Ugh.

SkyChaser

SkyChaser

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SkyChaser
So...found out this evening that my flight instructor got laid off. Thanks, universe! :mad:

I don't know if I am posting this mainly to have a hissy-fit or what, but I am not very happy. I was really pleased with my CFI and the airport and the plane, and couldn't wait until this whole mess was over so I could go fly again. And now this. UGH.

What do I do now? My (ex?) CFI recommended another place nearby-ish (where he got his private cert), and I did email them a few questions, but I really don't want to have to go to a new place. I've only flown a Skyhawk, and the other place has an Archer, and I don't want to learn a new plane when I was just figuring the last one out...

You all can tell me to just suck it up now.
 
Do you know if your instructor's layoff is permanent? If you weren't flying right now anyway, why not wait and see how things pan out?

That said, it shouldn't keep you from studying. There's a lot of stuff you can look at while you're waiting.
 
It's a blessing in disguise.... low wings are vastly superior anyway, especially Archers.
 
Thanks for listening to me rant, guys.

I think it will probably be permanent, but I should know for sure in a couple of days. It was a little airport, and it was just a one CFI-one plane deal. The main business is actually crop-spraying, so it wasn't like a major flight school or primary source of income for them.

I will see if he is planning to start instructing independently. Getting a plane could be very interesting, but hey, there are harder things in life.

And it might be a little while before I can believe you about the low-wing. I haven't ever flown in a low-wing even as a passenger (I have only ever flown in the Skyhawk I was taking lessons in). I am sure if I end up going that route, I will enjoy it, too, but the thought of learning a new plane when I was just figuring out the last one is sort of daunting.
 
Skyhawk to archer should be quite easy. And will make you a better pilot.
 
SkyChaser said:
So...found out this evening that my flight instructor got laid off. Thanks, universe! :mad:

I don't know if I am posting this mainly to have a hissy-fit or what, but I am not very happy. I was really pleased with my CFI and the airport and the plane, and couldn't wait until this whole mess was over so I could go fly again. And now this. UGH.

What do I do now? My (ex?) CFI recommended another place nearby-ish (where he got his private cert), and I did email them a few questions, but I really don't want to have to go to a new place. I've only flown a Skyhawk, and the other place has an Archer, and I don't want to learn a new plane when I was just figuring the last one out...

You all can tell me to just suck it up now.
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What prevents you from hiring your old instructor?
 
I wouldn’t be in a big hurry to find a new instructor and airplane,until this virus thing is over.
 
Old97 said:
Skyhawk to archer should be quite easy. And will make you a better pilot.
Click to expand...

I'm similar to the OP in that my learning has only been in a Skyhawk (a whopping 12 hours). Looking forward to flying other airplanes down the road. Can you describe what the differences are and why flying a low wing will make us newbie better pilots? Thx.
 
Kenny Phillips said:
What prevents you from hiring your old instructor?
Click to expand...

Finding an affordable plane to take the lessons in, mostly, at this point anyway. Who knows what it will be by the time this virus stuff is over.

I am guessing that I won't be flying anyway, even I could find a new instructor, until the virus stuff is over, but I am a little leery of waiting until everyone else wants to find an instructor, too. There aren't very many options/CFIs close to me, and they usually have waiting lists. Which I would like to avoid if at all possible, obviously. What am I missing that would make finding a new instructor/plane pre-emptively a bad choice?
 
I would imagine both planes fly very similar. I did all of my training in a low wing Cherokee earning my Private certificate in roughly 50 hours. My CFI said I was ready closer to 40 but reschedules kept pushing me back and I gained a few more hours experience, which wasn't a bad thing. Now that I've got my certificate, it seems like the family enjoys the Cessna 172 better and I've got maybe 6-8 hours time in it. Both are great planes, in the air they both fly very similar. Biggest difference for me is the sight picture (although its not a huge difference) and in the Cessna I don't have to worry about switching tanks. I think the Cherokee is actually trimmed for takeoff when the handcrank is in the correct position as opposed to the Cessna which required a bit more trimming on climb out. In the Cherokee, I set the trim, rotated at rotation speed and could practically take my hands off the yoke while still climbing at Vy. In the Cessna, I have to push forward a fair amount to keep Vy and end up retrimming in climbout to ease the pressure on the yoke. I've flown 2 different Cessna's at the school and both react this way so I assume its a Cessna thing. Visibilty in the pattern in easier in the Cherokee in my opinion but its not terrible in the Cessna. The Cherokee had a rudder trim that was usually pegged full right and the left turning tendencies on climbout were minimized because of this. In the Cessna 172 no rudder trim exists so I have to be cognizant of it a bit more. The Cherokee will drop like a rock with power removed so if your high on final you don't necessarily need to perform a forward slip, but it also means you have to be aware of how power affects the descent rate.
All in all, neither are bad planes and I do enjoy the Cherokee still, but the back seat room sucks. Not something I need to worry about but I worry about as unhappy passengers typically mean an unhappy outing. I've heard a Cherokee 6 would solve that problem rather well but I'm not in the market to purchase anytime soon. Oh, it seemed like the Cherokee was a quieter ride as well. Probably due to less doors and opening windows, but in the summer that means you're in a sauna on the ground unless you taxi with the door open.
 
I started in a Cherokee, took a long time off, finished in a Skyhawk that I purchased. I really like the vision out of the Cessna, and it's much easier for the old people to get in/out of.
But for learning, find what's cheap, use that until you get your ticket.
 
