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Sat May 30, 2009 11:10 am

cosbeetle wrote: congrats on soloing! i'm gonna start flying again next week to finally finish my private cert. hopefully work dosent get in the way and i can finally finish.

Hey that's awesome to hear! Can't wait to hear some stories from you too! Flying now is so exhilarating, knowing that I do it and do it well and I'm trusted and can do it on my own is a privileged that is absolutely incredible, no one else but another pilot will ever know that feeling of Soloing for your first time, or their first time flying a plane and that's a cool irreplaceable feeling :D

Thu Jun 04, 2009 11:19 pm

What's new in the world of flying? I won't be able to go on Saturday, but I'm going into Navigation! Can't wait! What all have you guys been up to?

Mon Jun 08, 2009 7:35 pm

Hey all! Well its been 2 weeks since I've last been up, and it was with the Assistant Chief, and today I went to schedule a flight with my instructor on Saturday, and he's booked with a 4 hour lesson and a 4 hour BFR, So I gave him a call to see what I should do this weekend with flying, if anything at all, and he told me that now I have clearance to fly solo, and he said that my next lesson will be/would have been flying up to Arlington solo, doing a few touch and goes, and then come back and do a few in the pattern...I'm really excited that I get to go up there solo! It's a huge milestone and I can't wait! Now I'm in phase 2 of becoming a private pilot :D

Mon Jun 22, 2009 12:50 pm

Air cooled aircraft engines are very similar to VW engines so I still do most of my own wrenching on both. I bought a Cessna 150 in 1979 for primary training, a few years later I found a 1946 Globe Swift in need of rebuilding. I still have both. Living 1/2 mile from Van Nuys Airport makes frequent flying easy. I have been fortunate to log time in over 30 different types and models. I even have 20 minutes (back seat) in "Cottonmouth", a P51 Mustang). With a little over 3,500 flights and nearing 6,000 hours logged, I still get a thrill every time I go up.
None of my 5 kids have yet chosen to become pilots even though it would be free to them. This amazes me! If you have a chance to learn.. do it! The new license tiering makes it easier.. what with the easier and cheaper to get- Recreational Pilot's Ticket. Go take a demo ride (usually very cheap) and see if it's for you.

Wed Jun 24, 2009 1:24 am

Wow! Here I am, I have 34 hours, 2 of which are solo and I'm awful proud of myself! I went up 2 weeks ago with my uncle and grandpa and girlfriend, I did 1 in the pattern while they were in the flight office..and the thrill I get for it is indescribable..That must have been something else to go up in all of those old planes! I'm a real big World War 2 buff, and I've seen some pretty cools planes from that time..at Paine Field, they have a Messerschmidt 262 and that thing is something else...I also am now clear to go out of the pattern and practice some maneuvers..Me and my instructor are going to jump into navigation and I can't wait! I'd love to hear more stories about your flying experiences! Keep posting, this is a unique thread :)

Wed Jun 24, 2009 8:51 pm

Congrats on logging your first solo hours. Wish flying was as cheap as driving the Bug. I was raised in an aviation family - my dad flew Canadian Heritage Warplanes in WWII - when they were current. He was the OC of Flying in St Jean, Quebec in 1958 with the Canadian Air Force (mostly Harvards or Texans for you US folk). He then flew commercially in Northern and Southern Canada. Retired as an Air Aviation Worthiness Inspector with the DOT.
We have old b&w photo albums detailing aviation and air strips when they were in their infancy. I started a thread that was somewhat related
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=323819
but it was no 27 pages ! :shock:
Here's one to consider...
The bulk of mankind is as well equipped for flying as thinking.— Jonathon Swift
cheers.

Thu Jun 25, 2009 1:33 pm

Flew a, (non-pilot) customer to Catalina Island for a lunch meeting. Lovely flying weather, good food on the veranda of the airport cafe and a signed contract! Aircraft can make doing business easier and funner!

Thu Jun 25, 2009 2:03 pm

I might be going up this weekend with my instructor, this next lesson is going to be me leaving the pattern and doing navigation on my own and practice soft and short field take offs and landings. Here with in the next few months will be a lot of navigation work and weight and balance. Though Cessna's really haven't changed much, I have to use the old weight and balance charts because my plane is from 1969. I'm hoping to have my cross country Solo done by the end of summer too and take my written test over the winter and go for my Check Ride next Spring.

Thu Jun 25, 2009 7:22 pm

Navigation is the tough (and fun) one. It's amazing how easy it is to get lost even when you can see everything below.

Weight and balance is a snap. Just beware of the aft limit!

