Hello.

I've been reading the forum for a while now and have learned so much from reading all the informative posts.

I was 20 when I had my last flight instruction. I ran out of funds and now I am at a place where I can get back into flying and stay with it. My plan is to go with a DVD based ground school, pass my FAA written and start flight training after that. I like the private pilot ground school/test prep course that ASA offers. Has anyone here bought their course and would like to give their opinion on it, or recommend another course?

I trained in Cessna 172s back in the late 80s. I would like to train in a taildragger as I work toward my private license. Is it better to train in a nosewheel aircraft and get the tailwheel endorsement later, or just do all the training in a taildragger?

Maule is about 4 hours south of where I live and my parents live about an hour from Moultrie, GA. I live just south of Atlanta and would like to find a good instructor who will instruct in a taildragger.

Feel free to chime in and give me your thoughts and advice.

Blessings,

Mark

Where are you? I am located in Griffin, but commute up into town for work.

Go to Tim Preston at Peachstate in Williamson:

http://www.flytailwheel.com/

At least get an introductory flight (or a re-introductory in your case) and see what you think. Talk to Tim about the pros and cons of learning in the Cub...he'll be straight up with you.

Let him know Clay Hammond referred you. And call me if you head over there, I'll buy ya a Coke and a cheesburger at the restaurant there.

I'm in South Coweta County, about 2.5 miles from Luthersville. I've floated the Flint in my Canoe around Sprewell Bluff and I noticed on the map that Willamson in not that far away.

There are some tailwheel aircraft at Newnan/Coweta airport, but Preston Aviation looks like a lot of fun and I would benefit from Tim's experience.

I will give you a call before I head over there. How long have you been flying?

Blessings,

Mark

I'm 30 years young, but have been flying for all of it. Still have the J-3 in the family that I took my first flight in at five weeks. I work for a Piper dealer, so my flying is split nowadays between low and slow in the Cub and high and fast in Malibu's.

You can phone me at six-seven-eight-416-6222

The only way I could get my PPL done was to attack it with a vengeance....Part 141 ground school (you GO to class, ON time, NO distractions) and fly at least twice a week if not more.

It was all done in two months. I truly believe it's the most economical way to go and if you buy block time in the aircraft, it can save you even more.

When you're ready to pull the trigger. PULL IT. Git'r done!!

Brian

Jr.CubBuilder

I have always thought about buying Stick and Rudder. Spruce Aircraft is not far from me and they have some really good prices. I'm gong to drop by there the first of next month and buy that book.

Thank you for the advice.

Blessings,

Mark

I second the don't start until you are sure you can afford to finish it. If it's possible, I would take a couple of weeks off and work at it seven days a week until finished. I don't know if that's possible though, I came about my license from the military. If you learn in a conventional geared aircraft your done, there is no additional training and sign off for a trike.
I've seen many people that "play" at getting their license and expect the CFI to spoon feed them. If your rich, I guess there is nothing wrong with that approach, but if your not expect to show up at each training flight throughly understanding what your are going to do that day.

Hi Brian.

I totally agree. I have the money to complete my private and extra to spare. I want to do the ground school first to review the basics and all the new airspace rules, etc. A lot has changed since 1988. I plan on having my license before the end of the year.

Blessings,

Mark

Like akroguy and a64 eluded to....get it done. Take time off work if need be. I see too many guys spend half their time in the air re-learning what they forgot.

For a lot of us...it's not the money it's the time. Carve out the time now. I flew friday afternoon, saturday (twice), and Sunday. Never left the airport those days. Between flights it was nothing but ground school. Written test finished before solo. Finished in the FAA minimum and for minimum $. Wouldn't change a thing.

Training in tailwheel is great, but if I didn't have easy access to it...I'd rent the best maintained aircraft with the highest time instructor. Ask to see his syllabus before hand. Every minute in the cockpit needs to be orchestrated and for a purpose; if not the instructor is wasting you time and money. This is why I like ex-military instructors.

Bill

I like the private pilot ground school/test prep course that ASA offers. Has anyone here bought their course and would like to give their opinion on it, or recommend another course?

When I started my training about a year and a half ago my PPL kit came with the ASA dvds. Personally I didn't really like them. I felt like they should maybe have explained stuff like weather and airspace better, but maybe it was just me. If I had to do it over again, I would probably buy the King flight training dvds. But if you like the looks of ASA's and think it will work for you then by all means do that.

Also, if you already have the money to do all of your training I was at a part 141 school this last winter doing my instrument training, and there was a guy there getting his PPl and he flew every day and got his liscence in like 3 or 4 weeks, but he already had his written done. So if you've got the time that might be an option too. Good luck.

Falcon Aviation over in Peachtree City will be your closest structured Part 141 school. Just watch out for all of the foreign nationals getting their basic training before going back home to their airlines... Air India and El Al are two of them that come to mind.

I think Newnan has a couple of instructors based there don't they? Looks like Tim might just do endorsements there at Peachstate, came to that realization after reading through his website again. But it would be worth it to go over and get an instructional flight regardless. Peachstate is about the closest thing to "backcountry" that central Georgia has without going up north into the hills (cue the banjo).

When I did mine, I completely immersed myself into aviation and studying. I stopped drinking and partying with my friends on friday nights, I stopped riding motocross and sold my bike. I deliberately went to a Part 61 school, found that I clicked really well the only instructor they had, and proceeded to fly nearly every weekend for the next 7 months, averaging about 2 hrs a week. That doesn't sound like a lot, I know, but I paid as I went, to the tune of $150-300 bucks per session. The 152 was $62/hr wet and the instructor was $40/hr. If I could have flown more often I would have, but the airport was 25 miles away and I had to work. It's also about all I could budget.

