Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
JimD737

Rides Available!

Recommended Posts

To my fellow Fly!ers - 56.5 hours after my first intro flight at Jefferson County Airport on the Olympics in Washington State, I am, as of a few hours ago, a licensed private pilot. True lesson-time, including solo practice, was just under 50 hours. The other 6.5 included some sightseeing dual time in Hawaii and two intro flights at out-of-town airports before hunkering down and taking lessons.To say that Fly! was not the inspiration would be a lie. It was an addiction that finally had to be conquered with the real thing. Attached are a few photos from my last out-of-town trip in the Rockies. Got to 13,000 MSL in a Cessna 172! Thanks to the Fly! pilot community and the few real pilots for the encouragement. All the best! Oh... anyone who wants a ride, email me anytime. I'm up for anyone in the NY metro area. I fly from Danbury CT (DXR) and White Plains (HPN).-DKhttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/90531.jpghttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/90533.jpghttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/90534.jpghttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/90535.jpghttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/90536.jpg----David KohlFly! II v2.5.240Dell 8200 P4/1.8G, 1024MB RAM, Nvidia GF4 Ti4600 v52.16, WinXP Home Edition SP1.CH Pro Pedals and Yoke USB.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest ErikU

Outstanding and congratulations, David!But give us the details! How was the check ride?Maybe I'll set Danbury as a destination for one of my cross-country jaunts. I have a dual to Plattsburgh under my belt from 10 years ago, but still need to do the multi-airport thing.Erik

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

There are three "tests". The written, the oral and the checkride. The written is, in my opinion, the toughest, b/c its a lot of memorization. If you get some ground-school DVDs and a good study guide (I used Gleim's book + the Sporty's DVDs), you'll do fine. I ended up with a 97%. 70% is passing, so my instructor told me I studied 27% too hard.The oral exam is given by the FAA examiner. I spent about 90 minutes with him, mostly discussing stuff. He had given me an assignment a few days prior to map out a flight plan. Most of our chat was around the flight planning and execution, and then some scenerios built into the flying (like "what happens if you're here and the engine fails" or "so you land for a $100 hamburger and realize that you're really close to not being able to take off due to hotter than expected temperatures?") The oral turned out to be pretty much a breeze b/c its all practical questions, which by the time you take the oral exam, you're ready for. That said, its not a blow-off either.Today's checkride was exactly as expected. Pick up a "PTS" guide and just learn all the procedures. My examiner covered normal, short and soft-field T/Os and LNDGs, diversions, slow flight, steep turns, power-off stalls, points-around-a-turn, pilotage and some communications while doing pattern work. DXR is class Delta, so I'm used to tower communications. I found it slightly more challenging to work the untowered airport we went to, but nonetheless did fine.My examiner was a stickler for coordinated turns. I knew that in advance (instructor told me), so rudder coordination was always on my mind. At one point during the exam, the examiner asked for the controls to demonstrate that rudder is needed only when the yoke is turned also, not when the yoke is level (even if the plane is turning). He had noticed my over-use of rudder. That said, he didn't fail me for it - he just pointed out the proper control. I would say my checkride was part demonstration of my skills, and part lesson. He was terrific to work with.We arrived back at DXR after logging 1.6 on the hobbs. We taxied back to the FBO and as I shut down the engines the examiner said something to the effect of, "Great job today. Let me see your checklist for a second....." I gave him the checklist and then he said, "Yep. As I thought." He then wrote something down on his pad of paper and told me he'd meet me inside, but it must be a relief to be done.At that point I was thinking, "Geez. Does that mean he passed me or I screwed something up and he's waiting to tell me the bad news inside." But my instructor came out to the tarmac to chat with the examiner. While I couldn't hear them (I was closing up the plane and tieing it down), when I saw my instructor give me the thumbs up, I knew I had achieved my goal.I took home my "solo" T-Shirt (photo attached from my March solo), called my wife, my folks and a few friends on the mobile, and then wrote this post to AVSIM.http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/90561.jpgIts been a good day. My kids are at grandma's for the night, so I'm off to spend some congratulatory time with my beautiful wife. Who knows, maybe I'll wear my captains outfit and she a Pan Am flight attendant.... oh... I was dreaming for a minute.http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/90563.jpg(Quick quiz - what is this plane, and who is the real pilot behind my face?)-DK----David KohlFly! II v2.5.240Dell 8200 P4/1.8G, 1024MB RAM, Nvidia GF4 Ti4600 v52.16, WinXP Home Edition SP1.CH Pro Pedals and Yoke USB.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest Yv

Congratulations David !And for the quiz, I am thinking about a famous actor... :-lol There's only one to own an old Quantas 707 I believe... ;-)Yves

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest danieletona

Congratulations David!!:-beerchug

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

John Travolta it is. Does anyone know if he bought the 707 or if Quantas gave it to him?-DK----David KohlFly! II v2.5.240Dell 8200 P4/1.8G, 1024MB RAM, Nvidia GF4 Ti4600 v52.16, WinXP Home Edition SP1.CH Pro Pedals and Yoke USB.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest pilotsim7828

Yes it is J.Trovolta which resides in the Hurricane ravgeded, FloridaHe has bought all of his aircraft ranging from Old WWII to Personal Jets, The only ones he parks ouside of his house are the Gulfstream V,And the ONLY one in the world that is Personally owned Boieng 707Congrat David , Sorry that is too far for me to travel

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

  • Tom Allensworth,
    Founder of AVSIM Online


  • Flight Simulation's Premier Resource!

    AVSIM is a free service to the flight simulation community. AVSIM is staffed completely by volunteers and all funds donated to AVSIM go directly back to supporting the community. Your donation here helps to pay our bandwidth costs, emergency funding, and other general costs that crop up from time to time. Thank you for your support!

    Click here for more information and to see all donations year to date.
×
×
  • Create New...