My quest for my license

kimberlyanne546 said:
I am so happy for you!

Congrats.

It should take about 3-5 weeks to get your super cool plastic card in the mail. And trust me, I was counting the days.....


Kimberly
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I got my super cool plastic within two weeks. So exciting! Congratulations!
 
Jim Logajan said:
Any details to share, mistakes you made or thought you made, or is it all a blur?
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Oh yes, lots, just needed some time to decompress, I went out to a nice dinner with my wife, now I'm relaxing to a glass of scotch with the Sabres game on. The DPE around here is a good guy, and my CFI works with him pretty exclusively, so I was well prepared and familiar with the basic flow of how it will go. That is the job of any CFI I believe, to prepare you so you know what to expect. That went a long way to easing my nerves, and I was pretty relaxed going into it, even got a good nights sleep.

The one thing that has been repeated, and should bve repeated, other than try to relax, is never quit, never give up. They WILL ask questions you don't know the answer to, or you will forget the answer to. You WILL make a mistake while flying. Neither of those things guarantees a failure, always remember that and you will get through it. Even if you get a question dead wrong, it's not the end. More on this later.

The oral part was ok, this particular DPE will stay on a subject and keep asking questions until he finds something you don't know (knew this going in, expected it) He wants you to admit you don't know it and find the answer, never guess. There was a bunch of questions I didn't know, but I knew how to answer. One question I got totally wrong was what happens to stability if you load the CG forward or back, does it increase or decrease? I got it wrong, but I thought I did after I answered it, and asked him after the checkride was over if I was right or not. I really messed up reading the winds aloft chart, I forgot how to read calm winds, I mean, how often are winds calm at 9000 feet? they were today. He "helped" me through that, he helped me figure out several questions, yet when it was over he said my oral was awesome. Didn't feel like it at the time, not at all.

The checkride itself was almost routine, and I believe I really did well. One thing that helped me is my confidence on the radio. I have a great deal of experience from the air force (as ground personnel, munitions storage and handling, lots of experience talking to towers) and sailing as well, I'm comforable with radios, and today was one of those very very busy GA days, we had Buffalo approach vectoring us for traffic, we had 2 planes try to enter the pattern at the same time, we had planes parked blocking taxiways, I handled all of it. I'm sure I was out of standards on my turns around a point, but I was back on altitude before it was over. We did not do S turns, or any rectangles (what's the point of that? how many dozens of rectangles do you fly while doing pattern work?)

And that brings up another point, despite being very nervous and unsure of myself, I had to exercise my rights as PIC, that's the one thing they are looking for more important than staying withitn PTS standards on your steep turns, you have to show that you are capable of maintaining command. On the 2 planes entering the pattern at the same time, I performed an immediate turn away from the pattern and told the other plane I will be making a "lazy 360 to the north" I had actually made my call a little early and I think I stepped on his call when making the pattern call. He was entering the pattern on crosswind, I was entering 45. While on the ground there was a plane (fellow club member) blocking the taxiway, just sitting there, not answering the radio, and this was right at the end, all we had to do was taxi down and tale off for my last task, short field takeoff and landing. The DPE was clearly annoyed and impatient, he had a long day, after they plane finally turned on their radio we both kept pressing the transmit button, finally I told him "let me do it" now at this point he probably already made up his mind, but I was NOT dropping the fact that I was PIC, because I still wasn't sure I had passed. This guy grilled me hard, and I was still sweating. Did it help me pass? Probably not but I didn't know it at the time.

Anyway it was a very stressful 4 hours but just remembering a few things kept me sane. I am in command, you are my first passenger, you will not fail me for a few minor mistakes. Just remember that.
 
Totals:

Join club, student rate $350
70.25 hours instruction at $45 per hour $3,161.25
50.45 tach time at $28 per hour $1,412.60
35.2g at $4.73 $166.50
145.07 at $5.23 $758.72
175.38 at $5.79 $1,015.45

$1940.67 fuel

8 months club dues $95 per month $760

$200 books
$260 headset
$200 misc

$8,284.52 (round up to maybe $8500 due to inaccuracies, not sure when fuel went to $5.79)
 
You forgot something that should be on your list...

"The big grin on your face because you are now a pilot: priceless!"

Congrats!!
 
Aw shucks! Aggie beat me to it with the "priceless" line.

McKay,

Congratulations!

Thanks very much for chronicling your training all the way through and for the great checkride write up. My training is stalled right now, but I hope to join you before too long.

I've enjoyed and learned from your thread.

Doc
 
eMKay said:
Totals:

Join club, student rate $350
70.25 hours instruction at $45 per hour $3,161.25
50.45 tach time at $28 per hour $1,412.60
35.2g at $4.73 $166.50
145.07 at $5.23 $758.72
175.38 at $5.79 $1,015.45

$1940.67 fuel

8 months club dues $95 per month $760

$200 books
$260 headset
$200 misc

$8,284.52 (round up to maybe $8500 due to inaccuracies, not sure when fuel went to $5.79)
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This total is really good - I know it will help a lot of pilots do their own estimates. $28 per hour seems like such a good deal.

With join fee, and monthly fees, and fuel, what do you think the average "per hour" rate is on your plane? It is more than $28 that's for sure. But it is probably less than the $102 / $120 that I pay now for the non-club rate of my 152 / 172.
 
eMKay said:
$8,284.52 (round up to maybe $8500 due to inaccuracies, not sure when fuel went to $5.79)
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So about $1000/month over 8 months. Sounds similar to my costs.

Mine cost me about $1000/month over 9 months: Sept. to May in Oregon. (Got in only one flight in March because of weather.) Had 49 log entries up to the check ride, for an average of about 5.4 flight lessons a month. The pace was pretty good up till about December, when the winter rainy weather slowed the frequency to a crawl.
 
Don't forget the Medical, written test fee, and examiner fee.
 
So then a million dollars is the new total?

Just kidding. I've always admired you for keeping such good data after each lesson you had.

Once it got "crazy expensive" I'll admit I kind of stopped tracking. It was scary.
 
I stopped tracking too. I know I spent over $5000, less than $10,000 I hope. I decided I didn't really want to know. I'm at similar levels with IR training.
 
bluee said:
I stopped tracking too. I know I spent over $5000, less than $10,000 I hope. I decided I didn't really want to know. I'm at similar levels with IR training.
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Exactly!

Sounds like you know just how I feel. I can't do IR now because of what you just said - I heard it is of "similar" cost to getting a PPL. AKA way too much money.
 
I stopped counting when I got to $10k; some things, you're just happier not knowing. I did, however, drag my training out over 1.5 years, and I flew the 172 instead of the 150, so I could certainly have done it for less.
 
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