'Oft delayed and after a twenty year hiatus, I'm starting up my flight lessons again this weekend at Falcon Field in Mesa, AZ. Wish me luck!-John

Best of luck buddy! I began taking the theory lessons about a year ago and got the license last autumn. Haven

You couldn't pick a nicer place to do your training! I was out there last year and drove by the field to give it a look over. Beautiful scenery, nice weather-should be great. Congratulations!http://mywebpages.comcast.net/geofa/pages/rxp-pilot.jpg

You'll do fine. :-)

Have fun. I spent many a day out there plane watching as a kid when there were nothing but citrus orchards for miles in any direction from FFZ.Just out of curiousity, what does an hour of dual time go for out there now?RegardsBob ScottATP IMEL Gulfstream II-III-IV-V L-300Santiago de Chile

I've only looked at the overall numbers--I'm looking at about $4200 to obtain the SPL give or take. It will probably be on the higher side since I plan on getting the ATC, speed and Class B endorsements. Block time on the Allegro itself is about $75 an hour. I don't know how these rates compare--I believe I am the first in the forums here to be going after a Sport Pilot certification. -John

Good Luck John and have fun!I wish I could do it too, but my sight on the left eye is not good enough and also my sense of balance in the left ear is dead.Wolfgang

Have fun, John, and best wishes.I remember when I got my PPL: 9-29-75, also was my 17th birthday then (ooh! I date myself!).We need more real pilots in FS, and I hope you can join the ranks of us real soon."Ain't nothing like the real thing", and never forget that. :-)Wolfgang: Not so sure you could not do it either. Did you know that there is a pilot who flies for FEDEX who only has one arm? She also flies solo in a Cessna Caravan for them!Regards,http://www.dreamfleet2000.com/gfx/images/F...R_FORUM_LOU.jpg

No 'arm' in doing that, is there? :-halo LOLDave T. .........On the Devon Riviera and active 'FlightSim User's Group' member at http://www.flightsimgrpuk.free-online.co.uk/

Good luck John and most of all: have fun :)Remember not to say "Wheres F4?" when the instructor says to put in full throttle :(

Back from my flight at Falcon Field! What a perfect day for flying, but getting there was a battle since the Loop 202 was closed--took 70 minutes to cover about 40 miles.This forum has heard pilot reports from students before--I won't make this long, but suffice it to say I had a very pleasant afternoon!I knew going into today's flight that MSFS would prepare me well for some things, and for others not as well. For instrument drill and navigation in this type of aircraft, I think MSFS is almost faultless. For hands on prep, I think MSFS did better than I expected it to, but I think so much depends on the FDE of the aircraft. The Allegro is very responsive and very clean. I found I could very easily redline it if I didn't pay attention--OTH, it held its speed very well in turns.I was surprised by how much the CFI allowed me to do for my first lesson--he let me taxi the aircraft to the runway, and let me take off and handle the climb out. I was unprepared for how steep the climbout was (he had me perform the takeoff with no flaps). He noted that a flaps takeoff produced an even steeper climbout.The hardest trick for me to learn I feel going forward is, although the aircraft is very sensitive, it also takes a bit of pressure to first get it to change attitude, so I found myself overcontrolling way too much--I was embarrassed to a certain extent because that's one thing I don't do in the sim. OTH, I didn't have much trouble getting the aircraft to go where I wanted it to go. I flew it out to the practice area Northeast of Fountain Hills and milled around there for thirty minutes, and flew it back to the airport flying downwind and base, with the CFI flying the last 1/2 mile of the approach (after I turned to final) and the landing.As I mentioned earlier, the CFI allowed me to taxi the aircraft to the runway, and I was surprised at how easy it was, even with some gusty winds, to taxi "with my feet". MSFS needs to improve in this area, as almost any breeze tends to knock things off kilter when taxiing in the sim. Part of the process was doing a 180 for runup just before takeoff, and the Allegro on the ground was rather nice to handle. It's an unusual aircraft in one sense, as it has a handbrake akin to a bicycle. Glad I didn't have to pump the pedals to keep the Rotax 912 hummin' :) Biggest problem I have at the moment, is I want to go up again, to prove to myself I can do better--and of course with a job and family, I doubt I will get up more than once a week. Funny item to note, on the drive home I was treating my SUV like an Allegro, and could almost swear I drove it better than I'd ever driven in my life. Total time logged for today's flight: 52 minutes.-John

congrats, John. Sounds like a blast! I know when I finally save up to go for my PPL I will go the first time and want to go back after landing! Enjoy

I wanna see some videos of you also, John. Teehee. :-)