Plane Nerds Thread

[rebelyell22]

This is from my trip to Nicaragua last March. I'll be there again this March. One of the best countries on Earth!

[yzrider58]

Originally Posted by hypercarfanatic

Hey everyone! Figured I would check in, I am starting ground school on sunday, to hopefully get a private certificate. Any advice?

Keep an open mind and show up to fly studied and ready. Pilots with thousands of hours are still learning. Oh and one more thing, sell that F-150. It's going to break down and make you arrive late for a lesson.

[rebelyell22]

Originally Posted by hypercarfanatic

Hey everyone! Figured I would check in, I am starting ground school on sunday, to hopefully get a private certificate. Any advice?

Get yourself a good headset and some good non-polarized sunglasses, too. Makes a world of difference.

[SSBUSDRVR]

Welcome hypercarfanatic and Best Wishes Started here at age 12 and just turned 53. Flying as a Career since 21 now with American Airlines on the Airbus. Flying as a Career is much different than flying for Fun. Some great advice from the guys here. Not sure how much more can add here other than Relax Study and don't be afraid to make little mistakes. Learn from them and move on.Try to have fun. The Day you solo will be a day you will never forget.

Thanks for keeping the Thread Going guys

[hypercarfanatic]

Thanks for all the advice guys!

Originally Posted by rebelyell22

Get yourself a good headset and some good non-polarized sunglasses, too. Makes a world of difference.

Non-polarized? Ok den :P. As for the headset, I can use my dad's, but I am not sure how good it is. Any brands recommended?

Originally Posted by yzrider58

Keep an open mind and show up to fly studied and ready. Pilots with thousands of hours are still learning. Oh and one more thing, sell that F-150. It's going to break down and make you arrive late for a lesson.

You have no idea how much I want to get rid of the F-150. Give me a camaro all day long

Originally Posted by wally mayfield

Fly at least once a week, if you don't understand something don't let it slide, subscribe to aopa's magazine "flight training".

Go for a ride in a high wing and a low wing plane..see which one you like.

See if a city college has a ground school or maybe one is offered at a airport.

if you have $20k laying around buy a airplane (cessna 150) to learn in..

stay in touch…Im in the process of letting my 12 year old granddaughter fly my c-150..and will back her in getting her private ticket.

heres mine, I stripped the paint, and it looks like a new dime now.

A local airport has a good ground school, which is where my friend got his license. I am going down on friday to check it out, and meet some of the instructors.

I wish I had 20k laying around :P. If I did, what would the true cost be, say, per month? Fuel, maintenance....something about a $100 hamburger?

Fly as often as you can. I started when I was 15 and am still at it. I have cash now to go all the way to my CPL, so hopefully I'll be flying again soon.

I certainly plan on it :P

[rebelyell22]

Originally Posted by hypercarfanatic

Non-polarized? Ok den :P. As for the headset, I can use my dad's, but I am not sure how good it is. Any brands recommended?

Yes. You can't read the screens with polarized sunglasses. I use Bose A20s. You can either go all out and get them or some Lightspeed Zulus, or get something cheaper, but I do recommend ANR.

[wally mayfield]

hypercarfanatic< fuel cost right now is $5.40 a gallon my hangar is $470 per ¼, insurance is about the same a year. maintenance is a annual and I do the work, my mechanic does the checking, and that cost is minimal, I help him with other annuals and I get mine done for next to nothing.
My plane burns 4.5 gallons per hour…a 172 will do about 6 gph.

[Zabo]

Hypercarfanatic;

As an A&P for the love of god don't be that pilot.

DON'T TURN INTO THAT PILOT!

-A Grumpy Mechanic.

As for flight schools, pay as you go. Go Wally's route if you can. Don't get into one of those 4 year programs. If you want to fly passengers expect to log at least 1500 hours for the ATP rating. You need one to be considered by many regional carriers. My company just dropped it's requirement since the pool is damn near dry for pilots willing to work for $20/hr.

Getting into a mainline airline won't happen unless you know someone on the inside. Nepotism -er 'Networking' runs rampant in the industry, unfortunately.

As far as cheap useful headsets: Softcomm C-60. I have 4 sitting that need repair and I fixed the 5th one and it ran me $80 shipped to be fixed from a hunk of plastic. Softcomm is US made too, small outfit out of Arizona. Between $150-180 new for the C-60 model. If you want one I could set you up since they're only sitting around in my closet.

[hypercarfanatic]

Originally Posted by rebelyell22

Yes. You can't read the screens with polarized sunglasses. I use Bose A20s. You can either go all out and get them or some Lightspeed Zulus, or get something cheaper, but I do recommend ANR.

Got it. Ill go to walgreens and get a cheap pair before I get into a plane.

Originally Posted by wally mayfield

hypercarfanatic< fuel cost right now is $5.40 a gallon my hangar is $470 per ¼, insurance is about the same a year. maintenance is a annual and I do the work, my mechanic does the checking, and that cost is minimal, I help him with other annuals and I get mine done for next to nothing.
My plane burns 4.5 gallons per hour…a 172 will do about 6 gph.

Do you think hangering is necessary? Being 17, any plane I could get would be near bottom of the pile. Also living in sunny, temperate CA, it wouldn't be subjected to huge weather change...

This is, of course, if I can convince my dad that he should renew his license, and that he NEEDS to buy another plane :P

Originally Posted by Zabo

Hypercarfanatic;

As an A&P for the love of god don't be that pilot.

DON'T TURN INTO THAT PILOT!

-A Grumpy Mechanic.

As for flight schools, pay as you go. Go Wally's route if you can. Don't get into one of those 4 year programs. If you want to fly passengers expect to log at least 1500 hours for the ATP rating. You need one to be considered by many regional carriers. My company just dropped it's requirement since the pool is damn near dry for pilots willing to work for $20/hr.

