500 Hours!

[uwochris]

Well, I just wanted to share with everyone here that I crossed the 500 hour "milestone!" I just returned from a 2 week trip yesterday that took me from Southwestern Ontario (Windsor- right across the border from DTW) all the way to the east coast of Canada (YHZ) and back. I was taking pictures over the major cities (ottawa, montreal, quebec city toronto, charlettown, halifax), and it was a great experience. The worst part of the trip was getting stuck in Halifax for 6 days because of bad weather! I spend 5 nights in the "airport hotel" in YHZ- for all you XJET and AA crew that spend overnites there, you know how boring it can be, as the airport is 20 miles from the city!! I also got stuck in Quebec City for 3 nights due to bad weather, and that wasnt fun either as the majority of the TV channels are all in French. Overall, it was a great experience, and I learned a lot flying half-way across the country in an old C152!

One thing I also learned on this trip is the importance of a good lifestyle. I always thought that it would be "fun" to spend time away from home, living from hotel-to-hotel... but in reality, it was not fun at all. For every day of my trip, I never knew where I was going to be spending the nite. I simply flew until I could fly no longer (i.e. fatigue) or until the weather held me down. Once I landed, I had to worry about finding a hotel, dinner, etc etc. I now see the importance of stability and a good lifestyle (i.e. being able to spend as much time at home as possible!) I also missed watching Macgyver everyday and I also missed the Memorial Cup hockey tournament, where my home-town team won it all!!

Anyway, thanks for all the support over the past few years and to everyone who have answered my many questions! I look forward to more milestones in this exciting career!

Chris.

 

[TurboS7]

Congrates you can now fly Part 135 VFR. Pretty soon I will be coming up on my 20,000 hour mark, I will let you know. I remember like yesterday when I reached the 500 hour mark, I took a checkride for Part 135 one week after.

 

[wrxpilot]

Congrates you can now fly Part 135 VFR. Pretty soon I will be coming up on my 20,000 hour mark, I will let you know. I remember like yesterday when I reached the 500 hour mark, I took a checkride for Part 135 one week after.

Congrats! I'm at 99.5 (augh!). I'd be happy w/ 250 at this point...

 

[RichardRambone]

I too crossed the 500 mark a few months back and its a great feeling. When I hit the 1000 hour mark Im gonna party and when I finally get my 135 mins Im really gonna party. Then I can leave my job and become a real pilot. Freight dawgs hear I come!

 

[mattpilot]

I would really like to do that too.... go on a very long XC in a single. $1000 will get me 20 flight hours. I'll probably do just that this fall.

 

[Snakum]

Congrats!

500 is my next big mark, too. It is, however, supremely embarrassing that I've been flying ten years and haven't hit it yet.

Minh
D)

 

[Goose Egg]

Just crossed 500 myself. Guess it's all downhill from here.

(Man, 500 just doesn't look like much on paper. The CFI is a "license to learn?" Yeah, I'd say!)

-Goose

 

[CUEBOAT]

Then I can leave my job and become a real pilot.

So I assume you are a fake pilot right now then?

 

[Guitar Guy]

Congratulations, Chris. Just make sure you use those hours of experience for good and not evil!

And Snakum, if you aren't even to the 500-hour mark after 10 years, why are you so concerned by about the regional mess, ala Freedumb, et al, as stated in your avatar? Just curious.

 

[Sniper Bob]

Well, I just wanted to share with everyone here that I crossed the 500 hour "milestone!"

Just make sure your next 700 are all cross-country. Don't be like me. Got 1200TT , but lack 150ish X-C for IFR 135 mins.

 

[WMUSIGPI]

sounds like you have (or should have) just learned the importance of an instrument rating.

 

[FN FAL]

Congrats! I'm at 99.5 (augh!). I'd be happy w/ 250 at this point...

Haha...keep plugging, you'll get there dude. This is the fun times!

Segue...

Congratulations on your 500th hour Chris. These time building sojourns are the ones you'll remember all your life. Me, the wife and friends, still talk about the Aztec Y2K trip and others like the Cherokee Six ski trip...it's memories for a lifetime that you are building...enjoy them and don't rush it.

Good luck and many safe flying hours to you!

 

[nosehair]

Got 1200TT , but lack 150ish X-C for IFR 135 mins.

Naa, you don't. You just haven't been logging every flight when you landed at another airport as x/c, which you can for 135 x/c mins. Remember the 50 mile requirement is only for counting towards initial certification training requirements. The general definition of x/c is any flight that lands at another airport.

