Learning to Fly

Private Pilot's License

In October 1990 we shipped version 2.0 of QuickVerse for DOS. I'd been working long days all summer to get it done, and when it was finally complete I took the entire month of November off and took my family on a long trip through the West and Southwest US.

One of our stops was the Grand Canyon. We took an airplane ride over the canyon. I don't remember what the moment of inspiration was, but somewhere over the Grand Canyon I decided I wanted to get my Private Pilot's License.

When I got home I found a local FBO (Fixed Base Operator - a business that provides services to pilots at an airport) that was having a Christmas open house. I went and had some cookies and talked to the owner about learning to fly. 

On January 3, 1991 I was back for my first introductory lesson. I started real lessons four days later. I soloed on June 7 and passed my checkride on February 2, 1992. I spent the next few years flying small Cessna and Piper trainers like the ones pictured below.

I flew 71.5 hours in this Cessna 152, N65485 between January 1991 and April 1997. I eventually also checked out in the Piper Arrow, N4921J, behind it (32.1 hours from December 1997 to September 1998). These airplanes were based at P&N Aviation in Marion, IA (C17).

I did most of my instrument instruction in this Cessna 172, N13198. I have 97.6 hours in this airplane. This is also at the Marion airport.

Here's C17 from the approach end of runway 35. We look high, but keep in mind it's not a very wide runway and at the time (1996) it was gravel. Today it's asphalt.

There are some benefits to learning to fly at an airport like C17. First, if you learn to take off and land on gravel, you'll never be afraid to take off or land anywhere. Second, where else can you experience getting stuck in the mud and having your instructor pushing on the wing strut while you rev it up to full power? Finally, C17 is just outside the CID class C airspace so you get as much experience with a "real" airport as you want but plenty of time to learn to fly before you also have to learn to deal with air traffic control.

In October 1999 I got checked out in this Piper Warrior at PS Air at CID. That day John and Dillon and I flew to Vinton and Monticello. 

By the way, for size comparison, here's me with my Bonanza two years later. Either I'm getting smaller (not likely) or the planes are getting bigger.

The uncomplicated panel of N2436Y. Compare to my Bonanza or Baron elsewhere on the site.

I flew pretty steadily through September 1998. But then I flew only 6.1 hours in 1999 and only .7 in 2000. In 2001 it had been over a year since I had flown and I was concerned that if I stayed away too long I'd eventually never get back to it.

That's what led me to buy N8138R -- I figured if I owned an airplane I'd have to fly it to keep it from rusting. Plus there'd be no more having to schedule time with the airplane in order to fly -- I'd just go to the hangar and pull the airplane out.

Instrument Rating

October 19, 1997 - What a week this has been! I finally got my instrument rating, which means I can fly in the clouds (or above them or in low visibility). Next to the instructor rating, the instrument rating is one of the toughest.

I started instrument training in the fall of 1992. I got about 30 hours of training in before my responsibilities at work changed and I didn't have enough time to finish it up (you need 40 hours for the rating). I hadn't thought much about completing the work until a couple of recent trips that could have been easily completed if I'd been instrument rated. In one case we had to turn around and in the other we just couldn't go.

So in September 1997 I called Professional Instrument Courses, Inc. They boast the ability to get you your instrument rating in only 10 days. They send an instructor to your house (anywhere in the US) and you work eight-hour days until you're done. I told them my instrument experience was really old so I didn't want the instructor to assume I knew anything.

On Monday, October 13, Earl Barnhart showed up with "Simmy", an ATC610J procedure trainer that we set up in my wife's sewing room. Each day started at 8AM with lots of table-top time discussing rules, procedures and techniques. Most afternoons we flew either the simulator or the plane. In the end it only took about 10 hours of flying and 4 hours in the simulator to wrap things up. Saturday, October 18, we flew to Burlington, IA (BRL) and I took my check ride. After flying with Earl, the test was easy: about an hour and a half in an oral exam covering flight planning and ATC procedures, then an hour and a half in the air demonstrating climbs, descents, turns, holding patterns and instrument approaches.

So now instead of hoping for no wind and blue skies, I'm hoping for clouds!

Multi-Engine Rating

October 2003 -- My FBO really wants me to buy a twin-engine airplane. I think it's so they can sell me more fuel and have two engines to service instead of one.

At the time I was seriously considering buying a Baron (the twin version of my airplane) so I spent several days in October getting my multi-engine rating. I ended up not buying the Baron I was looking at at the time, but four months later I found another I liked and bought it.

Getting the MEL takes about 10 hours in the air. You spend most of your time learning to fly with one of the two engines not working. Other than that, everything is similar to a single-engine airplane.

With one engine out you tend to yaw and roll toward the dead engine. It requires standing on the rudder to keep the nose straight and keep the wing with the good engine from rolling you over. Rudder trim helps if you've got it.

I did my training in a Piper Apache similar to the one pictured here. It had the Geronimo mods, which makes it fly a little faster.