quick gen questions re ppl
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quick gen questions re ppl
Firstly weather:
I have just confirmed my membership to a club and now have access to the online booking system so im free to choose a plane, time and instructor of my choosing however my club is 2 hrs drive away and I cant really afford to turn up only to be told that its a no go. I can read TAFS and METARS and i dont want to be hassling the instructor at 7 in the morning every time calling to see what they think the prospects are. What are the general limits of weather I should consider to be flying conditions for a new pilot please?
Also Im currently doing my Human performance and limitations studying and I need to know if i can use a flight computer in exam for collision distance.
A further question with HP&L is a question on useful consciousness. Do i really need to know the whole table of useful consciousness with heights and body activity? it seems a lot of numbers.
Finally (and i dont want to get flamed for this) i would like an opinion on whether there are benefits/limitations by going for a young well trained instructor or a retired experienced pilot of pensionable age?
I have just confirmed my membership to a club and now have access to the online booking system so im free to choose a plane, time and instructor of my choosing however my club is 2 hrs drive away and I cant really afford to turn up only to be told that its a no go. I can read TAFS and METARS and i dont want to be hassling the instructor at 7 in the morning every time calling to see what they think the prospects are. What are the general limits of weather I should consider to be flying conditions for a new pilot please?
Also Im currently doing my Human performance and limitations studying and I need to know if i can use a flight computer in exam for collision distance.
A further question with HP&L is a question on useful consciousness. Do i really need to know the whole table of useful consciousness with heights and body activity? it seems a lot of numbers.
Finally (and i dont want to get flamed for this) i would like an opinion on whether there are benefits/limitations by going for a young well trained instructor or a retired experienced pilot of pensionable age?
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Hi Steve,
The weather today in Chichester is PERFIK!
Weather minima for training is very difficult to advise on, as it depends on what needs to be achieved. For instance a cloud base of say 1500' or less may be fine for circuit training, TO's and landings, but rubbish for cross country. Wind is again a bit awkward, as down the strip direction it can be stronger than a crosswind. I suppose (happy to be corrected) a reasonable student PPL guide might be? Wind strength max 12-15 knots unless straight down the strip and not gusting. No precipetation and a cloud base of at least 1500'. If the cloud is broken and clear higher up, the instructor would likely be happy to take you up above the cloud for upper air work.
I gained my PPL before human performance came along, so can't really help other than to say that the PPL questions are multi choice and fairly easy if you've read through what's needed a few times and have a basic understanding.
As for young and keen, or old and wisened instructors? I prefer the latter, but if you have any instructor that actually enjoys teaching, you won't go wrong. The older ones "tend" to be more reliable in this respect as they have shown by staying the course tht they like instructing, or have returned having had a long and industrious career with the airlines. Some even combine the two! .... Dodgy subject though, so put on those flameproof trousers!
SS
The weather today in Chichester is PERFIK!
Weather minima for training is very difficult to advise on, as it depends on what needs to be achieved. For instance a cloud base of say 1500' or less may be fine for circuit training, TO's and landings, but rubbish for cross country. Wind is again a bit awkward, as down the strip direction it can be stronger than a crosswind. I suppose (happy to be corrected) a reasonable student PPL guide might be? Wind strength max 12-15 knots unless straight down the strip and not gusting. No precipetation and a cloud base of at least 1500'. If the cloud is broken and clear higher up, the instructor would likely be happy to take you up above the cloud for upper air work.
I gained my PPL before human performance came along, so can't really help other than to say that the PPL questions are multi choice and fairly easy if you've read through what's needed a few times and have a basic understanding.
As for young and keen, or old and wisened instructors? I prefer the latter, but if you have any instructor that actually enjoys teaching, you won't go wrong. The older ones "tend" to be more reliable in this respect as they have shown by staying the course tht they like instructing, or have returned having had a long and industrious career with the airlines. Some even combine the two! .... Dodgy subject though, so put on those flameproof trousers!
