David Pavlich

How cool is that?! And Evan, your avatar is far and away, the best! David

Not a pilot yet, but I do have a tennis shop in the states. I sell a brand of sunglasses called Maxx HD. VERY inexpensive. UV protected, but not polarized. You might want to check to see if they are sold in Australia. The lenses are amazing and yes, they make them in aviator style. :-) David

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

Now this brings back memories! My Dad was a flight engineer in a B17G and when he got out at the end of the war, he got his ticket. He flew for a company in Ohio called Beckett Aviation and he flew the ole' V-tail Beechcraft! I remember as a youngster going with him to the airport and listen to him talk to the other pilots. Why the heck I never followed up and got my license, I'll never know. David

I'd never heard of this brand, so I did a Bing search. Very nice airplane! And the price of a new one is quite reasonable. Is this a pilot/copilot seating only or are rear seats an option? Just a nice looking plane! David

Tired of me yet? :cheezy grin:Anyway, I've read differing opinions about new pilots and high performance aircraft. Now, I know a Mooney is a high performance aircraft and that a beginner shouldn't be plopping down his or her aerobucks for something like this. However, what's the breakpoint? Is something like a Cirrus SR20/22 considered high performance? A Cessna 182 Turbo, Diamond DA40? I would guess that there's a sort of blur between a Cessna 152 and a Mooney Ovation. Anyway, this is me being enthused that I've found a General Aviation forum that is well attended and has a lot of great information available for me to absorb. Besides, I need to get my post count up! David

I'm sure you guys went through the same gyrations. Get a bug to get your ticket, look at airplanes, look at more airplanes, etc, and so forth. I've been doing the same thing and ran across Petersen's modified Cessnas. http://www.katmai-260se.com/ This is a very intriguing aircraft. Of course, Todd is going to put his best foot forward since it's his planes. But being a mechanical junkie, this sure does have some endeering features. What do you veteran pilots think and since the vast majority of you are from Australia, do you know of any of these planes showing up on your continent? David

Point well taken. Politics are difficult to discuss without passions turning into heated "discussions" on this side of the globe. I wear my Libertarianism on my sleeve, so there's no mincing with my philosophy. Guys like Milton Friedman, Thomas Sowell and Walter Williams shaped my economic and by osmosis, my political philosophy. Anyway, I already stated that I'd keep my trap shut when politics is the topic. However, it's a sickness...I can't help it. It's like me and astronomy equipment...gotta' try everything. :-) David

No...The decision was made that whenever the discussion of politics or religion comes up, it invariably turns into a nasty thread that brings nothing to the table other than members angry at one another. It works well. For a niche forum very much like this one, Cloudy Nights has 60,000 members. If it had a Hitleresque aire about it, there would be few members. Besides, it's a privately owned BBS, just as this one and the rules are made by the owner. It's up to the individual to decide whether or not the ToS is over the top or not. David

I have to agree. I'm new here, but the Milton Friedman thing is always something to make one go "hmnmmmm". At any rate, that's the last political post you'll get from me. As an aside, I'm a moderator on the largest astronomy forum, Cloudy Nights, and ANY political speak the shows up there is immediately sent packing. I think it's a good thing to have as part of the Terms of Service. There's plenty of fora out there to argue politics. David

Since you listened to Michael Moore, the acclaimed economist (said tongue in cheek), you need to hear a real economist, Milton Friedman, who says more in about 2.5 minutes than Moore could say in a lifetime: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alP0WiL2P0g

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

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