What should I solo in?

woodreau said:
And get your private glider pilot certificate at 16, a year earlier than all the airplane single engine pilots.

At least that’s what all the kids at my home field did 20 years ago. They were certificated private pilots and flying gliders before they were able to get a drivers license to drive themselves.
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If one were to do this, would that make the CSEL easier?
 
Probably not.

It will teach you better rudder control and energy management, which helps the power off 180, I guess.

It’ll definitely improve your flying skills, but I’m not sure it has specific added value to the CSEL.

The time does count toward the 250 total though, so it’s at least a cheaper way to time build.


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killbilly said:
Probably not.

It will teach you better rudder control and energy management, which helps the power off 180, I guess.

It’ll definitely improve your flying skills, but I’m not sure it has specific added value to the CSEL.

The time does count toward the 250 total though, so it’s at least a cheaper way to time build.


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Yeah, I thought that it might because all landing in a glider I heard are similar to power off 180's. So, thought that it also might encompass all CSEL maneuvers.
 
Maximillian_Jenius said:
If one were to do this, would that make the CSEL easier?
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No, but the commercial glider is only 25 total hours and 100 logged landings (and 18 years old) Unless you only do just 100 pattern tows, you’ll have your 25 hours by then. After you get your commercial glider, then you just do sightseeing flights until you get close to the 250 total for CSEL and do your CSEL add on training in an airplane and the written test. I guess you could save money that way if that’s what you wanted to do.

But glider flight training doesn’t encompass nearly everything you need to demonstrate for a commercial SEL.
 
Maximillian_Jenius said:
Yeah, I thought that it might because all landing in a glider I heard are similar to power off 180's. So, thought that it also might encompass all CSEL maneuvers.
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The time and expense you'd put into glider flying to learn to do power off 180s would better be spent learning to do power off 180s in the airplane you're going to do everything else in. They're not that big of a deal, it's simply a task/skill you have to learn like any other.
 
You’re 14, all you can solo in now is a glider. Solo a glider now, earn that rating and then evaluate the world of powered flight when you can earn that rating with your age.
 
thatpilotkid said:
Hi! I'm 14. I'm a student pilot, with 20 total hours (I've been flying since I was 13). I've flown c150s, 172s, and a da40xls. As of now, I'm doing my training in a Cirrus SR20 with the g1000. Heres my problem. The flight school I'm at now is your average flight school with instructors coming and going to get their hours for the regionals. The only reason I still fly with them is that I love the Cirrus. It's comfortable and has the chute just in case. The airplane itself is very powerful and complex, and my flight school is trying to get me to take a Cirrus VFR transition course in it. My flight school is charging $800 for it. The Cirrus website says it's designed for licensed pilots only, so I feel like my school is trying to scam me out of $800. They have also said that under no circumstances is anyone allowed to take ppl training in the Cirrus. Except for me. Now, either I'm some sort of a god of a student pilot, or they're trying to scam me on my ppl by paying twice as much for instruction, and the airplane. (I'm the only one that really flies the airplane too, I've seen the logbooks.) So, this school is pretty shady, yet its the most popular one in my area.

So, recently, a new school opened. It's at our actual main FBO and the airplanes share a hangar with most of the private jets based at my airport. It's a small school. They have 2 DA40s and one DA42 (They just got it.) Its ran by a guy who is a corporate pilot, and is an airshow manager for almost 200+ airshows across the USA. (He's got a lot more qualifications under his belt too.) There's a few instructors there, ones an ERAU grad, who came up here to instruct and fly corporate. Another is a former 737 test pilot and is a captain at AA with 19000 hours. I got to do an intro flight with them, and in just that one intro flight, I learned more in that hour in the air than I had with 20 hours at the Cirrus school. Yeah, I got more, and better quality instruction on an intro flight than I had as an active student at a different school. The quality of instruction is amazing. So why don't I start flying over there right now? Well, The DA40 is not the worlds most comfortable airplane. It doesn't have adjustable seats, and with the glass canopy, in the summer, it gets hot. It also has a pretty small fuselage, and I'm afraid its gonna get blown around as the 150 did at the other school in the slightest amount of wind/turbulence. I do really like how it flies, and the center stick is really nice. It performs excellent in a stall. (in a power-off stall, we dropped at -2000fpm). So, I'm stuck. I want to, eventually, go to the airlines as my career. So, airline pilots, who have gone through this, what should I do? Stick with mediocre instruction, but fly in an airplane I absolutely adore or go with a school that has amazing instruction, but an airplane I'm not sold on?
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Tailwheel or bust

Clipped wing cub and super cub for me.
 
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