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ImplicitAssembler posted:Yeah, passed my CPL in November, but commitments (mortgage, ex-wife, etc) has made it hard to commit to a full time job search, so I'm doing it in short spurts. Have gotten close a couple of times, so I'm still optimistic. gently caress yeah man if you can do it so can I. I don’t have a mortgage, no longer pay rent, have no debt and I only have a GF who I live with half the week.
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Aug 5, 2021 23:37
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I did ground school as a self-study thing, which worked fine and I got 97%, but if I were doing it again I'd just take the course offered by the school. It was only $300 (so less than 2 hours of dual) and covered everything over 11 once-weekly sessions. I think it's beneficial to have a clear curriculum and an instructor in class with you. Suffice it to say that even though we've had correspondence schools for over a hundred years, there's a reason classrooms continue to exist.Kraftwerk posted:I'm not sure if I can skip directly to ATPL and I feel having a CPL is more important at the start to build the hours I need flying cargo or doing whatever else it is I need to get experienced. Not sure how it works in Canada, but in the USA while I think there's nothing saying you can't build up your 1500 hours for ATP entirely as a student pilot, that would be an extraordinarily expensive way to do it since you'd be paying the whole way yourself. Normally people going for ATP will get a commercial license as soon as possible so they can build hours while making money, or at least not paying for the plane. So yeah, this is the right choice. Also just re. your earlier post about being overwhelmed. I wanted to mention that yes, that is normal for everyone at the start...but pay attention to your mood and mental state as you go through it, and don't burn yourself out. Flying and learning are both mentally demanding tasks. If you're stressed out -- didn't sleep well, had a bunch of bad landings yesterday, whatever -- and not looking forward to getting up in the air, stop and reschedule. Don't force yourself to go when you aren't feeling up to it. At best you won't perform as well and learn as much; at worst it'll be unsafe. The challenge will always be there and that's good -- it's rewarding! And you will probably have some kinda crappy days where you need to steel yourself up and "get back on the horse," so to speak, before the next flight. But remember to take it at your own pace and make the experience a good one. Whatever happens and however many or few hours it takes, you're still up there flying a plane and that's the point.
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Aug 5, 2021 23:41
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Maksimus54 posted:You'll want a couple books too, I know Canada can be a little different from US standards but the Airplane Flying Handbook put out by the FAA has been helpful to me. The standard ground school book in Canada is From The Ground Up. Should be available in any flight school too.
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Aug 6, 2021 00:02
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MrYenko posted:This remains my favorite story from this thread. ...and needs to be the thread title again.
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Aug 6, 2021 00:03
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CBJSprague24 posted:...and needs to be the thread title again. 
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Aug 6, 2021 01:13
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Sagebrush posted:I did ground school as a self-study thing, which worked fine and I got 97%, To paraphrase one of my instructors, 'sounds like you studied 27% too hard'
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Aug 6, 2021 01:48
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^---- probably repeating that old stock joke, but there is also definitely a strain of thought that takes that seriously, and the world would be better off without those fuckoffs.
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Aug 6, 2021 01:56
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Nah. What they’re saying with that phrase is the test [was] entirely bullshit and putting any more time into it than necessary was a waste of time because it was an irrelevant test that helped no one. I actually think they’ve been doing a good job modernizing and making the written test relevant in the last 3 years. Therefore, making it worthwhile to study. The guys in their 80s now definitely had different experiences than we do now regarding check rides and tests and etc
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Aug 6, 2021 03:50
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My instructor mentioned I might wanna pickup my own headset. These pipers are loud as gently caress so I definitely want to protect my ears. Amazon has a nice payment plan on the Bose A20s so I’ll probably get those. Just need to know if it’s fine to get the standard dual plug or if the Bluetooth is nice to have? I don’t think I want to listen to music while flying as it is distracting.
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Aug 6, 2021 15:38
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Kraftwerk posted:My instructor mentioned I might wanna pickup my own headset. These pipers are loud as gently caress so I definitely want to protect my ears. Amazon has a nice payment plan on the Bose A20s so I’ll probably get those. Yeah get those if you are planning to go all the way with this. I regret not having bought a nice noise cancelling headset early on, and now tinnitus is the price to pay.
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Aug 6, 2021 15:40
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Great, so I can skip the Bluetooth?
