Becoming a pilot

CitSAR · March 16, 2007, 08:27:08 PM

How would an active CAP member, non-pilot, go about starting flight school? Private or other?

carnold1836 · March 16, 2007, 09:02:23 PM

Do what I'm doing and get a pilot friend to let you borrow their ground school DVDs.

Pumbaa · March 16, 2007, 09:36:52 PM

I just got the ground school CD's and I am going through it with my daughter. Perhaps we'll get out tickets at the same time!

A pilot in church loaned us the CDs and has offered to do some orientation and such...

Al Sayre · March 17, 2007, 12:25:07 AM

Go around to the local airports (note plural usage) and interview the various flight instructors and operations (again note plural usage). Ask them for references to some of their prior students and talk to them before you make a decision. Find an instructor who you are comfortable with and that hopefully isn't just marking time until his arline job comes in. Also don't just jump on a cheaper price, remember the old adage; "You get what you pay for." The AOPA has some good articles (available online) on choosing a flight instructor or flight school, and reading those would give you some good ideas what to look for. Hope this helps.

Chris Jacobs · March 17, 2007, 04:23:47 PM

There are a lot of great instructors in CAP that love to help other CAP members. All of my logged instruction time has been with CAP member instructors. Now i also help them out a lot being the young one that can run around and do all the manual labor all day long.

floridacyclist · May 05, 2007, 08:25:26 AM

Have you looked at Sport Pilot training as a stepping-stone? It only requires 20 hours to get rated compared to 40 for PPL, costs about half as much per hour and 17 of those 20 hours can be used toward the required 40 if you later decide to upgrade. That's the route I'm taking as soon as I start kicking younguns out.

www.sportpilot.org

JohnKachenmeister · May 05, 2007, 02:01:16 PM

How to become a pilot:

1. Rob a bank. Be sure not to get caught, as prison time will adversely effect your flight training.

2. Locate a school and an instructor with whom you feel comfortable. Talk to more than one. Remember, there are two kinds of schools, one requires 40 hours and is less structured, one requires 35 hours, requires a formal ground school, and is highly structured. The decision is yours, based on how familiar you already are with flying and with how you learn best.

3. Partner up with a pilot that you know and like. Sometimes informal "Hangar flying" is better than formal instruction. Also, it will keep you abreast of the instructor, and help you learn the basic skills faster.

4. Repeat step 1 as needed.

BillB · May 06, 2007, 06:59:13 PM

OK I've robbed a bank, how does that help me with flight training? Anyone know what I should do with 68 ball point pens with the banks name on them?

JC004 · May 07, 2007, 01:36:42 AM

Quote from: BillB on May 06, 2007, 06:59:13 PM
OK ~~I've robbed a bank~~, how does that help me with flight training? Anyone know what I should do with 68 ball point pens with the banks name on them?

Give 'em to your squadron. The other non-profit that steals the rest of my time and soul has a designated pen thief. You could make this your new specialty.

JohnKachenmeister · May 07, 2007, 06:02:30 AM

Quote from: JC004 on May 07, 2007, 01:36:42 AM
Quote from: BillB on May 06, 2007, 06:59:13 PM
OK ~~I've robbed a bank~~, how does that help me with flight training? Anyone know what I should do with 68 ball point pens with the banks name on them?

Give 'em to your squadron. The other non-profit that steals the rest of my time and soul has a designated pen thief. You could make this your new specialty.

Not another specialty track (Groan)! I can picture the little shield with a picture of a pen sprouting little legs under it to walk away.

JC004 · May 07, 2007, 06:14:30 AM

Quote from: JohnKachenmeister on May 07, 2007, 06:02:30 AM
Quote from: JC004 on May 07, 2007, 01:36:42 AM
Quote from: BillB on May 06, 2007, 06:59:13 PM
OK ~~I've robbed a bank~~, how does that help me with flight training? Anyone know what I should do with 68 ball point pens with the banks name on them?

Give 'em to your squadron. The other non-profit that steals the rest of my time and soul has a designated pen thief. You could make this your new specialty.

Not another specialty track (Groan)! I can picture the little shield with a picture of a pen sprouting little legs under it to walk away.

I've got like 8 specialty track ratings from past and present enrollments. I can always use more! I was thinking of having a row of leadership ribbons with 3 silver stars on each.

BillB · May 07, 2007, 10:55:48 AM

John, can you delete that post? I can see Dennis or Tedda designing the specialty track badge now.

