New here.

[roadrunna]

I apologise if this is in the wrong forum area. I realize that there are many aussies here and I just wanted to say hello.

I am from the South Coast and currently working in the IT industry. I had my intro flight on Saturday at Albion Park and now I can't wait until my first flying lesson. My only regret is that I should have learned to fly much sooner as I am now 33.

This is a great forum and I think I can learn a great deal here.

Cheers.
RR

[Wombat35]

Welcome RR, not only to PPRune but to the wonder of flight!

What do you remember most about your first flight?

What made you take the first step?

Have fun, that's what it's all about. :O

Cheers

Wombat35

P.S IT geeks rule the world ;)

[Gordstar]

Roadrunna, welcome....

May I suggest you consider gliding before you perhaps go headfirst into power flying, you will learn a lot mate.

All the best, Gordstar. :D

[multi_engined]

RoadRunner,

I am glad you enjoyed your TIF, flying is an amazing feat. Especially when you achieve the higher licences such as Private Pilot :D

Welcome to the forum,

ME

[roadrunna]

Welcome RR, not only to PPRune but to the wonder of flight!

What do you remember most about your first flight?



There are many things I can recall but what I remember most is how great the coastline looked from up there, also the sensation of flight.. I can't compare it to anything I've ever done or experienced, it's like exploring a whole new world. Can't wait to do it again.



What made you take the first step?


I was having dinner with my family a couple of weeks ago and my brother mentioned that he has a friend and his father is working for an airline as a pilot, I was curious and asked my brother many questions. I also have a friend who encouraged me to learn how to fly, he has a commercial pilots license and worked for a small company in Florida, unfortunately the company went under just after the attacks on 9/11, he returned to Australia and gave it all up ( he still misses it though ).

Initially my idea was to save some money, quit my job and then get myself into one of Basair's 1 year diploma courses until I realized that it was a really stupid idea for many different reasons. I was advised not to go in that direction, what if the school went broke and I lost my money ? what if I moved away ? what if I get sick and can't continue flying ? what if the training sucks ? . I decided it would be best to just find a school and pay per lesson.

Learning to fly is something I have wanted to try for a long time, just never had the money to do it and always vowed that I would try it and see what it is like.

[Ratshit]

Roadrunna, welcome....

May I suggest you consider gliding before you perhaps go headfirst into power flying, you will learn a lot mate.

All the best, Gordstar. :D

Roadrunna

Forget gliding unless you don't have much else to do and are looking for a nice weekend hobby.

As an experienced PPL, I soloed in a glider after 50 min training.

Have never seen glider pilot do the reverse!

Gliding = sailing = BORING!

Aeroplanes are for going places.

Rat toys:
Car = SV8
Boat = Bullet
Aeroplane = Bonanza

Forget the bloody fuel crisis - you only live once!

R:cool:

[Sunfish]

Sailing boring? Try it with me:E

[Aussie]

Welcome, Good luck Mate!!

Aussie

[Pinky the pilot]

Gliding boring???:confused:
Try a launch to 2'000' and then staying up for 5 hours!:ok:

[roadrunna]

Thanks for all the responses and advice. I don't think I'll take up gliding just yet but I wouldn't mind trying it out some day.

My instructor recommended I take 2-3 flying lessons per week, at the moment I can only take 2 per week due to work commitments but I may be able to do more if I take a day annual leave occasionally and use that day for flying. I do a fair bit of traveling to and from work, so that time could be used for self-studying the aeronautical knowledge training material.

I'll let you know how my first lesson goes, can't wait.

Cheers.
RR

[777WakeTurbz]

Gliding boring???:confused:
Try a launch to 2'000' and then staying up for 5 hours!:ok:

I am assuming that 5hours in the air would have been within 5-10nm of your launch point? :hmm:
There is only so much someone can take looking at the same scenery, nothing against gliding of course, it is quite and peaceful... but 5 hours in the same place :eek:

What is it you would like to achieve with your flying RR?
I would have to agree with RS on this one, go Powered unless just looking for a cruisy hobby with which you cant fly too far from point of origin :}

Best of Luck in your Endeavours RR :ok:

Turbz:cool:

[Pinky the pilot]

I am assuming that 5hours in the air would have been within 5-10nm of your launch point?

It does'nt have to be that way. The last time I logged an over 5 hour flight in a Glider (another lifetime ago!) I also flew a 500km triangular task, and at an average speed of 102km/hr.:ok:
Love to do it again one day.

Most pilots attempting their 5 hours duration flight combine it with their first cross country.

