Originally Posted by
Rhino25782
Now I'm waiting for the CAA to process my application and send me that license... Hope they are not too busy these days. :-)
They are quoting 17 working days at the moment.
1) After having obtained your PPL initially, when did you start carrying passengers?
My third flight.
The first flight was a tailwheel conversion session, the second was my solo tailwheel landing, the third I took my partner flying.
How many hours (if any) did you fly solo only?
12 minutes (!)
Personally, although people are already asking "So when can we fly with you?", I want to make sure certain things are "second nature" so I can accomodate PAX (keep them happy and save) while still working on the number one priority of flying the aircraft.
Are you flying the same aircraft type as you did your training and skills test in? If so, stuff should already be second nature?
If not, it's probably worth getting a few consolidation flights under your belt before having the additional worry about carrying passengers.
Remember that your examiner was technically a passenger on your skills test.
2) How daring were you when you first came to fly in your own? I'm not nervous about flying.
The week after I got my licence I flew into the LAA Rally at Sywell. This is a moderately crazy event where about 700 aircraft fly in, non controlled, over the space of three days.
It was exciting and a little bit hairy but I lived to tell the tale.
I think if you spend too much time worrying about stuff, it can inhibit you from doing things that you really want to do.
mostly grass runways which I don't have experience with
Grass is no problem at all - it flatters even the worse landings! Just make sure that you take into consideration the additional length you will need compared to a hard runway.
I might like to fly to Italy (crossing the Alps), I might like to cross the channel and fly into UK.
Two very different things. Crossing the Alps is not something to take lightly - especially in your average spamcan. Crossing the channel is a complete non-event and really no different than flying from one place to another over land.
Again, it's going to be my call - but to get a general idea of how others have handled this: When, in your flying career, did you start becoming adventurous?
Different people have quite significantly differing opinions about what is adventurous or not.
For some, flying to an airfield they haven't been to before is adventurous. For others, flying a single engined aircraft over the North Atlantic to America would be considered adventurous!
So I've practised all my emergency drills. How, in real-life, do you keep current? Do you practise one emergency drill on each flight (a bit difficult with passengers..)?
Once per flight is a bit much, but once every two years is certainly not enough.
Every now and then do a power off glide approach... So you're arriving at your destination - in your mind, decide at what point you reckon you could reach the airfield, chop the power and go for it. It will hone your skills, and you will then have more confidence in the future.
Which ones do you practise on your own, which ones do you take an instructor with you? For example, should you practise stall recoveries and forced landings after engine failure without an instructor?
You don't really need an instructor for either of those scenarios, but I wouldn't necessarily do them with a non-flying passenger!