Backcountry Pilot

[hooznext offline]

Well, as of 1:15 PM EST June 21, 2008 I earned my private pilot certificate officially!

In a previous thread, I asked for advice for my check ride, everyone chimed in with lots of information and past experiences which was much appreciated.

The day (actually a couple days prior to the check ride) started out horribly. Anything that could go wrong, did go wrong. Long story short, I made it to the appointment late (weather), had a wonderful experience with a very knowlegable and caring examiner. Four hours later, I had my ticket and was headed home.

Now to figure out what to do next, I want to get my tailwheel endorsement later in the year, maybe next winter go south and get seaplane rating also, eventually instrument for my BFR.

In the meantime, does anyone know any good online resources where I can find interesting places to fly? I'm in NW Ohio and the club I belong to has two Cherokee's, I'm looking for interesting places to take my wife as reassure her that letting me buy an airplane is the right decision. Good sources would be appreciated, if it doesn't exist maybe we should build it.

Anyway, thanks for the advice everyone offered and I'm off to find my first destination to take the wife!

[Okie Bush Man offline]

Mackinaw Island, MI (KMCD)

Beautiful Island that you can only get to by airplane or boat. No cars on the island except emergency vehicles - you have to walk, ride a bike, or take the carriage.

[skybobb offline]

Gaston's White River Resort, Lakeview, Ark. Cabins, nice restruant, fishing if you want, hiking trails, nice 3200' grass runway. I flew into this Resort a few years back with two our children. My son had the Video camera running. Here is the place to go to look at the video. Bob

www.youtube.com/skybobb Search: Gaston's White River Resort Bob & Bec.

[qmdv offline]

Outstanding. A really good guy in south east OH is Patrole Guy. http://www.myspace.com/8GCBC He is on this forum quite often but right now he is in Alaska playing. Find him in Memberlist and send mim a private mesage and ask about his anual corn roast. Be a good fly in. Lots of tailwheel planes go there.

In the meantime, find a club with a 172 so you can get used to landing a bit slower. I transitioned from a Beachcraft Muskateer to a 182. The Musky is much like the Cherokee

[JRStripe offline]

Congratulations!

I'd recommend:

Marshal, MI (RMY) for Schulers restaurant and Fiesta of the Fifties. For one week during the summer the town is choked with classic cars. Your wife might enjoy the shopping, The Home Tour, or the side walk sale too.

Kalamazoo, MI (AZO) for the Airzoo and downtown restaurants. My favorite is The Olde Peninsula brewpub, but the Fancoise and Food Dance are good also. At one time the Airzoo had all the Gumman "Cats" in flying condition. I don't know if they still is true or not, but for the museum's size it has an impressive collection.

I haven't been to Mackinac Island, but from what my wife tells me, that alone should convince her to buy a plane. I've never spent any time there, only driven through, but Charlevoix might be worth looking into.

This website might be of some help too: http://www.adventurepilot.com/

[GroundLooper offline]

Well, as of 1:15 PM EST June 21, 2008 I earned my private pilot certificate officially!

HOOORAAY!!!! Congratulations!

[Zzz]

Congratulations, man. I will never forget the first ride I took a friend on as PIC with my handwritten temporary certificate in hand. The hardest part was remaining clearheaded while she was talking during the pre-flight and pre-start checklist. Passengers can be the biggest distraction.

I had fun mixing things up with taking my own trips and flights here and there, and continuing to take dual when I felt like it. I did the tailwheel endorsement right away and took some aerobatic and emergency maneuver courses and learned a lot more about flying...very valuable.

Have fun.

[hooznext offline]

Thanks all, it is exciting to know the student pilot part is over and I can now take people places. I was so excited heading home, as I got close I had a storm moving in so I had to go straight in and got it in the hanger about 10 minutes before it started raining.

The rest of the weekend was shot, thunderstorms, hail, high winds, tornado watches. Now I sit in my office looking at a gorgeous sky with the ink drying on my certificate. I leave Saturday morning on a week long vacation (Driving). I'm hoping to get up before I leave for a week.

Thanks for the suggestions on the places to go.

Congratulations!

This website might be of some help too: http://www.adventurepilot.com/

Pretty cool site, I was hoping something like that was out there, I will check it out and add anything I find for others.

