Dan’s Pilot Times

In preparation for my impending FAA checkride, I’ve been doing a fair amoung of practicing the skills necessary to pass the test.  Last week I flew first with my CFI doing a sort-of mock checkride.  I had to demonstrate turns-around-a-point, s-turns, steep banks, slow flight, and stalls (power on, power off, and while banked).  I also demonstrated slow and soft field takeoffs and landings.

We identified a few points where I had to practice a little more - which I then followed by going up solo to work on them a bit.  After 3 of each, I feel very confident on the slow and soft field takeoffs and landings.  I still want to work on my turns-around-a-point (which I never feel I get perfect).

This coming week I’ll do a ground-school session with my CFI just to refresh on stuff and probably go up this weekend to solo practice one more time before a final mock check-ride and signoff from my CFI to take the real thing.

I finally got around to taking the FAA Private Pilot written knowledge test today and passed it!  With a score of 90%, I think that may qualify as heartily passed it, dare I say, even aced it?!  In any case, I was stressing much more about the exam than necessary, it really wasn’t bad at all.  You get 150 minutes (2.5 hours) to answer 60 multiple choice questions (each with 3 possible choices).  That was way more than enough time as I finished in about 50 minutes (and I took my time).  It’s a computerized testing system, with the ability to ‘mark’ questions and come back if need be.  So, I breezed through the 50 or so questions that I could answer instantly or with little/simple calculations.  The other 10 I came back to and worked about 6 of those with multi-step calculations, the remaining 4 I took confident educated guesses because I simply didn’t feel like working on them much more knowing I had likely passed with plenty of buffer.

I never took an official ground school class, just learning from the Gleim Publications books - the Pilot Handbook to learn the theory and rules, and the Private Pilot FAA Knowledge Test Prep book to prepare for this test.  As I mentioned in my last blog post, learning from books only cost me about $40 (verus $200-$300 for full ground school course).  I would definitely recommend these books, and the Pilot Handbook will be a great reference to check back on when needed in the future.

All that’s left now is about 1 more hour of standard solo practice flight time, and then my practical test!

As I’m nearing the end of my initial training journey, I figured I’d take a look back at what this whole endeavor is costing me.  Plus, all my friends and family keep asking: “How much does it cost to learn to fly?”  Well, here’s my answer!  Granted, I haven’t taken the test yet, so I’ve estimated the last few hours of flight training time (I hope I haven’t jinxed myself)…but here’s a solid picture of how much it cost me to learn to fly!

1. 44 total hours of plane time.  My flight club rental rates are VERY inexpensive and this is probably the most variable part of the equation for anyone figuring out how much it would cost them to fly.  But, in my case (and I’ve flown various planes in the club), the average cost per hour of flight time is $52/hour.  That includes fuel.  Total cost = $2,288.
2. 35 hours of instructor time.  That’s the ground instruction and time in the air with him.  He charges the fairly standard rate of $40/hr around Chicago.  Total cost = $1,400.
3. Pilot reference book, FAR/AIM, sectionals, E6B calculator, plotter, and study guide for written test.  Total cost = $90.
4. Headset.  Another huge variable cost, I bought a Flightcom 4DLX, a solid starter set.  You can check out my review here.  Obviously you can save costs here if you buy something used - I bought new.  Total cost = $120.

Grand Total = $3,898.

So, there you have it!  I figure I’m probably on the low end of full training costs, but if anyone knows there individual costs, put them below.

Yesterday I completed the 3 hour simulated hood time requirement for my private pilot license.  We worked on unusual attitude recoveries, which I found quite fun actually.  Like most of my flights where I had simulated IFR condition, it was pretty uneventful flight…but this time I took my wife, Lisa, along for the lesson. Like flying with my Dad a few weeks ago, it was a lot of fun and filled me with a lot of pride to take another one of my loved ones with me flying.  The fact my CFI was there also helped alleviate some of the stress/anxiety Lisa was feeling going up with me (her first time in a small plane and it took a LOT of convincing just to get her to come along for this lesson).  She said she enjoyed herself very much and eventually felt comfortable (which is all I was looking for).  One small step for man…right?

