Starting flight lessons

[maverik]

how so I'm lost on that one.

[sparks]

Good luck with your instructor search. There could be one in your CAP squadron. If not AOPA and other sites have a few tips on finding instructors. Here's one link http://www.aopa.org/learntofly/findcfi/ . I'd also recommend joining AOPA or one of the other aviation organizations like EAA. They have websites with a wealth of information on flying. AOPA has a special section just for student pilots and even has a magazine for students.


Good Hunting

[NC Hokie]

how so I'm lost on that one.

If you're referring to Air Force One and rule #14, I suspect that the answer is related to the fact that an aircraft with the Air Force One (or Marine One, Navy, One, Army One, or Coast Guard One) callsign could take-off or land under a different callsign if the office of POTUS changes hands while in flight.

[CadetProgramGuy]

how so I'm lost on that one.

If you're referring to Air Force One and rule #14, I suspect that the answer is related to the fact that an aircraft with the Air Force One (or Marine One, Navy, One, Army One, or Coast Guard One) callsign could take-off or land under a different callsign if the office of POTUS changes hands while in flight.

Ding, Ding, Ding.......

When Nixon resigned, Pres Ford let him use AF1 to get home.  While in the air Ford took the oath of office and therefore AF1 landed under the callsign of SAM 28000

[RogueLeader]

how so I'm lost on that one.

If you're referring to Air Force One and rule #14, I suspect that the answer is related to the fact that an aircraft with the Air Force One (or Marine One, Navy, One, Army One, or Coast Guard One) callsign could take-off or land under a different callsign if the office of POTUS changes hands while in flight.

[/drift]

[DC]

how so I'm lost on that one.

If you're referring to Air Force One and rule #14, I suspect that the answer is related to the fact that an aircraft with the Air Force One (or Marine One, Navy, One, Army One, or Coast Guard One) callsign could take-off or land under a different callsign if the office of POTUS changes hands while in flight.

Ding, Ding, Ding.......

When Nixon resigned, Pres Ford let him use AF1 to get home.  While in the air Ford took the oath of office and therefore AF1 landed under the callsign of SAM 28000

Yeah, but it was still the same airframe, thus, the rule still applies.

[Flying Pig]

get on www.faasafety.gov and do the FAA WINGS Program.  Your flight training is a good way to get through at least the first level.

[airdale]

Here's another good monthly read:

http://overtheairwaves.com/

Note particularly under "So how do we fix the problem?" this month.

[Mustang]

I was wondering if anybody had any advice

Refuse to fly with instructors who are simply building hours and who have no real flying experience.  For the investment you are making, you do not want to be taught by someone who is one or two pages ahead of you in the book.  Yes, I know these kids have to make a living, but not on your dime.

Find someone who has real flying experience.  A freight dog, someone who flys light singles and twins for a living, someone who flys regularly in IMC to minimums, someone who really knows how the ATC system works from flying in it every day.  Logged time is not enough.  2000 hours of "dual given" is one kind of experience, but it is not the same as 2,000 hours of freight dog or ferry time.  A surprising number of high "dual given" instructors have hardly ever left their home fields, to say nothing of trying to beat a warm front as it moves across the country or routinely dealing with icing situations.  Many CAP-only instructors fall into this latter category simply because of the limitations of CAP flying.

All of this is not to say that experience-limited instructors don't have anything to teach you.  They do.  I have learned some new trick from virtually every instructor I've ever flown with.  But lack of experience limits the breadth of what an instructor has for you.

Precisely why I've held off on getting my CFI tickets previously.  Having just passed 1000 hrs total time, I'm just now getting to the point where I feel I've got something to offer as an instructor.

[airdale]

Having just passed 1000 hrs total time, I'm just now getting to the point where I feel I've got something to offer as an instructor.

My situation almost exactly.  My logbook shows about 1,300 landings at about 70 different airports plus a couple of hundred instrument approaches.  But I've only flown 500 miles away from home about ten times and only about 50 of the approaches have been in IMC.  I've also never had to deal with serious icing or a serious in-flight emergency and I don't have a lot of cross-country night time.  So I still consider myself to be more of a student pilot than an instructor of the caliber I recommended to the OP.

[maverik]

Well what I eventally want to do is get into corporate and charter flying so I figure I would need my Instrument rating and have like 500+ hours?

