Other airports - not an option. Our main airport is international and doesn't have GA, and the other GA airports are 1.5 hours away mainly due to clogged traffic on the roads. My current airport is the only one in 30-40 minutes driving distance

 

Well that is good enough reason right there not to deviate from your current situation, isn't it?

 

Just curious... how long will the ride in the ambulance be?

 

In my world, safety is never compromised. Never!

Just curious... how long will the ride in the ambulance be?

 

The ambulance ride will be from where the plane touches down to the hospital. So if your FBO was next to a hospital that wouldn't matter if you had a forced landing 3 hours north in the woods.

 

But I know what you are saying B)

Does anyone know if an alternator going out can kill the engine? Or cause a fire?

 

It should not kill the engine because the gearing will either have shear pins or the gear itself is made of plastic so it fails if the alternator stops turning. A fire on the other hand is very likely with all the fumes from oil and fuel under the cowling. Had an electrical fire as well caused by a short in a landing light switch.

 

Sounds like with all these problems you will probably need to go looking for a new place to fly.

.

 

Sounds like with all these problems you will probably need to go looking for a new place to fly.

 

Yep I've started that process.

 

Found a place with plenty of aircraft to choose from well maintained, although the instructors don't have 20-30 years experience like my current place they still look decent and have a good training system.

 

Can't hurt to try some circuits with one of their guys

although the instructors don't have 20-30 years experience like my current place

 

I actually like flying with the young guys working their way up. If you make the right connection with your instructor, they will move onto an Airline when they get enough hours in. Keep friends with them as it is good to know people moving up the ranks...

 

Their are a few members on here like that working their way up the ranks as well. Good friends to have.

 

Cheers

Yep the stalls are very easy to recover from in this aircraft with this stall warning that requires the engine. It recovers on it's own almost, Piper Warriors are pretty easy to handle. Although I haven't tried anything fancy like dropping a wing or crossed controls.

...

Well it probably doesn't work at all then :( I can't remember from my stall training if I heard a warning or not it was a few months ago. I do try to keep a good eye on the ASI, and I try to never let my approaches get too slow.

 

While I'm fairly certain that the stall warning horn is required equipment DO NOT be misled into thinking that your airspeed and stall warning system will always alert you of a situation that can lead to a stall/spin. It will generally warn you about a slowly deteriorating situation, but what if you lose power and start to get distracted?

 

Having just done a spin awareness session a few weeks ago, I can assure you that you can very easily stall and spin an aircraft with no warning whatsoever. This same aircraft had its stall warning horn going off only moments earlier during slow flight. You will barely get a squeak out of the stall warning horn with aggravated stall to spin entries at airspeeds of ~100knots in an aircraft with a Vs of 50knots.

 

The rest of the concerns are well... Concerning. I did have an alternator fail with the burning smell and all in a relatively new C172S of ~3 years and I also have had a bad fuel servo that started making the engine run a bit rough in the same type but a different aircraft of the same age. I do encounter broken inertial reels with regularity in the back seats, though never in the front seats. They tend to get stuck in the locked position. Thinking back a little more, I recall a cracked brake line, and a door latch that started to fail.

 

In 2 years I've seen lots of things break and wear out, frankly more than I would expect on a fleet of aircraft that is now 5 years old. On the other hand, these things fly daily several times a day and do get abused. I can only imagine how a 30 year old school aircraft would be holding up.

 

Writing up issues at my school was not given lip service. It was encouraged with the instructor happily guiding you through the process of verifying the problem, and pointing out other symptoms or risks that could be lurking. If the flight had to be cancelled it was noted an example of good ADM.

 

I didn't fly once because I had a dead strobe on the left wing. The A&P came out to attempt a repair right away, but couldn't remove the housing because of a loose nut inside the wingtip so the airplane was taken off the line for most of the day.

 

At that school all safety issues were always addressed that same week and the rest where taken care of at the next 100 hour inspection.

 

While doing some tailwheel instruction at another school I once noted a single slightly loose screw on the upper wing of a J-3. I mentioned it to the instructor figuring that it could wait and he would take care of it later in the evening as I was the last student that day. It was definitely not a safety issue and it was in a difficult to reach spot, but he walked over to the hangar anyway to get a ladder and screwdriver and took care of it.

 

If you still feel unsafe, I would have to go with the rest of the advice and suggest that you trust your instincts.

Yep I've started that process.

 

Keep us informed, would ya? I'm interested in how this turns out. Thanks.

 

Hook

I did my flight training in a club and flew 3 years with the club with not a problem, though the planes looked pretty beat up.

