What I did with my new PPL

[Romeo Romeo]

There have been a few threads asking what people should do with their new PPL's. How about opening those logbooks and telling us what you did with your PPL for the first, say, six months.

[FlyingForFun]

Hmm, pity I don't have my log book here, because I'm bored and could quite happily spend ages writing up 6 months worth of flying!

I remember doing a couple of flights to the practice area to start with. Then I decided to fly to the south coast. Got all the way to Portsmouth, then had an alternator failure - my first real life problem, and only about 3 hours post-PPL! :eek:

Strangely, I seem to have some kind of affect on alternators... I also had an alternator failure when getting my night rating (it's a much more serious problem at night!), and was flying as pax with AerBabe when she had an alternator failure - all within the space of a year. I'm getting quite good at handling them now!

FFF
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[Whirlybird]

Romeo,

OK; I don't have a lot of work, and my log book is here. Let's see...

Finished PPL(A) 17/9/98

2/10 and 9/10: Got checked out on PA28 and C172 while waiting for licence to arrive (learned on PA38). With hindsight a bad idea, as I couldn't keep current on all three, and couldn't actually afford to fly them all.

18/10: Licence arrived; I flew from Welshpool to Caernarfon over Snowdonia, in beautiful weather. The cloud came in and I had to follow the north coast to get back. 2.8 hrs total

6/11: Local flight: Welshpool - Bala - Lake Vyrnwy - Welshpool. 1.2 hrs

14/11: To Cardiff and back with a more experienced PPL, as I'd never been to an airfield in controlled airspace. I flew us there, 1.2 hrs

22/11: Took up my first passenger. Local flight, 1.1 hrs

28/11: Took another passenger to Halfpenny Green (it was called that back then!) and back. 1.6 hrs total.

4/12: Took another passenger to Sleap, flying over her house and mine. 1.3 hrs total.

13/12: Flew to Oxford to meet a friend for lunch. Got lost on the way back, and was found by D & D 3 miles from Birmingham Airport in marginal vis. 3.0 hrs total.

20/12: Local flight to get my confidence back after getting lost - followed the railway line to Aberystwyth and the road back! 1.3 hrs.

24/12: Club checkout and local flight in C172 with 3 passengers. Marginal weather, short days, and I wasn't used to the aircraft, but they really wanted to go. Bad idea! 1.4 hrs total

9/1/99: Went up with instructor in C172 to get used to it. Realised I can't reach the pedals or see over the nose, and it's not for me! 0.8 hrs.

23/1: A few circuits to keep current. "Horrible weather" noted in log book. 0.5 hrs

27/2: Club checkout and local flight. 1.1 hrs total.

13/3:An hour with an instructor on the F22A; lovely aircraft, but realise it'll take me a while to learn to fly it (I did, the following summer) 1.0 hrs.

OK, that's six months.

Now, do you want the helicopter one too?

[FlyingForFun]

Whirly, I can't believe you've listed every flight! You realise, of course, that now I'm going to have to remember to bring my logbook to work with me tomorrow so that I can do the same! :D

FFF
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[AerBabe]

Well, I've had my licence in my sweaty palms for just over 6 months, which means I can tell you about everything I've done :D

My first attempt at flying I took a friend, with CPL/IR, as pax. I was going to do some circuits, but the cloud came down to 800' by the time I reached the hold.

Second time I took FFF as pax, and we made it into the air. Kept local as the weather wasn't good enough to go far. Had an alternator failure (on my first flight as a proper Captain, how unfair!) but fortunately, as he says, he's used to them! Cheers hon xxx

Then went on an almost 2 hour x/c, down over Gloucester, and the Forest of Dean.

After that I stayed in the local area for a few hours, practising PFLs, radio nav, steep turns, etc.

Then I did a landaway at a strip I'd been to before.

Then it was the Popham fly-in.

And I've just got myself signed off to fly the Cherokee :)
Just, as in this morning. :D

Grand total: 11h 45 min.

