snicka

Any other pilots about? I got my private pilot rating a couple of years ago and currently have about 70 hours. Finances and a move have kept me from doing much flying and with the spectre of an FAA restructuring looming I am not sure how much more flying I will do. Anyone else fly for fun or profit?

wisj2

I pretty much grew up in the right seat of small airplanes. My dad was the pilot in the family. Even back then (1950s & 1960s) I didn't care for all the restrictions. Start up your airplane, get on the radio and ask for permission to taxi. Taxi to the runway, change radio frequencies and ask permission to take off. Get in the air, change frequencies again and yak with the folks at departure control. Lot's of "controlling" going on there.

Another aspect I saw as negative was how expensive it was to own, maintain, and fly a small airplane, these days it would be even more outrageous.

About 10 years ago my dad did something really stupid and crashed his plane on takeoff. He never has understood why I was not interested in helping him fix it up as it stood to be a part of my inheritance. Well, truth is, he had no business flying at his age and, this is the bigger part, I don't want the damn thing! About two years ago he finally got around to selling the pieces of it and I'm glad it's gone from the family.

My passion as far as transportation goes is motorcycles, something he doesn't understand. (Reason why is when he was young he did something really stupid with a motorcycle and got hurt badly.) I get just as much enjoyment and satisfaction arriving safely at my destination at the end of a 500 mile day ride on my motorcycle as I ever got in an airplane.

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kurty[B]

If I could afford it I would go. I love riding along with my friend who has 50+ flight hours in, and seeing it all come together. wisj2, the taxi-ing, take-off, and all that seem tedious, but it's obvious to see why they have those controls in place.

snicka, what craft did you get your flying hours in?

snicka

I trained in a Cessna 172 Skyhawk, more expensive than a 150 but both me and my instructor are big guys so we had to go with a plane that could handle our bulk.

wisj2 - private pilots flying under VFR rules don't *have* to talk to departure or aproach as long as you operate out of an airport that is uncontrolled. Uncontrolled airports are not hard to find in the US, at least out on the west coast. You don't even have to file flight plans for VFR if you don't want to, though they can save your life.

Rental prices run around 100 bucks an hour which is the main reason I haven't gone up, I just can't justify dropping 300 bucks to go to the beach and back.

I also ride a bike, a 1985 Honda V65 Magna.

bodypainter

A good friend of mine in Tulsa bought a Cessna 180 a couple years ago and last summer when I was in the area, he took me for a nice long ride and even let me handle the controls for a bit.

Quite fun, no doubt right up there on the ultimate toy scale, but too pricey for me. Maybe after I get my Ferrari I'll look at that again.

bobby

I grew up next to an airport(general aviation)....lots of wwII planes in the 50's and a range of private stuff....my uncle had a Mooney Mite and a Navion...he knew Bill Lear and would fly down to Texas and see him as the Learjet got going.....I flew some but I get airsick really easy so it was not much fun....xoxoxoo

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CptAJ

Man, I love flying. My old man used to own a small 4-seater plane a few years back. I was too young to remember the maker and model though. He has an instructor friend and I managed to get a few hours in, this around the time I was 14 or so. I could barely see over the instrument panel (landing was quite the challenge, but I managed to do so with a little help and some piled up books)

Piloting a plane really is an experience you can't quite explain to people. But I don't think you really need to... The way I always tell it is that flying a plane is "every bit as awesome as you think it is". That might not be true for the larger planes but I was really surprised at the freedom you have when flying. Before my first time I thought it was going to be all very serious, planned and strict. No goofing around or flying without a specific destination. Not so, my instructor let me feel the plane, tilt it around, fly around the coast at a "fun" altitude, go up, down and whatnot. He stopped me short of top-gun acrobatics though

I really regret we had to sell the thing. I was too young and distracted with life back then to really get into it. But now I look back at those few hours as one of the coolest things I've ever done.

I've always wanted to find a good ultralight to play around with. They're way cheaper to maintain and all. Maybe some day... maybe I'll even build one myself eventually. I'm applying for a mechanical engineering program in college next semester, hopefully I'll get in and then I plan on specializing on aeronautical engineering. Another choice is going straight into an aeronautical engineering program at one of the universities that my country's armed forces run. We'll see... But I'll definitely be back up there somehow. Just a matter of time.

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Carno

I have a few hundred hours in a few different aircraft. I don't do much flying now that I graduated school though.

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sky_driver

As my name says, I drive in the sky....or at least I used to. Before I got married, I would fly the smaller Cessnas ( 172's ) and Pipers ( Warriors ) almost every weekend. I even got some hours in Kitana's, and a few Grummans. Women loved to go flying.

Then I got married and started a family and the flying went on the list of lower priority's.

But, if your single, then the best thing you can do in my opinion is join your local Civil Air Patrol unit. Once you have joined, and checked out in their airplanes which is most likely a 172, you can fly on the cheap. I figure it is about half the cost of renting from a local club or flight school. Also, there are lots of time when you can fly and the government will pick up the cost. Trust me, it is worth your time to look into it.

Good luck with your flying. And please, always adhere to my tag line.

catback

I'd like to fly but the cost of getting trained and licensed exceeds my wallet's limit so for now I'll have to enjoy the view on the ground.