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

Hi, I just discovered this site.

I'm doing my large cross-country tomorrow (Astoria and Tillamook, OR) which is the last thing I need before checkride prep. I'm hoping to get it all wrapped up before the Fall weather finally arrives and the sun starts to set at 4:30 pm.
 
Welcome Charlie! Plan well, fly smart, and good luck! Looking forward to hearing how it goes!
 
Giant81 said:
I'm the new guy here. I have no hours, no training, and no money. What I do have is a drive that tells me I will get my PPL eventually.

Currently I'm working on learning as much as I can from free sources online while I wait until spring. Once Taxes roll in, my plan is to put money aside for ground school and start saving up for rental time.

My biggest hurdle is whether at 6'9" I can fit in a cockpit to fly anything, but I've been told I can. While a 152 might not fit me very well I've been told there are planes that will fit. This means it will be a bit more expensive to get my PPL so it may take a bit longer but I'm going to do it.

I plan to schedule an introductory flight in Aug.
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You're never too tall for an open cockpit plane. :)
 

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Finished up my cross country time this week and have scheduled my last night flight to grab the last few take off and landings I need. Doing nothing but studying and taking practice tests for the knowledge test right now, hopefully I will be scheduling that later this coming week with a little luck.
 
So... I flew for the first time in over three weeks today. I had a bit of a break due to weather, TFRs, a personal vacation, etc.

I got a bit nauseated after 40 minutes or so

This was my first time in something other than a 150 or 172 - today's lesson was in an RV-12. It is sooo different than the Cessnas I've flown in. We were getting bounced around a bit, but I didn't think it was really bothering me that much. My stomach didn't agree, if that makes sense? I'm not too happy about that. Is that something that happens after taking a break? Maybe I didn't eat enough too.

Either way, the RV-12 was awesome. So much visibility, and so nimble. Though I'm really not used to the glass cockpit.
 
Baked Potato said:
So... I flew for the first time in over three weeks today. I had a bit of a break due to weather, TFRs, a personal vacation, etc.

I got a bit nauseated after 40 minutes or so

This was my first time in something other than a 150 or 172 - today's lesson was in an RV-12. It is sooo different than the Cessnas I've flown in. We were getting bounced around a bit, but I didn't think it was really bothering me that much. My stomach didn't agree, if that makes sense? I'm not too happy about that. Is that something that happens after taking a break? Maybe I didn't eat enough too.

Either way, the RV-12 was awesome. So much visibility, and so nimble. Though I'm really not used to the glass cockpit.
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You’re going to get bounced quite a bit in any LSA, RV-12 included, due to the low wing loading. You’ll get used to it.
 
Got my 3rd class medical a few months ago after many years of trying to get it.

Been training in the c172.
I have done some maneuvers (stalls, steep turns, etc). Did my solo last month. Did my night cross country on Monday.

Tomorrow I'm doing my solo long cross country.

I feel about 75% ready for the checkride but my cfi is not running at my pace.

I still have to work on steep turns, short field and soft field landings.

In the meantime I have been studying the pile of books I have. my cfi is not doing any ground school work with me. Doing all that on my own.
 
I have my check-ride scheduled for Nov 16th. Getting nervous already because I feel like I still have a lot to cover and read and dont feel like I am ready. Still have to do some maneuvers and then practice for the exam.
 
ahmad said:
I have my check-ride scheduled for Nov 16th. Getting nervous already because I feel like I still have a lot to cover and read and dont feel like I am ready. Still have to do some maneuvers and then practice for the exam.
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So schedule it for December or January and spend a few more weeks studying and flying. Confidence is important and preparedness is the basis of that.
 
R.L.Mauzy said:
I am so happy to report I just passed my written for the Private Pilot!

Just need a couple lessons to go over stuff (practice maneuvers and process etc)for the check ride and I can schedule that. Woohoo
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Congrats! Fantastic accomplishment and has to feel great getting close to the end goal!!
 
I passed my check ride on the 21st. After 10 years of building and then a couple back surgeries that slowed me down I am now licensed. I was able to get most of my training and do my check ride in my RV 9A. I flew up to KBFA - Boyne Mountain today and was the only airplane there. It was my longest flight - about 200 miles each way and a total flight time of about 3 hours. It was a little freaky being that far from where I am used to flying but I had a great time. image1.jpeg
 
R.L.Mauzy said:
I am so happy to report I just passed my written for the Private Pilot!

Just need a couple lessons to go over stuff (practice maneuvers and process etc)for the check ride and I can schedule that. Woohoo
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Congrats! I also passed my PPL written exam today. I’m a long way from my check ride. I had a kidney transplant 2 months ago, so my medical will take a bit of time (est 3-6 months). I’m taking my time with my flight lessons as I [im]patiently wait for my medical. Hopefully I should be good for the checkride by the time that’s complete.
 
