SDFCVOH's Flight training thread.

Re: Instrument Rating

parmandjack said:
Congrats man!
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wow - thanks for reading. you know - i've got to say that the only thing i'll mention about your plans might be a big thinker....

i'm getting ready to go for my comm, then cfi... but i'm going to wait for the multi. it is itchin' to get going - but the multi is gonna wait. my thought process is.... spend my time learning from my own mistakes while cfi'ing in singles - plus i cannot wait to teach people to fly. honestly, you'll learn 10x what you "knew" while you instruct. but... instead of jumping into multi right away, let yourself cfi in single-engines first. once you've gotten to 800-1000 hours singles, then make the multi jump. that way you'll be fresh multi, building time with an instructor in your ear, right before you go to an airline/corporate interview.

maybe i'm crazy about that, but at least its where my tainted brain has found a home. i'm personally dying to go multi. but, this isn't an overnight deal. and because of that, i am going to wait until the 11th hour to get my multi and a little time building. i also think (financially) it will give me a better return on my funds.

well - thanks a ton for reading my posts. this is seriously a dream - and i am stoked that you are getting ready to partake of the same. and Chewy-- dude! - you were supposed to get the Leon Phelps comment deal right away! i'm almost disappointed:p:p. but at least someone got it!:nana2:

take care everyone. i'm going to take a couple of weeks off and finish up my "honey-do's." at the new house.:)
 
Re: Instrument Rating

skidz said:
sure. congratulations! I thought I was gonna beat ya :D
I doubt I'll get mine before January, but that's fine, gotta let these holidays pass, spend some quality time and recharge a little bit ;)
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yo Skidz - you'll be there before you now it.:) Keep up with the studying b/c the test is kind of tough (at least I thought it was.) take care man!
 
Commercial Rating

Wow. Much to my surprise, today I got the call... I start my CSEL course Monday. Didn't think it would happen until after the first of the year. So, YEAH!!!

Any pointers from those who've been through it recently (or not recently)? I really feel like this is total unknown zone, and I haven't done much of any prep work for this portion. Would love to get some feedback from the gallery. Thanks!
 
Well, I can tell I'm gonna like this part, especially after the last month under the hood!

Today I met with my CFI and we did about four hours of ground, in preparation for the course. Diving deeper into the plane workings, FAR AIM bits, etc., is right up my alley. This is the point when I can ask all those questions left unanswered during PPL!

Looking forward to getting into the plane tomorrow and going over maneuvers. It sure sounds like this is going to be great, doing more difficult maneuvers, emergency procedures, etc., is the stuff I crave.
More tomorrow!
 
holy poo batman. its been forever since i posted. here goes....

i 've decided to become a monk, living off wild herbs in outer mongolia, and have therefor stopped flying. we don't have much access to the internet here at the monkery. just kidding!

okay. seriously, i've been flying a ton. we had some problems with the school i'm training with getting a plane (complex that is) that works for all the commercial maneuvers, and because of that, several of us were on standby trying to learn commercial maneuvers in a non-complex aircraft. eventually the school got us the complex, but they neglected to tell us that the plane they were sending hadn't completed its engine break-in period, so we still couldn't do all the needed maneuvers. long story short - we're finally able to do those now. long story longer, thanks a ton to this place for sending us a plane that we could "break in" for them on our dollars while only performing a minimal amount of maneuvers. okay - back to positive... i'll wait to rag on this place properly once i'm done with my training.

i passed my commercial written back before xmas. that test was a bear for me, but i passed, and its done.

i took several long and cool flights to get up to the 250hrs required for the commercial cert., and this week i've been preparing for my checkride which is scheduled on monday.

commercial maneuvers are a blast. of course as a private, we've all put a plane through its paces. but, the commercial maneuvers allow us to do that on purpose with an FAA check airman in hock. sweet! some of the maneuvers; lazy eights, chandelles, are pretty boring. but power off 180's, steeper steep turns, and steep spirals into emergency landings are more fun than naked coed twister.

right now i'm finishing up studying for the oral portion of the test monday, and hoping that i don't do anything really really dumb on monday, either. until then..... thanks for reading!
 
Commercial Handshake!!!

Today was a great day. Actually, monday and today were both great days.

On monday, I took the verbal (i can't bring myself to say "oral") portion of my commercial check, and I've got to say that this is the most prepared I've felt to date for the oral (dang i said it!) part. A lot of the stuff thats just memorized for the private, like airspace, have finally clicked, and they aren't hard to remember - its like when another language finally kicks in (for those of you who've lived abroad) and you stop translating and it just rolls out. So, that portion went great.