 

I owned a Debonair for 11 years which I maintained to the highest standards of hyper/hyper ownership-yet I had every emergency except complete engine failure happen-some that are rarely mentioned or trained for (altimeter failure in imc for instance with a prop overspeed at the same time and autopilot induced oscillations following the errant altimeter that was flipping +-1000 ft every second or so ). The day I bought the plane and brought it from its fresh annual the alternator failed...

 

The important thing is to have a plan, good clear thought process (take any problem one step at a time), and at least in my experience and everyone I know-you usually have warning signs and time to deal with most problems (obviously not if the engine quits in a bad place).

 

With that in mind-when my Baron's left engine starter quit in a small Missouri town and I took the fbo's Cessna home, I was assured everything including ifr currency was up to snuff-it was not. It was a poorly maintained aircraft (the altimeter read 1000 ft. off despite them telling/showing us it was ifr current-that was just the start). So there are fbo's that cut corners out there-despite this I made the 6 or so hour trip back and forth fine-though was certainly on high alert.I think you can get a general sense from the people that run the operation what type of setup it is and how they maintain their planes-and often cosmetic looks are not representative of how well an aircraft is maintained.

I actually like flying with the young guys working their way up. If you make the right connection with your instructor, they will move onto an Airline when they get enough hours in. Keep friends with them as it is good to know people moving up the ranks...

 

Their are a few members on here like that working their way up the ranks as well. Good friends to have.

 

 

That's an interesting way of looking at it I'll keep in mind.

Although I don't think a career in aviation is financially rewarding enough to be honest, I'm flying for fun but if the oversupply of pilots and undersupply of jobs ever changes it’s something I’d consider if the salaries increased. I’d still have to pay for my weekend flights – stick and rudder flying is infinitely more fun than airline flying to me.

 

One of these places is a flying club, so I see also it’s good to make friends with the instructors and pilots as you can share the cost on cross country tours and holidays etc or assist them during ferry contracts. I’d love to be able to team up with someone and co-pilot Angle Flights someday as well.

So there are fbo's that cut corners out there-despite this I made the 6 or so hour trip back and forth fine-though was certainly on high alert.I think you can get a general sense from the people that run the operation what type of setup it is and how they maintain their planes-and often cosmetic looks are not representative of how well an aircraft is maintained.

 

Yep I was never worried about the planes being older than me, or looking a bit beaten up (patched up wing etc after someone hit a fence ) In fact my real love is in the oldest planes of all I hope to fly something like that one day.

 

But the things that are tangible and often ignored such as seat belts, stall warning, second com radio, seats, lights etc, all these plus the stories add up. Some minor broken things I don't like, then hearing stories like the CFI telling someone on their IFR check that it's fine to fly with that altimiter that is out by a bit.. and other things.

 

For some reason this CFI is a highly respected guy, but it's probably more as a pilot and an "old buddy" than as a business owner. He's been around the airport longer than anyone and has some ridiculous hours over 30,000. I think that's all people looked at when saying he's a good CFI to train under.

 

Yep Hook - I'll keep you guys informed. Thanks for the tips and confirming my gut feelings. It looks like I'm finding other schools so far saying they are more meticulous on fixing things. Just got to get out there next weekend and try it to see if in practice it is the same

With that in mind-when my Baron's left engine starter quit in a small Missouri town and I took the fbo's Cessna home

 

No hand propping?

stick and rudder flying is infinitely more fun than airline flying to me.

 

I do hand flying at work all the time. I even flew a whole leg by hand the other day. You just have to find a place to go to where you can do that. However as you say the pay is horrible. I also fly on the mainland on my days off.

No hand propping?

 

 

 

The birds nests got in the way

Keep us informed, would ya? I'm interested in how this turns out. Thanks.

 

 

A success, I have a new flight school and a good one!

I flew an assessment flight in an Alpha 160 (Robin 2160) on the weekend, and also got to do a few loops and aileron rolls :lol:

 

That is real flying, after being in a beaten up old warrior with a slow moving yoke, then moving into this fast sensitive plane with a great control stick, and full visibility from a bubble canopy I can never go back. Plus the plane is 25 years newer than the last one I flew and well maintained.

 

Sounds funny, but learning with an expanded aerobatic syllabus is actually safer as I'll be a more capable and safe pilot at the end of it - I'll be more experienced in recovering from stalls, spins and engine failures.

 

The downside is it costs more, but you can't put a price on comfort and safety. All in all the whole package is worth the extra.

Thanks Dan! I suspect the fun factor alone is worth the extra cost. Glad you got it sorted out.

 

Hook

I love real world flight!

 

I have never flown a bubble canopy, you must love it.