 

[sky37d]

Naa, you don't. You just haven't been logging every flight when you landed at another airport as x/c, which you can for 135 x/c mins. Remember the 50 mile requirement is only for counting towards initial certification training requirements. The general definition of x/c is any flight that lands at another airport.

I thought, and was told, that was only true if you are a comm pilot. for those of us who are not, it is still the 50 mile rule. Last week I flew every day, to an airport that was 40 miles away, in the AM, and back home in the PM.

 

[Buzo]

The rule doesn't magically change when you get your commercial. You just can't use the time to get the commercial, but all landings at other airports count towards the 135, no matter when you fly them.

 

[Bluto]

excuse my soapbox

You just haven't been logging every flight when you landed at another airport as x/c, which you can for 135 x/c mins. Remember the 50 mile requirement is only for counting towards initial certification training requirements. The general definition of x/c is any flight that lands at another airport.

That's a common mistake, people get in the habit of only logging x-c time if it's more than 50nm. If you haven't been doing that, it should help close your gap.

For those of you still working on a commercial, or ATP, wondering how to account for two different kinds of x-c time, I've always used two columns in my logbook; the regular cross-country column, and I add an "ATP X-C" column for anything > than 50nm (or at least I did until I had over 500 of that kind, now I just log regular x-c) for those of you who have an extra column, you could just add an "airport to airport x-c" column (call it whatever you want, 135 x-c, etc.), and leave your regular x-c column as your "ATP column" that way you won't have to mess with your totals or screw up your logbook with line-outs or (gasp) white-out. Incidentally, I do all my page totals in pencil and my individual entries in pen. That way I can fix any math errors easily.

 

[nosehair]

I thought, and was told,

...aaahh, therein lies the rub. You must learn to never depend on what you are told, but only use it as a guide until you see for yourself. Read the regulations concerning logging of flight time. 61.51, and definitions 61.1 to see the black-and-white official definition of x/c. There are lots of old definitions of this reg because it has had some changes over the years and most people do just what you are doing - they do what their instructor tells them. But sometimes the instructor - and the examiner - are going on old outdated or passed on verbal knowledge.

 

[Snakum]

For those of you still working on a commercial, or ATP, wondering how to account for two different kinds of x-c time, I've always used two columns in my logbook; the regular cross-country column, and I add an "ATP X-C" column for anything > than 50nm

Aaaahhhhh ... I been wonder'n how to do dat.

Thanks!

Minh the King Air Seat-warmer Extrordinaire

 

[joe_pilot]

Congrats on reaching 500 hours!

Hope you have a blast on the next 500 as well.

 

[Biatch5]

Well, I just wanted to share with everyone here that I crossed the 500 hour "milestone!" I just returned from a 2 week trip yesterday that took me from Southwestern Ontario (Windsor- right across the border from DTW) all the way to the east coast of Canada (YHZ) and back. I was taking pictures over the major cities (ottawa, montreal, quebec city toronto, charlettown, halifax), and it was a great experience. The worst part of the trip was getting stuck in Halifax for 6 days because of bad weather! I spend 5 nights in the "airport hotel" in YHZ- for all you XJET and AA crew that spend overnites there, you know how boring it can be, as the airport is 20 miles from the city!! I also got stuck in Quebec City for 3 nights due to bad weather, and that wasnt fun either as the majority of the TV channels are all in French. Overall, it was a great experience, and I learned a lot flying half-way across the country in an old C152!

One thing I also learned on this trip is the importance of a good lifestyle. I always thought that it would be "fun" to spend time away from home, living from hotel-to-hotel... but in reality, it was not fun at all. For every day of my trip, I never knew where I was going to be spending the nite. I simply flew until I could fly no longer (i.e. fatigue) or until the weather held me down. Once I landed, I had to worry about finding a hotel, dinner, etc etc. I now see the importance of stability and a good lifestyle (i.e. being able to spend as much time at home as possible!) I also missed watching Macgyver everyday and I also missed the Memorial Cup hockey tournament, where my home-town team won it all!!

Anyway, thanks for all the support over the past few years and to everyone who have answered my many questions! I look forward to more milestones in this exciting career!

Chris.

I think Chris Farley said it best when he said

WELLLLLLLLLLLLLL LADIE FREAKIN DAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[typhoonpilot]

Congrats Chris:

Good job and keep the good questions coming, it keeps us on our toes.

Typhoonpilot