Getting into a mainline airline won't happen unless you know someone on the inside. Nepotism -er 'Networking' runs rampant in the industry, unfortunately.

As far as cheap useful headsets: Softcomm C-60. I have 4 sitting that need repair and I fixed the 5th one and it ran me $80 shipped to be fixed from a hunk of plastic. Softcomm is US made too, small outfit out of Arizona. Between $150-180 new for the C-60 model. If you want one I could set you up since they're only sitting around in my closet.

What is "that pilot"? I need to know so I can ensure that I don't turn into him :P

I don't expect to fly anything bigger than a single engine, this is just something that I have wanted to pursue as a hobby ~ and going into law enforcement as a hopeful career, I would be able to fly search & rescue, air reconnaissance, etc., for that dept.

I'll keep the headset in mind, for sure. I want to get a better feel of exactly what I need to go through, and the process that I will be undertaking, but I will definitely keep your offer in mind

[Zabo]

Originally Posted by hypercarfanatic

What is "that pilot"? I need to know so I can ensure that I don't turn into him :P

I don't expect to fly anything bigger than a single engine, this is just something that I have wanted to pursue as a hobby ~ and going into law enforcement as a hopeful career, I would be able to fly search & rescue, air reconnaissance, etc., for that dept.

I'll keep the headset in mind, for sure. I want to get a better feel of exactly what I need to go through, and the process that I will be undertaking, but I will definitely keep your offer in mind

Hey, figured I'd offer one to someone who could use it. Better than spending a grand on Bose when you have flight school to pay for too. I do engine runs and taxi runs on CRJs so I needed one. I plan to get my CPL too in time but I've got student loans to pay off first (which is why I say stay away from fancy degrees).

Honestly a 150 would be an awesome bet. Go in halfsies with your dad because you can find a good one with a recent annual for the low 20s, hell I've seen them go for 15-18K on Controller.com.

As for 'that pilot', it's the meathead type A personalities that think they're all hot s**t because someone let them fly.

Best kind of pilot is one that you can level with as a mechanic, and one who can level with mechanics and other pilots and knows his limits. Don't push yourself beyond your skills but that also doesn't mean don't improve yourself. Humble and humility goes a long way; it's the 'Be a Bro' concept that I like with pilots I work with.

They ask the questions, make sure the plane is safe, and try to catch stuff as they should. They see something, they pass it on. They treat the plane with respect, don't beat on it. Treat it like your Camaro.

Oh, and Police Recon.. that's a sweet ticket. Look into border patrol or aerial surveillance with the local PD. Watching Drugs Inc right now and they had a segment on spotting weed grows from the air. Also could get into aerial surveying for the oil and gas industry.

[hypercarfanatic]

Originally Posted by Zabo

Hey, figured I'd offer one to someone who could use it. Better than spending a grand on Bose when you have flight school to pay for too. I do engine runs and taxi runs on CRJs so I needed one. I plan to get my CPL too in time but I've got student loans to pay off first (which is why I say stay away from fancy degrees).

Honestly a 150 would be an awesome bet. Go in halfsies with your dad because you can find a good one with a recent annual for the low 20s, hell I've seen them go for 15-18K on Controller.com.

As for 'that pilot', it's the meathead type A personalities that think they're all hot s**t because someone let them fly.

Best kind of pilot is one that you can level with as a mechanic, and one who can level with mechanics and other pilots and knows his limits. Don't push yourself beyond your skills but that also doesn't mean don't improve yourself. Humble and humility goes a long way; it's the 'Be a Bro' concept that I like with pilots I work with.

They ask the questions, make sure the plane is safe, and try to catch stuff as they should. They see something, they pass it on. They treat the plane with respect, don't beat on it. Treat it like your Camaro.

Oh, and Police Recon.. that's a sweet ticket. Look into border patrol or aerial surveillance with the local PD. Watching Drugs Inc right now and they had a segment on spotting weed grows from the air. Also could get into aerial surveying for the oil and gas industry.

A 150 would be an awesome thing to putt around in....for some reason they just don't look all that sturdy. Assuming that I get to the point of being ready to buy one, is there a way to get a mechanic to come take a look at it? I know that is a thing for houses....to get them inspected before purchase....but is it a thing for planes?

I can promise I will live up to the "Be a Bro" mentality as best I can. Wouldn't want to piss people off where I store a very valuable flying hunk of metal

I am not sure about Police Recon - at this point I would be happy to just to get a beat job. And, to be competitive, I would most likely need a helo certification.

[rebelyell22]

Originally Posted by hypercarfanatic

A 150 would be an awesome thing to putt around in....for some reason they just don't look all that sturdy. Assuming that I get to the point of being ready to buy one, is there a way to get a mechanic to come take a look at it? I know that is a thing for houses....to get them inspected before purchase....but is it a thing for planes?

I can promise I will live up to the "Be a Bro" mentality as best I can. Wouldn't want to piss people off where I store a very valuable flying hunk of metal

I am not sure about Police Recon - at this point I would be happy to just to get a beat job. And, to be competitive, I would most likely need a helo certification.

They are very sturdy. And your CFI isn't required to teach you spins, but make him anyway. They are my favorite and it's something you need to know how to recover from

[hypercarfanatic]

Originally Posted by rebelyell22

They are very sturdy. And your CFI isn't required to teach you spins, but make him anyway. They are my favorite and it's something you need to know how to recover from

I will, thanks! I am excited just to get behind the controls

[wally mayfield]

hypercarfanatic, my mechanic has a C-152 he will sell. the tail feathers were hit by the roof of his hangar being blown off..he has the pieces to rebuild it..has a new engine, i flew it to Paso Robles from Bishop Calif a few years back..I think its a 76…Ill get a picture.

here: