Training Started!

LoadMasterC141

LoadMasterC141

Well-Known Member
I started my training on 5/21 with a one hour ride in Killeen Aero's 1970 Skyhawk.
I was amazed at how fast the 27.6 hours of time I accrued 12 years ago came back! Especially seeing as the majority of my previous flying was in a smaller 152.

After studying the Jepp PPL manual, and the POH for the 172, I also prepared by flying MSFS 2004 extensively. It did seem to help, though I noticed that I did not use enough rudder due to the fact I flew the sim with only a joystick.

I managed a decent crosswind takeoff and we headed for the training area. The instructor had me do a couple steep turns, and then configure for slow-flight. After that, he demonstrated power on and off stalls, and then I accomplished them with no errors. Then we headed back for a crosswind landing. I was a bit nervous, having done VERY few crosswind landings in the past. I think Winds were 5 gusting to 10 directly across the runway. The AWOS wind was down so I never knew for sure. (That bothered me). The turn to final was shorter than I remember, mainly due to the Fort Hood Helo field right behind the local airport. I crabbed in with no problems and flared OK. The instructor took the controls to put the left gear down first. He said he was impressed with my flying and the fact that I ran the radios through most everything. The radios were easy as I usually did alot of that in my Loadmaster days.

He was on vacation this week, so we will be flying again this coming weekend.

I solo'd at 7 hours 12 years ago and am hoping to trump that by a few hours this weekend or next. Looking forward to getting past the stages I have been to before and getting on to navigation and cross-countries!

First impressions of aero club and instructor:

I am not overly impressed with the FBO. They sold me a used Jepp manual for $100 I later found on Ebay for $40. I was also originally slated for a 0800 flight on 5/20. When I showed up, the instructor looked at me funny and said that my name had been erased and someone else penciled in. He said he figured I cancelled and was a little upset I did not call him.
I sent an email and made a phone call to the FBO owner that day, concerned that maybe I had not accomplished something they needed me to do before flying. No replies on either venue to this day. They do not seem that interested in actually being a part of anything and leave almost everything to the instructor.

The plane is a bit of a beater. The parking brake is inop and there are a few other inops' as well. Nonetheless, she flew. I guess thats' what matters.

It also seems they are a bit reluctant to let anyone with less than a commercial rating into their Piper Arrow, which I had wanted to use for some single engine time building trips after I got my PPL and Complex rating.

The instructor is the only reason I have decided against travelling 20 minutes further to an aero club with brand new Cessnas and more formalized training. He is a Lt. Col Blackhawk pilot with 15 years of fixed wing CFI experience. His mannerism is professional and we seem to mesh pretty well in the air.

I'll keep everyone updated via this thread as my training progresses.
 
I wouldn't worry about the parking brake on a Cessna. Hold them on your runup and otherwise don't worry about it. A 1970 Cessna 172 in flying club service is gonna be beat up. I'd be more worried about the important things working right than the parking brake or cosmetics. My 152 regularly pops the right door open (misadjusted latch, you really gotta slam it) and one of the overhead air vents likes to pop out (worn out). I think of these things as part of the personality of my plane. They aren't safety of flight items. Some guys who fly new planes all the time would be horrified and rant and rave how unsafe your 172 is becasue the parking brake doesn't work. I see it all the time at this site. People need to learn what's important and what's not. You'd be surprised at what doesn't need to work on a jet and the MEL still says you can go.

I'm gonna guess the Arrow thing is insurance. You should find out what the mins are and see if it's still worth meeting them prior to your commercial. The checkout will count as part of your 10 hours training in a complex for the commercial.
 
Thanks. Yeah I am not overly concerned with the state of the aircraft. Remember I flew on C-141's at the end of their service life. We flew with plenty of "inops", and dealt with several very serious emergencies.

I was guessing the same thing about the arrow. Way back in my first flight training stint, my buddy had finished his PPL as I began mine and went right into his complex rating in a Mooney and Arrow. He found it easier to bait friends into expense-sharing trips to build time using these aircraft. I was thinking the same thing.
 
Awesome you got started again! Congrats.

And you know... I don't think I've ever really used a parking brake on a Cessna more than once or twice.
 
ChinookDriver said:
Awesome you got started again! Congrats.

And you know... I don't think I've ever really used a parking brake on a Cessna more than once or twice.
Click to expand...

My instructor makes me. But thats in a TOmahawk, so no problemo.
 
Congrats at getting back in the saddle!

The flight school I taught had a lot of "character" to their planes too. Scheduling there was all done by the CFI's. We basically ran the school the owner just collected the $$$.

If you keep having problems with scheduling I would switch schools. Longer times between flights tends to slow down learning.

BTW: Are all the Starlifters finally retired?
 
LoadMasterC141 said:
BTW: Are all the Starlifters finally retired?

Yup:( Twas a sad sad day last month that they did the final flight

www.c141heaven.com
Click to expand...

Thanks for the web site. I fueled a couple of them back in the day at KBTL. I thought they broke something the first time I saw the gear struts pop through the tops of the wheel wells.
 
Well finally got to go for the second hour tonight after work......

It went well, but certainly not as well as the first flight. We did power on/off stalls again, which I did with no problem. I was a bit nervous during the 45 degree turn at first, and lost some altitude, but the second one was better. The Instructor showed me an emergency landing approach(I didnt do one), then we flew back to do some touch and goes. Wind was right across the field again, but light. I thudded the first landing, bounced the second and third(last was a power off simulated emergency landing). The instructor was on the controls with me for all three. Not very happy with the landings, but hopefully more practice will help. When I learned ten years ago, it was in a 152 in calm winter conditions, and I was greasing landings almost immediately, with a really good feeling for it. The 172 seems ALOT bigger and the hot Texas air seems to make everything feel more sluggish.

The part that bothered me was how tense I seemed to be. I had the "death grip" on the controls, as my instructor put it. Not sure why as I was fine last time. On the first approach, the plane seemed to be bouncing all over until the instructor told me to take my hands off the controls for a second to see it was mostly me (how embarrassing). I can only think it is not such a great idea to take flight lessons after a very rough day at the office.

This is the second time I have flown in 17 days. Now the instructor says he is out for another 2-3 weeks. I mean he is a great guy, but darn! I am afraid going all this time in-between flights is gonna cost me more dough in the long run. Should I be alarmed here? I was hoping to do around 10 hours a month for now, more in a few months.
 
First of all, congrats on getting started again! Sounds like you are doing a good job. Don't worry about the landings, we all bang em in somedays, just keep practicing and in no time (literally the click of an instant) you'll be greasin them again. As for your instructor, maybe you should talk to him and see if you can fly with another instructor every now and then. Not only will it be another perspective that you can learn from, but it can also be very valuable if your instructor is sick, is away, etc. Just a thought.

I used to live in Killeen! (well, Copperas Cove, near Fort Hood). I've been dying to go back and visit, especially these last couple years (we moved when I was 4, about 13 years ago). Hopefully we will make it down this summer. Keep up the good work!
 
Update:
I finally flew again Monday, after 3 weeks. 5 approaches. I landed 4, went around one one, bounced 2, thudded the other 2. I am flying again this evening, and Friday evening. The plan is to solo Friday evening.

My instructor announced he is leaving at the end of July, but is basically on leave until then. He said there is a possibility I could finish my PPL by then, but I would need to fly almost every other day. I told him I could do this, but I was not sure my bankroll would hold out. We are going to go for it, I don't think I'll make it though. Basically, 3 weeks to get through 25 hours of flying is going to be hard in itself, let alone pay for it. Worst case I have to finish up with someone else. The instructor's son is his only other student, who is at the XC phase. He is going to give me free ground school with his son, and let me ride in the back for the dual XC's...not a bad deal.

Planning for the future:
I have sold my expensive gas guzzling car and replaced it with a 2000 Honda Accord, cutting the payments by 2/3, lowering insurance, and have only been spending $33 every two weeks on gas instead of $73 in one week. I consolidated my student loans and my wifes as well, significantly lowering the montly bill. Also paid a few things off. I figure I freed up about $900 more a month, giving me about $2000/month to spend on flying, living cheaply! The big thing I REALLY need to do something about is my wife's $16k ($500/month) consolidation loan she has from racking up every credit card on the planet when she was in college. I also plan on reducing electric and cable more.

