Nudge

I look forward to that first solo flight and being in command of one of the worlds most amazing machines. Retaining the mass amount of information is the main challenge in front of me at the moment, every spare minute I get my head is in the books, leaving Q&A's all over the home and business is something everyone has come accustomed to, even they are starting to throw random questions at me. I thought I knew a little bit of information on flight before starting down this path, but I quickly realised, I know jack.

More for the fun of it, but to also get a better understanding of the instruments

On that first flight I was nervous, partly from the fact that I was in control, partly because I knew I would be making mistakes, and also because it was not my plane and I hoped like anything I didn't damage it. He kept telling me not to worry about it and focus on my flying, as much as I wanted to, it was a difficult thing to let go. I guess as my knowledge and confidence increases that will be less of a worry. From the moment I met him, I knew he was the right guy to train me, just had that feeling, and from what I have seen of my instructor, I'm pretty sure he'll give me a smack on the back of the head if I keep making the same mistake, he's quite up front with things, explains everything he is doing and everything I need to be doing, the communication is certainly there, I guess time will tell. Besides, having all you guys here to debrief will help Thanks for all the feedback and advice guys, makes being apart of this community all the more enjoyable.

Thanks Nev, I've always had a strong pull to flying, just some things in life kept me from getting there, I wished I had of used that time to learn what I could, but I guess that probably would have made it harder for me to be without wings. I believe the instructor I have is very understanding and knowledgable, plus I feel we both have similar personalities, so this has to be a good start. I just need to get past that worry that I'm going to break the plane.

I have to agree, a simulator is something we should all have access to. Being able to train for a situation and burn this into muscle memory only serves us well if the situation were to ever happen. I have seen a few commercially run simulators popup over the years, there's even one here on the gold coast, but it's designed for heavy aircraft and I kinda think that is a bit overwhelming with all it's dials and gauges, something a little more GA/RA would be good. Once I have my simulator up and running to the point its not a bunch of controls and gauges stuck to a desk, I'll be more than happy to allow anyone to come sit in the seat.

Thanks guys @@Old Koreelah It's pretty good, I like using it to help me with pre-flight/start procedures at the moment, but plan to use it for radio and VFR/IFR later on down the track. X-Plane lacks in eye candy for Australia (but this can be modified), but more than makes up for it in realism of the flight model apparently. It's all still new to me, but its been fun.

Hi all, Just joined and came to introduce myself. I live on the Gold Coast, and now starting to obtain my RA license. Since the age of 5, I knew I wanted to fly aircraft, but could never afford it, then life took me down a different path. 40 years on, I've now come full circle and this time I can afford it. I feel so blessed that I can now realise a childhood dream. Had my my first lesson last week in a Foxbat at heck airfield and now starting down the path of obtaining my license. I've also started to build a flight simulator using the peddles, control, and a couple of instrument panels all being controlled by X-Plane, it's more for the procedures than the actual flying, the only thing left is the display, not sure if I should use 3 x monitors or a 180 degree view using projectors. Anyway, that should give you a bit about me and look forward to getting to know you all a bit more.