The other interesting fact about this lesson was that I took one of the club’s 172SP’s for the flight.  It was my first time flying a SkyHawk SP and it was a lot of fun.  The extra 20HP made a huge difference and the plane had a full GPS pack and even autopilot which I learned how to use.  The autopilot was simply amazing, it really made flying the plane “way too easy” and I almost felt like I was cheating using it…but it’s totally cool!  We also made it up to 10,000 ft MSL just for kicks, which my CFI said he had only been up to that altitude in Cessna only 4 times before!  So, that was neat - totally unnecessary but something fun to say I did.

Anyways, another great lesson and another step closer to my license!  I logged 1.2 hours of flight time, 0.7 of simulated instrument time (bringing my total of that to 3.0 hours).

So I knocked out one of the larger solo flight requirements of my flight training this past weekend - the 150nm solo cross country.  More specifically, the requirements state:

(ii) One solo cross-country flight of at least 150 nautical miles total
distance, with full-stop landings at a minimum of three points, and one segment of the flight consisting of a straight-line distance of at least 50 nautical miles between the takeoff and landing locations;

I went from Westosha up to Dodge County (UNU), down to Janesville (JVL), back through Campbell (C81) before returning to Westosha.  I did full-stops at all 4 airports; all-in-all a 168 NM round trip (see my flight plan here).  Although I had been to all the airports before, this was my first time to Campbell since my maiden Discover Flight flight.  It was really cool for me to fly into the airport where I really started this journey only a few months ago! The flight itself went off without a hitch.  The sky was a bit hazy (actually the most hazy I’ve ever flown in)…but still >6SM visibility.  In past cross-countries I was able to spot my waypoints and destinations usually 10SM out.  This time I had to rely on my calculations and pilotage a little more.  But, again, everything went smoothly.

This flight I logged 2.4 hours of solo cross country flight.

This past Monday night I had an extended night flight - completing my 3-hour night flight requirement as well as a night cross country flight.  My plan was to take us from Westosha up to Hartford (HXF) - 50.2 nautical miles away - and back.  Since it was night and didn’t have the luxury of a lot of land-based visual landmarks, I decided to fly through the Burlington VOR and use it as my main navigational aid. The flight up to Hartford went very well, hitting my checkpoints right on time and landing at Hartford with no problems.

On the way back, we were making great time and my CFI asked if I felt comfortable making a detour to log more night flying time since he was apparently very confident I could navigate and pilot at night.  (This was were my flight got very interesting and fun.)  I, of course, said “sure!” and we decided to fly into Milwaukee’s General Mitchell Airport (MKE)!  I was super excited as this would be the largest airport I’ve flown into.  I called Milwaukee approach and had them vector me in for a landing.  They gave me the appropriate headings and altitude and I proceeded into the large Class C airport.  Upon getting closer (and listening to the other traffic/planes landing/taking off from Milwaukee) I realized air traffic control was holding a FedEx 747 for me to land.  It felt pretty cool knowing that big jet was waiting on me and my little Cessna!  The runway (Runway 19R in this case) was absolutely huge (almost 10,000 feet long)!  Needless-to-say, we had clearance for a touch-and-go and had TONS of room to complete it (probably 3 times if I wanted)!

After Milwaukee, we skipped over to Kenosha (ENW) to kill more time.  I’ve flown into Kenosha before during the day, but at this time of night the tower is closed so it was basically a huge uncontrolled airport!  It was weird to be putzing around the fairly large airport (especially compared to Westosha) with NOBODY around.