[DBlair]

After reading over this thread, I just realized that the original post was made by a Cadet. As a result, I have the following suggestions to offer:

Take advantage of the greatly-reduced cost of flying lessons through CAP as a Cadet. Be it with a CAP member who happens to be a CFI or through the various flight activities (flight encampments, etc) that get you to solo- or at least let you rack up a bunch of hours.

I urge you to seek out who in your area might be a CAP CFI. My old unit (back when I was a Cadet) had 3 of them and the only cost involved was for fuel. As a result, my squadron had a variety of Cadet Pilots- a few who later became commercial pilots and a couple who ended up as military fighter pilots.

The opportunities are there to learn to fly in the Cadet program, just seek them out and take advantage of this while you can. This is one of my regrets- although I did log quite a few hours, I didn't fully take advantage of the opportunities available as a Cadet. Now, over a decade later, I'm paying quite a bit more to finish up my license when it could have all been done years ago and at a greatly reduced price. Best of luck to you in your flying endeavors!

[Flying Pig]

SARADDICT

I imagine you are looking into power, but if $$ become an issue, you can get you PPL (And yes, its a REAL Private License) in Gliders.  Thats how I started.  And it was an awesome way to learn how to really fly by the seat of your pants.  You can also get into high performance sailplanes and get into aerobatics for a 10th of what it might cost to just rent a Cessna 172 to go drone around for an hour.

What I tell people, especially cadets, is after you get your license will you or your parents be able to afford to keep you flying?  With some of the soaring clubs where I am, after the initial buy in, which can range from anywhere to $250-$1000 depending on their aircraft, but after that, you can fly all day on $25-$30.  And all the time counts towards you Total Time in powered aircraft and towards your Commercial and CFI also.  You could also get your Commercial and maybe CFI glider for a little more than it might cost you to get your PPL/SEL.  Look into it. 

[maverik]

I definately will that sounds pretty fun actually.

[airdale]

SARADDICT, I was hoping someone who was doing corporate flying would jump in on your question.  Absent that, I will make a couple of comments.

First. Flying Pig is absolutely right on gliders.  In fact, I think the first few hours for a student pilot should be in a glider.  As I understand it, that is how the Air Force Academy does it.  Enough said?

Re corporate flying I think your idea of requirements is quite low.  There is a lot of competition for those jobs.  A 4-year degree in aviation management, north of 1000 hours with lots of multi-engine time are probably more like what is required.  Depending on the economy you can sometimes get a right seat job with a regional carrier with less than this, but you'll have to plan to live in a flophouse and subsist on popcorn and water for your first year due to the slave wages.

pilotsofamerica.com is probably a much better place for you to get advice on this subject.  Also, get a (free) subscription to AOPA Flight Training magazine.  aopa.com.  There are frequent articles there for aspiring professional pilots plus lots of other good information.  After 6 months, you'll have to pony up $39 for an AOPA membership in order to keep getting the magazine, though.

[maverik]

Okay I'm not looking to go airlines but more of a private pilot with a company or like a charter pilot. I've heard of these pilots that like fly security flights but I don't know their official title sounds interesting though.

[CASH172]

Presidential Airways may be one of the company of what you're looking for. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_Airways_(charter)

[flyguy06]

After reading over this thread, I just realized that the original post was made by a Cadet. As a result, I have the following suggestions to offer:

Take advantage of the greatly-reduced cost of flying lessons through CAP as a Cadet. Be it with a CAP member who happens to be a CFI or through the various flight activities (flight encampments, etc) that get you to solo- or at least let you rack up a bunch of hours.

I urge you to seek out who in your area might be a CAP CFI. My old unit (back when I was a Cadet) had 3 of them and the only cost involved was for fuel. As a result, my squadron had a variety of Cadet Pilots- a few who later became commercial pilots and a couple who ended up as military fighter pilots.

The opportunities are there to learn to fly in the Cadet program, just seek them out and take advantage of this while you can. This is one of my regrets- although I did log quite a few hours, I didn't fully take advantage of the opportunities available as a Cadet. Now, over a decade later, I'm paying quite a bit more to finish up my license when it could have all been done years ago and at a greatly reduced price. Best of luck to you in your flying endeavors!

The one problem I have seen with CAP CFI's training cadets is finding one willing to take the cadet all the way through their certificate free of charge. remember, CFI's are professionals, Its a business. Its ok to give a free leson here and there. but an entire course for free? Well, maybe in your area you have that, but I have not seen it in my area.

[maverik]

ctually that presedential Airways is eactly what I was looking for.

[flyguy06]

So, how are the flight lessons going?