Dan’s Pilot Times

I know I haven’t written here in a while, but frankly that’s because I haven’t flown in a while.  Granted, I did fly in December (a bunch of times around the pattern just to keep my landing skills up), but that wasn’t exciting enough really to blog about.  I’m also know I’m not the first person to write about the “Blizzard of 2011″, but frankly it’s SOMETHING.  Furthermore, this blizzard is the main reason why I probably won’t be flying this weekend…I’m sure Westosha will still be cleaning up and getting the runway and taxiways in decent shape.

I guess there isn’t much to say other than “WOW, there was a LOT of snow!”  Check out these pics.  I hope everyone else has had better weather so they can fly more…I actually have not flown in 2011 yet…I miss flying!!!!

I just learned of this awesome new service called Square (www.squareup.com) – and here’s the link to the free iPhone app. It’s basically the first company to bring credit card payment/acceptance to the masses.  It’s a free credit card swiper/reader that attached to iPhones and iPads and allows anyone to accept credit cards on the fly (pun intended, I guess).  They only charge a fairly nominal per-transaction fees, no monthly or device fees.  As a website business owner who DOES pay monthly “merchant fees” to accept credit cards elsewhere, this service is definitely a game changer.  I WISH Square would offer to pay me to promote their product, but frankly, I’m doing it for free because I want all CFI’s to start accepting payment via credit card.  (I HATE writing checks!)  How great would it be if you can earn credit card points/miles while flight training?

Who knows, maybe I’ll even start getting reimbursed for av-gas costs via credit card too!  I’m seriously thinking about just signing up for one….who else in aviation is as well?

I took my check ride on Sunday and passed it. It was about a 6 hours ordeal but it’s over. I took my test up at East Troy. I took my girlfriend yesterday as my first passenger on a downtown tour. It was a great feeling. It is amazing to be able to fly anywhere you want and to take passengers. The training was extensive but it was all worth it. It took me about 70 hours, ~ $8000 and about 3 months. Tom was extensive with the training. I messed up my power off stall when I was practicing the stalls by myself and the plane started to go into a spin. I was terrified and the next time I flew with Tom I asked him to practice spins. Scary but at the same time the best roller coaster ride I have ever been on. Now the challenge is to stay up to date with all the maneuvers and training.

Flying is an expensive hobby. Financially it has been a burden. Money spending never stops. Right after finishing the license I had to buy extra headsets and it seems it just continues. But flying is phenomenal. Best money I have ever spent.

Later,

Kenan

[This post authored by Dan's friend Kenan]

Okay, I HAVE flown a couple times in the past few months since my last blog posting, but it hasn’t been much other than doing laps around the pattern just to keep my skills up. This week, though, I finally flew a few times TO somewhere – and it’s great to be “back in the saddle again” this summer! On Tuesday, Lisa and I flew down to Pilot Pete’s at Schaumburg airport. As always, the food (and date) were great, and the flying was wonderful as well.

Yesterday I had the day off work and decided I HAD to fly somewhere new. I originally was going to fly to Dubuque, Iowa (DBQ) but during my flight planning I found out there is an airshow there this weekend and they have a temporary flight restriction (TFR) around that area. So, I decided to fly down to Bolingbrook Clow International Airport (1C5). It’s not too far, and they have a little cafe on the airport. Since my flight was around lunchtime, it would work out perfect. The weather was absolutely gorgeous yesterday, truly clear skies without a cloud in sight. The flight down was uneventful, and my landing there was super smooth. The cafe at Clow (Charlie’s) was very nice and my “$100″ lunch was delicious. On the way back to Westosha I practiced a few flight maneuvers I may have to review when I do my biannual flight review later this summer/fall. I did two landings back at Westosha, both really nice. It’s amazing how smooth landings can be when the wind is right down the runway.

Anyway, it’s great to be flying a little more regularly now – and I hope to be blogging a little more regularly too! I logged 1.1 hours for the Schaumburg trip, 1.3 hours for the Clow.

