Hi from Henderson, NV & interested in a 'test flight'

[NataliaVegas]

Hi all! 
 

I am interested in maybe starting to get my professional pilot license soon, but is there a way to do a 'test' flight in a Cessna 152 or similar to see if thats the right thing for me? I have done a lot of flights in Flight Sim 2020 and XPLANE 11 with motion rig, VR and on expert settings with yoke and throttle quadrant and I would like to try this 'for real' but not sure yet if a small plane like that would make me too queasy. 🙂

 

Anyways, hi from Henderson, NV!!!!

Natalia 

[Bruce Tuncks]

Hi Natalia, I have flown gliders up and down the Whites in NV. It's a wonderful place...  we stayed at Tonopah .

Anyway, I like your idea of trying flying for real. You will find it different from even the best simulators.

For your first Cessna flight, I suggest you choose a time when the air is still, like early in the morning.

Best wishes, and welcome here.

Edited February 3, 2023 by Bruce Tuncks

[NataliaVegas]

Hi Bruce! Gliders sound like fun! I grew up in Germany where we had lots of these gliders with massive wingspans that got pulled up by smaller piston planes, I often went to the airport field there to watch them take off 🙂

[Bruce Tuncks]

Yep, I flew at the Hilton ranch near Yerington. ( That was the first time in NV and then went I back to fly shotgun for my mate Kempton who wanted to do 1000km in a standard Libelle glider. ( I was in a Ventus) . I saw area 21, where certain lunatics think that the government is hiding UFO bits. I only saw Vegas as a smudge in the east . We had a few days of 12,000 ft cloudbase, but this was not so high over the 7,000ft  ridgetops.

Alas, that was all a long time ago ( 1996 was my last visit to Nevada ) but I have happy memories. I never met an unfriendly person in the US.

Yes, aerotow is the common launch method here too at the bigger gliding places. We use winches at the smaller clubs, just like in germany. In South Australia, there is a lot of german heritage, a bit like the US. I owned a Glasflugel mosquito glider and then later a Libelle. Then I got old and these days I live in western Victoria and fly a Jabiru 230 plane. My gliding days are over, but they were great fun. You should try a ride out one day.

[NataliaVegas]

That sounds exciting! Yeah I always was wondering as a kid how it would be to be in one of them when I watched them, but I’m a little too scared for a glider 🙂 I think I have to start with something smaller first (and something with an engine) and get my feet wet 🙂

[IBob]

If you get your feet wet, you're probably doing something wrong.........)

[facthunter]

That  might be a "lost in translation" thing relating to swimming. Nev

[marshallarts]

Hi Natalia.  The first step here in Australia used to be a thing called a Trial Instructional Flight, or TIF.  It was just a short (20-30 min) flight in a small plane, and you got to put your hands on the controls and even manipulate them (very gingerly).  That was my first step anyway, but that was in about 1980, so things could be different now.  And because I went ahead and signed up for training, my TIF even went into my log book as my first-ever 0.6 hours of flight!  Don't know if it would still work that way, and the USA would probably be different from here anyway.  I've been out of flying for quite a few decades, but I'd be a bit surprised if TIFs were not still offered at most flight training organisations.  Good luck with it.  Cheers, Steve.

Edited February 4, 2023 by marshallarts

[Bruce Tuncks]

I reckon they still do trial instruction flights everywhere and a power plane would be a lot cheaper than a glider flight. I'd ask if you could log the flight if you plan to continue.

[NataliaVegas]

Thanks all! I found a place that does trial flights so I will go ahead and try that soon!