Congratulations. This should provide more stories for your tram route!
Congratulations. This should provide more stories for your tram route!
Randy, I hope you consider that your first lesson of your pilot course. and not just a one time ride. Get going with that guy and plane or whatever you can do consistently. The initial learning to fly is some of the most interesting and fun times I ve ever had in 38 years of flying. Ive been lucky enough to experience several of the top piston fighters as well as some time in B-17, DC-3, Tri Motor, etc, even one brief jet trainer flight. All cool but the initial learning has it s own charm as it is all new.
You can, in a few months be a pilot, or be a spectator. You just have to get out and do it,and the more often the better and cheaper in the long run.
Get a logbook and go back and have the intro flight logged in the logbook. It all adds up.
Yes ,Bill's right, log that first flight and have the CFI sign it , you paid for the lesson and the CFI. If I was the FBO doing introductory flights, especially an hour or more long, Id include a log book and sign and give it to the person as their first lesson. Some FBOs dont do a very good job of marketing and the CFI is in such a hurry to make $30 that I have seen them let $5000 walk right out the doorand not even try to make the next lesson appointment.
Last edited by Bill Greenwood; 09-11-2017 at 09:31 PM.
My plan is to do the ground school portion online at home using the Gleim product, take the test and then start flight training at that grass strip airport about an hour-fifteen from my home. At the FBO I saw they offer the Gleim materials and had a few boxes of the Gleim Sport Pilot Kit. I'm advised it is a solid courtesy to buy from them rather than Amazon...if they don't charge an extraordinary amount.
Randy, it is even possible that someone on this forum has a left over course theyd give you or large libraries may have them. The written will be pretty easy, do an hour or two daily and it is a matter of a couple of weeks. If you can Id advise doing the flying part right along with the book learning.Just dont ignore the books and only fly, the book probably has not only the laws, FARs, but also how to fly. And learning from a small airport wil make you a better pilot.
Last edited by Bill Greenwood; 09-12-2017 at 10:19 AM.
"Randy, if money is a big issue"...........
I'm trying to remember if there ever was a time in my life when money has NOT been a big issue? - LOL - In a few months I will have some monthly discretionary income to apply to flight. Ideally I'm going to try and borrow sufficient to finance the entire training process upfront. (as in 'in the bank') I won't start a new adventure without the funding secured to finish it properly.
Randy, you might talk frankly to the flight school about the financing. If you do have funds now they may well discount the price if you prepaid for the block, I think Sport Pilot might be 20 hours if I recall. It is also possible that they have a bank that can finance or loan on an asset you have such as a paid for car etc. I dont want to encourage you to spend money foolishly, only you know your situation and flying is just a hobby for most of us, but it is a fun and satisfying thing to learn, its not hard to learn and there is a clear path and lastly once you get the pilot license you are a pilot for life, It doesnt expire, tho there are minimal easy to meet currency requirements.
If you haven't already, you might want to sniff around and see if there's a flying club anywhere near you that has a suitable airplane. It's unlikely, but not unheard of. Sometimes a club can be more cost effective than renting. I know when I was doing my flight training (not that long ago, my check ride was in 2012) the flight school was getting about $105 per hour for a Cherokee, and the flying club's much nicer 172 cost $85. Of course the problem is that not many flying clubs have something LSA compliant.
Bill mentioned prepaid block time. Be careful with that... some flight schools are solid but I lost about $750 to a flight school that abruptly closed up shop a few days after I'd prepaid for a bunch of hours. I later found out that they had NEVER paid the flight instructor who was teaching me.
Last edited by DaleB; 09-12-2017 at 10:22 AM.
Measure twice, cut once...
scratch head, shrug, shim to fit.
Flying an RV-12. I am building a Fisher Celebrity, slowly.
The place that is my #1 choice so far has been in business over 25 years and does offer 10 hour blocks at $105 p/hr for their Evektor Sports - they have 2 of them. I am not even considering going for a full Private Pilot license because my color acuity is not good enough for me to pass those standard circle full of colored dots tests. The easiest way I can explain my color perception is to say I can distinguish with NO problem an 8 pack of crayons but in the 32 & 64 packs I see duplicates which logic tells me are not really duplicates.
I am slightly surprised that there are not more options for a Sport Pilot wannabe in a major metro area like Chicago. Although I reckon the restricted class of airspaces is why they are all out in the boonies. I live under 10 minutes from Midway Airport but can't imagine sharing runways with Southwest - lol
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