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Aug 6, 2021 15:52
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Captain Apollo posted:Nah. I’ll have to check it out. The CFI nerd in me would like to see a test that accomplishes something. Hell, when I was instructing I would recommend people to use Shep because that’s time you could be reading the PHAK or studying your special emphasis areas. My airplane is still down for another couple months and my 121 apps are still pending. I think I might take that time to renew my CFI. I let it lapse during my first 135 gig because time and money were hanging out at zero, as is tradition, but I can tell my aviation knowledge in general isn’t what it was when I was teaching. I wanna get that back and maybe go have some fun a few times a month in a 172. Kraftwerk posted:My instructor mentioned I might wanna pickup my own headset. These pipers are loud as gently caress so I definitely want to protect my ears. Amazon has a nice payment plan on the Bose A20s so I’ll probably get those. Headset chat! This one is easy because IMO you nailed it. Get the A20 if you can afford it, the payment plan is legit and gave me zero headaches. I got the Bluetooth one and haven’t ever used it but that part is up to you. It’s a fantastic headset, mine has lasted 10 or so years so far with just the occasional replacement of padded parts.
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Aug 6, 2021 15:59
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Kraftwerk posted:Great, so I can skip the Bluetooth? No you definitely want the bluetooth
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Aug 6, 2021 16:07
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Kraftwerk posted:Great, so I can skip the Bluetooth? I use bluetooth to listen to podcasts during long flights with no radio chatter
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Aug 6, 2021 16:08
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Animal posted:I use bluetooth to listen to podcasts during long flights with no radio chatter this is the way
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Aug 6, 2021 16:23
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Bluetooth is so your nerd friend can pipe the Top Gun theme into the intercom while you taxi from the fuel pump to the tie down in the club 172. You know who you are.
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Aug 6, 2021 16:23
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Also if you're running something like foreflight + adsb in, you can connect via bluetooth to get stuff like traffic and runway alerts
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Aug 6, 2021 16:50
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The three top end GA headsets are the A20, the DC One-X, and the Lightspeed Zulu, and all are good. I have the One-X and love it and a buddy has the Zulu and also thinks it's great. Like if you're already set on the Bose then go for it, but those other options are equivalent in quality, a little bit cheaper, and might fit your head differently. I found that David Clarks fit my head the best so that's what I've been buying.
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Aug 6, 2021 16:58
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I seem to remember David Clark headsets can be sent back in to be reconditioned/repaired really inexpensively too. Or did I make that up?
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Aug 6, 2021 17:08
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Yeah, you can mail pretty much any David Clark headset ever made back to the company (which still operates out of the same factory building in Massachusetts they've had for eighty years) and they'll repair it for the cost of parts. I've heard that they will also usually throw in a replacement of all the fabric parts, any frayed cords, etc for free. I like em. The One-X is extremely well built and very comfortable and quiet. I think the one thing the Bose has over it is better music sound quality; listening to music on the One-X is fine in a plane with the engine running but isn't going to replace your home stereo headphones. Radio voices are crystal clear though and that's the important part. Sagebrush fucked around with this message at 17:21 on Aug 6, 2021 |
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Aug 6, 2021 17:19
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If you enjoy your head not sweating (as much) and don't mind in ear, consider the QT Halos. They rule and are very affordable. I switched from some Lightspeed Sierras (ANR) to them and have absolutely no regrets.
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Aug 6, 2021 17:58
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If you don’t like things in your ears (I used to think in ear was fine until I started flying 6-8 hours a day) but still want something light and comfortable, check out the DC Pro-X on ear, I’ve been flying with that for over 2000 hours now it’s been great.
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Aug 6, 2021 20:03
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On the in-ear topic, I 1000% recommend the Bose Proflight if anyone's considering it even a little bit. You get a 60 day trial, and the jump in freedom and comfort from the A20 was the same as the jump from the David Clamps to the A20. They warn that it's for jets only and the noise reduction is less than what's possible with an over the ear cup headset, but I can't tell the difference. (Maybe I could if I compare them side by side.) Put it this way, I've forgotten to turn the ANR on and not realized it until after the flight.
vessbot fucked around with this message at 20:31 on Aug 6, 2021 |
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Aug 6, 2021 20:27
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vessbot posted:On the in-ear topic, I 1000% recommend the Bose Proflight if anyone's considering it even a little bit. You get a 60 day trial, and the jump in freedom and comfort from the A20 was the same as the jump from the David Clamps to the A20. They warn that it's for jets only and the noise reduction is less than what's possible with an over the ear cup headset, but I can't tell the difference. (Maybe I could if I compare them side by side.) Put it this way, I've forgotten to turn the ANR on and not realized it until after the flight. I can get either of these from Amazon Canada on a 12 month 0% payment plan so these options are very attractive. I thought the A20 was the way to go but I have some thinking to do now.
