Starting my training!

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Apstevens113

Filing Flight Plan
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Sep 4, 2013
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Adam
First let me introduce myself, my name is Adam and I am a 23 year old living in Raleigh, NC. My uncle is a pilot, and ever since he took me up in his glider when I was about 8 years old, I was hooked 100% to everything aeronautics. I went on an introductory flight when I was around 18 and decided to start lessons.

Well, at that point, I was hit with the diagnosis of ulcerative colitis. I was extremely sick throughout the next 3 years. VERY long story short; I was in and out of hospitals, on all kinds of medicine to try to keep my disease under control, and finally, had two 7 hour surgeries to eliminate the problem. This sickness also put any kind of college schooling on hold. After I got healthy again, I started working. I have been working full time the past 3 years. I finally decided to chase my passion, and have applied to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach for their maintenance program.

I don't know if any of you are into Flight Simulators, but I have been flying on FSX for the past few months with a full yoke and rudder pedal set up. I know it's not the same ;) But I figured I'd share my latest video with you guys. A flight in a Mooney (uncles plane) from Nashville to KLHZ (airport I will be doing my lessons out of). Even though it's not the same as real life, it is definitely giving me, what I think, is some good experience with the basics. I don't know why, but FSrecorder is recording some of the gauges wrong, one being the turn coordinator... Anyways, enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3WHZz5lxEA

Now, finally to the flight training. This has been my dream for as long as I can remember. I have finally pulled the trigger, and my first lesson is this Friday at 5 o'clock. I am training at Total Flight Solutions out of Triangle North Executive Airport in a Cessna 172. I am BEYOND excited. I wanted to join a great forum where I can get some help, tips, and just to be part of a community.

So, anyways, glad to be here, and if anybody has any tips, suggestions, advice, what to expect out of my first lessons, or just any words for me, I would greatly appreciate it :)
 
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Welcome to POA! There is a ton of great information and topics available. Lots of insight on training as well. Enjoy, ask away, and stay safe!
 
Apstevens113 said:
First let me introduce myself, my name is Adam and I am a 23 year old living in Raleigh, NC. My uncle is a pilot, and ever since he took me up in his glider when I was about 8 years old, I was hooked 100% to everything aeronautics. I went on an introductory flight when I was around 18 and decided to start lessons.

Well, at that point, I was hit with the diagnosis of ulcerative colitis. I was extremely sick throughout the next 3 years. VERY long story short; I was in and out of hospitals, on all kinds of medicine to try to keep my disease under control, and finally, had two 7 hour surgeries to eliminate the problem. This sickness also put any kind of college schooling on hold. After I got healthy again, I started working. I have been working full time the past 3 years. I finally decided to chase my passion, and have applied to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach for their maintenance program.

I don't know if any of you are into Flight Simulators, but I have been flying on FSX for the past few months with a full yoke and rudder pedal set up. I know it's not the same ;) But I figured I'd share my latest video with you guys. A flight in a Mooney (uncles plane) from Nashville to KLHZ (airport I will be doing my lessons out of). Even though it's not the same as real life, it is definitely giving me, what I think, is some good experience with the basics. I don't know why, but FSrecorder is recording some of the gauges wrong, one being the turn coordinator... Anyways, enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3WHZz5lxEA

Now, finally to the flight training. This has been my dream for as long as I can remember. I have finally pulled the trigger, and my first lesson is this Friday at 5 o'clock. I am training at Total Flight Solutions out of Triangle North Executive Airport in a Cessna 172. I am BEYOND excited. I wanted to join a great forum where I can get some help, tips, and just to be part of a community.

So, anyways, glad to be here, and if anybody has any tips, suggestions, advice, what to expect out of my first lessons, or just any words for me, I would greatly appreciate it :)
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Welcome Adam! I'm a student as well, just a whole lot older. have fun.
 
That's great, so glad things are finally moving forward for you, liked your video too. I used FSX a good bit during my training and really enjoyed it.
 
Thank you everyone! Friday afternoon can't come fast enough. I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions :)
 
17 year old student here, welcome to the addiction ;)

My one suggestion is that when you do go flying remember to take a deep breath and look out the windows!
 
