New guy...

[David Pavlich]

Hi everyone. As with most of you, I've always wanted to learn to fly, but life seems to get in the way. Now I have the bug, but there's a serious question that needs to be answered first. How old is too old to learn. I'm 60 and in good general health. Other than sounding like a bowl of Rice Krispies when I get out of bed in the morning, I get along alright. So...should I watch videos or actually take lessons?

 

Thanks!!

 

David

 

 

[rgmwa]

The only time you're too old to learn is when you believe you're too old. If you're in good health then 60 is no problem. Go for it.

 

rgmwa

 

 

[Guernsey]

Go for it David (lessons I mean) I am 73 and still flying however if I had not flown before I would still be quite happy to start flying lessons.

 

Alan.

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

Welcome David. Forget age, it's just a number. Plenty of people these days are active and play sport far beyond their parents' lifespan. Can you learn new things? Is your health good enough to safely share the roads with constant traffic?

 

I've seen inside retirement homes and I'm gonna fly and ride bikes till they lock me up!

 

 

[Guest Howard Hughes]

Go for it, it's never too late!

 

 

[Guest DJH]

Go for it David. I managed to get my Pilot Cert. a couple of years ago, aged 62. Very glad that I decided to learn how to fly, my grandchildren think its pretty cool as well.

 

 

[gareth lacey]

David,

 

age is only a matter of mind ,im 64 and started flying 9 mths ago it is a new LIFE ,my bones ache my knee is shot(played soccer into my late 50,s silly really)

 

go for it mate ,my wife says i have a new glow when i fly ,tomorrow is my solo in a Tecnam(i changed schools and got into Raa) people i know say ,are you crazy flying at your age ,i say ,your never to old to learn I love this flying

 

safe flying

 

Gareth

 

 

[Wayne T Mathews]

Good afternoon David, welcome aboard.

 

One of my clients (he is such a gentleman, it seems disrespectful to call him a student) is 67. And let me tell you, he's doing great. I wish all students were as upbeat and politely positive as he is, and it'll not be long before I send him solo.

 

One thing I have noticed over the years though: People who think they can, usually can. People who think they can't, don't. I'll leave it to you to work out which group my 67 yr old client is in... And I'll ask you a question. Do you think you can learn to fly?

 

 

 

[dazza 38]

Welcome David.

 

 

[David Pavlich]

Thanks for the kind words and encouragement. I'm looking forward to a new adventure!

 

David

 

 

[Guernsey]

Whatever your age is, it will reduce by at least ten years when you have completed your first solo and your friends will no longer call you an old fart.

 

I am refered to as a Recycled Teenager.

 

Alan.

 

 

[eightyknots]

to the Forum, David. We hope to see a lot more of you on here.

 

David,age is only a matter of mind ,im 64 and started flying 9 mths ago it is a new LIFE ,my bones ache my knee is shot(played soccer into my late 50,s silly really)

go for it mate ,my wife says i have a new glow when i fly ,tomorrow is my solo in a Tecnam(i changed schools and got into Raa) people i know say ,are you crazy flying at your age ,i say ,your never to old to learn I love this flying

 

safe flying

 

Gareth

Gareth, how did you go in your solo today??

 

 

[gareth lacey]

Hi Eightyknots

 

did,nt happen ,craig and i went out together for our lessons(we share the cost of driving out there) Craig was to get his cert but came back and told the instructor that he would not fly with him again ,my turn came (same instructor ) had 45 mins and i told him that the next circuit would be a full stop ,he asked are you tired, i told him that i had enough! very forcibly , both Craig and I think this guy is "ANXL" Craig has his GFPT and many hours solo and was told last lesson he would get his cert ,we are both disgusted the way he instucts it was almost like starting all over ,we think that many of these schools are money grabbers , we now understand that s why many people give it all away, are there any recomended Raa schools in Brisbane. would like to here from any one about a good school that is about the flying and not about sucking us dry,

 

Cheers gareth

 

 

[facthunter]

That is a pity gareth. David I reckon if you can ride a bike and catch a ball and don't bump into doors too often you could learn to fly. (I might try it one day).

