Towered vs. Non-Towered Training

Shiftace said:
I did all of my training at a non-towered, grass strip in northern MN. Controlled airspace was a good hour or more in either direction (except north, which took you to Canada)....
Not a bad idea to learn at a non-towered airport. No clearances or delays usually.

By the time you get to the airline minimums, you'll have plenty of time and opportunity to travel through controlled airspace, open/close flight plans etc. I would not worry about it...
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Frostbite Falls??
 
It really doesn't matter. There are enough pros and cons to each to end up with a balance. The best example I can think of is communication. There are probably as many pilots who learned in a towered environment afraid of non-towered filed as pilots who trained in a non-towered environment frightened by towered airports. One might solo a few hours earlier at a non-towered field flying a "normal" pattern day-in and day out, but will have to make it up later when they get all sorts of base, straight-in and overhead entries from all sorts of strange locations at a towered airport.
 
There are advantages and disadvantages to learning from both towered and untowered airports. You must master both kinds of operations eventually.
 
killbilly said:
Understood. If you went and flew a Taildragger now, that's what you would decide to complete your training in. I am 99% certain of that. :)
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Crop Duster said:
Usually. But in this case... learn the basics in the taildragger. Those basic skills will inform and improve everything else you ever do in aviation.
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So, taildragger will be my very first post-PPL endorsement. But, before that? Not all of us are fortunate enough to have taildraggers readily available to learn in when starting ab initio. The tricycle gear plane I'm doing my initial training in is reliable and inexpensive, and I have no reason to change away from it at this point. As soon as I have ASEL cert in hand I am going to go get my TD endorsement, count on that. But not until then.
 
Ruck said:
So, taildragger will be my very first post-PPL endorsement. But, before that? Not all of us are fortunate enough to have taildraggers readily available to learn in when starting ab initio. The tricycle gear plane I'm doing my initial training in is reliable and inexpensive, and I have no reason to change away from it at this point. As soon as I have ASEL cert in hand I am going to go get my TD endorsement, count on that. But not until then.
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Good plan. Couple that with spin training and basic aerobatics. Absolutely worth the money.

Tail wheels teach you what the rudder is for.

Keep us posted. Liking the cut of your jib, sir.
 
killbilly said:
Tail wheels teach you what the rudder is for.
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You might appreciate the advice I was given by an old-and-bold CFI before I had even a single flight hour:
"If you wanna be a good pilot, you need to get used to flying in crosswinds. And if you wanna go tailwheel, you better not be scared of crosswinds. Because you think you'll have to use the rudder now? Ain't nothing compared to a taildragger." :tinfoil:
 
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Pilot121 said:
Speaking of Minnesota, do you happen to know anything about MSU Mankato's flight program?
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Not recently, no. I knew someone who was associated with the program a few year ago. The program while not bad, is certainly no UND/ERAU. Tuition might be cheap, but I don't think flight costs are cheap. Not sure what the cost of 4 year flight program with all the ratings will set you back. I think flight is organized through an FBO in Mankato. Could be wrong.

SDSU in Brookings is not bad either, if you are looking for a 4 year degree with flight. If it was me, I'd do MSU Mankato for something other than aviation and get the ratings at another FBO.
 
Shiftace said:
Not recently, no. I knew someone who was associated with the program a few year ago. The program while not bad, is certainly no UND/ERAU. Tuition might be cheap, but I don't think flight costs are cheap. Not sure what the cost of 4 year flight program with all the ratings will set you back. I think flight is organized through an FBO in Mankato. Could be wrong.

SDSU in Brookings is not bad either, if you are looking for a 4 year degree with flight. If it was me, I'd do MSU Mankato for something other than aviation and get the ratings at another FBO.
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That's good to know! I've looked at SDSU's program, and it seemed like a good option. Mankato would be about $150,000 -- the flight costs alone are $81,000! UND would be cheaper than that, so it's probably a no brainer considering how well-regarded their aviation program is.
Thanks!
 
Pilot121 said:
That's good to know! I've looked at SDSU's program, and it seemed like a good option. Mankato would be about $150,000 -- the flight costs alone are $81,000! UND would be cheaper than that, so it's probably a no brainer considering how well-regarded their aviation program is.
Thanks!
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What is cost at SDSU? (IF you don't mind me asking.. and sorry for threadjack.)
 
Shiftace said:
What is cost at SDSU? (IF you don't mind me asking.. and sorry for threadjack.)
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No problem about the thread jack! I actually asked the original tower vs non-tower question because I looked into Mankato this past week. Anyway, SDSU's total cost would be about $124,000. That's assuming I graduate in 4 years, they have a low graduation rate though. The flight fees are $60,000. Tuition/room and board is $64,000.
 
BEEF SUPREME said:
Yep. LOL it is pretty funny listening to the radio when someone obviously hasn't made radio calls to an uncontrolled airport for decades tries to do so. I'll probably be there one day so I don't get too fired up about it.
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That's easy. Turn the radio off so nobody hears you :) I hate talking on Unicom during pancake flyins! I'll be the guy with the cub without radios.
 
For me, it came down to finances. I got my PPL at a Class B airport, one of the few nationwide that has primary flight training on the field. Yes, I became very comfortable with the clearance delivery, ground, tower, departure sequence early on in my training, but I ran the numbers when I got done and realized that I spent anywhere from 0.2-0.5 just getting off the ground and flying the published departure before I could even start heading towards the practice area. Over the course of my private, I ended up spending around $1,500-$2,500 playing the Class B game with ATC. My example may be an extreme one, but it's something to think about.
 
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