Thu Jun 25, 2009 7:38 pm

The navigation goes to show, both my grandpa and uncle have flown for over 30 years, so 60 combined, and my uncle took me and my girlfriend up 2 weeks ago, and we're flying to Bremerton National, it had been about 13 years since he had flown there last, and we're flying along and he's looking at the chart and looking outside and we were South East of the airport and I keep telling him that we're South East and he gets himself oriented about 3 minutes later, he realizes we are indeed South East of the Airport..and that place is pretty local. But since he and my grandpa have gotten older, they fly on perfect conditions usually no more than 25 miles away from Harvey...I want to explore!

Fri Jun 26, 2009 12:15 pm

PatterBon wrote: I want to explore!

These days, with GPS, it isn't quite as dicey as it used to be. Still, don't get dependent upon the magic box. The key to it is to always keep your position in mind while flying and to use the tools (GPS, VOR, Mk.1 eyeball) to update that information.

The winds aloft are seldom what the weather briefing stated, so you get to make modifications to your headings right away. Once you learn to be flexible and make corrections as you go things will become much easier.

Fri Jun 26, 2009 12:50 pm

I'm really eager and yet really hesitant to go explore, I've been cleared to leave the pattern and go to the practice areas and on the weekdays, if the weather is nice, I'm aloud to fly with in 25-50 nautical miles of Harvey..But I'm confident that I could find my way back, I'm hesitant to just go out and fly to far from Harvey. I want to, but going as far as 50 miles away where I can't see Harvey is something else. I was suggested to go up to Arlington, its far enough away from Harvey where you can't see it, but it's really straight forward to get to. I'm getting my drivers license tomorrow, so I'll have alot more time to go up and fly during the week and get my hours up. But the next lessons will be navigation and weight and balance.

Wed Jul 08, 2009 1:54 pm

Hey guys! Sorry for not having an update here in a long time..I just got my drivers license so I can start going back up and flying again! I gave my instructor a call about a week ago and we talked a bit about everything and my next flight with him will be a review because I haven't been up in awhile but I'm really excited to go up again! What's new in the aviation world with you guys?..I'm also going to be applying for Embry Riddle Aeronautics University here in the Fall time and will hopefully be going there in the fall of 2011!

Tue Jul 14, 2009 5:18 pm

Hey guys! I'm going up tomorrow for some solo work tomorrow! Whats been going on in the greater aviation world?

Tue Jul 14, 2009 5:26 pm

PatterBon wrote: Hey guys! Sorry for not having an update here in a long time..I just got my drivers license so I can start going back up and flying again! I gave my instructor a call about a week ago and we talked a bit about everything and my next flight with him will be a review because I haven't been up in awhile but I'm really excited to go up again! What's new in the aviation world with you guys?..I'm also going to be applying for Embry Riddle Aeronautics University here in the Fall time and will hopefully be going there in the fall of 2011!
We were really starting to worry about you.

Tue Jul 14, 2009 7:19 pm

:lol: ..Well considering that I haven't flown in almost 5 weeks..I was getting a little concerned too. But I'm excited to start going up again. How've things been going for you guys?

Wed Oct 21, 2009 8:15 pm

Hey guys....It's been forever and I've been wrapped up in flying alot..sorry for no update here recently...tomorrow I'm going on my first Cross Country Dual..and doing a night cross country on my way back. I'm going to Central Washington University to see their new simulator that they just got, and also to see their aviation program..My previous instructor, who I cannot thank enough, isn't teaching that much anymore..and my new instructor, is a graduate from Central Washington, so tomorrow is going to a great experience! Also, on Saturday, at Seattle's museum of flight, Embry Riddle Aeronautics University is having a meeting and information day, so I'll be going there to see and learn more about their program! :D ...How's flying been for the rest of you? Oh...and I got my 40th hour last weekend!

Sun Jan 31, 2010 1:28 am

any news ? It's been a while

Mon Feb 01, 2010 2:36 pm

71sbeetle wrote: any news ? It's been a while

Yeah, I'd like to know too!

In the latest EAA mag is an article about the latest Cessna trainer, the 162:

Glass panel! Wooo!

Better performance than the 152 with the same engine.

Makes me want to go and get some more dual!

Wed Feb 03, 2010 6:10 pm

Hey GeorgeL,
Before you run out there to leap into that new Cessna 162 for some dual,
better do a little more reading beside the EAA mag.
Two of them suckers have gone down from flat spins during the programs
developmental flight testing. The 2nd one just last year after being modified from experience in the first crash. Plus their building them in China now to keep the price down. Check out the attached forum.

http://www.airport-data.com/forums/topic1123.html

Got a bad feeling about this turkey. Think I'm gonna stick to my half interest in the old Cessna 140. Only 85 ponys but it gets me where I wanna go, and cheap enough. No glass but I can twist my own dials. :D