[willbav8r]

Lost the electrics over Oakland.

Daylight with Viz 10, so not too concerned. Squawked 7600, flash ldng light, wiggle wings, watch the pattern, land.
Later found out the alternator took a dump, and the battery wasn't up to lasting very long (even with a reduced load).
All seemed to happen too quickly, as the preflight showed a pos charge etc.

Exciting for me, but, alas, it was the Girlies first time in a bug smasher. Subsequent journeys have all been boringly straightforward :D :rolleyes:

[Cahlibahn]

1st six months, 37h40m

15 airfields including 2 trips to Calais and one to Le Touquet (I was a nervous newbie so didn't stray too far from home :rolleyes: )

4 aircraft types (3 Piper, 1 Cessna)

Longest flight 2h 0m, shortest 25m

No dramas (apart from 'discussions' with the bank manager) and only 1 weather diversion (as far as I remember) - Le Touquet was horrid but Calais was CAVOK.

I'll be lucky to get 37 hours in the whole of 2002 :(

[stiknruda]

Having learnt to fly in a 150 (3D-AFK) as soon as I passed in Swaziland , I sat the whole thing again immediately in RSA (both ground exams, a qxc and a handling test in a 172. I then converted onto a C182.

My most adventurous early flight (53h T/T) was to go from Maputo, Mozambique via Nelspruit in the Lowveld to clear customs and down to Grand Central (GCA) in Jo'burg. There is a special zone into GCA from the east at not above 500'agl. All heady stuff and you can imagine my concentration - this in a C172.

I recall that at 5 miles to run you had to pull up to circuit height so at the right time I pulled up and there in front of me was a tarmac aerodrome with a couple of DC3s and a couple of flight schools. The relief was tangible.

The reason for the trip was to collect my pup, Axel. I was on the ground for about an hour, collected Axel from the breeders who had sedated him. Axel on the back seat and back to Mozambique via Nelspruit. I logged 4.8 hrs that day!! As I shut down at Maputo, Axel jumped out, relieved himself against the tyre and then noticed these two chaps coming over to do the Customs check on the aeroplane. He woofed and ran up to them to say hi! The two Customs officer saw this 8 week old pup running towards them and legged it. No hassle from Customs that day - I eventually caught up with my pup in immigration and we were both waved through as the immigration ladies thought that the sight of their less than brave colleagues being chased by a pup the size of a 6pack was hilarious!

Later that year I went to the States for 5 weeks, flew a Mooney M20C, experienced my first aeros with Joy Bowden in her Citabria 7ECA, passed my multi-engine check ride and amassed 28.5hrs in various Seneca Is in the US and Mozambique.

Total time first six months 49.9 hours.

That was 10 years ago - Axel is back in the UK with me and getting on but still my bestest fwend. Can't take him in the Pitts and at 8 stone of slobbery Ridgeback, he's also too big for the Aeronca!

I staple photos of all the interesting aeroplanes into my log book -I now wish that I'd made an effort to snap all of them as I look back through my log-book!

Well writing about it has convinced me to go and fly the Pitts.

Ciao


Stik

[Romeo Romeo]

Right, I've just dug out my log-book and it makes very sorry reading! My first flight after getting my license in the states was a check-ride from Derby on 7/9/96. The six months after that I managed a massive total of 4 hours!

Two were check rides getting used to Derby and to make sure I could still fly a C152. The other two were with my girlfriend - one doing circuits (and on the first one I lost the airfield and frantically said to my girlfriend 'can you see the runway' - not the best way to put a first-time passenger at ease :rolleyes: ), and the second one I ventured up into Derbyshire, couldn't find the airfield and it ended up with my girlfriend throwing up and an instructor coming up to find me!

So, not an illustrious start to my flying career :)

It was almost a year and a half before I landed away by myself - I suppose I wasn't that confident in those days!