After Kenosha, my CFI asked if I wanted to land “somewhere cool”….and as always, I had to say yes.  He said we were heading over to Camp Lake (49C) which has no landing lights, only a reflector system.  The airport would be impossible to find at night if my CFI hadn’t been there tons of times of before.  He pointed me in the perfect direction and eventually I saw a glimmer of one of the runway reflectors from my landing lights.  I plopped the plane down on the turf runway and even saw a coyote run off as we came to a stop.  It was VERY odd but cool to land at such a seemingly remote/dark airport…kinda scary even!  After turning around and taking off again, we knew I had enough time to finally head back to Westosha.  The last landing of the night went great and it was the end of a very fun night!

This lesson/flight I logged 2.2 hours of night flight time.

This past Thursday (July 3rd) was my Dad’s birthday.  Rather than get him another shirt, tie, or tool he’ll never use, I decided to take him for a flight - the last time he was in a small aircraft was over 30 years ago!  I had to get more simulated instrument time in anyway, so it helped make for a nice smooth flight for my father.  Although I would be flying with my instructor in the right seat (obviously, I don’t have my license yet), my Dad said he had great views from the back seat.  Actually, this was my first time piloting a C-172 as well (which I wanted to get a few hours logged before I finished my training).  So, all-in-all, this was the perfect opportunity to take my Dad up.

The flight went very smoothly.  I was a bit more nervous than usual since I’ve never taken anyone flying besides me or my instructor…but the plane and the weather cooperated.  The sky was beautiful (see some pictures), and we even got to fly over my house.  I could feel that the 172 had more power, especially during takeoff.  The added weight and power helped smooth things out a bit as well during cruise.  However, during my final pattern work at the end of the lesson, I could feel that the heavier plane reacts a bit more sluggishly - nothing big, but definitely noticeable.  It took me 1 landing to get used to it, but by the 2nd (and last) landing of the day, I felt comfortable flying the 172’s the Westosha flying club owns.  I’ll still be mostly piloting the 152 (no need to pay extra for empty seats) for the rest of my training, though.  But, I can’t wait to take my Dad back up just me and him!

I was super proud to have flown well for my Dad, and really glad he had a great time.  Happy Birthday!  This lesson I logged 1.0 hours of total flight time, 0.7 hours of simluated instrument.

Yesterday I had my first taste of flying at night.  It was the coolest/freakiest flying I’ve done so far!  My CFI and I started the flight around dusk so I could also get in some more “hood time” and practice IFR flight in case I ever got stuck in the clouds (plus there’s that 3 hour simulated instrument requirement too).  After taking off from Westosha, I slapped on the visor and proceeded to putz around by the instruments for half and hour.  By that time, it was night and my CFI had me approaching Galt Airport (10C) in Wonder Lake, Illinois.  Re-adjusting after hood time takes me a little time to catch my bearings again, but now that I had to reorder myself at night was especially challenging.  I was surprised at how close everything seems at night, the lake (Lake Michigan) seemed only a few miles away (when in actuality it was more like 30).  My CFI said to run the landings “cookbook style” and I hit my usual checkpoints for power, pitch, and flaps for the base leg and final.  The runway snuck up on me pretty quick right at the end, but I was able to flare enough to make actually a quite soft landing.

We worked the pattern at Galt 7 more times before heading back to Westosha.  Westosha is replacing it’s runway lights later this summer, and thank God for that!  Apparently some of the underground wiring is faulty and only 3 of the 14 runway works were operational.  Needless-to-say, it was crazy fun/hard to land really only seeing the 30 feet in front of my landing lights.  I managed though and got in 8 total landings at night.  I’ll finish the last 2 required landings during my dual night cross country soon.

Flying at night was definitely an experience, something very beautiful and peaceful about the whole thing.  I can’t wait for the cross country!  This lesson I logged 1.6 hours of total flight time, 0.5 with simulated instrument flight.

Yesterday I successfully completed my first solo cross country flight.  I decided to head into Illinois since I actually haven’t flown in my home state yet.  My plan took me from Westosha (5K6) to Poplar Grove (C77), up to Beloit (44C), over to my farthest point, Monroe (EFT), then back through Janesville (JVL) before arriving at Westosha to complete my journey.  The cross country took me 136 nautical miles around northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin.  I couldn’t have asked for a more gorgeous day, the weather was just picture perfect.