Being self-motivated is critical. Studying on your own and doing practice sessions and tests can really catapult you ahead. I did mock cross country flights in Flight Simulator at home. My instructor devised a plan for completing the Part 61.109 requirements in the most efficient manner, overlapping them where possible.

You need an instructor endorsement to take the knowledge exam anyway, so you might as well start looking now for a CFI you click with and will be cool with your self-study program.

I took the checkride at 40.4 hours in my logbook (and probably a few hundred in personal study time and day dreaming), and spent about $4,300 total. That's not too painful over 7-8 months time. But, that was in a 152 back when gas was much cheaper. I also frequently drive off the edge of the runway in a crosswind, so maybe my examiner was going easy on me...

I would tell you that you need to fly at least three times a week with flying everyday being the goal to getting it done and over with. I know military training was that way and I'm pretty sure when I did my fixed wing commercial in a 141 school it was fly several times a week.
Smart guy's can get it done by flying on weekends, I guess, but I'm not smart enough, I don't think. Give me much more than 48 hours between lessons and I'm spending too much time reviewing. I also found out at least for me anything more than a 1.5 hour dual is wasted. After 1.5 if I'm really working hard, I'm toast.
Where you at MTV? You instruct, what works best?

Backwoodsman- Good luck to you, sir! Here's a couple thoughts from my experience:

I found Sporty's DVD course and the ASA study booklet were a good combination, together with talking with my instructors. That was in '03. I bet the book is pretty much the same- the DVD's have probably just gotten better. I also recommend Stick and Rudder, along with a book called "The Compleat Taildragger" by Harvey Plourde.

I did all my initial training in a TW- It didn't seem any harder, since it was the only thing I knew at the time. After that, getting checked out in a trike was pretty much a non-event. Also, let's say you put in 50 hours towards your PPL. That's 50 hrs more TW time when you get yourself a TW plane and go shopping for insurance.

If you do start in a TW, take a hint from all the other threads on this forum about instructors who gloss over wheel landings. 3-Pointers AND Wheel landings are necessary for your comfort and safety. I'd have a firm understanding with the instructor about that before starting out with them.

Hope it goes well for you

-Denalipilot

Mark,
Take a look at :

http://www.kingschools.com/productDetai ... 0PPEC%20CD

This interactive CD approach got me a 99 on the test. IMHO it is very well done! Plus they have a lot of other subject matter that can add additional knowledge. You can call these guys and negotiate some additional items for free.

Took my ground school through the local Jr College from the same guy who was my flight instructor....cost a lot less that paying for his time directly. Got my private in 7 months mostly because I do not work Fridays...the plane (Warrior) was less available on Saturdays & Sundays. Took my checkride in August, got checked out in several tricycles, and got my tailwheel in October in a Super Cub.
Whithin a year had gotten checked out by 8 different instructors in varous planes looking for a plane that I wanted. It took me two years, 11 instructors until I found the 170B that I flew for 10 years.
I also considered partnerships in several planes but I think these people were just looking for someone to finance a rebuild or a new engine,or something. I wanted to fly and not have a "Project". I would like to build an airplane some day but right now I don't have the spare time.
I agree with some of the others......make up your mind to do it, know what your costs are, what kind of flying you may want to do and the aircraft you would like to do it in. Talk to fellow pilots, ask around,and find the instructor you would want to be couped up with. It sure felt good when I got that jabbering instructor out of the right seat. I was on my own and it was exilerating to know if I took this thing off the ground I was the one who had to put back on the ground so someone else could do the same thing as I just did!

Passing the FAA test and learning the concepts are two entirely different things. The test prep software is a great way to prepare for the tests but it is not a great way to learn the basics of flying. Aeronautics, weather, navigation, regs, etc are all very complex areas of study.

I am a fan of the local JC or Coummunity college and taking the course over a semester. And yes, you might still want to use the software prep as a refresher and a way to understand the test before you take the test.

I also used a software course for ground school but I do not remeber the name of it. I remeber that it helped because if there were questions that were raised from the software course I could aways ask my intructor.
PS: when you are learnig to fly, try to fly with as many other pilots and planes as you can to learn different tecniques, styles, and handling characteristics. After I got my ticket in a tricycle I thought I really knew how to fly. When I took my tailwheel I learned how to takeoff and land!
HC

Backwoodsman,

Good luck getting your pilot's certificate.

I, also, can offer some cheap advice. Learn to fly - pass the written test.

The point I am trying to make is that the focus should be on learning to fly. The written test is like a pop quiz. Know enough to pass it and realize that it was your entrance fee to learning.

I find that I never lose interest in learning to fly better. I have also come to understand that "judgement" is the most important thing to cultivate. All the rules, weather info, techniques, sayings, etc. are simply information to feed your judgement process. As a pilot your number one tool in the cockpit is judgement. If that tool is broken, then nothing else can help you. As a matter of fact, when you get to your check ride, that is really what the person testing you is looking for and it is what makes you a safe flyer. Enjoy the process. It never ends.

I sure appreciate everyone's input.

Sojorrn,

I've looked at just about everyone's courses over the past 7 months and I just couldn't decide. I watched some of the King videos on youtube and really like the way John and Martha present the material. I especially like the "Get It All" package they offer. So as of today, I believe I'm going with King.

I joined AOPA about 6 months ago as a "free" member and joined as a paying member last month. I'm waiting for my AOPA credit card so I can get double points for buying my course. AOPA sure has a lot of good stuff.

I'm going to keep reading everything I can get my hands on and take all the safety courses I can as I'm preparing to take the written. AOPA even gave me a $10 off coupon for CATS testing.

Well, I guess I've said enough for now. Thanks again everyone.

Blessings,

Mark