So, student pilots.. Who are we and where do we stand?

sure can, sorry i knew i didn't get the caps but i did paragraph breaks but it didn't post that way for some reason.
 
Half Fast said:
Couldn't read it. Could you maybe edit it to add some capitalization and paragraph breaks?
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And you CAN read METARese? haha While not the best literature, i'm sure it was harder for him to type it in than for you to read. I just felt like I was hijacked about halfway through, haha, like, I didn't realize i signed up for this when I started reading, :)
 
exncsurfer said:
And you CAN read METARese? haha While not the best literature, i'm sure it was harder for him to type it in than for you to read. I just felt like I was hijacked about halfway through, haha, like, I didn't realize i signed up for this when I started reading, :)
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LOL!

Yeah, but then my life depends on TAFs and METARs. Not so much that post!

Heck, once upon a time I could read Latin, too!
 
Barneyfife said:
sure can, sorry i knew i didn't get the caps but i did paragraph breaks but it didn't post that way for some reason.
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Read it just fine and congrats on passing.

Maybe get yourself a breakaway lanyard to hang the E6B around your neck? Hahaha. :)
 
Barneyfife said:
sure can, sorry i knew i didn't get the caps but i did paragraph breaks but it didn't post that way for some reason.
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Congrats! I'm hoping to be in your same shoes in 4 or 5 weeks...
 
Well, today was kind of interesting. Went out did a few crosswind touch and goes, then CFI and I smelled something that might have been hot wiring. Nothing burning, but we both agreed it smelled like electrical. So I sat her down and taxied back while shutting down all electrical.

When we got to the hanger CFI went to get a mechanic while I finished securing. After the mechanic came out we discover that the smell was in the air being blown in on the wind. I wish Inhad flown longer, but I believe We made the correct decision to take the bird back and have it checked out instead of pushing it and possibly regretting the outcome.
 
CGChief said:
Well, today was kind of interesting. Went out did a few crosswind touch and goes, then CFI and I smelled something that might have been hot wiring. Nothing burning, but we both agreed it smelled like electrical. So I sat her down and taxied back while shutting down all electrical.

When we got to the hanger CFI went to get a mechanic while I finished securing. After the mechanic came out we discover that the smell was in the air being blown in on the wind. I wish Inhad flown longer, but I believe We made the correct decision to take the bird back and have it checked out instead of pushing it and possibly regretting the outcome.
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Yup. Don't take chances on odors that you suspect. Y'all did good Chief.
 
Had a fun and challenging flight with my CFI after work yesterday. Logged 1.4 hours and 1.2 of hood time. Intercepted and tracked the VOR from my home field to KAND then did a practice ILS and missed approach into runway 5. Left the pattern to do some unusual attitude recovery. Did some more VOR work after that and did an RNAV approach into KCEU to end the day.

Now all that went well, took me a little bit at first with the VOR to cut down my intercept angle and not follow the needle and constantly do small S turns. The REAL challenge came at the beginning of the lesson when we taxied out to the runway and my instructor tells me to put the hood on for takeoff. Used the DG and airspeed indicator and took off "blind". I'm struggling to put the feeling I had into words, but it was probably the most intense thing I've done in all of my lessons up to this point. I know he was there to take over if things went south, but you really have to trust yourself and your instruments when you are speeding down the runway and are only looking inside the airplane. Also curious, is this something commonly done in PPL training?

48.9 hours total. 3 hours of checkride prep left. We will call the DPE when I have 1 hour remaining. I can't wait!
 
Ronbonjovi said:
Had a fun and challenging flight with my CFI after work yesterday. Logged 1.4 hours and 1.2 of hood time. Intercepted and tracked the VOR from my home field to KAND then did a practice ILS and missed approach into runway 5. Left the pattern to do some unusual attitude recovery. Did some more VOR work after that and did an RNAV approach into KCEU to end the day.

Now all that went well, took me a little bit at first with the VOR to cut down my intercept angle and not follow the needle and constantly do small S turns. The REAL challenge came at the beginning of the lesson when we taxied out to the runway and my instructor tells me to put the hood on for takeoff. Used the DG and airspeed indicator and took off "blind". I'm struggling to put the feeling I had into words, but it was probably the most intense thing I've done in all of my lessons up to this point. I know he was there to take over if things went south, but you really have to trust yourself and your instruments when you are speeding down the runway and are only looking inside the airplane. Also curious, is this something commonly done in PPL training?

48.9 hours total. 3 hours of checkride prep left. We will call the DPE when I have 1 hour remaining. I can't wait!
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I've done the hooded takeoff twice but only as an instrument student. It is an intense feeling for sure.

My primary instructor did have me do the ILS into our home field a few times during private training. His rationale was that on an MVFR day it's good way to get home.

John
 
Bought a discovery flight at a charity auction last summer. Took the flight in early August 2017. Convinced the CFII who donated the flight to stretch it into a 2 stop trip for cheap gas on the condition I buy the fuel. Was a 172/180 conversion. Got to shadow the landings and do some level flight and a couple takeoffs, clearing turns, basic discovery flight stuff. I was hooked, but an unexpected job change last fall sidelined me until this March.

