90 headings on the digital display to get a idea of when to roll out of the 90 degree turns in patterns and kept turning over 90 degrees. My first landing attempt was terrible and the CFI had to take over to get me straightened out and I struggled on the next few until I was able to get it figured out again, did I mention going a week between lessons really sucks?. I am feeling frustrated about my performance, but at least it was probably entertaining for the golfers to watch my sketchy landings. I can't seem to figure out the proper flare height and dont seem to be pulling the yoke back with authority. Not sure why I can't get the plane under proper control on final approach and I feel like I am chasing it all over compared to the CFI who looks like he is just sitting there not doing anything and the plane lands perfectly down the center line.

To get some more flying in I scheduled a lesson in a KITfox taildragger for tomorrow with a different school. Figured I could use the hours towards a taildragger endorsement if I choose to after my medical is cleared.

I checked on my medical status and sounds like I just have my Doc write a letter stating I stopped use of the medication for 90 and all is well then get it to the FAA Med examiner who is going to contact regional and see if they can get it expedited. The medical examiner said they haven't seen the FAA reject an applicant in my scenerio so it sounds like I should be fine. I HOPE I'm not the exception to the rule!

I have been scoring 80 to 90 on my written practice tests. I seem to miss the CG questions and weather map questions. I am getting pretty handy on the EB6 but still confuse MH, MC, WCC and compass variations.


More RIGHT RUDDER! GOT IT! also don't buy a plane with carb heat next to the mixture control.

 

[SoCal RV Flyer]

Sounds like you're making good progress.That's encouraging news on the medical front.

On turns in the pattern, I wouldn't rely on instrumentation for 90-degree turns. Just look out the window, get your downwind leg nice and parallel to the runway, then turn 90 degrees to base with just visual reference. It doesn't matter if it's 85 degrees or 94 degrees; just strive to make a nice rectangular pattern. It will lessen your workload and free up more of your brain for scanning, adjusting pitch & power, etc.

It's pretty standard stuff, but better landings always start with a nice stabilized approach. On final, trim for your over-the-fence speed so little to no yoke pressure is needed for descent.

Yeah, and right rudder! It bugs me that pilots don't maintain runway alignment on climb-out and veer over the taxiway. Not necessarily dangerous, but sloppy. Sometimes you have to stomp on that right pedal harder than you think!

 

[BalooAirService]

Flying (the initial learning stage more so) isn't easy.. if it was everyone would have a pilots license. There is a reason only 1% of US population are rated pilots. Keep chugging and don't give up. The perfect landings will come, just keep getting those lessons in.
The way your CFI is teaching you is also key in mastering landings and also an understanding of physics too.

approach
1. nose down
2. level off to stop descent
3. let plane slow down naturally, really slow
4. flare/aft elev to keep plane airborne. The slower you get the more you flare.
5. let gravity do the rest

6. holy crap, you just landed.

until I got the above five things in my head I had issues with landings. Steps above made landings almost automatic for me. Online vids made this even more clear. The flying handbook is the bible, but some people are visual and doing learners.

good luck

 

[denverpilot]

Flying (the initial learning stage more so) isn't easy.. if it was everyone would have a pilots license. There is a reason only 1% of US population are rated pilots. Keep chugging and don't give up. The perfect landings will come, just keep getting those lessons in.
The way your CFI is teaching you is also key in mastering landings and also an understanding of physics too.

approach
1. nose down
2. level off to stop descent
3. let plane slow down naturally, really slow
4. flare/aft elev to keep plane airborne. The slower you get the more you flare.
5. let gravity do the rest

6. holy crap, you just landed.

until I got the above five things in my head I had issues with landings. Steps above made landings almost automatic for me. Online vids made this even more clear. The flying handbook is the bible, but some people are visual and doing learners.

good luck

My instructor and I chuckled when we saw someone do step 2 about ten feet in the air during our run up. Heh.

"Ohhhh that's going to be entertaining..."

It was. He didn't crash.

He did dive for the runway and then flare again with all his newfound speed and bounce spectacularly, though.

And then a really late go around after the second "arrival". Heh.

And he forgot to bring the flaps up. We watched to see where the climb would start. It started about 2000' from the end of the 10001' runway.

Heh heh.

We both remarked that we wondered if his instructor was on board or not and that it would have been entertaining from the right seat, too.

