Took My Discovery Flight Today!

[kevdog]

Already explored those options where I'm at. You don't get CFI out of CAPT and I don't have money to dump into getting that certification. I tried contacting a few meat missile outfits but nobody replied back to me. Same with banner towing. As for traffic watch, I haven't been able to find who to contact about that around here.

Yes it was a huge lesson. And there will be more I'm sure.

There is nothing like being a meat missle! But you have to realize you aren't going to get a job in a turbine without experience at a dropzone. Mins are usually 1,000 hours for insurance. What state do you live in?
There are Cessna dropzones all over the country in mass numbers.
Check out http://uspa.org/dz/index.htm for a listing of all dropzones.

 

[Amish RakeFight]

If I wanted to check out another flight school, would I be able to sign up for a demo flight with them now that I have already had one? Or is it just a matter now of talking to their CFI in order to decide who to pick. I'm thinking that taking a flight with a CFI is a good way to see how I would feel taking lessons from that person. Or os that just wrong? Do you choose a flight school or instructor simply on the basis of a meeting or interview?

Congratulations on taking that big step. There's a lot of folks out there who have this inner yearning to learn to fly and be a part of aviation but allow their inhibitions to prevent them from accomplishing it. I sat on the sidelines for a little while in college before ever taking any lessons.

I myself became immensely interested in aviation but thought it wasn't for me. I feared that it wasn't something I would be able to do both financially and competently. So I read a bunch of books on the flying culture, aerodynamics, rules etc. before ever taking that intro flight. I'll never forget my experience - from that day on I was hooked. It happened on a hot sunny day in the summer. The CFI took me up for 1/2 an hour in a beat up Tomahawk and 1 year later I began taking lessons for my Private pilot. Since then, I obtained all of my ratings through CFI and began to teach. Money was a big factor so I had to stretch all of my training over the course of several years at different part 61 schools.

As far as taking another demo flight, that shouldn't be necessary. The intro flights really serve to get people introduced into the world of flying so that they might continue to fly and take lessons. Sounds like you're already hooked. Another thing is that intro flights aren't real lessons. They bypass a lot of things you'll eventually need to know. The next flight should be an official lesson, beginning with a thorough explanation of the preflight.

It's not uncommon to have a few different instructors over the course of ones training. You'll find that some instructors will put you more at ease and this will ultimately help you learn faster and better. For now, it wouldn't hurt to speak with some of the CFI's to assess their personalities, but you may want to at least start with one and take it from there and see how things go. Also, different instructors offer different perspectives on things and you'll learn more by flying with different pilots.

As far as a career change, I'd say go for it. You're never too old if it's what you want to do which it sounds like, I'm hoping you begin lessons soon. You'll never regret one hour in the air. As you've indicated, flying isn't all that hard and you seem to have grasped some of the basic fundamentals. It just takes some commitment and money. There are plenty of loan options should you require it. You might also want to invest in a PC based flight simulator with a yoke as this will do wonders for your procedural stuff, especially when you move on to the instrument rating. This will all help save money in the long run.

Keep posting questions as they surface.

 

[777-2H4]

Boy...there's no shortage of negative feelings on this board!! FlyingNinja, sorry to hear about your experience. Like the other poster I think if you had a different experience the outcome would have been a bit more positive.

Can MS Flight Sim really help you practice? How well does it simulate real-world flying in a C172? Probably not too well I'd guess because there's no wind to compensate for?

Another thing I worry about is my location. If I went thru the training I might have another strike against me in the job search because I don't live in a big city. We only have 1 airport here and probably not a lot of flight students. one school posts their schedule online, and they have 14 instructors but only 7 of them have any students today, and only 1 of those has 5 bookings while the others have 1 booked. Not hard to see who is the busy instructor there!

 

[Flying Ninja]

MS Flight Sim can help you to a degree. You can use it as a "procedure trainer" to help you with your flows and checklist usage and instrument scanning. As far as comparing the flying "feel" on a computer vs. the real thing, there is none. But if you fly enough Flight Sim, the real deal somehow feels less real. I remember my first real flight with my CFI. It felt like I was still flying Flight Sim out there. That quickly disappeared when the landing phase came into play.

You don't have to live in a big city to be competitive. When you apply to a regional airline, you'll most likely need to move to a domicile (base) where you'll spend most of your time (or commute to it if it's possible from your home town).

