Pilots
 

At the risk of offending all you stick jokeys out there, every time I hear someone say they're a pilot, I get a flashback to the movie Independence Day where they're asking for volunteer pilots and and the drunk guy, played by Randy Quaid, stumbles up and says "Im'a pilot, I can fly".


I'm also married to a pilot. My husband builds and flies ultralights and gliders (yes, he is insured) so I'm use to being around all sorts of pilots. No, I don't fly. Haven't flown since 1984 and don't plan on doing it again unless I absolutly have to. I'm way to claustraphobic.

Anyway, Ya'll have a good weekend

Maggie M.....

no offense taken here. there are plenty of "randy quaids" out there but at the same time we safe pilots outnumber them:D

Re: Pilots
 

Don't forget, though, that he saved the day and, therefore, the world!

Hell, until I had my daughter (4 years ago), *I* would have volunteered if that situation had occured. "Yup! I can fly!"

When my first wife's mother got her pilots license and bought a 2 seat plane, she offered me a ride. I cheerfully agreed after my wife threatened me with permanent lackanookie.
So we take off and fly around Eastern MA for a while and she says were getting low on gas so we better head back to the airport. I readly agreed. So she tells me to get the chart out of the map pocket and figure out where we are. SAY WHAT?!?
Well I reach into the map pocket and come out with a road map. You know, like you get at the gas station. Well you did back then anyway. Sure enough, we followed the highways and back roads until she could see the airport.
Six months later she and he husband flew to Montserrat in the Caribbean. Damn if I know how.:eek:

They used a placemat from a $100 burger joint. That's what I always use to navigate. That and dipping down to read highway signs and water towers.

Brian

hey brian are you talking about the "poor man's IFR?" (I Follow Roads):D

my very first time flying an airplane was up in the Great Slave Lake area of the great white north. it was a dehavelin beaver float plane. you should have seen my dad's face when he figured out the pilot was letting me fly! i was all of almost 14 years old! i had a blast doing it then and still do to this day! no matter what is troubling me i can always go grab some airtime and forget every trouble i have on the ground! it's my "peace on earth"


:D

I was planning on being a Pilot(it's the reason I'm here in North Dakota) But changed my mind when I realized how godawfull expensive it is. Still would like to get my Pilots liscense though.

look around cam, for instance down here in houston, you can spend upwards of 5-7 grand or if you shop around you can find some pretty good deals. for instance two summers ago i found an airline pilot with a piper tomahawk for 45/hr wet (i.e. fuel included) and he charged 20/hr for instruction. most pilots take an average of 60 hrs to complete their training but albeit the faa req's only 40. in a nut shell if you shop around and find a deal, you could spend under 4 grand total, and you pay as you go so it doesn't hurt so bad!:D

One of my longest and dearest friends is currently about to get his license, and I can't wait. I am *so* gonna bum a lot of free airtime with him. I plan on shooting a bunch of aerial photos while I'm at it.

Careful Els, those pilots are all crazy you know.:D

I've known this guy for about 32 years, and yeah, he's certifiable. He's also paranoid, and therefore a safety freak in all aspects of his life. The only fireman I've ever known who, so far, hasn't been injured on the job except while playing touch football.

I can't remember what UND was charging when I came here, I just remember I didn't want to pay for school and flying when I wasn't sure I really wanted to be a Pilot and knew I enjoyed working with computers.

then try this....go to www.beapilot.com and get your $49 discovery flight. shop around a little bit first though. it's very helpfull to start and end yor training with the same c.f.i. (certified flight instructor). it's hard to do though. from start to present i've had approx. 25 cfi's. hell, just getting my private i had 3. most end up taking a job w/the airline and not look back. b/c of that i have sworn to this day that when i get my cfi i WILL finish with my students to what we started out to achieve rating wise. and then once established with an airline i WILL start teaching again. it would be a shame to not pass on what i have learned. one thing you'll always hear in aviation is "give back" and any rating you achieve is a "license to learn".

watch out for the glare from the wind screen! don't use a flash if you don't have to. i have some pretty cool pics i can post but they're all at work so i'll post'em later. one in particular i took just after dark (with a flash) right before touch down at sugarland muni. it's a good one!:D i'll post it in the next day or so.....

my handle isn't plthijinx for nothing!:D hey B gotta heineken?:beer: :thumb:

Best way to avoid that is to try and find an older CFI. Yeah, I know that you could say it's a form of discrimination, but you are a lot less likely to have your CFI leave because s/he got the airline job that s/he was really waiting for and just using teaching to build hours / earn money / fill in the time.

Unfortunately, most CFIs are only there until they get the job they "really" want. The best teachers (and the ones who stick around) are the ones who are there becuase THIS is what they want to do.

Never discount the importance of in order to be "an older CFI" they have to still be alive. That's a good sign.;)

there are alot of old pilots and there are alot of bold pilots but there are no "old bold pilots" - good words to live by.

here you go els, sorry it took so long.....:) quality kinda sux, well, no it sux! but hey! i only had a second or so to snap the pic before my flare!:D

here's another one from may of 2001 somewhere in between houston and kerville texas.....

Maybe it's the camera, but that looks a bit low. Didn't touch before the displaced threshold, didja?

Or were you just flying one of those silly Piper things with the wings on the bottom that float halfway to China? :-)

c'mon mags! haven't ya ever stretched out a landing before?:p

silly piper things? them's fightin' words! :D i can spot land a piper a hulluva lot better than i can a cessna. i guess it's really like the ford and chevy rivalry:D (i laned passed the threshhold and before the numbers:D )

the landing was a c-172 and the cruise flt was a grumman tiger "AA5B"

They only float if you don't maintain precision airspeed control on approach -- just like <B>any</B> airplane.

c'mon now! i had to have some sort of excuse:D

One of "you people" landed on Route 17 today near the Broome/Tioga border. He made his wish come true pl.

For all you pilots, here are some scary words. :(

At least no one said "oops!"

Brian

damn bruce, that gave me the willies. i've read a bunch in various mags but i have yet to listen (until now) of the transcripts. i recognize a couple of them from the NTSB Reporter (not for profit rag)

Just consider it cautionary tales.;)