Working on my private. Just finished my long cross-country. I have to finish my night landings and simulated instrument and clean up my skills. I took my written over a year ago (scored well), so I'm going to start reviewing that material again. I'm hoping I can earn my PPL over Christmas break, but school is crazy busy this semester so finding time to practice and study is hard. :)
 
rockwoodrv9a said:
I passed my check ride on the 21st. After 10 years of building and then a couple back surgeries that slowed me down I am now licensed. I was able to get most of my training and do my check ride in my RV 9A. I flew up to KBFA - Boyne Mountain today and was the only airplane there. It was my longest flight - about 200 miles each way and a total flight time of about 3 hours. It was a little freaky being that far from where I am used to flying but I had a great time. View attachment 112015
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Congratulations!
Must feel amazing.
I am scheduled for my checkride in 10 days. Hopefully the weather is good. I still have to practice a bunch of maneuvers but feel ready for the oral part. I can't wait till I put away the 2 tons of book away.
 
I took my discovery flight in mid June and began lessons in early July. I'm flying a 172R at a part 61 school out of a Class D airport. Trained pretty steadily throughout the summer with frequent interruptions due to maintenance, weather, and availability in my CFI's schedule.

I think it took me about 13 hours to solo, and then I got endorsed to fly to a couple of nearby untowered airports and I was really able to start stacking hours and practicing on my schedule. Felt fairly ready for a checkride around 45-50 hours (two months ago?) and got on two DPE's waiting lists.

One DPE was able to get me on his schedule this past Wednesday, but winds were gusting to 40+ kts, so we discontinued prior to the practical exam. The interview portion of the checkride went extremely smooth; I came prepared with my FAR/AIM and PHAK tabbed out but never felt the need to refer to them to answer any of his questions. I had prepared a paper nav log and weight & balance sheet and plotted my cross country assignment on a paper sectional, as well as a duplicate of everything in Foreflight. I had a current chart supplement with all my possible diversion airports tabbed, and typed up a list of alternates with their frequencies, runways lengths and headings, and available services. I had that in a three ring binder with my paper nav log and W&B sheet.

I think the examiner could sense I had done my homework, so he didn't seem to throw me any 'gotcha' questions, or maybe the hours of mock oral youtube videos and reading paid off and I was able to field whatever he threw at me.

Either way, the practical has been rescheduled for this Wednesday and it looks like high winds, 300ft ceilings, and a potential snowstorm. Unless things really turn around, it looks like another reschedule. Ready to get this behind me.

I've been flying every few days to increase my proficiency and stay sharp, so I've logged another ~30 hours since I first contacted the DPE, and I'm sitting at 76.9 now. Looking to purchase a 172 or 182 if the market cools in the next few years and I'll need hours to be insurable, so I don't mind flying more than I need at this point.

Plan immediately following the checkride is to get in the school's 182RG with my CFI and do some training for my complex and high performance endorsements. Instrument rating is probably a few years down the road, I'd like to not be a renter at that point.
 
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Baked Potato said:
Awesome. I have my first one scheduled for Saturday but it's looking like rain, so probably not happening :(
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For me, 5th time was a charm. I'd re-routed mine so many times trying to find better weather. One day, somebody took the plane just as I arrived (he wasn't on the schedule). But the winds that day would have been too strong for me to land with my current limitations. The day I finally got to fly, it was quite hazy, but the sky was calm. So happy I was able to get it flown before more "winter" weather comes in. (Texas gets lots of rain in winter.)
 
Jo Gowing said:
For me, 5th time was a charm. I'd re-routed mine so many times trying to find better weather. One day, somebody took the plane just as I arrived (he wasn't on the schedule). But the winds that day would have been too strong for me to land with my current limitations. The day I finally got to fly, it was quite hazy, but the sky was calm. So happy I was able to get it flown before more "winter" weather comes in. (Texas gets lots of rain in winter.)
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Man, that's a lot of attempts!
I haven't had the greatest luck lately - if it wasn't for weather, CFI availability, maintenance issues, I think I'd have twice as many hours as I actually do.
But... I guess that's all part of aviation, right?
 
Definitely! Better safe than sorry. I've just been puttering away at my PPL. I try to fly at least twice a week. Thankfully, I can solo. I've got a lot of hours, but I'm pretty cautious. I hope you can get your flight done soon. It was a wonderful experience.
 
Just joined PoA! I flew my first 141 training flight on Saturday. Looking forward to my winter break- hopefully I can pack a lot of flying in then.
 
Check-ride was scheduled for next week. I was stressing because I feel like I am not 100% ready. Well, the plane is now down due to major leak in one of the tanks and the other plane we use is down for the annual. My cfi was worried about telling me this before I told him I am actually glad we are cancelling next week's check-ride.
 