 

[777-2H4]

You don't have to live in a big city to be competitive. When you apply to a regional airline, you'll most likely need to move to a domicile (base) where you'll spend most of your time (or commute to it if it's possible from your home town).

But if I don't want to go to a Regional.....there may be fewer options.

 

[kevdog]

But if I don't want to go to a Regional.....there may be fewer options.

What are you goals?

 

[TriStar_drvr]

So today for the first time I actually got to "fly" an airplane! I've always been an aviation nut but its been growing....took an airshow quickie ride a few weeks ago, had a sit-down consultation with a CFI, and signed up for the ride...

Congrats 777. Were you grinning from ear to ear when you first felt the airplane respond to your control inputs? I can't remember that first lesson, but I still remember my first solo 25 years ago. Thank God the internet wasn't around then and I had to read dozens of responses about what a crappy career aviation is now. Instead, I hope you enjoyed the moment, and won't let the naysayers on this board ruin the memories of your first flight.

Find a good instructor and revel in the experience of learning to fly. Read all you can about learning to fly, and for the time being, forget about the future, and any career aspirations that may come later.

Study hard, come to the airport prepared to learn, and soon you too will experience that first solo flight, a moment that you will never forget.

Again, congrats on taking the first step to becoming a pilot. Hopefully, the passion will stay with you for the rest of your life, whether you choose this as a career or not.

 

[wrxpilot]

No offense taken. I've already had my fill from CAPT. Patient? Well, when you were proactive about your career placement before you graduated and was promptly ignored and delayed by the program...I think I was plenty patient and plenty active in taking ownership for my placement future. But with the low time you come out of CAPT with, you needed them big time.

Kept out of debt? Yeah, that would have been nice but I also wouldn't have been able to try to do it if I went that route.

Backup plan? It's already in progress. I'm back working so that my pay checks can go directly to my lender. After 5 years, I'll be able to move from lettus washing to the grill...and then assistant manager. That's when the big bucks comes in!

Flying Ninja,

You sound like a good guy, it's a real shame this happened to you. I bet you'll just be stronger for it though... Good luck!

 

[pilothouston123]

get all the money together you can and get your private. Make sure you can spend the time to get-r-done in about 2-3 months min. Remeber the private is a lifetime certificate.
it's really frustrating at times. but flying is like nothing else. Picking up a pay every two weeks for it is pretty cool

 

[777-2H4]

What are you goals?

Well, I was thinking maybe air charter/air taxi?? Is the job market any better for those than the airlines? Flight instructing wouldn't be bad either, if only the pay was better....

 

[Goose Egg]

I was so passionate about flying and had so much fun with it that I decided to drop a high paying job working for a rapidly growing (stock wise too) company...

So far so good. There's nothing wrong with that. I dropped out of a major in college with a large potential for earnings (accounting) to go back to flying, and haven't looked back. One of the best decisions I ever made.

...took out a huge loan, and moved my life into flight training in hopes of doing it as a career. Welp, today, I'm in a huge debt, I don't have a flying job, can't get into it because I can't afford to (thanks to delays at the CAPT program and their incompentence), and have lost my passion for flying.

The "took out a huge loan" part is where you lost it. Another poster said it best, you are a poster child for CAPT, DCA, RAA, etc. etc. etc. I understand that you had a negative experience and that CAPT wasn't all it was cracked up to be, but don't figure for a minute that it is representative of the industry and that the rest of us are in the same boat. I went to state school, got a 4-year degree and all my ratings while accruing approximately $18k of debt. That translates into a monthly payment of about $130. I can manage that. I graduated with about 300 hours, and am now pushing 1000. I closed that gap through instructing. That's about 700 hours that I didn't pay a cent for.

So, I think a lot about what my CFI told me when I told him I wanted to do it as a career these days. Had I listened to him, I'd still be able to fly WHENEVER I wanted and ENJOYED my flights to KACK or KMVY or other destinations on the weekends and still have a bundle of cash.

I get to fly as much as I want, which is several times daily (weather permitting--I am in New England after all), and it doesn't cost me anything. Had I listened to someone like your instructor, I'd be stuck with about 100 hours and in a job that would probably pay well, but that I absolutely hated. No thanks.

