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

jsstevens said:
Check ride for the 18th canceled. I can't fulfill the "3 hours training in an airplane in the 60 days prior to the practical test" requirement. On a side not, I went with a safety pilot and pretty much botched the RNAV 9R approach into Sanford (KSFB) so I thin some brush up is in order. Now I just need to find a club instructor who can take that on...
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I fly tomorrow (Thursday) evening with yet another club instructor. He wants to do VOR tracking, unusual attitudes and an ILS. Obviously he's not going to sign me off until he's satisfied with all my IR skills (as would I if the position was reversed). So here I go again...
 
Landing Fees said:
I bet my AP could fly that thing perfect. Why do we even do IFR ratings anymore with the level of sophistication of a GFC500.
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There been more than one VFR pilot who has died thinking they did not need an instrument rating because the autopilot would take care of them.
 
jsstevens said:
Check ride for the 18th canceled. I can't fulfill the "3 hours training in an airplane in the 60 days prior to the practical test" requirement. On a side not, I went with a safety pilot and pretty much botched the RNAV 9R approach into Sanford (KSFB) so I thin some brush up is in order. Now I just need to find a club instructor who can take that on...
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Are you wedded to doing this through the club? Seems like you've been spinning your wheels trying to make everything work out. You could set aside a couple of days, call up First Landings, rent their 172 and an instructor, and kill this thing. It might require a slightly larger check, but at least you'd get it finished.
 
Half Fast said:
Are you wedded to doing this through the club? Seems like you've been spinning your wheels trying to make everything work out. You could set aside a couple of days, call up First Landings, rent their 172 and an instructor, and kill this thing. It might require a slightly larger check, but at least you'd get it finished.
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I tried to do intensives a couple of times (even with the club) and everybody was booked way out. Except an outfit in South Carolina that was $10K in DA-40s.

I've resigned to doing it in the club as the shortest path to finish from here. And I don't have to get a separate IR checkout in the club planes this way.
 
I flew with the new (to me) instructor last night. Capture and track a VOR, identify and enter a hold (didn't actually enter as there was a cloud parked there), unusual attitudes partial panel (G5's turned down), set up for ILS but didn't do it as clouds were in the way.

I felt like it was real sloppy on both altitude and heading. He said I did very well on setting up and manipulating the avionics, recognizing and compensating for winds aloft (we had a 25 kt quartering tailwind aloft). I over control. We've got 4 more flights scheduled.

And finished off with one of the nicest crosswind landings I've done in a good while. Sometimes it all comes together.
 
Working on my PPL since April; 28+ hours, but waiting on FAA medical special issuance since June has slowed me down. Passed my written in July.
One Dual XC and lots of VOR/GPS navigation and pattern work lol...maybe check ride by Spring of next year given FAA’s pace. :)
 
I'm in this post somewhere earlier when I started my PPL. I'm now a 100 hr pilot (as of yesterday) and just signed up to start my instrument next Monday!!
 
Passed the Instrument checkride today! So to celebrate, today only I will not refer to myself as a student pilot. Tomorrow I will resume because...say it with me...”a good pilot is always learning” ;)
 
Have my check ride scheduled in a few weeks. Almost done started in June.
 
Making slow progress. 35 hours and haven't solo-ed yet. Just passed my medical just in case :)
Don't get to fly more than 1x a week on average unfortunately...
 
Checkride is scheduled for 12/12. Couldn't get any sooner with the closest DPE. There's one 170nm south I'm going to try to get booked with
 
12/12? Yikes. Is this for a PPL, Instrument, something else? I'm trying to schedule my check ride, and my CFI is trying to find someone in Alabama for me. Nice long XCountry out, oral, check ride, and long XCountry back. Long day!

Seems to be a shortage of DPEs (Understatement of the Year).
 
WDD said:
12/12? Yikes. Is this for a PPL, Instrument, something else? I'm trying to schedule my check ride, and my CFI is trying to find someone in Alabama for me. Nice long XCountry out, oral, check ride, and long XCountry back. Long day!

Seems to be a shortage of DPEs (Understatement of the Year).
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PPL. It's ridiculous
 
kaiser said:
Tbh I went the 141 route because the examiners were all in house... fewer variables
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She's a DPE at the closest 141 so I'd still have the same issue. There's just a ton of demand in this area for some reason.
 
Texan Pilot said:
Working on my PPL since April; 28+ hours, but waiting on FAA medical special issuance since June has slowed me down. Passed my written in July.
One Dual XC and lots of VOR/GPS navigation and pattern work lol...maybe check ride by Spring of next year given FAA’s pace. :)
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my SI 3rd class is "in the mail"! Woohoo!!
 
ktup-flyer said:
Trying to go fly consistently, but the weather isn’t helping me out with that
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I concur! I completed my first two supervised solos last weekend and have been dying to get back up all week. The weather in southeast Texas has been uncooperative at best...
 