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Aug 6, 2021 21:41
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Kraftwerk posted:I can get either of these from Amazon Canada on a 12 month 0% payment plan so these options are very attractive. I thought the A20 was the way to go but I have some thinking to do now. Sorry I made a pretty chauvinist use of the word "anyone," I really meant it within the scope of pressurized jets, the target audience for the PF. I would not try to use it for GA, and would respect the reduced noise reduction warning there. Also it doesn't have a volume control, which could be a killer depending on your avionics setup.
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Aug 6, 2021 22:37
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Yeah, you definitely want the A20s until you're flying jets or quiet turboprops. And, yes, you want the Bluetooth. Eventually there will come a time that being able to make or receive a telephone call in the aircraft saves you a poo poo-ton of hassle (and maybe more), in addition to it being nice to listen to music or podcasts or whatever.
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Aug 7, 2021 02:58
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I’ve never seen an adult pilot fly anything other than Bose A20s.
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Aug 7, 2021 06:32
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hot take: A20s cost more, and are built like poo poo, and have a worse warranty/repair cost, compared to the DC Pro/One X
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Aug 7, 2021 15:34
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PT6A posted:Yeah, you definitely want the A20s until you're flying jets or quiet turboprops. I’ve used the bluetooth function more than once to call flight service for a clearance holding short of a runway at podunk midwest airport from the cockpit of a CRJ lol. but don’t let anyone fool you it’s mostly for music and podcasts
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Aug 7, 2021 15:37
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Kraftwerk posted:I am training through an FBO that is offering online only courses through an outside provider: https://hangaaar.com/. You've gotten a lot of great advice, let me add a bit of Canadian flavour from a fellow career-changer. The tl;dr of my path was that I did my first intro flight in January of 2011; PPL that year; couple goes at trying to join the Air Force in 2012 that didn't pan out; CPL in 2013; Instructor in 2014 (1 Year part time, 1 year on LOA from my 'real job'); Group 1 IFR in 2014; quit the 'real job' and moved to switch schools to teach Multi and IFR in 2016; 6mo stint on an MU2 up north flying Medevac in 2017; switched to the now defunct greasiest AC regional in 2017 as an RJ FO; upgrade to RJ CA in 2018; started at AC in 2020 only to be furloughed; got on flying RJ's in Africa for a Canadian outfit on behalf of the UN in the meantime (queue up Fortunate Son on repeat). So. It's doable. And it doesn't have to suck. In Canada there's this weird aversion to going the flight instructor route and not 'living the suck' up north. But in my experience and that of the guys I came up with, it hasn't actually held us back at all. If anything we progressed a bit faster as we logged flight time from Day One - nobody cares how much Forklift-PIC time you've got. So that's something to consider, and if you can finagle something like I did where I instructed part time to ease into the world, all the better. Depending on the speed of the recovery you may need to still go up north briefly like I did, but you'll strut into a twin-turbine job off the street versus the road-trip guys that had to spend a year chuckin' bags to get a spot on a Navajo or Caravan. On a 'nobody asked' note, even during the depths of this pandemic, after the gut-punch of getting laid off from the airline I'd worked so hard to get to, before I lined up this new gig - I had no regrets. I'm not one of those "everything is always awesome" optimists you just want to punch (I love a good ol' fashioned Crew Room Bitchfest), but man even in the depths of the darkest black-swan event this industry has ever seen, I never caught myself wishing I'd stayed in my miserable cubicle job. Oh, and as for groundschool, I was always partial to Harv's Air (this Hangaar thing seems new). Its corny at times but they're very thorough. I do think at least for the PPL level in classroom is best because of the ability to interact with your instructor when you're not getting something, but if that's not an option, online works good enough.