JohnKachenmeister · May 07, 2007, 02:42:19 PM

Quote from: BillB on May 07, 2007, 10:55:48 AM
John, can you delete that post? I can see Dennis or Tedda designing the specialty track badge now.

Too late. The NEC just voted to have "Pen an Writing Instrument Procurement Specialist" added to the three million other specialty tracks.

Technician: Steals crayons.
Senior: Steals normal ballpoint pens
Master: Can steal fountain pens, multicolored ink pens, and pens where a picure of a naked lady appears when you hold it a certain way, but holding it another way shows the same lady in a bathing suit.

SJFedor · May 19, 2007, 11:19:41 PM

Quote from: Chris Jacobs on March 17, 2007, 04:23:47 PM
There are a lot of great instructors in CAP that love to help other CAP members. All of my logged instruction time has been with CAP member instructors. Now i also help them out a lot being the young one that can run around and do all the manual labor all day long.

Unless he's a cadet, that's not a *CAP legal* route to take. Some SM's do it, we don't talk about it, but it's not recommended.

Quote from: floridacyclist on May 05, 2007, 08:25:26 AM
Have you looked at Sport Pilot training as a stepping-stone? It only requires 20 hours to get rated compared to 40 for PPL, costs about half as much per hour and 17 of those 20 hours can be used toward the required 40 if you later decide to upgrade. That's the route I'm taking as soon as I start kicking younguns out.

www.sportpilot.org

Sport pilots may not operate any CAP aircraft though. You're very limited as to what type of flying you can do. Can only carry 1 pax I believe, small airplanes with less that 1200lbs max gross weight or something, no more then 85hp, etc etc. No operations at night I believe, no far cross countries. I believe the sport pilot is really designed for those who like to fly and don't meet the medical requirements for a recreational or private. You might as well just do pilot just for the sake of being done with it.

This is from a senior member from my squadron, so don't copy this picture or whore it off as you owning it. It's rather accurate though.

SAR-EMT1 · May 19, 2007, 11:33:11 PM

If Im a scanner or observer can any of that training or time count towards anything if working towards Private or Recreational or Sport ?

Also, any new news on the Push to allow CAP Officers to get Glider ?

SJFedor · May 20, 2007, 04:20:37 AM

Quote from: SAR-EMT1 on May 19, 2007, 11:33:11 PM
If Im a scanner or observer can any of that training or time count towards anything if working towards Private or Recreational or Sport ?

Also, any new news on the Push to allow CAP Officers to get Glider ?

If you're with a CFI, and you're under his tutilage, and the manipulator of the controls, sure, he just needs to sign your logbook. Backseat time and time just sitting there in the right seat doing your mission duties do not count.

CAP officers may do initial training in a CAP glider, take a look at CAPR 60-1. Just no primary training in powered aircraft.

Al Sayre · May 20, 2007, 05:30:58 AM

As an observer, you need to know a lot of the things covered in ground school for your Private Pilots License. If You are doing it right, you also should get some good comms practice. All of the "counts" when you go to take your written exam and when yoou are taking your check ride...

Psicorp · May 21, 2007, 01:57:45 PM

I had the pleasure of speaking with General Courter this weekend (she was at the Jackson, MI SAREX working on her Mission Scanner qualification). I asked her about the proposal to allow CAP Officers to use CAP aircraft for flight instruction and she said what several members here have stated: the conflict between receiving federal funding and the relationships with FBOs makes the proposal complicated, but that there are people seriously looking into it and determining what the best course would be to get it approved. It may take Legislative action, or it could be that CAP just needs to approve it ourselves under our "Corporate" standing.

The proposal has quite a bit of support for a number of reasons, among them the opportunity to get more "wheels up" time on our own aircraft. From our conversation it would seem that the training would be a "C Mission", with aircraft time being paid for by the member trainee.

Just thought I'd pass that along.

SJFedor · May 22, 2007, 05:41:39 AM

Problem is, you're gonna have people using CAP as a flight school, and not being there to volunteer their time/efforts/training that CAP just subsidized. Not to mention, they might break our planes

Mustang · June 01, 2007, 06:35:47 AM

But what if we tied it to a service requirement, something like they owe us 5 years active service in exchange for the privilege? Maybe work out a deal with the FAA to revoke the tickets of anyone who doesn't hold up their end of the bargain.

The other problem is that aircraft appropriate for primary flight instruction are becoming a scarce breed; high performance airplanes (our C-182s and C-206s) simply aren't suitable for the task due to their complexity.