SS
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Weather: the only thing to do is to phone up before hand and ask if they're flying today. Try and book late morning/afternoon slots if you live far away? Also, find out what the schools minima is for PPL instruction, then you can check the weather yourself and start making decisions for yourself. You'll find that in the winter you ought to be able to get a fair bit in, I found that over the summers I did my licence there was a fair bit of cloud and crap vis which prevented flying.
HP Exam: If it's in the book then it's useful information to learn. Get a confuser/simplifier so that you understand how the questions are structured. This will help put things into perspective.
Instructor: It's probably more important to get an instructor you get along with rather than choosing one because of their age. Remember you're going to be shut in a small space with them for a long while! Consider more than one instructor too?
HP Exam: If it's in the book then it's useful information to learn. Get a confuser/simplifier so that you understand how the questions are structured. This will help put things into perspective.
Instructor: It's probably more important to get an instructor you get along with rather than choosing one because of their age. Remember you're going to be shut in a small space with them for a long while! Consider more than one instructor too?
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I wouldn't recommend going with more than one instructor unless it's something beyond your control. Going from one instructor to another means that the new instructor wont know what you're capable of and what you still need to learn, so its wasted on getting him/her up to speed.
Each instructor also has their own way of doing things, so you could be doing what you were taught and your new instructor tells you to do it his/her way. Can be confusing, and there's no benefit in going with someone else unless you're unhappy with your current instructors performance.
Each instructor also has their own way of doing things, so you could be doing what you were taught and your new instructor tells you to do it his/her way. Can be confusing, and there's no benefit in going with someone else unless you're unhappy with your current instructors performance.
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Then single most important choice you will make when learning to fly is your choice of instructor. I personally think that the instructor is far more important than the location of the club or the type of aeroplanes they have.
The one type of instructor that I think you would do best to avoid, is the young kid with a shiny new licence who is only instructing until Ryanair will give him a job.
Worth remembering that a lesson with a 300 hour youngster with very little instructional experience, will cost you the same as a lesson with the instructor with 3,000 hours of instructional experience.
The one type of instructor that I think you would do best to avoid, is the young kid with a shiny new licence who is only instructing until Ryanair will give him a job.
Worth remembering that a lesson with a 300 hour youngster with very little instructional experience, will cost you the same as a lesson with the instructor with 3,000 hours of instructional experience.
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i found the human performance subject quite interesting, there are a lot of things i didnt know about the subject
in terms of passing the exam, i would get a copy of the ppl confuser practically everyone ive spoken to has read it, the questions i had were almost exactly as per exam.
regarding the weather ive had at least six lessons cancelled mostly due to poor weather conditions this winter reading the TAFS and METARS will help you.
trying to fit the training around instructor availability and work commitments is real pain but i guess im not the only one with those problems.
good luck and stay focused!!
in terms of passing the exam, i would get a copy of the ppl confuser practically everyone ive spoken to has read it, the questions i had were almost exactly as per exam.
regarding the weather ive had at least six lessons cancelled mostly due to poor weather conditions this winter reading the TAFS and METARS will help you.
trying to fit the training around instructor availability and work commitments is real pain but i guess im not the only one with those problems.
good luck and stay focused!!
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A further question with HP&L is a question on useful consciousness. Do i really need to know the whole table of useful consciousness with heights and body activity? it seems a lot of numbers.
TUC numbers are of interest, and applicable to high altitude flights, but not to light aircraft operations below, say, 10,000'. Hypoxia should be well understood, but useful consciousness isn't really a factor.
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Thanks for all the usefull messages. I only panicked about usefull consciousness because I had a question on airquiz asking how much useful consciousness I would have at 32,000 during moderate activity. it seems airquiz is a useful tool but asks questions for the sake of numbers.
another question i just thought of. I have already asked about the usefulness of flight sim x in learning to fly but would it be any help in practicing navigation with the use of a decent local scenery pack and map?
another question i just thought of. I have already asked about the usefulness of flight sim x in learning to fly but would it be any help in practicing navigation with the use of a decent local scenery pack and map?