[Courtman]

I passed my GFT on 14-Jul-96, had to wait until 21-Aug for the PPL to arrive, despite driving the forms down there!

First trip after a checkride was LTN-Staverton, interesting as there was a 15kt+ crosswind to contend with. Then went LTN-Cranfield (hardly a long flight!).

In September I went to Ipswich, and then a monster flight LTN-Swansea-Haverfordwest-Luton in a PA-28-180, the last sector was 2hrs.

In October I did my night rating, including landing at East Midlands at night.

In November I ventured with a friend to Shobdon and Welshpool.

In December I flew to Leicester to visit my grandparents!

In January the weather was cr*p, so didn't do much. At the end of the month flew to Rothwell (nr. Kettering), a small glider strip with a much more experienced friend who said it was "plenty long enough". It was, just. Went to Fenland that day too, plenty of short-field experience.

In February I started my IMC rating, which I finished just into March with an IMC flight LTN-East Midlands-Manchester!

In that six months did loads of local and short flights taking friends up, or just buzzing around for the hell of it. I totalled 96hrs5mins in the first 6 months of owning a PPL, and incurred the wrath of the club treasurer and bank manager for it!!! Those were the days!

:) :D :D :)

[paulo]

License arrives 29/9/01

Day #1: Poling around EGMC local in PA-28.
Day #2: No flying. Booo.
Day #3: AOPA course starts. Introduction to basic figures & the Robin 2160. Feel ill during lunch break. Discover rotation tailscrape for the first time. :rolleyes:
Day #4. Rolls, normal and barrel. Discover tailscrape for second time. Very nice instructor says she'll hit me the third time. Briefly consider intentionally tailscraping. :D
Day #5. Loops & Stall Turns. One inadvertant IMC entry on upline. Cubans. Other instructor at club spots log book "hang on, you've only just passed!". Tells own scary story of inverted spin. :eek:
Day #7. (Very) Unusual attitude recovery. Revise basic figures.

Signed off for solo aeros. :eek: :eek:

Since then done a bit in a Pitts (amazing) and an Extra 300 (even more so). Now doing lottery more often. :rolleyes:

[IRRenewal]

Just dug out my number one logbook.

First six months: 65 hours total including more mistakes and errors than I care to remember, but boy did I learn a lot!

Cheers

[kabz]

Errr, I've taped my license into the front of my log book !!!

:confused:

[kabz]

Battery ? I thought I had a proper engine !!!
:D

[sennadog]

stiknruda I've got two of these mutts, hence the name sennadog. How did you keep the hound from not getting in the way whilst flying? I don't think that one of mine in a Katana would fit......:D

Some good stories here.

[Who has control?]

When I first received my PPL, I spent the first 10 hours or more working on what I called my Confidence Rating.

This involved doing everything for myself, booking out, organising fuel, checking the weather, even cancelling on occasions. Then I flew around the local area before going further afield and then landing away.

Now I know that there are a few Ppruners who are talking about doing their IMC ratings and I would say to them - enjoy the fruits of your labours, go and fly for a few hours, consolidate your knowledge and then go and do the IMC.

[Lowtimer]