Welcome, Adam and congrats on starting on your journey toward becoming a pilot. I was a several thousand hour MSFS pilot going into my training and found that for the most part, it did help with the basics. It can also develop misconceptions and bad habits, too, so watch out for that... In fact, there was a pretty good post on the topic here a couple of months ago (includes a couple of posts by me regarding my experiences).

http://www.pilotsofamerica.com/forum/showthread.php?t=60665

In any event, good luck and congratulations!
 
Welcome Adam

Fellow student pilot here, much older and at the other end of the training.

I have a friend who lives in a ****ty climate and used a flight sim like your to keep practicing when he couldn't fly. He highly recommends it.

One very helpful thing for me, if your school allows it is a gopro with the ATC hooked up, being able to review my lessons was a huge bonus for me. Of course ask your instructor first.

Good luck, sounds like you have the right attitude and dedication, so keep us up to date.
 
Welcome Adam,remember flying is supposed to be fun,have a great time in your endeavor.
 
Welcome! I am 22 (23 is coming up tooooooo fast) It's nice to have some others in the same age group.
 
Welcome to PoA! As for advice, as someone who waited until age 53 to "pull the trigger," as you put it, I just want to say: never, ever, give up on your dream! Oh yeah, and don't count the money. Dreams should have no price tag attached.
 
Seanaldinho said:
17 year old student here, welcome to the addiction ;)

My one suggestion is that when you do go flying remember to take a deep breath and look out the windows!
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Thank you, I have heard that many times, especially with students that have flown flight sims, that they get too used to flying from the gauges and not looking around them. I will keep that in mind!

V1-Vr-V2 said:
Welcome, Adam and congrats on starting on your journey toward becoming a pilot. I was a several thousand hour MSFS pilot going into my training and found that for the most part, it did help with the basics. It can also develop misconceptions and bad habits, too, so watch out for that... In fact, there was a pretty good post on the topic here a couple of months ago (includes a couple of posts by me regarding my experiences).

http://www.pilotsofamerica.com/forum/showthread.php?t=60665

In any event, good luck and congratulations!
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Thank you very much :) I will have to look through that thread when I get home from work.

ferrari-tech said:
Welcome Adam

Fellow student pilot here, much older and at the other end of the training.

I have a friend who lives in a ****ty climate and used a flight sim like your to keep practicing when he couldn't fly. He highly recommends it.

One very helpful thing for me, if your school allows it is a gopro with the ATC hooked up, being able to review my lessons was a huge bonus for me. Of course ask your instructor first.

Good luck, sounds like you have the right attitude and dedication, so keep us up to date.
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Thank you for the tips. I have a Gopro for motocross racing and have already decided to bring it up to the instructor tomorrow and ask if I can bring it and hook up the ATC. How do I go about hooking that up to the camera?

frfly172 said:
Welcome Adam,remember flying is supposed to be fun,have a great time in your endeavor.
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Badger said:
Welcome
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Z06_Mir said:
Welcome! I am 22 (23 is coming up tooooooo fast) It's nice to have some others in the same age group.
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Eagle I said:
Welcome to PoA! As for advice, as someone who waited until age 53 to "pull the trigger," as you put it, I just want to say: never, ever, give up on your dream! Oh yeah, and don't count the money. Dreams should have no price tag attached.
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Thank you everybody for your welcomes and words. I'm getting more and more excited about tomorrow. I know tomorrows work day is going to drag on.
 
Welcome!

I watched your video... RUDDER! :)

Seriously though, every time you move the ailerons, you have to move the rudder. I know a lot of "modern" airplanes have gotten rid of some/most adverse yaw, but not using the rudder is a bad habit to get into.

Enjoy the ride! It's an amazing experience!

EDIT: I just saw the sentence about turn coordinator being incorrect on the replay. Sorry about that! I think the above is still worth repeating.
 