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My instructor(s) have told me that FSX is poor for visual flying, as your head is in the "cockpit" too much, but FSX is good for instrument flying because you reference aids in the cockpit more than you do out.
Weather minima: ask your instructor.
They will change as you go through your training, and not always in the same way. I mean, for early solos your instructor might want better visibility than some of the preceding circuit training with an instructor in the right hand seat. Early in the training you really don't want wind to distract you (I am talking about weather here!) but later you'll be able to cope with it better.
So, ask your instructor what he thinks you'll need for the next lesson (unless it's obviously the same as for the previous lesson).
They will change as you go through your training, and not always in the same way. I mean, for early solos your instructor might want better visibility than some of the preceding circuit training with an instructor in the right hand seat. Early in the training you really don't want wind to distract you (I am talking about weather here!) but later you'll be able to cope with it better.
So, ask your instructor what he thinks you'll need for the next lesson (unless it's obviously the same as for the previous lesson).
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Actually if the weather is marginal, your instructor will probably find a way to make the flight interesting anyway.
Strong winds make for good crosswind practice. Marginal visibility is interesting for a low-level navex. Low stratus cloud, assuming it's not above the icing level and the instructor has an IMC, is good for some instrument practice. Doing steep turns with no clearly defined horizon is much more challenging than doing them with a clear horizon. And so on.
So if the weather is marginal, make use of the opportunity to learn how to deal with it. You're going to encounter those conditions anyway later on. Better to have experienced them beforehand.
Although things like first solos should probably not be done in marginal weather.
As far as FSX is concerned, it's a game first and foremost. But it can be useful for things like flight planning, instrument flight, working with navaids, training circuit procedures, learning to work with checklists and so forth. It's not very good for visual navigation even with a local scenery pack, and the simulated R/T is distinctly American. It's also not very good for learning how to control an aircraft, particularly at the edge of the envelope (stalls!), unless you have a very sophisticated setup with force feedback yoke & pedals, and multiple screens. So be selective in what you're going to use it for, but then it can be a good learning aid.
Strong winds make for good crosswind practice. Marginal visibility is interesting for a low-level navex. Low stratus cloud, assuming it's not above the icing level and the instructor has an IMC, is good for some instrument practice. Doing steep turns with no clearly defined horizon is much more challenging than doing them with a clear horizon. And so on.
So if the weather is marginal, make use of the opportunity to learn how to deal with it. You're going to encounter those conditions anyway later on. Better to have experienced them beforehand.
Although things like first solos should probably not be done in marginal weather.
As far as FSX is concerned, it's a game first and foremost. But it can be useful for things like flight planning, instrument flight, working with navaids, training circuit procedures, learning to work with checklists and so forth. It's not very good for visual navigation even with a local scenery pack, and the simulated R/T is distinctly American. It's also not very good for learning how to control an aircraft, particularly at the edge of the envelope (stalls!), unless you have a very sophisticated setup with force feedback yoke & pedals, and multiple screens. So be selective in what you're going to use it for, but then it can be a good learning aid.
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i used flight sim 2004 and agree with all the above its really only useful as a game the controls are no where near as real as the fullsize and my laptop which it was installed on ran really slow with !
unless you got loads or memory and a top of the range graphics card its not worth it as mine just kept freezing.
the nav work is great thou
unless you got loads or memory and a top of the range graphics card its not worth it as mine just kept freezing.
the nav work is great thou
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1. Get an instructor that doesn't mind being hastled (or he/she will soon teach you what is flyable weather 
. I had an hour drive so would always book lessons from 10:00 onwards. I would often still go in if I couldn't fly chatting with the instructors or just sitting in the cockpit for half an hour is all good value and costs nothing.
From my training the following was my rule of thumb.
@1500 cloud base OK for ccts - I remember doing ccts with a 1200ft ceiling and some interesting cross winds during training - it really is worth getting up in these conditions with an instructor if you can (makes doing it alone a bit easier)
If raining or showers then probably not worth going up unless they are isolated or clearing.