I qualified at the 45 hour mark last December, then had a couple of weeks off flying over Christmas and New Year. A look in the logbook reveals, since then:
Jan: a currency checkout, and checkout from the Warrior to the plank-wing Cherokee 180, and a 1.40 solo cross country just navigating myself by DR from point to point all over East Anglia, largely as a confidence builder.
Feb: Only three flights, one was my first passenger, others general revision inc a good x-wind circuit session.
Mar & Apr: not much, just four local flights in various PA28s
May: Decided to embark on a serious improvement programme. Checked out on a shiny low-time Archer III at Fowlmere (lovely airfield, lovely aircraft for hire at Modern Air). A nice cross-country trip from Fowlmere to Wycombe, Goodwood and back, in company with another recently qualified PPL.
June: Tailwheel conversion at Sywell, and some solo Cub flying including first landing at Old Warden. Check out on the Robin HR200. Started an AOPA aerobatics course in the Pitts S2a at Sywell - so far, so good!
Now up to 75 hours of which 41 are P1, and having a whale of a time.
I've learned that when you're on the PPL course you're so focused that getting the licence can lead to a sense of limbo. "So what am I supposed to do now?" Bimbling around aimlessly is not especially motivating, but there's lots you can do. In my case I'm keen to get into aerobatics and lwanted access to tailwheel types, and I also deliberately went out to fly a wide variety of types. When the time comes to buy into some form of aircraft ownership, I feel I now have a better idea of what I do and don't like. I don't want to start a flame war on the merits of various types as a lot of it is undoubtedly down to purely personal factors, but some aircraft that are widely dismissed as boring are (for me) really rather good and lots of fun (e.g the Archer II) and vice versa. I expected to find the 90 hp Cub rather sluggish and to find the high wing a pain for visibility, but I have adapted and become very fond of it. Conversely I had expected to bond with a different type that seemed on paper just what I would enjoy, but found it unexpectedly unpleasant.

[cfvilela]

Hi all,

I have my PPL license since last August, so I have a little more than 6 months of flying (21 logged hours).
The first flights were with my folks, and brother. Since I only had the type rating for the C152, it had to be one at a time.
Then I made a two-hour forest-watching flight, to spot fires and inform the Fire Departments in the Lisbon area. It was very instructive, since I was acting as pilot and had an observer looking out for smoke. I'll try to fly a couple of missions this year as well.

I made some tours around the Lisbon area and went to some other airfields for lunch (expensive lunches by the way, taking into account the cost of the trip...).
Sometimes my friends ask me to take them for a ride, which allows me to fly a bit more.

Then I made the adaptation to the C172 and been flying it to some airfields in Portugal.
The problem is since I work in Spain (Madrid) and do all my flying in Lisbon, I don't fly as much as I would like.

My plans for the summer are a Lisbon-Madrid-Lisbon flight, visit some more airfields in Portugal (there aren't many, so it will be quite easy) and have my license accepted by the Spanish Aviation Authority so I can fly Spanish aircrafts.

Regards,
Carlos Vilela
(LPSC)

[FNG]

In my first six months with a licence I logged just under 50 hours, got horribly lost once, crossed the channel twice, visited 19 new airfields, got a wobbly prop tick and started but did not complete tailwheel and aeros training. I haven't maintained quite such anorakish levels of activity since then, although I try to keep my hand in.

[willbav8r]

cfvilela,

Do you know if a FAA PPL (ASEL/AMEL) can fly in Portugal?? I would like the idea of spending a day with an instructor to get up to speed (charts, r/t etc), and if possible, check out in a single.

I'll be back in the Algarve later this year.

Suppose the FAA certificate is only valid for an N reg a/c??

[andrewc]

Done about 70 hours in the eight months since my PPL.
Just completed an IMC rating in PA-28, now have to convert
the experience to my plane.

Did the local fields, by myself and with friends. Worked on
grass short-field technique. Trying to convert my wife to
positive thinking about light planes (an uphill battle).

Some longer trips, Lydd, Exeter, into class D, Cardiff &
East Midlands. Best flight was taking my parents (~75)
on a Severn Bridge tour from Cardiff on a beautiful blue
and smooth day - they loved it.

Visited Popham for a PPrune fly-in, found the circuit a little
too exciting, got cut up by the Red Arrows going home.

Practised today for the TopNav exercise tomorrow, expecting
to be beaten by someone in a Tiger-Moth with a piece of string
and an egg-timer on current form and the handicapping.

-- Andrew

[planepaper]

got the license on the Tuedsay arvo and wednesday left first light and flew across the outback for two days. Perth to Birdsville for the gee gees racing then back home across the desert.
bags of fun but scary for a first flight