Wahoo!!

[nick14]

Hey there all faithful ppruners!!

I Passed my PPL skills test on the 1st of september (yesterday) with 45.20 hrs!

Im just wondering what i should do next ? any ideas for good trips and good practise for the next 40 hrs?

Thanks guys
Buckle up
Nick

[BigStu]

Well done that man.

[Heliplane]

Congratulations!

My advice would be to keep flying as much as possible.

One thing to remember is that although your training to get your license has finished, your real world training is just beginning - there is so much more to learn but you'll have a great time gaining the skills.

Start with local flights (take friends/relatives up with you) until you get very very comfortable with the local area and different weather conditions and then begin to venture further afield.

I wouldn't launch into a long cross country flight straight away but instead build up to it slowly - keep expanding your comfort zone slowly.

As far as aircraft go, it's probably best to stick to what you have been flying (or something very similar) in the initial stages. There will be plenty of time later to transition to more complex types but for now just concentrate on the core skills. Same goes for an IMC rating - make sure you are very comfortable with your visual flying before venturing into clouds.

It's also worthwhile keeping in close contact with an instructor. If you don't feel comfortable with the winds/weather, perhaps going up with an instructor will help you build those skills. Also, keep practicing the emergency procedures with an instructor - hopefully you'll never need them but you never know. Keep asking lots of questions too - I have found people very happy to answer.

One word about GPS - it's great to use and makes life very easy but please don't use it at the expense of your core navigational skills. Fewer and fewer people these days can simply look out of the window with a map, track their position and get to their destination. By all means supplement your map reading with GPS and VOR usage, but keep looking outside.

Lastly, having been flying for nearly 17 years now, my perception is that there are three main things that should keep you out of trouble:

1) Pilot: properly trained and prepared for the situation, aircraft and flight. Feeling well?
2) Aircraft: properly maintained and checked. Look at maintenance records and practice. If you are not happy, fly somewhere else. Although not always the case, you get what you pay for. Thorough pre-flights each time regardless of who has been flying previously.
3) Conditions: is the weather suitable? Am I flying in conditions that I can cope with.

There is so much more that could be said...

Congratulations again,

Heliplane

[bcfc]

Well done!

This is a pretty good book to read now you've your ticket to learn

Beyond the PPL (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1874783268/qid=1125672054/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl/202-9453801-6241430)

[MyData]

Congrats! And I hope to be joining the ranks of the PPL holders soon too (wx permitting!)