I’m happy to report I hit all my checkpoints right on time - my plan and the weather/wind reports were very accurate.  Here’s a link to the flightplan I created - you can see I also have a page with all the VOR and radio frequencies so I could find everything quickly and easily.  I also scanned my sectional and printed out the appropriate sections for ease of use during my flight.  (I still keep the whole map with me just in case, though).  I must admit, though, that flying in Illinois a bit west is a lot more challenging than around Westosha because there aren’t as many big lakes (a luxury of Wisconsin) to quickly navigate off of.  I managed, though, obviously!

While at Janesville I asked the tower to do 3 more full-stop landings, for more practice for me to work at a towered field (plus it’s a requirement for my license).  Those landings went great, and the tower guys over there were very accommodating.  Overall, my landings were very smooth (the weather was cooperating) and I had a great time!  You can see a pic I was able to snap with my cellphone coming back from Janesville.

I logged 2.4 hours of cross country solo flight time.  Next time out I’ll try to knock out the longer 150 nm+ cross country requirement and/or start working on night flying.

I had my first cross country (with instructor) yesterday and it was a BLAST!  My plan had us doing a large loop to the north and west of Westosha - hitting Dodge County (UNU), Madison (MSN), Janesville (JVL), and back to Westosha (5K6).  Being a computer-guy, I used a lot of the free online and offline software tools available to help me plan my flight with ease.  My favorites are SkyVector.com and CSC DUATS Golden Eagle flight prep software.  They are both free and you get most of the hard calculations of flight planning out the way.  Furthermore, the Golden Eagle software pulls the weather and winds aloft from DUATS, so it’ll calculate EVERYTHING for you if you want.  This being my first cross-country, though, and since I’d have my CFI double-checking everything, I went the old-fashioned route and did the calculations by hand (trusty E6B) and then put everything in an Excel spreadsheet so I could keep all the pertinent information handy and printed neatly.

The flight itself went very smooth.  The weather looked threatening, but my weather briefer said nothing should really be an issue…and he was right.  The long leg (59.0 nm) to Dodge County was a little cloudy along the way for the first half, so we kept a little lower than anticipated (2500 ft.)  Other than that, though, the afternoon was gorgeous!  I was hitting all my checkpoints +/- 40 seconds of my calculations, which I was very happy with.  The landing at Dodge County went perfect, I probably could have went touch-and-go, but I felt I had to full stop just to say I really was somewhere for more than 30 seconds.  I should mention that my plane doesn’t have any GPS or LORAN navigation systems, just VOR radios.  So, my pilotage was dead reckoning and VOR tracking (the good ‘ole stuff)!

After Dodge, we headed over to Madison (MSN).  I was very excited about this leg because this was the first “big” airport I would be flying into.  I’d get to really test my radio skills and well, I think it’s just cool to land at the same airport United jets fly into!  Sure enough, approaching along the same time with me was a Skywest jet.  It felt very cool to be sharing the air and radiowaves with the big boys (even though honestly I hate flying as a passenger on those commuter jets).  Apparently our controller was in training as well, since during a few calls he had to repeat himself and even his instructor clarified a direction from him.  My CFI thought it was hilarious. 

After Madison we headed over to Janesville for another towered approach (which I wanted more experience with).  That went very smoothly again and before I knew it I was touching-and-going and back to Westosha.  The last leg to Westosha was quick and back under the overcast sky, almost a little depressing.  But, upon landing, I knew I had really GONE to places!  Plus, this was really the first flight where I got to enjoy flying the plane and navigating, less worrying about time critical manuevers and such….it was liberating and like I said before, a BLAST!

This flight I logged 2.4 hours of dual cross-country flight.  My next flight will probably be my first solo cross-country…where to go, where to go!?