In the meantime, find a club with a 172 so you can get used to landing a bit slower.

Our club is talking about replacing the older Cherokee with a 172 soon, our next meeting is in July and will be a priority topic so we can begin the search for a candidate.

Thanks again everyone, now I can actually contribute to the "Where did you fly today?" forum! Won't be as glamorous as the stuff out west, but I will be flying somewhere, that is all that counts.

[sefro offline]

I would say HAVE FUN! But remember a private pilot license is a license to learn! Stay safe and enjoy your self... PILOT!
Seth

[galen offline]

Congratulations Hooznext! It's really quite an accomplishment to earn your private. Don't rush anything - especially the weather.

Best wishes on all your future flying.

Galen L. Hanselman

[WWhunter offline]

Hooznext,

Maybe its just me but it seems most non-flyers like to ride in high wing aircraft. It allows better visibility of the ground and lets them see the country better. I know this is how my wife and several people I have taken for rides. I have a 172 and have flown in Cherokees also. They always perfered the 172. I have had it for 21 years and have a hard time thinking of a better all-around, versatile plane to own. I have flown it nearly over most of the lower 48. I am not renewing my medical when it expires and will be flying under Sport Pilot so reluctantly am going to sell the 172.
I also own an Aeronca Champ that I currently fly on floats. They are also a fun little plane but not something you really want to take on a long cross-country trip.

Keith

[hotrod180 offline]

I've got a good 170 for sale, check the marketplace forum. Unfortunately it's on the opposite end of the country from you.
There's nothing like owning your own airplane- no having to get back in an hour so the next guy can fly around the patch for an hour. You can fly off for that weekend or weeklong getaway whenever you want. But I must admit that flying rentals looks pretty attractive when something expensive breaks....

Eric

[GroundLooper offline]

I've got a good 170 for sale, check the marketplace forum. Unfortunately it's on the opposite end of the country from you.
There's nothing like owning your own airplane- no having to get back in an hour so the next guy can fly around the patch for an hour. You can fly off for that weekend or weeklong getaway whenever you want. But I must admit that flying rentals looks pretty attractive when something expensive breaks....

Eric

Owning (even partial owning) is better than renting, IMHO. Biggest problem with rentals is doing something more than just a daytrip. The FBO's I looked at, had minimum daily fees of 4 hours for an airplane that's gone a day. So to fly off to camp for the weekend would mean 8hours of fees for, maybe, a few hours of flying. And that was assuming I could even get an airplane for a whole weekend.

[Skystrider offline]

Hi hooznext!,

Congratulations on your ticket to ride!

I really enjoy going to small fly-ins. They are always friendly and there is a variety of aircraft to look at. Last Saturday I and a couple of buddies went to Sentimental Journey in Lock Haven, Pa. The site where the Cub was originally manufactured. Each year they have a Cub orientated fly-in. We had an F4F fly in and a beautifully polished chrome and blue DC-3.

One resource that became available this year is on the EAA web site. It is a calendar of events where you can put in a range and your zip code and it will tell you everything that is going on in that area. the site is http://www.eaa.org/calendar/. You don't need to be a member to use it.

Have fun and fly safe!

[hooznext offline]

Thanks guys, appreciate the input.

Hotrod150, I already looked at your plane online, I've decided I wanted to stay with the club and rent planes for about a year to really figure out what type of flying I will do and how much of it I will do before I commit to buying something.

My club is actually pretty small two planes, 20 members, only about 8 of them are very active so availability is good. They do have a minimum of 1.5 hours for each day the plane is out and they encourage overnights. Weekends can get a bit iffy unless you schedule about two weeks ahead of time, as long as nothing mechanical happens you are good.

Skystrider, thanks for the resource. The EAA chapter near me has a hot dog dinner every Friday till fall, plan on stopping in. They also have a pancake breakfast one day a month. I'd like to get over there and join and see what they are building in their new hangar. There are usually 2 or 3 RV's in some state as well as other planes.

July sucks for me, lots of travel for work. Not sure how much time I will get for flying. I'd like to work on my tail wheel and get signed off in a 182 at a local rental place in case I need something bigger than a Cherokee for now.

Until then, I have friends and family that want to go for a ride...and I thought I was done spending money for a little while, oh...and I need to buy a headset for my wife now.