I flew from Old Buck and it could be overcast there but clear out towards the coast or Cambridge. You also need to look at what the weather will do (not just the present conditions)
If you are close to x-country you can do a low level x-country if your instructor wants to get away from the cct at lower than 1000.
2. Get the confuser and don't worry too much about the HP&L exam, it was the easiest of the bunch - if you have done air law you will breeze it. I believe you can't take anything into that exam (from memory the only one you can take stuff into is the Nav).
3. I didn't know all the table - and passed the exam if that helps
4. You will get a lot of debate on the instructor- I had a lot of different instructors and although there were issues (covering same ground, missing some bits and instructors doing things in different ways) I actually benefitted from them all. I had old the and bold ex harrior pilot (most will know who that is (Thanks G), I had a young instructor who taught me by the book, an instructor who let me stretch the boundaries - probably a little too far and a lady instructor who ended up doing most of my instruction.
To be honest the old and bold was the most beneficial to me, their experience can't be underestimated and the little gems of flying knowledge are worth their weight in gold. But you are the only one that can answer the question. Try a few instructors if you are not sure. Don't forget you are the paying customer - be a bit demanding.
On FSX - I use it regularly - but buy TrackIR and photorealistic scenery. This gets your head out of the cockpit. You can practice cross country legs with the photo scenery and it does start becoming a good training tool - I will also move the plane to a random area and try to work out where I am using VORs, or navigate using VORs/NDBs great to be able to pause and consider why the needle is doing what it is doing.
The lack of "feel" means that it is a little sterile so it wont help with things like landing or ccts (although you can still practice them). But you can also use it to practice things like HASELL checks or engine failure checks.
Hope that helps
. I had an hour drive so would always book lessons from 10:00 onwards. I would often still go in if I couldn't fly chatting with the instructors or just sitting in the cockpit for half an hour is all good value and costs nothing.From my training the following was my rule of thumb.
@1500 cloud base OK for ccts - I remember doing ccts with a 1200ft ceiling and some interesting cross winds during training - it really is worth getting up in these conditions with an instructor if you can (makes doing it alone a bit easier)
If raining or showers then probably not worth going up unless they are isolated or clearing.
I flew from Old Buck and it could be overcast there but clear out towards the coast or Cambridge. You also need to look at what the weather will do (not just the present conditions)
If you are close to x-country you can do a low level x-country if your instructor wants to get away from the cct at lower than 1000.
2. Get the confuser and don't worry too much about the HP&L exam, it was the easiest of the bunch - if you have done air law you will breeze it. I believe you can't take anything into that exam (from memory the only one you can take stuff into is the Nav).
3. I didn't know all the table - and passed the exam if that helps
4. You will get a lot of debate on the instructor- I had a lot of different instructors and although there were issues (covering same ground, missing some bits and instructors doing things in different ways) I actually benefitted from them all. I had old the and bold ex harrior pilot (most will know who that is (Thanks G), I had a young instructor who taught me by the book, an instructor who let me stretch the boundaries - probably a little too far and a lady instructor who ended up doing most of my instruction.
To be honest the old and bold was the most beneficial to me, their experience can't be underestimated and the little gems of flying knowledge are worth their weight in gold. But you are the only one that can answer the question. Try a few instructors if you are not sure. Don't forget you are the paying customer - be a bit demanding.
On FSX - I use it regularly - but buy TrackIR and photorealistic scenery. This gets your head out of the cockpit. You can practice cross country legs with the photo scenery and it does start becoming a good training tool - I will also move the plane to a random area and try to work out where I am using VORs, or navigate using VORs/NDBs great to be able to pause and consider why the needle is doing what it is doing.
The lack of "feel" means that it is a little sterile so it wont help with things like landing or ccts (although you can still practice them). But you can also use it to practice things like HASELL checks or engine failure checks.
Hope that helps
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I will also move the plane to a random area and try to work out where I am using VORs,
or navigate using VORs/NDBs great to be able to pause and consider why the needle is doing what it is doing.