[777WakeTurbz]

Fair 'nuf Pinky :ok:

But i still prefer at least one engine :E

[roadrunna]

What is it you would like to achieve with your flying RR?
I would have to agree with RS on this one, go Powered unless just looking for a cruisy hobby with which you cant fly too far from point of origin :}

Best of Luck in your Endeavours RR :ok:

Turbz:cool:

Due to my age I could never think about making a career out of it so I may just not worry about doing a CPL. My main goal is to get my PPL, hopefully within 6-12 months.

Cheers.
RR

[Wombat35]

Hi RR,

I think that your instructor has it about right with the 2 flights per week.

The main thing if you are not going commercial is to have fun :} and make sure you understand your aircraft. If you have any questions or if every you are not sure of any theory, feel free to PM me.

I look forward to hearing of your adventures as you move through the course.

And thanks for explaining your motivations, it always interests me to find out what actually moves someone from the "one day I'll..." to picking up the phone.

All the best.

Wombat

[Boy_phantom]

Due to my age I could never think about making a career out of it so I may just not worry about doing a CPL. My main goal is to get my PPL, hopefully within 6-12 months.
Cheers.
RR

I'm older than you and have recently completed my CPL, the best thing i've ever done! Never say never. But PPL is fine... depends if you want a career or fly for fun.

[cficare]

Welcome to aviation

Beware.....it is very addictive!!!

[roadrunna]

Hi RR,

I think that your instructor has it about right with the 2 flights per week.

The main thing if you are not going commercial is to have fun :} and make sure you understand your aircraft. If you have any questions or if every you are not sure of any theory, feel free to PM me.

I look forward to hearing of your adventures as you move through the course.

And thanks for explaining your motivations, it always interests me to find out what actually moves someone from the "one day I'll..." to picking up the phone.

All the best.

Wombat

I called up various different flight schools and chose the one that enabled me to train in an area that has least amount of air traffic ( to avoid long delays on the ground ) and better views. Unfortunately, I didn't get to do any training this weekend due to severe turbulence in our area. Lets see what happens next weekend, fingers crossed.

As for CPL, it's a long,long shot off and I think I'm probably too old to think about making a career out of flying, my instructors advice was that I could probably get a job in GA but that I shouldn't hope for employment in airlines given my age and the current state of the industry.

I'm currently going through the BAK ( Bob Tait ) theory, If I have any questions I'll PM u.

Cheers,
RR

[roadrunna]

Who knows, perhaps I will go for it. During my TIF the instructor asked me whether I would rather sit behind a desk all day or fly a plane ?

That springs to mind often during my long days at work :)

One thing for certain, I'm really hanging to get back up there again, hopefully the weather conditions will be good enough for it this week.

Cheers.
RR

[slackie]

Welcome!!

Unfortunately I have to agree with the Rat earlier on....tried gliding...winched to 1500' (I think), no lift = back on the ground in about 10 mins...joined the back of the queue for the winch...didn't seem like much fun to me....but some seem to swear by it. Each to his own I guess.

Try some aerobatics sometime!!

Much prefer burning fossil fuels going no-where but up...over....down...round...round...etc

Slackie's toys
Plane - Pitts S2B :ok:
Boat - Cyclone Rx 1950 :ok:
Car - Terrano :\

Well...2 out of 3 aint bad!!!!

[ravan]

G'day Roadrunna. Hope you enjoy your flying. As for the age thing, it may be just a matter of what you want to do (Will GA satisfy you?) and how badly you want to fly for a job.

Me - TIF at 41, CPL by 42 and 9 years later over 4500 hrs made up of instructing and charter; couldn't be happier with my mid-life crisis!:)

Hope your flying story turns out the way you want it to, but beware, as somebody has already said, it's addictive!!!

[roadrunna]

Wow, your first TIF at 41 and a CPL within 1 year, that's quite impressive. I'm hoping to
complete my PPL in around 7 months, if that doesn't sound like a realistic time frame let me
know your thoughts. I have heard of some people completing it in a month or two full time,
which sounds crazy to me given that you have to learn so much and be competent in such
a short space of time.

I had my first lesson today, it went really well. Tommorrow I'll be doing straight
and level.

cheers.
RR

[eucalyptus]

Well done RR,
Looking forward to hearing more about your course as you progress.

As for you RAVAN, good on you, makes my mid life crisis at 38 seem a little less extreme. I'm hoping to sell my (IT) business in the next couple of years and progress to flying for a more enjoyable way of earning pocket money. I'd be interested where/how you did it, especially seeing as how we are both older students, but if you are shy about posting it feel free to PM me.

Onwards and Upwards Roadrunna - keep us posted.

Cheers,
Euca

[Bankstownboy]

Congrats on catching the flying bug roadrunna, you'll never regret it mate.

Always remember to just ask questions if you're not sure. Aside from that, the main thing is to have fun and just enjoy it.

Once again good luck with your ambitions...