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Aug 7, 2021 19:42
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Thanks for the words of encouragement. I’m not averse to instructing or going up North to do a stint as a medevac guy. At this point whatever maximizes the hours I can get flying is good enough for me. Like you said my main thing is I don’t want to waste time chucking bags or working the ramp. If I was 20 sure no problem. But I want to have some semblance of a pension so I gotta avoid any wasting any time. What was it like flying the MU-2s? I thought it would be something horrifying or PTSD inducing but a friend of mine who does corporate flying now told me that his buddy did it for 6 months and it was mostly just TB patients. Speaking of time. I’m hosed for all of August. The flight school is booked solid until September. I’m at the mercy of cancellations. I suppose while I wait for Niagara to free up a slot for me I could try Buttonville or Brampton but I’d rather not hang out in YYZ’s flight pattern where most of my money is spent just getting out of there to go to a quieter practice area. If I had some spare money lying around I would move to the prairies for a year so I can avoid all the traffic and focus on flying. Technically, I suppose I could move to the prairies right now since I work remotely but I live rent free which means more money for precious flight hours.
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Aug 7, 2021 20:20
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Anyone have experience flying VFR with FU in the forecast? I assume the 6SM visibility on the TAF is a SWAG and I should just plan on waiting for the wildfire smoke to blow through Denver but if its a pretty reliable estimate I would like to fly around a bit tomorrow.
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Aug 7, 2021 23:59
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freezepops posted:Anyone have experience flying VFR with FU in the forecast? Yeah, it's the same as any fog/mist.
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Aug 8, 2021 00:27
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Smoke is also dependent on where the sun is, and the time of day. Usually, visibility comes up overnight and early in the morning, and then drops a bit once it warms up and the fires crank up again, and there can also be a significant difference between visibility into the sun versus the sun behind you.
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Aug 8, 2021 02:14
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azflyboy posted:Smoke is also dependent on where the sun is, and the time of day. This is very handy info that I never would have thought about.
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Aug 8, 2021 03:36
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I’ve been reading about unstable approaches and how they contribute to accidents. What prompts a pilot to persist in these scenarios? Are there any serious consequences to a go around?
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Aug 8, 2021 04:05
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Kraftwerk posted:I’ve been reading about unstable approaches and how they contribute to accidents. What prompts a pilot to persist in these scenarios? Are there any serious consequences to a go around? getthereitis and 'its not that bad, I've got this' mostly
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Aug 8, 2021 04:21
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freezepops posted:Anyone have experience flying VFR with FU in the forecast? One weird thing about FU is that, in my limited (but not that limited because I'm in California and it's always on fire lol) experience, it's more clear at ground level than it is a few thousand feet up -- and the AWOS sensor and tower personnel are at ground level. I distinctly remember one time when the area was generally smoky and the field was reporting 6SM, and on takeoff everything seemed okay, but after climbing to just 1500 feet the smoke smell got a lot stronger and it was clear that it was not 6 miles of visibility up there. I turned around and just did pattern work that day. So if it's reporting 6SM I would keep the booking, but be aware that it might be significantly worse once you get up there. Kraftwerk posted:I’ve been reading about unstable approaches and how they contribute to accidents. What prompts a pilot to persist in these scenarios? Are there any serious consequences to a go around? Not wanting to go around again, not wanting to divert, feeling like you have to prove you can land in lovely conditions, getting overwhelmed and behind the plane. E: the FAA has a whole thing about specific Hazardous Attitudes and how they can be dangerous when flying. They are: invulnerability, anti-authority, machismo, impulsivity, and resignation. See if you can figure out which ones apply to forcing a landing  The only serious consequence from going around would be if you wait way too long to start climbing and run into some trees. Sagebrush fucked around with this message at 07:23 on Aug 8, 2021 |
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Aug 8, 2021 05:39
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Sagebrush posted:
Yeah definitely this. I don't have much experience flying around smoke but I had a trip a couple weeks ago that brought me through MSP a few times and the 6-8SM being reported was really 3ish SM on the approach.
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Aug 8, 2021 06:41
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Kraftwerk posted:Are there any serious consequences to a go around? Unless you're out of fuel or on fire, no. Even as an airline pilot, where a go around could easily cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars in fuel and aircraft operating costs, there's usually a no-fault go around policy. At some you don't even have to file a report.
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Aug 8, 2021 09:50
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