What I've learned from my experience is that flight training outfits is just another money making engine. The people that run it don't care (at least not at CAPT).

Not all flight training outfits. Mine was a non-profit organization (a state run college.)

And most of all, one has to have a TON of cash on hand to sit around to wait for some regional airline to call you...

You won't be waiting long if you are qualified and flexible for who you want to work for. I've been an instructor long enough to see my fellow instructors fly out the door.

so that you can work for $19 an hour for that first year, and then make a morsel more each year while praying that the airline doesn't go out of business or cut your pay scale.

So did you really buy into all that CAPT propaganda? No one goes straight to the majors. Everyone has to "get around the block" somehow. There's a huge difference between merely having the rating and having several hundred (or thousand) hours of experience to go with it. Did you think that you could circumvent that process with the big buy-in from the training program you chose? It just doesn't work like that. Did you really want to fly for a living or did you just want the so-called glory and prestige of the big iron?

Oh, and the time away from friends and family.

That's true, you will spend some time away, but did you not know this before getting into it? Please tell me that this didn't catch you unaware.

So, to answer your question, what should you do? Do something that makes money that affords you the privilege to fly on your terms and enjoy the flying.

Done. I fly on my terms, which is several times per day. I am afforded that priviledge through flight instructing. And it makes money--not a considerable amount, but it's enough for now. I'm not living in the "lap of luxury," but I never expected that (or wanted it for that matter.) All things considered, I really wouldn't want to be doing anything else right now.

I used to hate my job, but I also knew that every 2 weeks I got a paycheck that more than allowed me to fly a few hours on the weekends to wash away all that negative energy at the office.

With a job like that, I'd need to wash away the negative energy daily. How depressing it would be to have that be the focus of your life. Work in a crappy job all day, go home, and only have a few hours to relax before you get up and do it all over again. That would suck.

And if you read on the forums, there are pilots who have admitted that they lost the passion and that flying is just another job.

It's true, flying is work, flying is a job. But it's a job that I really like, and I think you'll find plenty of pilots on this forums who feel similarly.

I might get into flying for a major airline and have a relatively stable career at a good pay.

Who said the only way to a relatively stable career and "good pay" was through a major airline? I'm not planning on flying for a major, and I don't feel like I need to to have a successful career.

-Goose

 

[wrxpilot]

Awesome post Goose!

 

[Flying Ninja]

I think your situation differs from mine a great deal considering you started getting into the aviation industry at an early age and obviously someone mentored you in the ways of the aviation industry and what to expect. I got into aviation when I was 31. Got into CAPT at the age of 32. I was not looking for a short cut into the majors because I didn't want to do the hard work. I was strapped for money, and I knew I was putting everything I have on the table to try to fulfill a dream. CAPT sold me that I was going to be able to get to the regionals and even the majors. They sold me a minimum time with a type rating and a path to guaranteed interviews which they made it sound like you got the job if you graduate their "elite training" program. If I was like you and had the means and the opportunity, I'd probably be doing what you're doing today rather than facing the reality that the dream is over.

By training outfits, I don't mean the local FBO with the local CFIs. I mean corporate outfits with the glossy magazine ads. So yes, I bought into CAPT's propaganda. I was very skepticle about CAPT from the very beginning. Everyone I talked to thought I was crazy for doing it. But they did offer a very attractive and fast track into flying for the airlines. And with that age 60 rule and my starting age, I wanted every advantage to beat the clock because I knew you start out making crap. Someone at CAPT told me it was possible for me to graduate, work for a regional for 5 years and get into a major airline. I knew I was going to be away from home. I just didn't realize when they said you'll be "working half the time" didn't exactly translate to working 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off.

Yes, the desk job sucks. But I don't have a choice anymore. I ran out of time and money to get into this industry. By the time I dig myself out of debt and get recurrent and build up the time to get into a regional airline to make $20k for that first year at the age of 45, I would have been able to make a lot more doing what I'm doing now and be able to fly on the side for enjoyment.

So anyway, you are in a different place than I.

 

[Amish RakeFight]

Ninja

You are way too negative. Things are never that bad. If you love aviation enough, you'll find away. I sure did and it took a few years before I got all my certificates. Yeah, I spent a ton of money but no one can take an education away from you. Cars get old, electronics fail and become obsolete, expensive meals, well, they 're not around for very long either.

