Back to school

It's been a long time since I've posted. My plane has been grounded and I've not flown yet since my last post earlier in the year since I just bought a house.

Speaking with some of the guys at the airport, there's a lot of people in my situation too. Funding this hobby is many people's issue in maintaining the career and it fits my case.

I'm planning on flying again in the summer, which will give me some time to start preparing for ground school. I'll post as soon as a chapter or two is completed and put down a few notes.

Ground School begins today

Today was the first ground school class which is every Tuesday and Thursday from 7-10pm. Typically, I start those days at about 6am to get to the gym for 7am, then rush to work and stay there until its time to leave for class. It's a long day. No, you don't understand, it's a freakishly long day.

The first lesson was about the different kinds of licenses available in Canada: Recreational and Private. There are many differences between the two, but the ones that stuck in my head are:

- Private License (PPL) is a license, Recreational is a permit
- The Private license can be upgraded (i.e.: for night flying)
- PPL enables you to fly as many people that your permit is rated for (right out of the gate you are enabled to fly up to 8, but there are some restrictions).
- PPL requires 45 hours of flight, Recreational is 25.
- There are some test differences too, but at the moment, I will have to get back to you on that one as I'm a bit exhausted :P

The rest of the time in class was spent reviewing the structure of the plane and the different types.

With ground school now in effect, I'll have tons of learning material to cover in the weeks to come, so I'll leave it there and try to remember to come back to what exactly those parts are. Right now, I'm going to sleep because it's been a freakishly long day.

The Airport Diner

Just before you check-in at the front desk at my airport, you'll notice that there's a diner with a fully decked out patio ready to serve. Most of the larger airports (I'm at the Waterloo-Wellington Flight Centre in Breslau) will have one of these, and they all typically look the same - a 50's style diner with decorations that will make your grandparents comfortable.

At my place, it's everything your typical greasy spoon would look like with the kind of service you'd expect from one. It's very family oriented and there's always a supply of loyal patrons coming out on weekends.

Before becoming a member to the airport, I've always thought that the diner was merely set up as a cafeteria to serve employees in between flights. Instead, it acts as the staple to many social events and a gathering place for ex-world war pilots to new pilots ready to share their experiences. I've yet to share or experience any of the thrilling tales that are heard within those walls, but I'll be there. As a pilot-in-training, I'm still living through the conversations of others and hoping that one day I'll be able to return the favour with something just as inspiring.

Flight Simulator X for Pilots!

I'm really excited to set up Flight Simulator X for the PC because from the demo (click here for free trial) it is a huge improvement over Flight Simulator of years ago. It's not a fair comparison to compare older versions of the software to the newest and greatest, but it's only thing that I could compare to since my last visit with the game. My previous experience looked like this:


Which is now changed to this:


First Impressions of Flight Simulator X: Realism. Compared to the earlier FS2000 version, the ground looks more realistic relative to the height of which the plane is flying. There's even an Air Traffic Control report within the game which completely caught me by surprise since I was expecting a game to just take me in a plane and fly around. I've also found that there's a book written for pilots in training who'd like to use this software to help them earn their pilots license. NEAT!

Lots more to add, but, I've yet to do a full review and synopsis since I've a computer that I want to upgrade first and am waiting patiently for it to arrive. Details to come.

Questions I'm always asked, exposed!

These winter months are really bad for flying lessons since heavy snowfall (which there has been a lot of lately) restricts my visibility and thus, grounds me. So this week, I thought I'd answer some of the frequently asked questions that I get from friends and family.

Q) How long does it take to get your private license?
A) Transport Canada requires at least 45 hours of flight time and a minimum of 40 hours of ground school. Currently, I've only about 12 hours of flight time and zero hours of ground school since much of the summer/fall/winter 2008 weather in Waterloo has been rainy or snowed in. A pilot who trains for at least twice a week (ground school and flight lessons within the same week) can expect to graduate in about 8-12 months. For me, I have had a slow start and have only taken flight school which has been canceled for most of the summer due to weather. I am expecting this to take about 1.5 years to complete.

Q) How do you start?
A) You're going to hate this answer, but the answer is really simple: Sign up. I called ahead to explain my intentions and the front desk booked me in for 1 hour to talk about the lessons and a few really simple questions (are you medically fit to be in an airplane, do you like roller coaster rides, etc). The first class is an introductory $80 lesson of which the instructor is audible for the entire flight, explaining everything that he is doing. 30 minutes of airtime takes you around the airport and back - one big circle. There's enough time during airtime to ask a few questions that you may have and enjoy your view. If this is your first flight in a small airplane (as it was for me) brace yourself for turbulence and assure yourself that you will be safe with your pilot. The exterior of the plane is incredibly thin compared to the cockpit of my Honda Civic, but I guess it needs to be in order for the plane to be airborne. After landing, you go back to the front desk and they can set you up for your first real lesson (you'll go over much of the same introductory work you did at the start in this class) or you can decide to think about it and get back to them.

