My Flying so far...

[flight17]

I have been accounting in my log book and i thought i would share my overall progress so far since yesterday and today were sort of milestones. I'm flying all of my training through a part 141 school, however, i have not decided yet if i will be doing commercial part 141 or 61, but most likely it will be 141 since I'm so low on time.

*I started flying towards my private pilots license on 6-13-11
*I soled the first time two weeks later with 9.4 total time.
*I finished the part 141 training at 36.2 hours total on 8-26-11
*I took my checkride on 10-4 at 39.9hrs due to taking a break for ground schools to study for the checkride and weather causing me to not fly for a month.
*I started Instrument on 10-7-11
*I finished Stage 1 instrument (just flying around under foggles) in 11.8 hours on 12-5-11
*Started Stage 2 (approaches/holds) 12-9-11

And that brings me up to now. Since i started Stage two i have flown a total of 5 flights (4 really as 2 were back to back). In that time, I have done multiple Localizer departures, Holds Full approaches on our own, two approaches with vectors to the FAF. One NDB approach after holding over an NDM for about 15min. Multiple VOR approaches and holds and one ILS approach. I have done a total of 12 approaches.

Well yesterday was my 4/5th flight doing approaches and we did in order: VOR 28 (KBVI) low pass only, Localizer 10 (KBVI) full stop, ILS 8 (KBTP) via EWC VOR, VOR 28 (KBVI) low pass only, and finally the localizer 28 (KBVI). after we went missed on the first VOR 28, we climbed up into a layer of clouds and i got my first experience of actual IMC. We got vectors for the Localizer 10 (not by choice) and shot the approach in for a full stop. We broke out of the clouds at around 2200-2400ft MSL (field elevation is 1200ft).

 I was only flying one block at that point so we shut her down. But due to the weather, my instructor had to cancel with all of his private students so we decided to go back up. I went and got something to eat and by the time we got back into the plane, about 45min had passed. Upon departed, we immediately were in IMC at 1900ft. We shot the ILS 8 at Butler County, which was the first time i did an ILS other than in FS. We immediately went and did the VOR 28 back at Beaver and then went to do the Localizer 10. We got pit to allow us to do the Localizer approach on our own so we could do the hold and everything. Tops of the Localizer are 3000ft until Namth (Named after Joe Namath) which is the outer marker and then you are cleared to 1580ft with 1mile visibility. We started the decent in but didn't break out of the clouds until about 1700ft which is about 100ft above mins.

Here is the first part: http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N984BT/history/20111214/1500Z/KBVI/KBVI

Needless to say, i was the only student that got to fly yesterday. So in the end, i got 1.6 actual IMC on my 4th day of approaches.

Hopefully i will be finishing all of Stage two by the end of next week because i have scheduled myself for 3 blocks a day every day next week. Hopefully the weather cooperates and it isn't too windy or the freezing level too low with rain.

Now today, I had to take my Commercial Pilot Written Exam. I ended up passing it with a 88% which i was very happy with.  Had all A's in all my classes this semester which included Commercial Theory, Advanced Aeronautical Knowledge, Engines, Systems. Next semester is just Human factors and Advanced aerodynamics.

Totals:
60.3 hours total
31.4hrs total PIC
6.3 night
1.6 Actual IMC
17.1 simulated IMC
163 takeoffs/landings

[MachFly]

Nice!

Your the first person I met who took their checkride with less then 40 hours. 

[2ADoc]

I took my check ride with, 110 hours, but it was on my 17 th birthday,  I had already been flying for 8 years.  It helps when your old man owns the airport, airplanes, and the flight school.

[Seanaldinho]

I took my check ride with, 110 hours, but it was on my 17 th birthday,  I had already been flying for 8 years.  It helps when your old man owns the airport, airplanes, and the flight school.

Im so jealous...

[flight17]

I took my check ride with, 110 hours, but it was on my 17 th birthday,  I had already been flying for 8 years.  It helps when your old man owns the airport, airplanes, and the flight school.

lol i guess so...

[colmbo]

If you remember Bobby Younkin who was killed in a midair a few years ago during an airshow -- we learned to fly at the same time, same airport.  I soloed a 1964 Cessna 150 when I was 17.  He soloed a whole hangar of airplanes, IIRC up to a Cessna 310 on his "solo day".  It would have been good to have been born into an aviation family.  

I had 7.2 hours at solo, 37 when I took my private checkride.

[MachFly]

37 when I took my private checkride.

How do you do that? Don't you need 40 to get your PPL?

[2ADoc]

I met Mr. Yonklin a few years before his midair, he was a really nice guy.  I was doing EOD at an airshow where he was performing.  I met him after the show.  I had met his son and daughter-in-law a at an airshow a few years later.  I missed the Friday night airshow that he does in the Beech 18, but I was at the airshow where he and Amanda crashed.  That was a sad misfortune.