Future training path:
At 31 years old, and incredibly fed-up with my current job, I am still teetering on which plan to go with:
A) Work slowly over the next two years to get through all my ratings and become an instructor. Work part-time as an instructor for 1-2 years, paying off all other debt to be ready for the big plunge into the low-paying regional job. I'll be 35 by then if this goess well.
B) Take out that HUGE ATP loan and doing self-paced for 6-8 months, then instructing part time for a year at a local FBO in Austin, still giving me the ability to keep my job and pay off debt.
C) Same as above but take a LOA from my company for 3 months, after saving up 3 months pay to compensate. My boss said it was fine if I did it in the off-season, as we have a new warm body in the dept now.
D) The LEAST likely route, because of my wife, but definitely the best: Sell the house, which takes up $1500 month in just the mortgage/insurance, move back to NY, live on her folks land and go to ATP full time until hired at a regional. My wife won't give up the house; she is pretty adamant, but then again, she was about the car and look what I am driving already;)

If I were just a 23 year old, I would take my time and come out of this thing debt free. The only reason I am considering faster, debt incurring routes, is the fact that I'll be 32 this year. Over the course of my career, the extra money spent will pay huge dividends in extra years worked, but it is still a gamble. Well, I guess it is not the only reason; Its' not SJS, rather just fed-up with being a glorified excel jockey living the life of Dilbert(we dont laugh at Dilbert comics here, we relate).
 
After a whopping 4.5 hours flying at Killeen Aero(ILE), the instructor jumped out of the 1970 Jalopy 172 and gave me a shot at trying not to kill myself all alone.

3 Full stops and a touch and go later….Hoorah!! I think I actually greased em better, and had a more accurate pattern, without him, but certainly could not have got to that point without his patient tutelage!

I am flying again tonight to get some crosswind landings in. We will fly to nearby Temple airport, so I can get signed off on landing there solo as well. From there, I’ll fly about 3 hours on my own this weekend, and then we’ll begin navigation ground school next week, planning for my first dual cross country by mid-week.
 
Went up again last night.

I was feeling pretty confident after soloing, but my instructor quickly brought me back down to earth. We flew to nearby Temple airport, and I was overloaded with work to get there. Focusing on radios, weather, and GPS and VOR nav, I quickly got behind on my scan and broke altitdue a bunch.

Man, its' like learning to juggle! You just get good at three and someone tosses in a few more! Hehe. I am enjoying the challenge though.

Today I did flight planning with my instructor and his son for 5 hours. We did a little VOR training on MSFS and then plotted his cross country route. Tomorrow I will ride in the back for hisn sons' cross country. Extremely nice of him to let me come along for the ride and get so much free training (I insisted on paying something. Hopefully we will stop in San Angelo so I can by them lunch too).

I have pretty much decided to go to ATP at some point for the stuff past my private. Right now, I plan on getting my private and flying 5-10 hours a month. If I do that for a year, I'll have paid off just about everything except the house and be able to take the plunge. That is the plan for the future as of this week anyway.
 
hello LoadMasterC141.

I was recommended to two of the instructors at killeen aero to get my ifr current. I was wondering if you could tell me if they would be a good choice for me to go. Are they good instructors who can get me done quickly? I am trying to get my ifr current so that I can attend ATP or Skymates later on this summer for my multi add on and their cfi program. I am still undecided on which school to go to, they both seem like a great place to learn and instruct at.

Good luck with your training. If you have any questions or need someone to study with let me know. I got my degree from CTC and Tarleton. I believe killeen aero lets their student do their check rides with CTC. I still have all my notes and handouts from school to study from.
 
My instructor is leaving at the end of the month. If it were not for that I would HIGHLY reccomend him. He has been instructing for 15 years and really has a great handle on students.

I heard Alan is pretty good too. Keep in mind that this is not a really big club, so almost ALL of your communication will be solely with the instructor. The ground training time, if you need it, is also between you and your instructor.

As for the planes: I have been flying the Jalopy 1970 172, but the other is a 1983 180 HP Skyhawk full IFR certified with Moving Map GPs. I think that one is $94 an hour though. They also have an Arrow, but I think they upped the insurance on it due to lack of use. It is something ridculous like 500 hr minimum, though a guy with 198 hours PPL/IFR flew it to Atlanta and then VA this weekend. Maybe they risk it, I dunno. I am bugging them to drop it back down to a 10hr dual high performance cert because I want to build some time in it doing cross countries over the next year. At $90/hr, it really is not a bad deal. They also have a 150, and a Seneca (Havent seen this plane but I am told it is available) for use. I believe the Seneca is $150/hr.

It may not be a bad idea to do your training there if you want to come back and instruct for them. Seems like they will have an open position pretty soon.
 
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