SkyChaser said:
You all can tell me to just suck it up now.
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Not going to tell you to suck it up. But until we have widespread testing of some sort, you probably shouldn't be sharing a cockpit with anyone right now. Your CFI is laid off, not dead. There are (or will be) other CFI jobs out there. Its entirely possible you could end up flying with the same CFI somewhere once its safe to get back in the air again. Archer vs 172? They both fly like airplanes. Ok they both fly like under powered puddle jumping airplanes that can't get out of their own way but yeah, not too much difference between them. If your landings are clunky but otherwise safe in one, they'll be clunky but otherwise safe in the other. Just remember to switch fuel tanks once in a blue moon and don't try to get in or out through the pilot side door and you'll be fine.
 
Thanks for all the responses. :) I will try to remember not to get out the pilot side door if/when it comes to that.

I think it would be a miracle to find anyone instructing right now anyway, in my area. But yeah, until something changes, I am not planning on going up. More to protect the CFI from me than any other reason - I work in a daycare full of healthcare workers' children and whatever their moms or dads were exposed to, the kids expose me to. There isn't anything quite like close-range spit to help a person develop immunity!
 
just because the CFI is not working, doesn't mean they can't teach..
 
I learned to fly in a Cessna 120 - a bit lighter than a Skyhawk - for reasons that are not clear to me (it was a long time ago), my instructor wanted me to get checked out in one of the flight school Cherokees - no big deal at all.
 
SC777 said:
I'm similar to the OP in that my learning has only been in a Skyhawk (a whopping 12 hours). Looking forward to flying other airplanes down the road. Can you describe what the differences are and why flying a low wing will make us newbie better pilots? Thx.
Click to expand...

Speeds are pretty similar and handling in the air is similar. Cherokee variants may seem a little more nose heavy than a skyhawk. Ground handling in a cherokee is better, however you cant see straight behind you.

i really think sightlines out of a cherokee are better. Of course 1 door vs 2.

It’s probably a bit early to be hopping around amongst several types but skyhawk to archer will not set you back too bad. I did not think i would like cherokees after starting out in ancient square-tail 172s and 150s but now its not a tailwheel cessna i would pick a low wing piper every time. But im sure there are lots of people who would go the other way.

The main thing is not to give up - keep going.
 
SC777 said:
I'm similar to the OP in that my learning has only been in a Skyhawk (a whopping 12 hours). Looking forward to flying other airplanes down the road. Can you describe what the differences are and why flying a low wing will make us newbie better pilots? Thx.
Click to expand...
I did all my PPL training in a C172N. After I got my license, I started flying Cherokee 180s and Archer IIIs. They fly very similar to the 172. Here are my findings:

- Ground effect is noticeably different, Archer floats more than the 172
- Archer is harder to get in/out then 172
- Archer stalls are so much gentler than 172. It's like the plane doesn't want to stall.
- Archer flies a little faster than the 172N I was training on
- 172 was easier to trim than the Archer. The Cherokee 180 in the club is also easier to trim than the Archer. I don't know why.
- Archer has autopilot! :)

It took me 1 hr with my CFI to transition to the Archer/Cherokee.
 
ee about stalls. Stalls in the Cessna seem more pronounced than in the Cherokee I learned in. Heck, a power on stall was dang near impossible unless you snapped back on the yoke at the last second in the Cherokee. If you pull all the way back gently with full power it would just kind of hang in the air. Technically a stall I guess as it was no longer lifting but if you weren't aware of it you would think you were still climbing and could be in a very slow descent. As opposed to the 172, when she stalls, you know it. Closest I've ever been to putting a plane in a spin was in the Cessna. I was surprised at how fast I reacted with opposite rudder. Good to know considering I wanted to do a spin with my CFI and we never got around to it until that day. He had a small look of panic for about a half second, then once I recovered he just gave me this smile and said- you almost spun but recovered quite nicely.
 
SkyChaser said:
And it might be a little while before I can believe you about the low-wing. I haven't ever flown in a low-wing even as a passenger (I have only ever flown in the Skyhawk I was taking lessons in).
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Trained in high wings, and bought my previous Tiger at 100 hours or so and flew it over 600 hours. I live in a high wind environment, and although not scientific, the Tiger could handle huge crosswind better than the others I had trained. My current ride (RV7A in avatar), has an identical rudder to the Tiger, but I guess because of weight struggles at high crosswind. I've landed direct 30G33 knots in the Tiger, the RV7 rudder seems to run out of authority at about 25 knots (might be a weight issue also has a gross weight 600 pounds lighter than the RV7).
 
Thanks, guys. I appreciate all the feedback/contrasts. It's a little less overwhelming to think about now. Especially if I don't think about how as a student with 10 hours, taking four or more weeks off will probably require me to relearn just about everything anyway... :rolleyes:

I am trying not to get discouraged by everything. Between only being able to fly on weekends due to working fulltime, bad weather/too windy on about 1.5 out of every 3 weekends (February/March is not a great time to learn to fly in the upper Midwest...) and now, not being able to fly for almost four weeks due to COVID, is just a lot. But so far, I am just too stubborn to forget how amazing flying is (I am not sure if that is forgettable?). I feel like by the time I can finally go fly again, I will be happy with anything that takes off. ;)
 
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