Finally just went into the FBO here and setup interviews with a couple instructors. PNW weather has kept me in ground school with only a few exceptions, but I'm there 2x a week rain or shine. Best part of my week is Monday & Thursday at 8:30.
 
I’m about 4 hours into training. Does there come a point where this all clicks? I feel lost and like I don’t know what I am doing. Is this a normal feeling?
 
Logged my first full hour over the weekend. Did some climbs, decents and turns. Also was introduced to using the rudder. Did a couple wide 360's with rudder usage with no input from instructor.
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Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
 
Phly252 said:
I’m about 4 hours into training. Does there come a point where this all clicks? I feel lost and like I don’t know what I am doing. Is this a normal feeling?
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Totally normal. I had points where I was dubious I would ever get it. We all learn at different pace and style. For me it was getting take-off where it wasn't total panic the whole time. Once I had that building block, I could start a flight without being in mental hole.

I landed Saturday in a very gusty 90 cross where basically everyone either never launched or decided to land right away. I would have handed the plane off to the CFI if I was at 4 (or 20) hours. I'm at 50 hours, but 10 of those were from transitioning to a different plane.
 
Phly252 said:
I’m about 4 hours into training. Does there come a point where this all clicks? I feel lost and like I don’t know what I am doing. Is this a normal feeling?
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I never felt fully lost, but I had about 30 to 40 hours of flying in X-Plane in the book.
All of that time was in the 172 on X-Plane with the super basic flight school they have.
X-Plane has a free android app, which is more like a game, but it might help alleviate a lot of the initial confusion.
 
Ok, It seems like when I get in the air I forget everything I know. Lol. CFI Tells me to do power off/on stalls and I go blank. Same with basic questions he quizzes me about while going to practice area. Hoping I get more comfortable up there...
 
Phly252 said:
Ok, It seems like when I get in the air I forget everything I know. Lol. CFI Tells me to do power off/on stalls and I go blank. Same with basic questions he quizzes me about while going to practice area. Hoping I get more comfortable up there...
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Are you still near the 4 hour mark when you posted above? You are early in your training, doing something unfamiliar and goes against most instinct you have as a human. Don't stress, but make absolutely sure you are studying the content that you go blank on when in the airplane. I'd say I studied an average of 3 hours per every hour I was in the airplane. To be honest, I didn't really feel it all "click" together until I was at 20+ hours. I am at 50 hours now and am prepping for my checkride, I'm sure some more experienced pilots and CFIs will chime in.
 
Phly252 said:
Ok, It seems like when I get in the air I forget everything I know. Lol. CFI Tells me to do power off/on stalls and I go blank. Same with basic questions he quizzes me about while going to practice area. Hoping I get more comfortable up there...
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Chair fly.

Sit in a chair, close your eyes, and do stall after stall, visualizing it and saying aloud what you’re doing with each step and moving your hands and feet as though they were controlling stick and rudder and throttle.

This will help embed and automate everything, and it will require less effort in the air.

Doing this was a big help to me with landings.
 
Phly252 said:
I’m about 4 hours into training. Does there come a point where this all clicks? I feel lost and like I don’t know what I am doing. Is this a normal feeling?
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Yes. It's all very overwhelming at first. What really helped me is watching a TON of Youtube videos, and lots and lots of reading. Those things really helped me prepare for each lesson. I remember at first thinking to myself how on earth I could possibly look at all these instruments, look outside, and calculate things on my E6B all while flying the airplane, but now it's all routine. Keep at it. Put the time in outside of the airport and it will all come together.
 
Phly252 said:
Ok, It seems like when I get in the air I forget everything I know. Lol. CFI Tells me to do power off/on stalls and I go blank. Same with basic questions he quizzes me about while going to practice area. Hoping I get more comfortable up there...
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Do a lot of chair flying. Sit at home or think about the maneuver while driving your car. Just keep pounding it in your head and it will eventually stick.
 
Weather finally allowed me to knock out my long XC today. Just some hood time and maneuver practice left before check ride prep. Getting very close now and it feels great.
 
Just a quick update: I started a new job on the 9th, so weekday flying has been scratched for now. Of course the last 2 weekends here in Central FL have been nasty, and today is bad so another NO GO. This is very frustrating and I feel like setting me back a bit, I know I cant control the weather, but I need to figure something out. Working on getting in the plane after work between 6 and 7pm after work, my CFI is working on that now. Thanks all for the RANT!
 
Half Fast said:
Chair fly.

Sit in a chair, close your eyes, and do stall after stall, visualizing it and saying aloud what you’re doing with each step and moving your hands and feet as though they were controlling stick and rudder and throttle.

This will help embed and automate everything, and it will require less effort in the air.

Doing this was a big help to me with landings.
Click to expand...

