Just landed ....

[Sunny]

Just saying Hi.

 

I've been flying for 20 years, just not in the actual plane ! I started with control line flying with the police boys club, then moved up to RC fuel, electric, scale, park flyers, quad copters, hex copters, my latest plane (X8) even has an auto pilot in it (spend more time with the laptop plugged into it than actually flying it !)

 

Maybe its time I grew up and stopped playing with toys ... or play with bigger toys !

 

I've been looking at a few schools for a rec certificate ... the cheapest uses a Jabiru 160, but I'm a bit reluctant to fly in one since the school ones seem to have some engine problems.

 

I found a school that uses a Roko NG4 for $245 /hour dual. It's a bit more expensive, but it looks like an awesome plane to fly in. I'de be looking to do a lesson once a month, so would take some time to get there, but I'm sure its going to be fun along the way.

 

Cheers,

 

Steve

 

 

[dazza 38]

Welcome Steve

 

 

[RKW]

Welcome Steve. Just a suggestion, but you may do better to save your pennies and look at doing one lesson per week. At the rate of one per month, you may need a bit of revision with each lesson. Regard, Bob

 

 

[dazza 38]

Welcome Steve. Just a suggestion, but you may do better to save your pennies and look at doing one lesson per week. At the rate of one per month, you may need a bit of revision with each lesson. Regard, Bob

Welcome Steve. Just a suggestion, but you may do better to save your pennies and look at doing one lesson per week. At the rate of one per month, you may need a bit of revision with each lesson. Regard, Bob

I agree, you may spend up to 20 minutes in the following lesson going over what you have previously learnt. I know learning to fly is expensive, but consistency is the key. The quickest way is full time, but that isn't feasible unless somebody has saved up a few grand and then takes holidays. Next best thing is once per week. In the long run, it works out to be cheaper.

 

 

[Sunny]

hmm, I hear what your saying, but putting it off for longer will probably mean never ! I'm a small business owner so its really hard to get time off, haven't had a holiday for years, except for public holidays. I wonder it I can record the lessons, with a camera, like a Go pro and then replay them in between lessons.

 

 

[dazza 38]

hmm, I hear what your saying, but putting it off for longer will probably mean never ! I'm a small business owner so its really hard to get time off, haven't had a holiday for years, except for public holidays. I wonder it I can record the lessons, with a camera, like a Go pro and then replay them in between lessons.

Maybe you can record the lessons. Although flying is about feel and repetition . When people learn to fly, it is a steep learning curve. Especially when you start learning to fly circuits. Having said all that, I understand that every body has different circumstances and we are here to support you. Make sure you fire away with any questions you have during your training .

 

 

[rankamateur]

The quickest way is full time, but that isn't feasible unless somebody has saved up a few grand and then takes holidays.

I did mine in 12 days and it is definitely the quickest, BUT I don't think you have time to develope any lasting muscle memory and I know I got non-current very quickly afterwards. If you don't have to drive a long way to the field (I had a three hour round trip) I think four or five lessons a week is probrably better in the long run.

 

 

[rankamateur]

I used FSX for familiarisation before I started but it was no use at all once I actually had done a few hours in the seat.

 

 

[dazza 38]

I did mine in 12 days and it is definitely the quickest, BUT I don't think you have time to develope any lasting muscle memory and I know I got non-current very quickly afterwards. If you don't have to drive a long way to the field (I had a three hour round trip) I think four or five lessons a week is probrably better in the long run.

I agree, flying skills deteriorate very quickly, especially with low hours. There is no point getting a certificate then not flying for months. When guys/gals have a few hundred hours up, generally not flying for a couple of months makes the person rusty but still relatively safe. Of course every pilot is different and every pilot who feels that they are not confident,should go for a check ride with a instructor.

 

 

[Sunny]

I've got about 2 hours drive down to Sunbury, which is probably where I will be training, so it's a full day just to do a lesson. There might be sometimes where I can do it every fortnight. I use to do a bit of car racing and getting back on the track after a few months break, at first you think, sh#*t I can't do this, its scaring the hell out of me ! So I know what its like to get a bit rusty and loose the feel for it.

 

I've got FSX, but I get pretty board of it, I hope flying is more fun than FSX (I'm sure it is !).

 

 

[rankamateur]

FSX is no fun at all after you sit in the pilots seat, I did my certificate, x-country and pax and have done about twenty minutes of unsatisfactory simming since!

 

 

[BlurE]

A GoPro is great investment for reviewing your performance good and bad and capturing exactly what your instructor is saying (with their permission) because you will find times when you are overloaded and not taking everything in. It can also help your to remember emergency procedures. I found if you set the camera up between you heads and just behind the camera view is very similar to yours. This helps to learn aircraft attitudes. For example you can see the exact moment you relaxed and let the nose drop in a spiral dive and depending on the instrument layout you can see how quickly your AIS and VAS increase. Overall I would suggest budget it in as part of your training.