The weather, although, wasn't great! and instead of going through with a checkride in winds gusting to 35kts, we decided to wait until today. the weather in tucson the last week has been a bit unnormal, and i've actually spent the days practicing most of my commercial maneuvers in 35kts gusting winds! but I was happy to pass on them for the ride.

anyhoo, this morning i met with the examiner, and we went out for the ride. i don't know why, but i have felt extremely flustered the last two times i've had checkrides. maybe its normal, but i thought i was really rough. most of the maneuvers were smooth, but i really felt like i could do a couple of them better. but, i kept them within pts, and that is the real decider i guess!

so..... commercial handshake, baby! i'm excited. left the school with books to start studying for my CFI course. i am REALLY looking forward to being done with the CFI course. i've been dreading that checkout since the first time i heard about it! but, all of that said, i'm excited about learning even more, and really can't wait until i'm able to pass the controls off to students. the thought of instructing really gets me grinning.

almost there! thanks for reading ... :hiya:
 
Dangit Scott, you're killing me :D Anyway...congratulations! :)
And don't worry about saying "oral" it's just your inner gay rebelling against the FAA terminology. :D
 
sdfcvoh said:
so THAT'S why most pilots are men :drool:.

:D:D:D:D
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Don't worry Scott, It's all gonna change one day when female activists decide to point out how that term is actually sexist and derogatory to female pilots :D
FAA is going down baby :nana2:
 
Dude, going from 0 time all the way to starting the CFI course in 5 months is unbelievable!!! Keep it up.
 
Over a MONTH! since my last post.... Just to update:

I haven't flown in over a month now. The school (CFII in 4 months!!!!!) which I started in July is dragging their feet getting me started on my CFI course stating lack of instructors. I've spent the last month studying alone for it, but I'm at the point that I really am mentally done with that, and craving some structured classroom question/answer sessions....

I decided about a month ago to get some legal advice on the situation, and it looks like it would go my way if we pressed them. As many of you may have read, a recent lawsuit brought against IATA in Tucson has been in the news. I am not attending that school. But that lawsuit will set a legal precedent for the rest of us who have been on the short end of false advertising and more. If that goes in the direction it appears it will, for the plaintiffs, I think some of the executive board members and owners of these flight schools will be getting a rude awakening. I plan to be one of the first in line....

I promise that the remainder of posts in this thread will be more positive:D and include mention of flight time!
 
Keep up the good work mang! Ohhh....to kill time look up some ground school programs at a community college. They may have some inexpensive ground trainers for you to use.:bandit:
 
Dude you are rocking through the training! Good job on the posts too...it has been an interesting read. Good luck on getting started on the CFI stuff, I know you have hated "being grounded" :mad:
 
You are really kicking some butt dude! Congrats!

I have not flown in around 2.5 weeks. Feels like forever. Gonna go up and do some commercial maneuvers in a week.

Sorry to hear about the school dragging.
 
Thanks a ton for the PM's some of you sent and posts of support after my last post. This place does feel like home.....

Decided to go ahead and call up CATS at the last minute to take my FOI today. It went well - so that's passed. :)
 
FIA passed!

After spending some serious time studying at home over the last couple weeks, I took my FIA this morning.... and passed!

Looking forward to climbing into the right seat for some training for the CFI now. Woohoo!
 
Another bit of time between posts, and I felt it was a good time to do a short update:

I was lucky enough that the original place I was training decided that it would be better to release me from my training contract, and have been training with a new CFI in preparation for the biggie checkout. It was a gift from the gods. It is truly amazing what training with a "real" CFI is like.

Basically the last 2 months+ has been nothing but studying, preparing for both the written's (passed!) and now getting ready for the great, unknown, CFI checkout at the FSDO. The more I learn with my new CFI, the more I realize just how wrong it was to think I could squeeze through a "pilot factory" as a safe, knowledgeable pilot. FBO it, dude and ladies, otherwise be careful.

I am enjoying this portion of my learning curve. Getting deeper into the reasons that I have memorized "xyz" and starting to work on lesson plans, instructional theory, getting deep into aerodynamics, etc. As those of you who have made this journey know, this portion is quite a challenge. I've got to add that this is a labor of love, and I feel renewed and rejuvenated each time I take home a new true understanding (or should I say, "correlation?!") of subject matter that before I only knew as words from a book.

I do believe that I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel (at least for the very start of my airplane career.):D
 
Appreciate reading through your ups and downs. I'm considering a mid-life career change and am at the gathering information stage. I'm curious though as I must have missed it....which school were you attending that couldn't live up to their end of the contract?

Regards,
Tim
 
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