I have been taking lessons for 6 weeks and I have accumulated approximately 28 hours of flying.  This past weekend the instructor signed me off to fly solo.  My first solo take off and landing was fun and scary at the same time.  You don’t realize that once you take off, that you actually have to land yourself and can not screw up because the instructor is not there to take over the controls.  On my first solo, I stayed in the pattern and landed 3 times.  On my second solo, the instructor told me to go do some site seeing, which I did.  I went to Chain of Lakes, Twin Lakes and Lake Geneva.  What a great feeling it is to be in control of the airplane.  All the training has been well worth it, so far.  In the morning we did some instrument flying and in the afternoon, the instructor let me do some solo flying.  I was so excited and I wanted to fly for the whole day.  I actually forgot that someone else needed the plane after my lesson and the instructor had to call me on the radio telling me that someone is waiting for the plane.  Oops.  I also had to snap a picture so that I can show off a little by putting it on my background screen at work.  Dork, but I don’t care.  It reminds me how much fun I had and I can’t wait to fly again.  It also helps me get through the day.

What’s left:

• written test
• cross country
• cross country solo
• 3 hours of night flying
• 3 hours of instrument flying
• check ride

I talked to my instructor and he thinks if we continue training at this pace, I should be ready for the check ride in about 30 days.  I try to fly 3 times a week for multi-hour lessons.  That should be about 10 weeks for the entire training.  I can’t wait to get my license because I have so many people asking me to take them flying.

[This post authored by Dan's friend Kenan]

It’s finally becoming a reality.  After wanting to learn how to fly for so many years, I’m finally taking lessons.  4.7 hr down and hopefully many more to go.  Ever since I was a kid, I’ve dreamt about becoming a pilot.  However, when I was 14 years old, I was diagnosed with a chronic illness and I thought my dream of flying was out the window.  The other thing that kept me from taking lessons, was the expense.  That’s all until I started causally talking to somebody I work with and he started explaining to me that his son (Daniel) became a private pilot recently.  He directed me to this blog and I found basically all the info that I needed.  Daniel’s farther also showed me the pictures that they took when they were flying down the Lake Michigan shoreline to downtown Chicago.  This was the convincing point for me.  I decided to look more into it.  Like Daniel explained, Westosha Flying Club www.directwfc.com is one of the least expensive places (if not the least expensive) to fly.  Their rates are very reasonable compared to other places around Chicago.  I have looked into Midway and Aurora and basically when I did the math it would cost me around $10 000 to get my private pilot’s license.  Westosha seems to be almost half of that.  Please understand that it all depends on how fast you learn.  Some people need more time than others, so this is just an estimate.  For example, Midway charges $120/hr wet for a Cessna 172, at Westosha you can fly a Cessna 152 for $59/hr wet or 172 $74/hr OR 172SP $86/hr (new rates effective 04/01/2010, the website is not updated yet).  I know that everyone would like to fly big airplanes but for just learning the 152’s are just fine.  Especially when you are beginning and you have to buy headsets, books, pay the instructor, gas money to the airport, etc. every dollar helps.  Plus the instructors are not Commercial Pilot wannabes, so they are very reasonable.  They have a lot of experience.  The new rate for instructors is $45/hr.  This includes flying and a little bit of ground lessons.  At Westosha they do not offer ground school and you are responsible for studying for the written test.  Some people take classes at colleges, others buy DVD courses and there are also some that study from books (least expensive alternative).  The disadvantage about Westosha for me is that it’s 65 miles from my house.  So I have to schedule multi hour lessons to make it worth driving to the airport.

But before I started taking lessons I wanted to make sure that I can get a FAA medical certificate.   My condition is disqualifying but I was eligible to get a Special Issuance Medical.  All this means is that you are getting the medical under a special condition.  I got my private pilot medical for 5 years with the condition that I have to provide an update on my condition from my doctor in the form of a letter stating the current status of the condition.  As long as my condition doesn’t worsen, I can still fly.  You do not have to get another medical exam, just provide the letter at the 3 year mark.  This can be a little discouraging.  You invest so much into flying and you are loving it and then somebody tells you that you can not fly anymore.  However, my doctor has been doing medical certificates for 30 years and I talked to him a lot about this.  He explained that the FAA became more lenient with the medical and that most conditions that were disqualifying in the past, are now OK for flying.  If you decide to do this just be patient because it might take some time and some paperwork.  I had to provide a letter from the doctor stating my condition and recent blood work results.  It all depends what the FAA needs.  The doctor that did my medical assured me that he has patients that fly 747’s across the world with a special issuance medicals.  So it’s not a big deal, but it’s something extra that you might have to deal with.  The best source for info on your condition is the FAA website www.faa.gov OR a FAA Medical Examiner.  I just started out by typing my condition OR medication is the search box.  This is the most accurate information.  I do know that there are companies out there that want to charge you thousands of dollars to help you get your medical but this is a complete waste of money.  Do the research yourself and you should be well informed about your condition for your own good.  Talk to a medical examiner and see what he/she suggests you do.  These guys are doing so many medicals that they are usually well informed.