 

I do share the frequency and recency views of the other posters. When I was training I found a 3 week break due to horrid weather and I was feeling very rusty.

 

 

[Cosmick]

If your Instructor thinks your capable you may get 2 lessons a trip with a break in between. Take plenty of good notes and role play at home, get a diagram of the airfield and circuit directions and fly the circuits in the kitchen chair adding components as you go. i.e. rotate, flaps, turns, radio calls, pre-landing checks etc. Do this daily and visualise.

 

Good luck

 

 

[Sunny]

I guess thats where Flight simming could come in handy to replace the kitchen chair ? I think in FSX you can do everything that you do a in a real plane.

 

Thanks for all the encouraging comments, looks like the flying community is a bit like the car racing community where everywhere is very helpful and supportive (at least at a club level).

 

 

[rankamateur]

I think in FSX you can do everything that you do a in a real plane.

Tell me that again after your third lesson, after your first solo, or after your pack your certificate in your wallet. It's just going to get harder and harder for you to say!

 

 

[Sunny]

haha well I guess I'll see, maybe if I use it as a 'tool' rather than a toy. I actually got sick of flight sims long ago. I started out with sub logic flight sim for the C64, which was actually hard to fly and ran at about 5 frames a second, I've had them all since then, always hoping the next one would be better, but they are all pretty borring after about 10 minutes !

 

 

[HansK]

If you can only do one lesson a month, my advice is: buy yourself a nice big RC model and forget about flying real planes. On the other hand, a friend of mine that also flew RC models, could land my Foxbat within an two hours! He just could not keep it on the runway as the RC flying does not help with the rudder.

 

 

[Phil Perry]

I guess thats where Flight simming could come in handy to replace the kitchen chair ? I think in FSX you can do everything that you do a in a real plane.Thanks for all the encouraging comments, looks like the flying community is a bit like the car racing community where everywhere is very helpful and supportive (at least at a club level).

What Cosmick just posted is the best advice mate,. . . . .try to think it all through and keep "Spatially Aware" . . .ie, where am I in relation to where I SHOULD be. . . trust him,. . .it WORKS. You'll find this out if you ever go into blind flying in G.A. or commercial,. . . . . just looking at a bank of instruments is pointless,. . .it CAN be done this way. . . . ., but if you can manage to keep a mental picture map of WHERE YOU ARE . . . .the whole thing becomes a damn lot easier to understand.

 

Anyway, best of fortune with your training and welcome to the madhouse. . . . ! Per Ardua Ad Astra. . . . . . . .

 

( Dunno what that means, I think it's latin for "Through Bull$hit to the Stars,. . . . . ." or summat like that. . . . . . .)

 

Anyhow, ( as Paul Hogan used to say in the Winfield Fag adverts on the telly. . .)

 

Welcome.

 

Phil

 

 

[Kununurra]

Sunny go do a trial introductory flight to make sure it is what you want.

 

But it sounds to me like you have your mind made up. Money is always an issue so no easy fix there, if it is what you want you will need to save up then go for it. That is better than trying to do it once a month.

 

If you get the opportunity and do use a go pro make sure you set it up then forget it . I have seen so much footage on YouTube where the pilot continually messes around with the camera. You don't want to be wasting your money you need to concentrate on your flying.

 

Good luck

 

 

[mnewbery]

I'd be looking around for a private strip near home then getting the instructor to come to me. This is what aviation is actually for - overcoming the tyranny of distance.

 

If you really are in the stix I bet there are dozens of private strips all over and nearby work or home that you don't even know about. There are 20 active strips in the Darling Downs within 50Km of Toowoomba airport and many more besides that only get mowed when the owner needs to fly in or out. I can't imagine Victoria being any different.

 

If you go down this path, there are costs and benefits. Consider, it might cost a little more and require some research but you will have a greater choice of flight training facilities (Albury?) , instructors, aircraft types (as long as they are insured to land on grass one imagines), you will get to fly out of a field nearer home, make some very useful contacts and be exposed to the chance of bartering whatever you can with the land owner and possibly the other people who fly from there. Once you have whatever it takes (hours of experience) to not be a danger to your self, the furniture or the hardware you may begin to hear of flight sharing or syndicate opportunities. The big one for me - your training area will be much closer to the start of the flight and much less crowded than Sunbury.

 

Aeroplanes are like kangaroos, they tend to mob together. If you know where one is, I bet there's more hiding nearby.