Please be careful about that camera. Any extraneous equipment in the aircraft has the potential to be a distraction. If you're a motocross racer, you're probably aware of the issues. That camera must never enter your thoughts in the aircraft, no matter what. If you can't guarantee that, it's best to leave it behind. If it doesn't work the first time, just forget about it; you have A LOT of stuff to learn without spending brain cells on that. Learning to fly is an immersion experience comparable to being dropped in a foreign country and told to learn the language, with a coach to help.

You're aware of the potential simulator issues. That can also become a distraction (though, obviously, not in the air). The real airplane needs to be your focus.

Just remember, the things that make airplanes fly (or not) are lift, thrust, drag and weight, plus the control surfaces used to modify those. If it doesn't affect at least one of those things somehow, it's irrelevant, at least until solo.
 
Pappy said:
Welcome!

I watched your video... RUDDER! :)

Seriously though, every time you move the ailerons, you have to move the rudder. I know a lot of "modern" airplanes have gotten rid of some/most adverse yaw, but not using the rudder is a bad habit to get into.

Enjoy the ride! It's an amazing experience!

EDIT: I just saw the sentence about turn coordinator being incorrect on the replay. Sorry about that! I think the above is still worth repeating.
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Haha, yes, the video makes my rudder use look opposite. :lol:

But, I will admit, I am not using rudder every time I turn the yoke, I am trying to get better at keeping that circle in the middle :) Thank you for the tip though, I've flown RC airplanes since I was about 14, and a lot of the time it's just bank and yank type flying, not always using rudder, so I know it's going to have to be beat into my brain to use the rudder every time I'm turning the yoke.

MAKG1 said:
Please be careful about that camera. Any extraneous equipment in the aircraft has the potential to be a distraction. If you're a motocross racer, you're probably aware of the issues. That camera must never enter your thoughts in the aircraft, no matter what. If you can't guarantee that, it's best to leave it behind. If it doesn't work the first time, just forget about it; you have A LOT of stuff to learn without spending brain cells on that. Learning to fly is an immersion experience comparable to being dropped in a foreign country and told to learn the language, with a coach to help.

You're aware of the potential simulator issues. That can also become a distraction (though, obviously, not in the air). The real airplane needs to be your focus.

Just remember, the things that make airplanes fly (or not) are lift, thrust, drag and weight, plus the control surfaces used to modify those. If it doesn't affect at least one of those things somehow, it's irrelevant, at least until solo.
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Yes, very true. I don't know yet about in the airplane, but in motocross, absolutely.... You are trying to look "good" while the camera is rolling, and that is on your mind every moment the record light is blinking.

Very, very, very good advice that I have never thought about if I had it in the cockpit. I think I will be extremely focused on the aircraft, and hopefully will forget about the Gopro. I am going to bring it as soon as I can, and then see how it goes. If I find myself thinking about that camera rolling, it will have to be banned from the airplane.
 
Well, I flew today! :) It was an absolutely amazing experience.

We went up, practiced a few turns, descents, climbs, and just went over the general controls and how all the gauges react to inputs. We then did one touch and go, and from that next take off I had full control of the airplane. I took off, then flew the flight pattern, and set up for an approach, I made my first landing ever, given my instructor handled controls like the carb heat and flaps, but it was an awesome feeling having control of the plane all the way to the ground.

It was funny because when we touched down somebody came over the radio and said,"Nice landing David (my instructor)" and my instructor said,"That was actually my students first ever landing." He came back with,"Wow, we give awards for landings like that". It was a pretty cool feeling.

A few pictures from today... I'm still coming down from the high of it all. Amazing time today.









My approach








 
Interesting idea setting up a perfect approach and then letting the student touch down, at least in excellent weather. The thing that screws up student landings is that a poor approach leads to a poor landing.

Sounds like you had a good instructor, and a good photographer.

I'm headed out to the field shortly to try out the angle of attack gauge one of the instructors installed in his 152.
 
MAKG1 said:
Interesting idea setting up a perfect approach and then letting the student touch down, at least in excellent weather. The thing that screws up student landings is that a poor approach leads to a poor landing.

Sounds like you had a good instructor, and a good photographer.

