John_Mitchell
Well-Known Member
CONGRATULATIONS on your first solo landing....the first of thousands to come!
Career Change with ATP Blog
- Thread starter ZippiGuy
- Start date
BrianNC
Well-Known Member
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Did you get that "wow" feeling, like a top gun pilot, when you were cleared for takeoff and applied the throttle on your first take off solo? Where all the nervousness gives way to exhiliration?
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Honestly, I think all of my nervousness went out with Rich when he stepped out of the plane. LOL!!! The exhiliration came the moment I knew I made my first successful solo landing! It was a wonderful feeling to know that I reached this first important milestone!
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The thing I remember the most is how much better the 152 climbed without the instructor with me. I got to my crosswind turn well before where I normally would have been. I was used to making my crosswind turn after takeoff at a certain place and I wasn't there yet even though I was at the aItitude I normally turned. It looked a little different.
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Did you get that "wow" feeling, like a top gun pilot, when you were cleared for takeoff and applied the throttle on your first take off solo? Where all the nervousness gives way to exhiliration?
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Honestly, I think all of my nervousness went out with Rich when he stepped out of the plane. LOL!!! The exhiliration came the moment I knew I made my first successful solo landing! It was a wonderful feeling to know that I reached this first important milestone!
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The thing I remember the most is how much better the 152 climbed without the instructor with me. I got to my crosswind turn well before where I normally would have been. I was used to making my crosswind turn after takeoff at a certain place and I wasn't there yet even though I was at the aItitude I normally turned. It looked a little different.
ZippiGuy
New Member
June 28 -- Day 22
The weather went IFR today and is expected to stay that way for at least another day. So, I stayed at the apartment getting more familiar with the FAR AIM. For a couple hours in the afternoon, my classmates and I went over the bridge for the first time since we've been here and went downtown. I would have to say that Jacksonville downtown is a little underwhelming compared to other cities I've visited. However, we did have some fun. I continued to study of the FAR AIM this evening.
The weather went IFR today and is expected to stay that way for at least another day. So, I stayed at the apartment getting more familiar with the FAR AIM. For a couple hours in the afternoon, my classmates and I went over the bridge for the first time since we've been here and went downtown. I would have to say that Jacksonville downtown is a little underwhelming compared to other cities I've visited. However, we did have some fun. I continued to study of the FAR AIM this evening.
ZippiGuy
New Member
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The thing I remember the most is how much better the 152 climbed without the instructor with me. I got to my crosswind turn well before where I normally would have been. I was used to making my crosswind turn after takeoff at a certain place and I wasn't there yet even though I was at the aItitude I normally turned. It looked a little different.
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I was in a 172 and it did climb a little better--with all of the thermals that day, it made little difference to the climbing performance whether someone was in the plane with me or not. However, I was at an airport I had never been to before. So, I did not really have any landmarks I was used to using anyway. Rich told me that a lot of solo pilots have difficulty when at an airport they are unfamiliar with. I don't think that was a factor at all for me because I did well regardless. The reason we went to Herlong instead of Fernandina Beach (the airport I was familiar with) is because the conditions were IFR there and the weather was expected to get bad later in the day.
The thing I remember the most is how much better the 152 climbed without the instructor with me. I got to my crosswind turn well before where I normally would have been. I was used to making my crosswind turn after takeoff at a certain place and I wasn't there yet even though I was at the aItitude I normally turned. It looked a little different.
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I was in a 172 and it did climb a little better--with all of the thermals that day, it made little difference to the climbing performance whether someone was in the plane with me or not. However, I was at an airport I had never been to before. So, I did not really have any landmarks I was used to using anyway. Rich told me that a lot of solo pilots have difficulty when at an airport they are unfamiliar with. I don't think that was a factor at all for me because I did well regardless. The reason we went to Herlong instead of Fernandina Beach (the airport I was familiar with) is because the conditions were IFR there and the weather was expected to get bad later in the day.
Hey Zippy its Victor. How you doing. I hope you guys are still hanging in there. I am sitting at my home airports FBO just chilling. I should be flying the turbo commander in about two weeks so I will have some down time until then. Tell your classmates I said hi and that Ernie and Rich can kiss my a$$.
ZippiGuy
New Member
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ZIPPI - Congradulations on the solo!!!! I cant help but notice all the down time you are having for weather, what happen to "sunny florida and its 353 days of flying weather" that other flight schools brag about!!!!!?????!?! I guess they dont say that it stays VFR all day.
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Hey, thanks!
We have been having bad weather here all week. I think we are getting all 12 rainy days of the year while I am here! I guess we have had record rainfall around here. It looks like Friday will be better though.
Zippiguy
ZIPPI - Congradulations on the solo!!!! I cant help but notice all the down time you are having for weather, what happen to "sunny florida and its 353 days of flying weather" that other flight schools brag about!!!!!?????!?! I guess they dont say that it stays VFR all day.
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Hey, thanks!
We have been having bad weather here all week. I think we are getting all 12 rainy days of the year while I am here! I guess we have had record rainfall around here. It looks like Friday will be better though.
Zippiguy
ZippiGuy
New Member
June 29 -- Day 23
Another WX / Study day. I made good use of the time and bought myself an ICOM A23 transceiver. Now I can listen in to the tower and ATIS to my heart's desire and have an emergency backup radio to throw into my flight bag.
June 30 -- Day 24
The day began with weather just like yesterday. Then, around noon, it started to clear up. So, I headed over to the airport. But, when I got there, the thunderstorms were already building. So, I met with one of the new instructors to plan out cross-country trips which we hope to take tomorrow. If we get good weather tomorrow, as forecasted, I am planning to fly as much as I can, hopefully all day.
