Excited for discovery flight tomorrow

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Madcap_Matt

Filing Flight Plan
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Madcap_Matt
I've always wanted to get my PPL and have done a bunch of research and am going to be going on my discovery flight tomorrow. Anything specific that I should ask while I'm there? I'm new to the world of aviation but not to forums so I'm really looking forward to talking to everyone as I go thru this journey.
 
nah just have fun. u can axe questions after.
 
Get sleep, bring sunglasses, have fun. :)
 
Madcap_Matt said:
I've always wanted to get my PPL and have done a bunch of research and am going to be going on my discovery flight tomorrow. Anything specific that I should ask while I'm there? I'm new to the world of aviation but not to forums so I'm really looking forward to talking to everyone as I go thru this journey.
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Tell the instructor you are serious and that you want to fly yourself as much as reasonable. A lot of people walk through the door and buy a discover flight either with no intention of learning to fly and just want a ride, or they are so timid that that's what the instructor thinks they want.
 
Skip the latte before the flight...
 
Just make sure you aren’t getting screwed. I’ve seen a lot of discovery flights end up with fuel surcharge, headset rental. If you like or dislike this CFI make sure you let the school know. It will affect your training.
 
Go have fun be as hands on as possible. You can learn a ton during a discovery flight. Don't get overwhelmed there is a fair amount of stuff to be done while flying an airplane you will learn it all bit by bit you don't have to learn/remember it all on day 1. Good luck let us know how it went.
 
Have just a bit in your stomach. Not full and not empty.
It's a very small plane, not an airliner. You will feel a lot more motion.
Have fun! Ask whatever questions come to mind.
 
First of all have fun, second ask questions, third have fun.
 
So my discovery flight went really well. It felt like drinking from the fire hose as far as the amount of information I was being presented. He let me taxi the plane as well as assist in take off and let me perform some maneuvers which were cool. I signed up for in person ground school but the instructor told me about sportys and I'm thinking about signing up for that instead. I'm even more excited now for this journey.
 
Madcap_Matt said:
So my discovery flight went really well. It felt like drinking from the fire hose as far as the amount of information I was being presented. He let me taxi the plane as well as assist in take off and let me perform some maneuvers which were cool. I signed up for in person ground school but the instructor told me about sportys and I'm thinking about signing up for that instead. I'm even more excited now for this journey.
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Good for you.
My discovery flight was only 6 years ago, it changed my life.

I would suggest to take part in the ground school offered by the flight school at least at first.
 
I really like the advice @dmspilot gave. Similar to how I did my discovery flight. I talked to the instructor before the flight and asked if we could treat this like a first lesson. He was great - we talked for a long time on the ground about the route of flight, went over the sectional, talked about the basic maneuvers and principles of flight. I had already done a ton of homework and was able to latch on to what he was saying. I pretty much flew the whole flight except for landing, but he let me keep a light touch on the controls even then (sort of 'shadowing' his inputs). We did a post flight briefing that was as long as the preflight. It really was like a lesson 1 rather than a discovery flight.

Oh, and just have fun up there!
 
I'm late to chime in here...I'm glad it went well for you....
The advice that comes to my mind is not really related to the actual flying itself....don't be shy about asking to fly with a different instructor if you want.
So many flight schools might assign you to an instructor...or however it happens that you got paired with this guy. I was like most I think and I just took what I got. I got lucky-ish....I liked my 1st instructor but post solo he was off to an airline job or something.... My next instructor became one of my best friends to this day...I could barely understand him through his accent at first, but I just took what I got and made it work. Glad I did.
But I've flow with other instructors for checkouts and such that I just didn't click with....and I sure wouldn't want to tough through a whole PPL program with them.
 
Take a look at pilotinstitute.com for ground school as well. I finished their PPL ground school course about a month ago and thought it was great. If you have any interest in doing instrument rating later, there's a deal for both the PPL and instrument courses that saves a few bucks.
 
So... let me be the first to bring up the topic of a 3rd class medcial. Do NOT go and get one before you're positive you will pass it. Do NOT activate the medical application on the FAA site before you are sure there are no problems.