 

[Wade]

Been there and done that except I was able to land it on the second touch down. Those Cessna's must have some pretty stout running gear I thought I hit pretty hard and the CFI said that was nothing,

The Kitfox experience was kind of a bust. The owner wasn't there so I got a younger CFI who seemed a little annoyed or not really into giving a lesson. It was probably due to the fact I was 30 minutes late because I had trouble finding and getting into the private strip. I tried to call but nobody answered. He asked me what I wanted(but didn't ask me about my experience just treated me like someone who has never been in a plane before), and I said I want a lesson in a taildragger and work on take off and landings. Apparently their LESSON includes 2 hours of ground school before you even get in the plane. I didn't want to do the ground school before I've even Solo'd so we compromised on a DEMO flight. I basically paid to have the CFI fly me around for a 1/2 hour and let me do a couple turns and stalls and act like I was doing something on the 4 TO and landings. Didn't get much out of it other than they had a really nice plane that flys awesome and the CFI was a good pilot who was just going through the motions. No checking out the cool features of the plane no preflight said he already did while he was waiting for me, I did check the fuel myself. Pretty much 30 seconds of here is this this and this and were off. I pretty much just checked out the scenery while he flew and did some slips to apparently try and impress me but it was nothing I haven't experienced 20 times already. I wish I would have got to do it while he instructed me on which why to turn and rudder to push if your left or right of the runway or holding your heading in a crosswind landing.

So my regular CFI talked his Dad, who is also a CFI with like 30k hours, into taking his AIRCOUPE? out tomorrow to let me fly it around for a couple hours if I buy lunch. I just googled it Open cockpit and no rudder pedals WTF is this thing and what have I gotten myself into?

 

[Wade]

The Aircoupe was cool. I felt like a P51 Mustang Pilot looking for some Kamikaze pilots to shoot down. I had a smile on my face the whole time the most FUN I have had flying yet.

 

[SoCal RV Flyer]

The Aircoupe was cool. I felt like a P51 Mustang Pilot looking for some Kamikaze pilots to shoot down. I had a smile on my face the whole time the most FUN I have had flying yet.

Nice! I've always liked the twin rudder look and the overall proportions of that plane. I may have to build the r/c version (Pat Tritle models).

Fun is what it's all about (for most), so I'm glad you had a great time!

 

[Wade]

I had the only radio button and still a little shaky on some terminology and we had a few comments about the plane from other pilots over the radio that I had to respond to. Couple of Nice Coupes and one guy in a slick looking twin engine said "he hopes he can climb out of the way if were doing a touch and go" when we were turning base and he was taking off. It made it fun and kinda took the pressure off knowing you don't have to be a robot on the mic.

Things are starting to look a little more official:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9URAZIPrFPSOFJMaXhLYVZKMk0/view?usp=drivesdk

 

[fiveoboy01]

And he forgot to bring the flaps up. We watched to see where the climb would start. It started about 2000' from the end of the 10001' runway.

Heh heh.

We both remarked that we wondered if his instructor was on board or not and that it would have been entertaining from the right seat, too.

What kind of airplane was this?

I feel like most single engine bugsmashers will climb with full flaps(not expeditiously of course) if well enough under gross weight and a reasonable DA. I know my Archer does, it's just really draggy.

 

[denverpilot]

What kind of airplane was this?

I feel like most single engine bugsmashers will climb with full flaps(not expeditiously of course) if well enough under gross weight and a reasonable DA. I know my Archer does, it's just really draggy.

Skyhawk. At APA so 5885 airport, DA was probably about 8000. Flaps full, it isn't going to go up well here.

 

[fiveoboy01]

Yah I forgot about your location for a moment. Makes sense.

 

[denverpilot]

Yah I forgot about your location for a moment. Makes sense.

It's okay. It's a good warning for anyone visiting. Don't forget to retract that flaps if you go airline up here...

But leave the gear down until you see a real honest to goodness positive rate of climb!

 

[MAKG1]

Yah I forgot about your location for a moment. Makes sense.

Your Archer has piddling tiny flaps. A Skyhawk, especially an older one that goes to 40 deg, has huge ones for its size.

A 160 HP 172 will have difficulty climbing at sea level with full flaps, especially if it's hot. The POH forbids takeoffs above 10 deg. Archers use 25 normally for shorts and softs.

 

[JustinD]

Glad to see you got your student certificate! I'm taking it you got the medical and all is well now?

Do you have a plane anda goal for how you want to get the rest of your rating done?

Ps jealous you flew a coupe, I've always wanted to get up in one of those things!

 

[Wade]

Glad to see you got your student certificate! I'm taking it you got the medical and all is well now?

Do you have a plane anda goal for how you want to get the rest of your rating done?

Ps jealous you flew a coupe, I've always wanted to get up in one of those things!

My medical won't be complete until November so I still can't solo. My CFI signed me off to take my written and I am going to do that next week to get it out of the way. Once I get my medical I should be able to solo that day and start getting a bunch of hours in to get finished up.