Another WX / Study day. I made good use of the time and bought myself an ICOM A23 transceiver. Now I can listen in to the tower and ATIS to my heart's desire and have an emergency backup radio to throw into my flight bag.
June 30 -- Day 24
The day began with weather just like yesterday. Then, around noon, it started to clear up. So, I headed over to the airport. But, when I got there, the thunderstorms were already building. So, I met with one of the new instructors to plan out cross-country trips which we hope to take tomorrow. If we get good weather tomorrow, as forecasted, I am planning to fly as much as I can, hopefully all day.
ZippiGuy
New Member
July 1 -- Day 25
After waiting for low clouds to burn off, we took a window of opportunity and flew a cross-country from Craig to Brunswick (1.7). But, the clouds did not allow us to climb up to our desired altitude and we had to divert out along the shore to avoid a TFR that we were originally planning to overfly. Needless to say, the weather rendered my flight plan useless. Upon returning to Craig, some of the biggest thunderstorms I have seen since arriving in Florida were rolling in. In the evening, my classmates and I all got together for a small celebration because as of today, my entire class has all sucessfully solo'ed!
July 2 -- Day 26
This morning, I looked out and saw pure blue skies. So, I rushed off to Craig an hour early expecting to fly "the kite", which is a cross-country that takes us through several airports. Sadly, none of the other airports had anything near the nice weather we had at Craig, so I stayed at the airport hoping the weather would break and spent the time improving my flight plans. By lunchtime, it became apparent that I was not going to fly today because thunderstorms were building all around us. So, I will spend the rest of the day studying.
After waiting for low clouds to burn off, we took a window of opportunity and flew a cross-country from Craig to Brunswick (1.7). But, the clouds did not allow us to climb up to our desired altitude and we had to divert out along the shore to avoid a TFR that we were originally planning to overfly. Needless to say, the weather rendered my flight plan useless. Upon returning to Craig, some of the biggest thunderstorms I have seen since arriving in Florida were rolling in. In the evening, my classmates and I all got together for a small celebration because as of today, my entire class has all sucessfully solo'ed!
July 2 -- Day 26
This morning, I looked out and saw pure blue skies. So, I rushed off to Craig an hour early expecting to fly "the kite", which is a cross-country that takes us through several airports. Sadly, none of the other airports had anything near the nice weather we had at Craig, so I stayed at the airport hoping the weather would break and spent the time improving my flight plans. By lunchtime, it became apparent that I was not going to fly today because thunderstorms were building all around us. So, I will spend the rest of the day studying.
ZippiGuy
New Member
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You should be over here in TX, we havent had any rain for going on 35 days!!!! Nothing but VFR!!! Arlington always needs students!!!!!
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When I signed up for the 60 day Private Pilot program, Jacksonville was the only choice. If ATP had other locations, I would definitely have picked somewhere else. But, the way I understand it, the weather is really nice here Fall, Winter, and Spring. At the moment, I am thinking about Sacramento for the Career Pilot program.
You should be over here in TX, we havent had any rain for going on 35 days!!!! Nothing but VFR!!! Arlington always needs students!!!!!
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When I signed up for the 60 day Private Pilot program, Jacksonville was the only choice. If ATP had other locations, I would definitely have picked somewhere else. But, the way I understand it, the weather is really nice here Fall, Winter, and Spring. At the moment, I am thinking about Sacramento for the Career Pilot program.
ZippiGuy
New Member
July 3 -- Day 27
This weather thing is getting ridiculous! After waiting for the morning clouds to clear, we decided to try a Brunswick run. During runup, we found a bad right mag with a 300 rpm drop. We ran through the cylinder clearing procedure several times without success--so we had no choice but to scrub the flight. It turns out that we wouldn't have gotten far because thunderstorms started rolling in about 10 minutes after we secured the airplane. Well, at least we are getting lots of time to study.
This weather thing is getting ridiculous! After waiting for the morning clouds to clear, we decided to try a Brunswick run. During runup, we found a bad right mag with a 300 rpm drop. We ran through the cylinder clearing procedure several times without success--so we had no choice but to scrub the flight. It turns out that we wouldn't have gotten far because thunderstorms started rolling in about 10 minutes after we secured the airplane. Well, at least we are getting lots of time to study.
ZippiGuy
New Member
July 4 -- Day 28
We took off for Brunswick this morning and climbed to 7,500 feet to maintain VFR above the clouds with flight following. But, there were already thunderstorms building over Brunswick. So, we reversed course and went to St. Augustine instead for some touch-and-goes. Not exactly what we planned! Then, we returned to Craig where soon after the meanest thunderstorm I have ever seen came rolling by. Our plan is to get up early in the morning to see if we can make a Lake City run at 6:30am. It has now been a full week of bad weather.
In reply to the responses I received today, I still believe I can finish within the 60 days, but if we do go over a little bit, I'm not too awefully worried about that. I am a strong believer in the law of averages and eventually, the good weather Florida is known for WILL return. However, for now we have been on flood watch for the past several days.
Happy 4th of July everyone!
We took off for Brunswick this morning and climbed to 7,500 feet to maintain VFR above the clouds with flight following. But, there were already thunderstorms building over Brunswick. So, we reversed course and went to St. Augustine instead for some touch-and-goes. Not exactly what we planned! Then, we returned to Craig where soon after the meanest thunderstorm I have ever seen came rolling by. Our plan is to get up early in the morning to see if we can make a Lake City run at 6:30am. It has now been a full week of bad weather.
In reply to the responses I received today, I still believe I can finish within the 60 days, but if we do go over a little bit, I'm not too awefully worried about that. I am a strong believer in the law of averages and eventually, the good weather Florida is known for WILL return. However, for now we have been on flood watch for the past several days.
Happy 4th of July everyone!