For most, it's not an issue. But the FAA wants to know "did you ever" items. Just get it taken care of before you spend any money on ground lessons, etc.
 
Madcap_Matt said:
So my discovery flight went really well. It felt like drinking from the fire hose as far as the amount of information I was being presented. He let me taxi the plane as well as assist in take off and let me perform some maneuvers which were cool. I signed up for in person ground school but the instructor told me about sportys and I'm thinking about signing up for that instead. I'm even more excited now for this journey.
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Glad you got a good one. My first discovery flight was with a fresh CFI, and I don't think he was comfortable giving up control yet. I barely got to touch the controls and the ride left me underwhelmed and feeling like a passenger and like flying was something beyond the grasp of mere mortals. Luckily I didn't give up and my next instructor was great and 'made' me do as much of the flying as possible and left me motivated to come back for more.
 
WDD said:
So... let me be the first to bring up the topic of a 3rd class medcial. Do NOT go and get one before you're positive you will pass it. Do NOT activate the medical application on the FAA site before you are sure there are no problems.

For most, it's not an issue. But the FAA wants to know "did you ever" items. Just get it taken care of before you spend any money on ground lessons, etc.
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Yep, this is sage advise, a typical(rational) definition of 'healthy' does not apply here. I was blindsided by a potential medical roadblock that delayed me at least 6 months and had me worried about applying for the medical after I was well into my training.
 
exncsurfer said:
Yep, this is sage advise, a typical(rational) definition of 'healthy' does not apply here. I was blindsided by a potential medical roadblock that delayed me at least 6 months and had me worried about applying for the medical after I was well into my training.
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Absolutely. If you need a special issuance, I think you can fly Sport Pilot until you get your ducks in a row before applying for the medical, and after that go Basic Med and never look back.
 
sooooooo, did u have the disco flight?
 
eman1200 said:
sooooooo, did u have the disco flight?
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Wouldn’t the spinning silver ball, thumping music, flashing lights, and artificial smoke interfere with flying ?
 
Most important thing on a discovery flight: have fun.
Second most important thing: Figure out if the instructor you're flying with will be a good personality match for you.

Oh, and do eat breakfast before you go up. But don't eat a whole cow.
 
Glad your flight was a good one. I remember mine fondly. 5$. The noise was a surprise but I was hooked. Still have a picture of me standing next to that Cherokee.

As the guy on the corner says, "The first one is (almost) free".
 
I wanted to follow up on this thread I had created. I'm happy to report that I'm now 30 hours in towards my PPL and have soloed and completed my dual cross countries day and night. I appreciate all the encouragement. I wasn't able to make things work with the flight school that I had the discovery flight with but found another one that was close and got hooked up with an amazing CFI.

I am so happy I took the plunge and am loving the feeling of knowledge growing every time I enter the cockpit.
 
Madcap_Matt said:
I wanted to follow up on this thread I had created. I'm happy to report that I'm now 30 hours in towards my PPL and have soloed and completed my dual cross countries day and night. I appreciate all the encouragement. I wasn't able to make things work with the flight school that I had the discovery flight with but found another one that was close and got hooked up with an amazing CFI.

I am so happy I took the plunge and am loving the feeling of knowledge growing every time I enter the cockpit.
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Cool, 30 hours in, so you're well past the point of remembering what you used to think about in your 'free time' before you started this. What was it... I forget, back to the PHAK!
 
I definitely have become an amateur weatherman. Always looking for good conditions to get out and fly for an hour.
 
Madcap_Matt said:
I wanted to follow up on this thread I had created. I'm happy to report that I'm now 30 hours in towards my PPL and have soloed and completed my dual cross countries day and night. I appreciate all the encouragement. I wasn't able to make things work with the flight school that I had the discovery flight with but found another one that was close and got hooked up with an amazing CFI.

I am so happy I took the plunge and am loving the feeling of knowledge growing every time I enter the cockpit.
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Congrats, you're well on your way with this great journey! The solo XC's are fun, have a great time. Record them on a gopro if you can, but don't let that distract you. It's a lot of stuff to put together all at once. I recorded mine and they bring me some good memories of when I first started to feel like a pilot.
 
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