Texan Pilot said:
I concur! I completed my first two supervised solos last weekend and have been dying to get back up all week. The weather in southeast Texas has been uncooperative at best...
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It's looking like Monday will be flyable, as long as the winds aren't too high. Plus side is that it's given me a lot of time to study the oral material
 
Took my checkride a few weeks ago. While I was nervous, it went very well. Oral was about 2 1/2 hours and flight portion was about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Greased all my landings (which I have never done consecutively). On my engine out emergency decent, we actually landed at a grass airstrip. So glad its all over! I started in April and finished on November 8th. Best of luck to all of you coming up on your checkrides!
 
Deputydog said:
Took my checkride a few weeks ago. While I was nervous, it went very well. Oral was about 2 1/2 hours and flight portion was about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Greased all my landings (which I have never done consecutively). On my engine out emergency decent, we actually landed at a grass airstrip. So glad its all over! I started in April and finished on November 8th. Best of luck to all of you coming up on your checkrides!
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Congratulations! And welcome to POA.
 
Well, started with my dad for about 17 hours at 17 yo( former AF) first lieutenant and pilot and 10 hrs with instructor, but,,,,,, given that was 40 yrs ago and I lost that logbook,,,, Starting over at 57 and 5 determined hrs in, shopping for planes in Atlanta. Wish I had a buddy to share it with though☹️.Still, having a blast! Flying out of Gwinnett’s airport in Lawrenceville and have to get my physical soon. Would love to join a local club.
 
Nice airport - I've been there a few times on my X countries. What plane are you looking at to buy?
 
kaiser said:
I'm in this post somewhere earlier when I started my PPL. I'm now a 100 hr pilot (as of yesterday) and just signed up to start my instrument next Monday!!
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Excellent, good for you. Two comments:
(1) If you're highly comfortable using VFR flight following, you'll find that IFR communications are really pretty easy. Go into training without a flight following comfort level and you'll probably find comms to be a major challenge.
(2) My opinion and others may disagree: If your CFII does any instrument approaches on your first or second lesson, find another instructor.
 
write-stuff said:
Excellent, good for you. Two comments:
(1) If you're highly comfortable using VFR flight following, you'll find that IFR communications are really pretty easy. Go into training without a flight following comfort level and you'll probably find comms to be a major challenge.
(2) My opinion and others may disagree: If your CFII does any instrument approaches on your first or second lesson, find another instructor.
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Thanks. I "grew up" at a Class D airport, so I find not being on FF (as well as landing @ non-towered airports) a little nerve wracking. I'll be on FF for any trip outside of my local area or under O'Hare's Bravo. I'm interested in your second comment. I've done 1 approach so far - can't remember which lesson, but it was under the guise of a preview. CFII ran the radio, I flew the instructions. I'm at a 141 school (same place as where I earned PPL), so it's quite structured. I'm happy so far.
 
WDD said:
Nice airport - I've been there a few times on my X countries. What plane are you looking at to buy?
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Well, I tend to be impulsive. My instructor pointed me toward a cirrus G22, used of course, I looked at a couple of lancairs, and I even thought of one of the Vans models to save money....but......dunno. would love to get near 200 cruising speed, as I want to actually travel cross country in it. however, I want to see if I get comfortable and competent enough to justify buying a plane before the plunge.
 
Gregory Haley said:
Well, I tend to be impulsive. My instructor pointed me toward a cirrus G22, used of course, I looked at a couple of lancairs, and I even thought of one of the Vans models to save money....but......dunno. would love to get near 200 cruising speed, as I want to actually travel cross country in it. however, I want to see if I get comfortable and competent enough to justify buying a plane before the plunge.
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I would think a plane capable of 200 KT speed wouldn't be one you'd like to bang around while learning.

BUT.... if you do get one, they say a plane like the G22 has to be flown regularly to keep it in top shape. And of course I'm right down the road............;)
 
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Today i went for my scheduled training and the instructor asked if i was ready for solo! Did two trips around the pattern and nailed both landings. Dropped him off at the fbo and did my three take offs and landings! It is amazing how much peppier the 172 is without that extra weight! Such a relief to get the solo done! Now on to the next steps! Im so ready to start xc and night flights! Did my solo at 21.2hrs!
 
crawdaddyjc said:
Today i went for my scheduled training and the instructor asked if i was ready for solo! Did two trips around the pattern and nailed both landings. Dropped him off at the fbo and did my three take offs and landings! It is amazing how much peppier the 172 is without that extra weight! Such a relief to get the solo done! Now on to the next steps! Im so ready to start xc and night flights! Did my solo at 21.2hrs!
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Congrats!
 
completed my solo XC two weeks back. scheduled for my long XC in mid-Feb. my availability, weather, and rental availability are factors in the long timespan between them...starting to question whether it's time to take on another plane of the same make/model to give me more options to finish out my training....
 
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