You’ll probably never feel 100% ready. Which means you’ll be open for learning. Can you get a plane somewhere else? Need to keep flying up to the checkride.
 
Final update on this thread for me…from zero time to ATP rated airline pilot in 27 months. This was a second career for me and I went all in when I decided to make the jump. Anything is possible with passion and support. Anyone who is aspiring to become a pilot of any kind, don’t give up. It may get difficult, but it is all worth it.
 
RussS said:
Final update on this thread for me…from zero time to ATP rated airline pilot in 27 months. This was a second career for me and I went all in when I decided to make the jump. Anything is possible with passion and support. Anyone who is aspiring to become a pilot of any kind, don’t give up. It may get difficult, but it is all worth it.
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Two years? Wow - well done! That must have been an intense couple of years. You win the "Grit" award for sure. What airline are you with?
 
RussS said:
Final update on this thread for me…from zero time to ATP rated airline pilot in 27 months. This was a second career for me and I went all in when I decided to make the jump. Anything is possible with passion and support. Anyone who is aspiring to become a pilot of any kind, don’t give up. It may get difficult, but it is all worth it.
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Wow fantastic! Did your first career fund this? Did you get your CFI and instruct? When did you cut over?
 
Soloed on 11/18/2022. The day before my 60th birthday.
29.2 hours in the logbook (can/should I count the 1 hour glider I got for a father's day gift?).
Why so many hours? I have had fits and starts on my journey to PP/ASEL. I started out with a CFI I really, really enjoyed. Very hands-off and willing to talk you through each step of the way. Ex-ATP (regional). My problem was that he was not punctual. An 8 am appointment meant we might be ready to preflight by 9. Then he had a family event (death of FIL) and went dark for two weeks; absolutely no contact. I gave up and moved on from KSEP to a brand-new flight school at KGDJ. I was paired up with a very good CFI with 1450 hours. Yep, the magic 1,500 hours passed and he was off to Piedmont. He said that I was ready to solo, and then he was gone. The school then paired me with a very low-hour CFI. It was starting over time. On our first flight as we neared the airport he took the controls. I explained to him that I was very familiar with flying the pattern there and could handle it. After two more flights with him my prepaid balance was used up and I quit in disgust.

I met with another private CFI that was going to school me in his Champ. Real hairy-chested man stuff, flying from a grass strip in a hand-propped taildragger. Unfortunately, gravity once again showed that it affected even high-time pilots. That training never came about after his "incident".

After almost three months off I tried another flight school at KCPT. They had nice equipment, and the transition from a high-wing 172 to a low-wing PA-28-150 took about an hour. I did two lessons there before I soon realized I could not afford them. Each lesson was nearly $400! I quit again for a couple of months, and the FS at KGDJ folded. A larger FS from Denton opened a satellite office there and I was talked into giving them a try. So, here I am, back on track. Solo at 60.

I would love to be able to just dedicate two weeks to completion, but reality keeps asserting itself. I am still working, and just this year moved to a new position which requires a bit of time and dedication to learn new skills. After 22 years in Operations, moving to Chemistry Group has required me to dust off bits of knowledge I haven't used in decades. And, like everybody else in the world, we are understaffed. I will probably lose 40 hours of vacation this year. Just not able to burn it off. I WILL take a week off to prep for my check flight though. I completed my written in December of 2021, so that sets the target deadline.
 
Happy B Day and congrats on this milestone! Got to admire the perseverance.
 
WDD said:
Happy B Day and congrats on this milestone! Got to admire the perseverance.
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Thanks!

I did forget to mention one very odd coincident that occurred yesterday. While on the "warmup laps" with my CFI, I got a call on the radio asking if I'd soloed yet. Pure happenstance that the CFI I was handed off to at the flight school that had closed down was at KGDJ that day (think he's a CFI for the "blue tails" - ATP). I guess that I must have a distinctive voice to be remembered after four months and only about five flights. He did wish me luck and later congratulated me after my first (professionally firm) landing - he was holding short during my first landing. After that the nerves settled down and I did better.

ETA - The new longer and wider runway at KGDJ is nice, but now acts as magnet for the ATP students to use for T&G's. While in the pattern yesterday at least three planes passing through did T&G's and flew on to their destination.
 
Third flight today, (Cherokee 180)- S-turns, simulated go-arounds, and engine out. Fairly stiff 15 blowing from the north on runway 09, so my instructor told me he'd handle the take-off, which I'd done from the first flight.
On return, entered the downwind leg and got pushed in by the wind a bit close so the base and final mol ran together. Pitched for 85 mph/full flaps, lined up on the runway and as I crossed the threshold- surprised he hadn't said "my controls" yet- I finally squawked "YOUR CONTROLS??" and he just said "NOPE". Guess I instinctively rounded-out (sim time) correctly because he never said or did a thing until he kept calmly repeating "Don't let it land- hold the nose up- hold the nose up" until touchdown. Def not picture perfect- but not bad at all.