I'm headed out to the field shortly to try out the angle of attack gauge one of the instructors installed in his 152.
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Yes, the weather was gorgeous. From the base leg on my instructor was instructing me where I was a little off, when he was putting in flaps, etc... and it was still just a great feeling flying the approach and touching down with me in control of the yoke and rudder. I'm really enjoying how my instructor is doing so far, making me feel very comfortable in the cockpit.
 
Adam, your excitement is contagious! Welcome aboard and continue to share yor enthusiasm! It takes me back to when I started training 3 years ago and even though I've earned my pilots license- the excitement every time I arrive at the airport and know I'll be flying has yet to wear off! Enjoy the aviation journey and keep sharing your enthusiasm and don't forget the feeling you have now as you move through training!
 
Evening Folks,

Like Adam, I am equally excited to Learn how to fly. I just have a challenge with landing....... More like fear. I have started circuits but I'm not solo yet. Any tips or guidance?
 
Alright, I just had my 3rd lesson yesterday, and 4th today.... I'm having a great time so far. I'm starting to really get the procedures and order that things are supposed to be done down better, and definitely getting a better feel for the aircraft.

Yesterday we practiced steep turns again, power on and off stalls, turning around a ground point, and making s-turns across a road. I'm also doing the pre-flight by myself now, and flying the aircraft from start up to shut down, so that's pretty exciting. I brought the GoPro up yesterday and strapped it to the headrest on the seat, not very happy with the placement as I'd like to really see the gauges and outside the airplane a bit more, it's crazy how wide angle the lens on the gopro is, the camera was physically right over my shoulder but looks further back on the video. I brought it with me today and may just end up using the head strap on putting it on my head so I can review everything. We just pretty much repeated practicing what we did yesterday, today, so I didn't even bother with the gopro. Although, we did practice slow flight today which was pretty crazy, flying around holding altitude with full flaps all the way down to 41 knots, and still making controlled turns in an airplane just didn't seem possible to me until I did it today, haha.

So, at the end of today's flight, I entered back into the pattern, flew the pattern, and landed, then went around 2 more times so I got 3 landings in today. It was a bit more windy today, so much more of a challenge then the completely still days I've been having. I have right around 4 hours right now, and I asked my instructor how I'm progressing after today's lesson. He says I'm looking like I'll be solo'ing ahead of the normal at around 9 or 10 hours, and my landings in particular are the best he's seen from a student since he's been instructing :D I have things to work on though for sure, I keep getting stuck on a few gauges and not looking outside enough on some maneuvers. Such as the steep turns, I am watching the vertical speed indicator, and waiting for the drop for the amount of back pressure I need, well when that drop finally shows on the gauge we've been descending and I haven't even noticed. So, that's gotta get beat out of my head. I think that's the biggest thing for me to get straight right now. Anyways, here's the Gopro video from yesterday. I'm loving everything about the flight lessons though, can't get enough.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZ8Xb0fauwQ
 
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Nice vid, perhaps place the Gopro a bit higher and further forward. That way we would see less of your shoulder and more of the gauges and more whats happening outside.
Try not to have both hands on yoke, it easily leads to overcorrecting manouvers. All you need is 2 or 3 fingers.

A quick tip to try on steep turns on C172. After you get past 30 degree bank, pull two turns of trim. That keeps it pretty much nice and stable during the turn at 45 degrees without any pull on the yoke.

Anyway, nice work and keep at it! It will only get better when you progress more!
 
congrats on starting your training! if you think your having fun now, wait until your solo
 
I didn't post here since I first started my training... But wanted to update! I'm a private pilot as of this past June. Loving every second of it. Took my dad, who beat cancer this year, up for my first passenger flight. I've taken up multiple friends and family members, and even got my brother, who is deathly afraid of flying, up in the Cessna and he absolutely loved it.
 
Congrats. Welcome. My 22 yo son got his license 18 months ago. It is a feeling you will never forget. Enjoy your journey.
 
This is awesome. I started reading this from the top, then realized, this is from 2013, then I was afraid the thread was resurrected by a 'what ever happened to this guy' post. Glad to see otherwise, that you finished and are still going!

Thanks for sharing the vids.

Student here, started last winter, still in the 20's on hours(I think), snail's pace, but having fun.
 
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