Good advice. Did a lot of chair flying at the airline. It helps.

image.jpeg
 
Skyking517 said:
Just a quick update: I started a new job on the 9th, so weekday flying has been scratched for now. Of course the last 2 weekends here in Central FL have been nasty, and today is bad so another NO GO. This is very frustrating and I feel like setting me back a bit, I know I cant control the weather, but I need to figure something out. Working on getting in the plane after work between 6 and 7pm after work, my CFI is working on that now. Thanks all for the RANT!
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Yeah. So far this month (April) I've got 11 hours of ground to 1.6 hours of Hobbs. and .6 of that was taxi and runup practice since that was all I could convince CFI to let me do based on the weather. Can be frusterating especially as I'm in the early stages. A lot of what we are covering in ground school needs a practical aspect to help cement it in your brain and start learning muscle memory. I end up visualizing in my car. But this weather won't last forever!
 
Skyking517 said:
Just a quick update: I started a new job on the 9th, so weekday flying has been scratched for now. Of course the last 2 weekends here in Central FL have been nasty, and today is bad so another NO GO. This is very frustrating and I feel like setting me back a bit, I know I cant control the weather, but I need to figure something out. Working on getting in the plane after work between 6 and 7pm after work, my CFI is working on that now. Thanks all for the RANT!
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Been there; I feel your pain, brother. What’s your new job?

Now that DST has resumed flying after work is viable. I have gone a couple of times now and enjoy it. Gives me something to look forward to all day plus a nice way to unwind in the evening. The airport and sky aren’t crowded so it’s a relaxing flight.

The only downside for me is that there isn’t enough time to go somewhere, make a stop, and still return before dark. As a SP I can’t fly at night, so evening flights are an hour or so of local sightseeing. Still pleasant, of course.

BTW, King, if you can try to do your night lessons now, before the days get any longer. Last summer my school was starting night lessons at 9 p.m., which meant it was close to midnight by the end of the flight. Store plane and do a debrief and it’s 1 a.m. by the time you finish.
 
Half Fast said:
Been there; I feel your pain, brother. What’s your new job?

Now that DST has resumed flying after work is viable. I have gone a couple of times now and enjoy it. Gives me something to look forward to all day plus a nice way to unwind in the evening. The airport and sky aren’t crowded so it’s a relaxing flight.

The only downside for me is that there isn’t enough time to go somewhere, make a stop, and still return before dark. As a SP I can’t fly at night, so evening flights are an hour or so of local sightseeing. Still pleasant, of course.

BTW, King, if you can try to do your night lessons now, before the days get any longer. Last summer my school was starting night lessons at 9 p.m., which meant it was close to midnight by the end of the flight. Store plane and do a debrief and it’s 1 a.m. by the time you finish.
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Thank for the words of encouragement, hey you fly out of X04 don't you? I was there today for the EAA luncheon!
 
Skyking517 said:
Just a quick update: I started a new job on the 9th, so weekday flying has been scratched for now. Of course the last 2 weekends here in Central FL have been nasty, and today is bad so another NO GO. This is very frustrating and I feel like setting me back a bit, I know I cant control the weather, but I need to figure something out. Working on getting in the plane after work between 6 and 7pm after work, my CFI is working on that now. Thanks all for the RANT!
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Weather drives us all insane. Even in the other seat. :) Hang in there man. Summer is coming!
 
Skyking517 said:
I live about 7 min from the airport, and know the owner of one of the hangars. So I took the kids over to hang out for a bit. It was the EAA luncheon!
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I’m an EAA member and didn’t know about it. Must’ve been a local chapter thing.
 
Stalled. And not in an aerodynamic way.

Written expired. Instructor headed off to a regional as FO. (I didn’t see that one coming. She’s a flight attendant in her early 50’s.) Airplane down (and now back up) for dual G5 install. And I’m getting crushed at work and with finishing restoration of my moms house so she can sell it. :(
 
Nice long x-county. Make sure your night has at least one leg over 50 miles from your origin or you will get shot down before you even start anything on your check ride day. I know, i did over the 100 miles required but only had 47 from the furthest point.. Ouch
 
jsstevens said:
Stalled. And not in an aerodynamic way.

Written expired. Instructor headed off to a regional as FO. (I didn’t see that one coming. She’s a flight attendant in her early 50’s.) Airplane down (and now back up) for dual G5 install. And I’m getting crushed at work and with finishing restoration of my moms house so she can sell it. :(
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I feel your pain. I've been through all that except the expired written. I had to take 3 months of when football season started and began coaching. Really takes a hit on your motivation. Good luck getting back into it.
 
Skyking517 said:
Just a quick update: I started a new job on the 9th, so weekday flying has been scratched for now. Of course the last 2 weekends here in Central FL have been nasty, and today is bad so another NO GO. This is very frustrating and I feel like setting me back a bit, I know I cant control the weather, but I need to figure something out. Working on getting in the plane after work between 6 and 7pm after work, my CFI is working on that now. Thanks all for the RANT!
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Hang in there. The only time I can fly is during the week and it has to be after work which has its own problems. #1: My instructor is not real thrilled that he has to be at the airport until 1930 2 days a week. #2: I'm an estimator for a construction company so my days are beyond busy and by the time I get off work my brain is half way shot. I takes all I have to make the 30 minute drive to the airport to fly, but it gets done.


We all have our own barriers. Knock 'em down and keep on going.
 
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