If someone has any questions, please let me know.  I will try to answer if I can.

Daniel thanks again for your blog.  It has helped me a lot.  I’m scheduled to fly again this weekend if the weather permits.  Will keep you updated as I go through my training.

[This post authored by Dan's friend Kenan]

I started blogging over 2 years ago mostly to document my experiences for myself and my family, but it is amazing to me how much this blog has grown since then.  I’m always surprised when I check my website analytic data to see visitors from all over the world reading this blog and my experiences around flying and learning how to fly.  I also find it pretty darn cool when people comment on my posts and mention how/if something I wrote helped them or gave them information they needed.  I’m especially humbled by a new friend of mine who recently took up flying lessons – partly because of this blog.  Kenan works with my Dad, and found out about this blog through casual conversations with my Dad around the water cooler there.  Long story short:  Kenan wanted to fly since being a kid (like me).  He always considered taking flying lessons but never really took the leap assuming it would be too expensive.   After talking with my Dad and eventually me (and this blog) – Kenan realized how affordable it could actually be and took the plunge!

I thought it would be great to hear about some of Kenan’s flight training experiences – so I asked him to “guest blog” whenever he felt like writing.  He’s a great writer with some new challenges and points of view that I think would go great on this site.   Anyway, enough introduction from me… stay tuned for some guest posting soon!

Since now almost EVERYBODY is on Facebook (I’m even recommending my parents join now), I figured it was about time to create a Facebook page for this blog.  That way, hopefully more of my (and your) family/friends can find this site.  So, please become a fan of this site and show your support!

DAN’S PILOT TIMES FACEBOOK FAN PAGE

In case you haven’t noticed, on the right side of the site, I added a running total of my new Facebook fans – check it out and join the party!  As always, I really appreciate everyone’s support and readership!

I started taking flying lessons almost 2 years ago to the day.  I’ll be celebrating my two-year anniversary of having my pilot’s license this September (hard to believe it’s been almost two years).  Anyway, since the beginning of my journey, people always ask how much it costs to fly.  I posted originally on this topic in January 2009 – post linked here.  Since that was over a year ago, and my flying habits have changed a bit since then, I figure it’s time for an update.

As I’ve mentioned plenty of times, I’m a member of a non-profit flying club (the Westosha Flying Club to be exact).  My club owns six planes, any of which members can use/rent.  I still pay $55 per month in dues, just for the privilege of membership and to compensate for the fixed costs of running/maintaining the club.  Above that, I pay an hourly “wet” rate to rent the planes, which now ranges from $59/hour for Cessna 152’s up to $86/hour for Cessna 172-SP’s (172P’s are $74/hour).  The term “wet” means that gasoline is included in the hourly rate (I never have to pay extra for gas).  The hourly rate also only applies to actual flying time (when the engine is turned on, as measured by the “Hobbs Meter”).  In other words, if you fly somewhere for dinner and it only takes 30 minutes each way, you only pay for an hour of flight time total – even if you spent lets say 2 hours at lunch.  The club’s flight rates have increased slightly over these past two years, to cover increasing gasoline and maintenance costs.  Overall, though, I know the rates I pay are still some of the best in the country.  They truly keep costs just enough to not lose money (and not profit either).

I continue to track my average cost per hour since I started, and when you add in the monthly fees I am currently averaging $84/hour to fly when all is said and done.  That’s a marked increase from my last update ($66/hour)…mostly because I’m now flying the nice 4-seater planes almost exclusively (since I take passengers on flights now).  Obviously cost is very dependent on the planes you fly.  Most flying clubs do publish their rates, so it would be fairly easy to figure out what it would cost to fly in any particular area.

If people have updates on their cost of flying, I’d love to hear it!

I recently pulled together a list of my favorite aviation-related songs.  That inspired me to think about my favorite aviation movies, but unfortunately that list is a lot smaller for me.   Two movies are definitely movies for just aviation buffs:  “One Six Right” and “The Magic of Flying”.  The other two are mainstream movies that definitely had a huge focus on flying:  “The Aviator” and “Up”.  Coincidentally, “Up” was even nominated for a best picture academy award this year!  Anyway, let me know your favorite movies about flying and/or aviation!