Not another DCA thread... this one is different!

[Kream926]

Too funny.... Hey westhouston, Is it true the C-172 fleet out there ALL have garmin 430's in them? I heard it was a requirement of the college that they would be GPS equipped? The C-172 fleet at Sanford DO NOT have GPS, what an embarrassment, and these are the planes we do instrument instructing in.
I wonder if the FAA will ever place "gps approaches not approved" on someone's freshly minted Instrument rating?

since when does a GPS have to be installed to be IFR?

 

[DCAinstructor06]

Kream, my point was it's a shame for someone to earn an instrument rating, have the ability to go out and rent a gps equipped aircraft having never flown a single GPS approach or ever been trained to operate one and shoot an approach to mins. The college out in houston wanted to make sure their students got to actually perform GPS approaches. That was a good thing. I know a gps isn't req'd equipment for IFR. I fly around IFR all the time and I am lucky to have DME!

 

[WestHouston]

Today I signed up for my flight blocks. They were first-come, first-served so I got there early. I was the first, so I pretty much got my pick. I originally wanted to fly 5 days a week, M-F, but because of instructor days-off I had to pick either tuesday or thursday to fly and if I still wanted 5 days, Saturday too. Well the weekends are wife time so I signed up for M,Tu,W and Fri.
I start the instument course on August 28th, but since I got my private in a 1966 C150, I am going to take their VFP course. It is 6 lessons designed to get you up to speed on their planes and how they do things. I'll start those this Friday.
I also got all my books today. I bought them all used on Amazon except for one that is the same price at the college bookstore, so I'll just get it there. It'll be about $150 all together for the books. Not bad compared to the last time I went to college!
Thats is for now. Now that I decided to do this log I wish I'd have started a new thread...

 

[DCAinstructor06]

VFP is really just a way to bleed more money out of you. Let's face it, IF you got your private in the last 6 months and haven't gone BRAIN DEAD, you should be able to sail thru VFP. If your instructor starts milking the crap out of the flights, FIRE HIM FAST! Chances are you'll have him also for instrument. DCA here in sanford has a 8hr minimum vfp course. GO figure, I put a student of mine up for the stage check with 6 hrs and the check pilot flew him in circles for 2 extra hours! VFP isn't even part of the TCO. Just watch you wallet and don't get raped! Good luck.

 

[WestHouston]

VFP is really just a way to bleed more money out of you. Let's face it, IF you got your private in the last 6 months and haven't gone BRAIN DEAD, you should be able to sail thru VFP. If your instructor starts milking the crap out of the flights, FIRE HIM FAST! Chances are you'll have him also for instrument. DCA here in sanford has a 8hr minimum vfp course. GO figure, I put a student of mine up for the stage check with 6 hrs and the check pilot flew him in circles for 2 extra hours! VFP isn't even part of the TCO. Just watch you wallet and don't get raped! Good luck.

Thanks for the advice. I didn't get pressured in to taking it, it was my idea. Mainly because I wasn't familiar with the area, or a 172 and I hadn't flown in three months. I didn't want to jump into instrument and already be behind the ball.
It is 6 lessons and this is how the first one went:
I arrived early and once my instructor arrived we did all the pre-flight filling out of forms and papers. It was confusing and I'll need to be shown again. After that we went up. The planes were not as new as I thought. the 172's are all 1984 year model. They are, however, in great shape. They do have the Garmin 430's. The plane ran smooth and I felt confident in it.
We went out over Galveston Bay and did some slow flight and steep turns. Then we went and I did three touch and go's and a go around at La Porte and headed back to Ellington. My instructor said I did good, and I got mostly 3's and a few 2's (0-4) on my "grade card". The only critisizm was on takeoff I had a tendency to have my airspeed to slow. We both think that I am doing this because I got my PPL in Seattle, where the air is much cooler and denser. I'm used to 500-700 fpm climbs in a C150. He said I need to anticipate longer ground rolls and slower climbs in the 97 F heat. Tomorrow is lesson 2, hopefully I remember some of the staggering number of additional steps in the checklists.

 

[coltsfn8888]

Do you get "no showed" if you dont arrive 45 mins early to do the takeoff data card?

 

[Metro752]

What if the airplane doesnt have an ADF, do you get NDB Approach NOT APPROVED on your instrument rating?

 

[WestHouston]

Do you get "no showed" if you dont arrive 45 mins early to do the takeoff data card?

Haven't yet. I've only not arrived 45 minutes early once or twice and no one cared.

 

[WestHouston]

What if the airplane doesnt have an ADF, do you get NDB Approach NOT APPROVED on your instrument rating?

I don't know. The planes all have ADF. There aren't many NDB's around though. I'll let you know.

 

[WestHouston]

Well, it's been a while since I've posted because I never have time. I'm on lesson 13 of my Instrument training. It's been pretty good so far. No major issues as of yet. My instructor is cool and he does a good job even though he is brand-spankin new. I've been flying my ass off and so far I'm doing pretty well; no hang-ups to speak of. The college side is cool too. It IS college though. It's funny to see all the young'ins sleeping and missing class, then bombing the quizzes and tests. As long as you pay attention and study, you won't go wrong. And don't miss class. The professors act like they don't care, but they are taking note of everyone who screws off. I'm blasting through my money like it's going out of style. For those of you who get thier PPL somewhere else, be prepared for $200 a lesson. Luckily Uncle Sam is still picking up my tab so I can't complain. I'm doing my group leader flight on Monday and my first stage check on Tuesday. I guess some guys have been waiting for a week or so before getting thier stage checks. My instructor says I won't have to wait and it was the other instructors fault. I'll be mad as a hornet if that happens to me... We'll see. Ellington is a good airport to train out of. Even though you have F-16's, T-38's, Coast Guard HH-65's and even a fat Super Guppy constantly around, it's surprisingly quiet and easy to get around. It will totally ruin your opinion on NASA though... evidently thier pilots are God's gift to aviation and they'll sit at the threshhold for 5 minutes or more after being cleared on to the runway, screwing around and not giving a dang about anyone else... even if you are on a 1/4 mile final. So, that's it for now. I'll try to get back quicker next time.