 

Any how it's worth a try. Get the right instructor of course. You don't want someone who destroys your confidence. There are still some guys who are flying airliners at 65 amd you can go longer if there is a younger qualified pilot there. Nev

 

 

[Wayne T Mathews]

.... David I reckon if you can ride a bike and catch a ball and don't bump into doors too often you could learn to fly. (I might try it one day)....Nev

We know you can ride a bike longer and further than most, Nev. (for those who don't know, Nev recently rode a motor bike, that I'm told is only slightly older than he is, from Perth to Sydney)... Now about this catching a ball and not bumping into doors too often... How good do we have to be at it???

 

... -> ->

 

 

[Guernsey]

You would have to find out from a good doorman who is really on the ball.

 

Alan.

 

 

[campslive]

You would have to find out from a good doorman who is really on the ball.Alan.

hi david welcome aboard ,

 

one gentleman in our club at holbrook started flying at 72 and still flies reguarly and owns his own jabiru now has around 170 odd hrs,,

 

goes to show all ages are welcome in our sport,,,

 

i am even trying to get my mum to hang up her broom and join me lol,

 

 

[eightyknots]

Hi Eightyknotsdid,nt happen ,craig and i went out together for our lessons(we share the cost of driving out there) Craig was to get his cert but came back and told the instructor that he would not fly with him again ,my turn came (same instructor ) had 45 mins and i told him that the next circuit would be a full stop ,he asked are you tired, i told him that i had enough! very forcibly , both Craig and I think this guy is "ANXL" Craig has his GFPT and many hours solo and was told last lesson he would get his cert ,we are both disgusted the way he instucts it was almost like starting all over ,we think that many of these schools are money grabbers , we now understand that s why many people give it all away, are there any recomended Raa schools in Brisbane. would like to here from any one about a good school that is about the flying and not about sucking us dry,

Cheers gareth

Sorry to hear that GL. I hope that you'll find a more suitable instructor to fulfill your flying dream -and make it a reality- in a better place soon.

 

 

[farri]

How old is too old to learn. David

Hi David, and . I reckon only you can answer that one, correctly.

 

One of the very important things to do is to choose an instructor, who you can interact and communicate well with, then have a go. It`s the best way to find out if it`s what you truely want.

 

Frank.

 

 

[David Pavlich]

Hi David, and . I reckon only you can answer that one, correctly.One of the very important things to do is to choose an instructor, who you can interact and communicate well with, then have a go. It`s the best way to find out if it`s what you truely want.

 

Frank.

Thanks for all the great replies! One of my customers actually owns a place at a local airport called Top Gun. His place doesn't have instructors, but he knows the instructors at the airport. I'll talk to him about it. I had a bad experience with one of the national instruction firms and am thankful that my customer's contacts aren't part of the national outfit.

 

Quick story. My wife bought me a gift certificate for an hour on their Garmin 1000 simulator. It's quite neat. Moves around and all that. Anyway, I drove about 40 miles to get there. The instructor, a young lady, took me to the hangar and found that she had the wrong key. She left to get the key but the key was with another instructor who was out of town. So...I rescheduled. Got a call and was told that the simulator was down. So...they offered me a free ride in a Cessna 172. Cool! I scheduled it. It was the day. I was 5 minutes from the airport when my cell phone rang. It was the instructor. He said he was sick and couldn't make it. Now, that's the second trip I made for nothing. I tried to get my money back to no avail. It wasn't that much money, but it was the principle.

 

Anyway, I'll never use their service.

 

David

 

 

[Wayne T Mathews]

Holly crap, David, your quick story is a terrible story, and I'm sorry it happened to you. You have every right to be furious.

 

There's an American called Gregory N Brown who wrote a book tittled, "The Savvy Flight Instructor", in which he rips into organisations for doing stuff like you've reported and tells us up front, "DON'T DO IT!" I can only assume the people in the organisation you've told us about would have read his book, and will know that they screwed up big time...

 

Please don't let those seagulls (you have to throw stones at seagulls to make them fly) turn you off learning to fly. Find a good instructor who will do what he says he'll do. Then go and fly...

 

 

[Compulsion]

One of the biggest problems I have found is when you find a really great Instructor they are already booked solid. This is because they are so good. Makes you wonder when you see Instructors who have no or very few students booking with them.

 

 

[facthunter]

I thought "seagulls" were Airline administrative pilots, but I think their relucatance to fly much more than a desk is from genuine motivation to improve aviation safety. There's another saying. "Nervous on a FINE day".. Nev