Q) How much does it cost?
A) Typical expenses are about $8000-10,000 for a private's license. Looking at the website for Waterloo, it shows that the total costs are $8095 to earn your license. Understand that this is the bare minimum of requirements and using the smallest plane available. Depending on how fast you learn (generally the more frequent you're able to get to class) the faster you'll learn. There are a few things that will significantly raise this cost to about $12,000 and that is:

• Time to learn each lesson. Instructor led lessons will increase your costs if you require more time with them. This isn't something you want to rush either since you're dealing with your health and responsible flight instructors won't let you go solo until you're ready. Go to class more frequently and you'll learn faster and get out of school earlier.
• Your plane costs. The Cessna 152 is the smallest plane available. It's a two seater that is capable of supporting up to about 350lbs of passenger weight. You'll also notice the cramped room in the cockpit when you're sitting beside your instructor too since the plane is a lot smaller than the 4-seater 172S versions. Per hour, a 2-seater costs $110 where as a 172N (old-school carborator), 4-seater is at $122 per hour. If you move up to the 172S (which is fuel injected) it'll cost $135/hour. You still need a minimum of 45 hours of flight time so you can quickly see how much more this will raise your costs
• I've been told that the Canadian minimum average is about 60 hours of flight time before taking their first test. Likely reasons: Finances prevented people from attending a regular schedule and learning curve.
  

Notice that I did not include other miscellaneous fees like: electronic calculators, headsets or any other administrative fees (your health check will cost another $150).

Q) Can you do tricks?
A) If by tricks you mean, perform a take off and landing? Then, Yes. I can. If by tricks you meant stunt flying, then no, that is something else. Doing that right now would kill me and everyone below me. Oh, and Ryan, my instructor would also perish.

Q) Can you fly jets?
A) Nope. Not even close. Here's what i've learned about flying jets.

• When you're starting to fly, you learn how to fly in a single engine. Your license determines how many people you are able to safely fly in one of these planes (recreational license means you and a friend whereas a private allows for 3 friends + you).
  
• When you have your private license, you can then earn a multi-engine rating which introduces you to a world of new toys: faster speed, turbo engines, GPS, ice-protection, flight instrumentation and my favourite: AUTO PILOT!
  
• Commercial Pilot training. Unless you're John Travolta who can afford his own Jet, You'll need to be able to fly and charge out for your services in order to go career. Going career is just one of the many reasons why you'll want to have your Commercial Pilot's license since it will have a higher chance of putting you in the cockpit and subsidize the costs of flying a jet. A private license on the other hand does not allow you to be a career pilot (you are restricted to an earned an income with this license). Consider that a typical plane available to a private license owner costs about $250,000-600,000 and a jet are upwards of $1,000,000, going career is the only way to go.
  
• Get experience. I'm not clear as to how many hours you need to fly jets (i will find out more details for a later post) but I understand that you'll first be a co-pilot before going behind the yolk and flying solo. Damn, is it even called a yolk in a jet? I think looks more like one of those Nintendo controllers of some kind. Typically, you will need hundreds of hours before stepping into a jet like a Cessna Citation and thousands of hours before getting behind a 737 or A380.
• Licensing. I'm sure there are licenses you need to do fly a jet but that will have to come in later posts as I find out the real answer

As you can see, I'm on my way about learning HOW to fly and am nowhere near flying a jet, let alone a jumbo jet like the Airbus A380 (the worlds largest passenger jet) to the left. That plane is just so big, one its wheels are about the size of a pickup truck. I'm curious to know how loud those jet engines are though, it's too bad they're not all turned on while there are people standing beside them.

First time flying in the winter

Today was the first time that I went up during the winter weather. Temperature was rated at -5 with -12 with windchill. There's a lot more to the weather report that I should know about as a pilot (like knowing the ceiling visibility altitude) but as my classes progress and I am able to note these variables in my journal, I'll write what I know for now.

Taking the plane (Cessna 172SP) out for the first time in winter weather is amazing. It's a completely different experience than flying in the warmer weather. For one, the air is a lot denser which makes take off a heck of a lot faster and maneuvering much easier to handle. It's the difference between running into the wind and with the wind.

Some noticeable differences during today's flight include:

• Take off procedures: Cold engine starts take a little getting used to (for the first time) as the engine had a little difficulty starting up and warming up. Otherwise, all other safety procedures and checks went smoothly!
  
• Take-Off: I was surprised by how steep and fast the plane flew after take off. There was a very noticeable difference today than in weather above zero degree temperatures. I don't know how much faster the plane went, but I think I was at 3000' in about 8 minutes compared to the regular 12 minutes or so (I know that I'm a bit off here because things were going a bit quickly for me).
• Maneuvering: Flying small planes like the 172SP are one of the safest and durable starter aircraft available. The 172SP is known for its safety record and stability which makes for an excellent starter plane for beginner pilots. Since my flight career started in May 2008, I've only been flying in hot and humid weather. Today, I felt like my plane had a new, faster engine installed and I got to tear through the sky for the first time. Banking left and right felt more natural since the aircraft cut in more deliberately. I can only wonder if the more expensive planes have improved control like this, but during the summer months.
  
• Heat: It is freezing up there.
  

Overall, my airborne experience in the colder weather was a lot of fun. Classes are canceled until after new years, so until then, I'll have to wait until January 10th for my next lesson. Next week, I'll write about our start-up procedures and what we go through before every flight. It'll be good practice for me to review this too while I'm writing about it.

Welcome to your first flight

Welcome to Chin Airlines, your captain's name is Chin.

This blog is about the experience of flying in an aircraft for the first time and deciding to make the commitment to become an airplane pilot. Here, I'll talk about the expenses, the gear and everything I'm going through to earn my private pilot's license.