It shouldn't take much more cash to get the CFI, from there you are on the road to building hours and getting a job. Once you have the CFI you can fly for free for the rest of your life, even if you choose not to fly for an airline. It's something that could be done on weekends. It's mostly book knowledge and once you begin teaching,the job gets easier and your skills improve dramatically. There's nothing like an early morning takeoff into the cool air with a student looking towards bright blue skies and a sunrise.

 

[Flying Ninja]

I'm sure I come across as being negative. Sure, the education they can't take away from you. But since you're a CFI, you know how quickly these skills fade if you don't use it. I'm quite certain that's why the FAA imposes those currency regulations. Otherwise, why bother with those regs? To that end, let me just tell you that I can't afford to fly anymore far less pay for instruction to get a CFI. I looked around here for a CFI program and it'll cost about $5000. I simply don't have that money. Hell, I'd be happy to see that number pop up on my bank statements these days. My monthly loan payment is $1000; and the interest rate is going up by 0.5% for a whopping 8.5% on $101K. Still doing the math? You figure out the rest and tell me how much money I need to make each month.

You don't have to remind me of the excitment of flying. I know. I got a useless plastic card mailed to me from the FAA to remind me. If you feel like flying that C-150 up to NY and give me some free lessons, I'd be happy to take you up on it on the weekends. I don't mean that seriously, just trying to make a point. Fact is, flying takes money and I don't have it.

It won't be until I get this loan paid off and saved enough money to buy a house and be financially stable before I go back to flying again. All my currencies have expired and they'll remain expired until I have money...which, is about 10-15 years from now. I'll be 45-50 then. At that point, flying as a career simply isn't worth it in my mind.

 

[Flying Ninja]

I'm sure I come across as being negative. Sure, the education they can't take away from you. But since you're a CFI, you know how quickly these skills fade if you don't use it. I'm quite certain that's why the FAA imposes those currency regulations. Otherwise, why bother with those regs? To that end, let me just tell you that I can't afford to fly anymore far less pay for instruction to get a CFI. I looked around here for a CFI program and it'll cost about $5000. I simply don't have that money. Hell, I'd be happy to see that number pop up on my bank statements these days. My monthly loan payment is $1000; and the interest rate is going up by 0.5% for a whopping 8.5% on $101K. Still doing the math? You figure out the rest and tell me how much money I need to make each month.

You don't have to remind me of the excitment of flying. I know. I got a useless plastic card mailed to me from the FAA to remind me. If you feel like flying that C-150 up to NY and give me some free lessons, I'd be happy to take you up on it on the weekends. I don't mean that seriously, just trying to make a point. Fact is, flying takes money and I don't have it.

It won't be until I get this loan paid off and saved enough money to buy a house and be financially stable before I go back to flying again. All my currencies have expired and they'll remain expired until I have money...which, is about 10-15 years from now. I'll be 45-50 then. At that point, flying as a career simply isn't worth it in my mind.

 

[777-2H4]

Ninja, I'm another one that is starting late. Except I'm 10 years older than when you started! I don't have much useful time left. And, I also don't have any family members that encourage me - in other words, I'm getting negative vibes to the idea of me flying. That saddens me.

Another possible outlet for my passion for aviation is to learn to fly up thru the CFI stage, and start my own aerial photography business. I could keep my regular job and do photo shoots on the side, AND, do flight instruction on the side as well. This way, I wouldn't become a full time pilot. I don't know - my head is full of emotions right now. I wonder how lucrative, or how great the need is for aerial photography.

 

[wrxpilot]

777-2H4,

There's plenty of people that got into aviation at a later age. Quite a few considerably older than 41, which really isn't that old anyway. I totally agree that if you want something bad enough, it will happen. Assuming you are in the US, anything's possible! Good luck and it was great hearing about your disco flight!!

 

[Goose Egg]

I got into aviation when I was 31. Got into CAPT at the age of 32.

It's true that I did get an earlier start than you, but I'm certainly not the youngest CFI around here. I turn 30 in two months. And I really didn't get much guidance, I just sought the course of action that was the best fit for my situation.

-Goose

P.S. Anyone who quotes $5000 for a CFI is either severely misinformed or trying to rip you off.

 

[flybuddy1]

Go to a grass strip and get aquainted with a taildragger Before you get hooked on 172s