[Wildcat1]

Nicely done, sir

I'm hoping to scrape up some cash and start flying lessons this summer.

[2ADoc]

When I soloed on my 16th I soloed, a J-3, a Cessna 172, a Cessna 172 with a 180 HP, a 7AC champ, a Piper tomahawk.  The next day I soloed a 185 an Aerocoupe, a T-6 and a Cessna 195, and a Bonanza.  It was fun, but again it is nice when you grow up in the aviation community.  Once I soloed then my dad put my little but to work.  Before school I had to go to the airport with him, and help pull out and fuel the tomahawks, and our lone 150, then I had to fly the backup bird to Harlingen where the bulk of out students were going to school.  My friend would pick me up at the airport and I would go to class.  After school my buddy would drop me back off at the airport, and I would take the backup or the broken bird back to our airport, it was only a 7 minute flight.  If it was the back up bird it was get in and off we go, if it was the broke bird, there would be a note on the clip board that said, artificial horizon out, or what ever was broken and I got the honor of flying it back to our airport and then get to either wash a plane or 2 or change plugs or what ever needed to happen to get the birds ready for the next day.

[MachFly]

When I soloed on my 16th I soloed, a J-3, a Cessna 172, a Cessna 172 with a 180 HP, a 7AC champ, a Piper tomahawk.  The next day I soloed a 185 an Aerocoupe, a T-6 and a Cessna 195, and a Bonanza.  It was fun, but again it is nice when you grow up in the aviation community.  Once I soloed then my dad put my little but to work.  Before school I had to go to the airport with him, and help pull out and fuel the tomahawks, and our lone 150, then I had to fly the backup bird to Harlingen where the bulk of out students were going to school.  My friend would pick me up at the airport and I would go to class.  After school my buddy would drop me back off at the airport, and I would take the backup or the broken bird back to our airport, it was only a 7 minute flight.  If it was the back up bird it was get in and off we go, if it was the broke bird, there would be a note on the clip board that said, artificial horizon out, or what ever was broken and I got the honor of flying it back to our airport and then get to either wash a plane or 2 or change plugs or what ever needed to happen to get the birds ready for the next day.

Soloed a T-6 the day after your first solo? 

How many hours did you have in a T-6 before that?

[RTR]

How do you do that? Don't you need 40 to get your PPL?

I would imagine it is similar to up here, you do the check ride and when you hit the required hours they issue the license.

Back in the day, I did my Commercial Helicopter check ride some 20 hours early for the rating and just had to fly off the remaining hours. I had already  completed the required dual/ cross country/ ifr portions and just needed time.

Pretty normal scenario even today. You just need to have completed the required training syllabus.

cheers,
RTR

[RTR]

And..WTG! Flight17

Now the learning really starts!

cheers,
RTR

[flight17]

Thanks guys... I envy you guys that grew up in an aviation family... I am the first pilot in my immediate family though my brother is a mechanic on the P-3 Orion, P-8 Poseidon, H-60 and soon to be E-2C/D hawkeye. I did fly a T-6 a twice though when i was 13. Have about 2 hours in it.  

How do you do that? Don't you need 40 to get your PPL?

It depends on what school you go to. If you are doing it through a Part 141 school, its only 35 required. If you are doing it Part 61, the hours jumps up to 50 i believe.

For instrument, its 35 again for 141 and 50 (i think or maybe its 60/70) for part 61.

For Commercial, its 120 hours for Part 141 or its 250 total time for part 61. So this is where the biggest difference will be. If i continue to fly the least hours for my ratings, i will be doing my Commercial training part 141. However, if i struggle through Instrument (which i don't think i will) and my total time reaches 130hrs before i get my instrument, then i would do it part 61. Even with all the flying I'm just doing for fun, i don't think i will reach 130 hours before starting commercial.



Now i just need our T-28B to be finished so i can start flying it to airshows and giving rides in it. I will almost certainly be the only pilot for it and will have to get type rated in it as well. So im excited for that.

My ultimate goal is to have my Commercial by April/May, my CFI/CFII by May/Jun and then my multi engine by June/July so I can fly right seat on our C-123K. We were down to one type rated pilot (Bill) for it last year, our other pilot was diagnosed with Stage 4 Bone cancer in Feb and he passed in September, which meant Bill had to go to every airshow with it (took it to 10). So two of our pilots that werent type rated will be this year, so we will need at least one more person to fill in right seat.

[2ADoc]

I only had about .5 in the T-6 but it was a friend of mines, but I had a few hours right seat in a beech-18, and about 30 landings in it, plus about 15 hours right seat in a DC-3 that my dad owned, and a couple hours in my J-3, to this day probably 80% of my time is in tailwheel, oh and .5 in the right seat of a 500 Howard that was based at my dads airport, that is one of the really memorable flights, that thing was a pure BEAST.  For all those wondering yes I was actually flying the birds.