Smoothness & accuracy

Two nights ago for the first time in a long time I got to go fly by myself. It was just a standard flight to get night current again but it was a rush to be sitting in the left seat again. Now in my life as a flight instructor I barely touch the controls, only to demonstrate or nudge the control column to send a subconscious message to the student.

While I was thinking about something to write about two things popped into my head. The first happened when I was getting current and the second was the following day with my student.

Like most aviation enthusiast I love to read anything by any other pilots. There are two blogs that I follow rather consistently, with one of the being Blogging at FL250 written by a pilot named Sam. The last post by him was about pilots loving flying, not so much the business or airline side of the job. There was however a particular bit in the post that really caught my attention the other night. Sam talked about the feeling of the wheels leaving the pavement and how all your worries disappear.

So having just freshly read that post I headed to the airport and jumped in to the mighty Piper Warrior. As the airplane accelerated down the runway and began to rotate I felt the mains leave the runway. "Yes, this is exactly what Sam was writing about." Flying for me has always been a way for me to get away from the troubles and annoyances of everyday life. Up there in the air your free from all that, free to go where you want, and you have to focus on what your doing. Like Sam, I too have always loved to fly, I don't think I'll ever not enjoy flying I just hope I can find a job where I enjoy the "job" part of the job.

The second thing that I wanted to write about became very obvious to me last night when I was doing a night flying with a private pilot student. Having just flown the night before I was shocked to see the difference in a low time private student and a CFII. Now I'm not saying I'm the best pilot, and my student is one heck of a pilot, but it was still quite a bit of an eye opener

Pilots are often judge on their smoothness, take-offs, landings, etc. Until you get that "feel" of the airplane and how to make small corrections, or not try and fight turbulence, a pilot will constantly be making jerky corrections. It was amazing for me to watch my student constantly wrestle with the airplane. Maybe I need to start preaching the two-finger flying method more. Or maybe no matter what I do it will just take time for the student find that smoothness & accuracy, hopefully before his final stage check.

Rent or Buy(this one is interesting)

For a person looking to get into flight training they almost always think that they will have to rent an airplane to do their training in. However I've started thinking that there might be a better option. Of course the key word here is might, depending on how things work out it could actually cost you more money.

So the question is "I'm looking to start my private pilot training, would it be better for me to rent an airplane for the duration or possibly purchase an aircraft?" I'm going to do my best to break it down for you. I in no way am certain with my figures, they are my rough opinions based on information I've gathered. I'm sure there are associated costs that I'm unaware of.

Renting (assuming minimum times)
35 hours dual
15 hours solo
5 hours ground instruction
flight kit
----------------------
$6,000 - $10,000.

Buying (assuming minimum times)

Average price for C152 - $30,000
35 hours dual @ $40/per hour - $1,400
15 hours solo @ $0/per hour - $0
5 hours ground instruction @ 40/per hour - $200
Gas for 50 hours @4.00 - $200
Inspections/hanger fees - $3,000
Flight kit - $329
--------------------------------------------------------
$35,129

So now your saying, okay this guys a moron how could he even thought that this could be cheaper than renting. SO in my defense here are the kickers, notice I said kickerS. How many people who want to learn to fly have talked about it with someone else who was also interested. I would guess most. In fact I would bet you could head to your local FBO and run into someone interested on a nice weekend day. Okay so lets reconfigure now with kicker number 1.
$35,129/2 = $17,564.50

Okay so cheaper but still, at best, your only saving $7,500. So here comes kicker number two. If your only planing on using your private sporadically and would actually prefer to rent an aircraft a couple times a month here is your chance to get your money back and possibly even make money. Remember what you payed for when you bought the airplane originally? $30,000 right, okay lets assume the market for Cessna 152's has gone down. Now you can only sell the airplane for $25,000. Lets do the math:
$25,000/2 = $12,500. $17,565.50 - $12,500 = $5,064.50 (Cheaper then renting)

But wait, lets assume the market for your plane actually got better. You now are able to sell the plane for $40,000. Lets do the math:
$40,000/2 = $20,000. $17,565.50 - $20,000 = +$2434.50 (you just got your private and made $2500.)

Find another friend and your costs go down. Just something to think about.

Forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward

I'll start this one off with two copy pastes:
"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return." -- Leonardo da Vinci
KGFK 110100Z 35029G36KT 1/4SM -SN BLSN BKN002 OVC018 M21/M23 A3019 RMK AO2 PK WND 34036/0058 TWR VIS 1/4 P0000

KGFK 102341Z 1100/1124 36028G38KT 1/4SM -SN BLSN OVC001
FM110600 34022G28KT 1/2SM -SN BLSN OVC003
FM111000 32017G25KT 1SM BLSN OVC015
FM111400 31015KT 5SM BLSN BKN015
FM111800 30013KT P6SM SCT250

When you choose the career of a flight instructor in the Midwest in the winter when the clouds come your flying opportunities are severely limited. Sure you can go up and buzz around below the clouds but good luck getting into the clouds(unless you likeice). So when this blizzard decided to roll into the state of North Dakota I knew I was going to be in for a few long, boring days.

So while I was trying to find something to do today I noticed myself continually glancing out the window looking up at the sky. WHEN WILL THIS END! Last night when I woke up in the middle of the night to get a glass of water before I turned on the light in the kitchen I glanced outside to see if I could see the stars, "traffic not in sight".

This quote has forever been a favorite of mine because it is so true. Show me one pilot, or person who's been in a small plane, that when they hear a small plane fly over doesn't look up to the sky. EVEN though we know that that plane puttering above is a Cessna.

So as I sit here waiting for the blizzard to clear I will continue to look out the window hoping to see either stars(tonight) or blue sky(tomorrow).

Grocery bag savior

On one of my first flights with a student we were up doing ground reference maneuvers, S-turns, turns around a point and rectangular course. With those maneuvers your close to the ground (600-1000' above the ground) and the fact that it was a pretty windy and bumpy day I started to feel a little sick in the stomach. Luckily it wasn't until the very end that this happened and I just had the student head back towards the airport, while I sneakily opened the vents and got it on my face. Thankfully, it never got to a point where I couldn't handle it but it sure reminded me of a time when it did get to that point.

When I was doing my private training we were coming back from a lesson and on short final I felt something coming up. Not having a puke bag and being low to the ground I just let it come up on my lap!

So I started thinking about when I'm training students, what happens if I get sick or the student gets sick? Even though there are "usually" puke bags in the plane they aren't always easily accessible or even in the plane. So I decided that it would be a good idea to put a plastic grocery bag in my flight bag, just in case.

And then it happened. Coming back from a flight where we were practicing Vx and Vy climbs my student told me that he was starting to feel sick. I said okay and took of the airplane and started searching my flight bag for "the bag". Sure enough, the student couldn't hold it in and puked, IN THE BAG!!! SUCCESS!!!

Next came my second question, being that I hate the smell of throw up, would I be able to hold it in if a student puked. The answer....yes! So another new story for me to add to my story book. The life of a flight instructor continues, my head is filling up with story ideas and I plan to get them down here soon!