I mention this because I found it really interesting that I never knew he was expecting me to land the aircraft (maybe he made the decision at the very end, don't know)- I'd never taken it even onto final on the two previous flights.
He told me his approach is to keep throwing balls at me, and see how I well I juggle them. Build up some stress- get the heart rate up- and challenge me. I mentioned this to my son who's a new AF pilot and he confirmed to me that it's the best way to learn. Definitely a confidence builder, and after three flights now the anxiety has mostly faded and I'm really enjoying it now- far from the "holy ****" feeling being almost scared to look out the window in a 45 degree bank last time :)

At 63 a bit old to be starting now- but hey, I ain't getting no younger...
 
After a great first cross country flight last week, I had a bad experience yesterday and am feeling quite discouraged. This is the second time out of three that I've gotten sick after doing steep turns.

When feeling nauseated, I know that my performance is degraded and I've had to hand control over to the CFI a couple of times now. I've got about 20 hours and I've thought that this would not be an issue any longer. I'm about 50/50 now as to whether or not I will continue.

Sick of being sick.
 
Do you get sick on the first steep turn, or after doing a bunch? If you stop and fly straight and level, does the nausea go away? What have you been eating before each of the times you got sick, and what was the temperature in the plane? Are you doing lots of steep turns in one direction in a row?

Eating something light but full of protein before can help steady the stomach. If it is hot in the plane (or if you're hot in a jacket, etc), that seems to encourage nausea, so keeping you cool while doing steep turns might help. I was really surprised when I got slightly nauseous while practicing lots of steep turns because I've never had motion sickness issues before, but it was hot, I hadn't eaten much that day, and after eight or nine circles in one direction, I was really dizzy and not feeling so great. Leveling off between circles or doing circles in alternating directions helped me, as well as focusing further away outside.
 
SkyChaser said:
Do you get sick on the first steep turn, or after doing a bunch? If you stop and fly straight and level, does the nausea go away? What have you been eating before each of the times you got sick, and what was the temperature in the plane? Are you doing lots of steep turns in one direction in a row?

Eating something light but full of protein before can help steady the stomach. If it is hot in the plane (or if you're hot in a jacket, etc), that seems to encourage nausea, so keeping you cool while doing steep turns might help. I was really surprised when I got slightly nauseous while practicing lots of steep turns because I've never had motion sickness issues before, but it was hot, I hadn't eaten much that day, and after eight or nine circles in one direction, I was really dizzy and not feeling so great. Leveling off between circles or doing circles in alternating directions helped me, as well as focusing further away outside.
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Thanks @SkyChaser. It is cumulative - usually after three or four. I did four in a row in a 150 before with no issue, but this last time in a Vans RV-12 I started feeling bad after the third. I know these LSA tend to get knocked around a bit more than the older planes, but I didn't feel like the air was that bad yesterday.

I do try to go out with something in my stomach. Yesterday was the first time that I flew in pretty cold weather, and I had a bunch of layers on because of that. Maybe I got too hot. It gets a little better when leveling off, but once it starts, I can't feel normal again until I'm on the ground it seems. One of the previous times I felt sick, we were doing a bunch of under the hood stuff, so during normal procedures I do try to keep looking at the horizon.

I'm just wondering if this is something that I can get over with practice. People back at the FBO were like "oh, yeah" after I told them that it was steep turns that made me green.
 
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You can get over it with practice for the most part, or at least I did. It was almost as though my ears learned what kind of movement a steep turn was and quit sending panicked signals back to my brain or something. It's also very possible that the RV-12 wasn't super bumpy, but that the turn felt different in it, so your ears and brain were freaking out. Something else that may or may not have correlation - I'd done some steep turns with no issues in a 172, but too many steep turns in an Archer, and I got queasy. Of course, that isn't controlled for temperature or meals beforehand, but it may be possible that part of the problem is that steep turns feel and look a bit different in a low wing. You could also try sucking a peppermint (like an Altoid mint so you can't choke) or eating some candied ginger before flights with steep turns scheduled, as both are pretty good for settling queasy stomachs.
 
Ok, good advice. I'll try the ginger thing. I didn't consider the low- vs high-wing difference. Another thing is that the rv-12 has like 1000% more visibility than the Cessna's since you're just under a big canopy and in front of the wings. I wonder if that makes a difference.

Yesterday when we landed I was like "I never want to do that again". But then hours pass, then a day, and now I just want to try again. This aviation business - things would be so much easier (and cheaper) if I didn't have that bug. But once I broke that seal with the discovery flight...
 
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