FAQ's, Miscellaneous Ramblings and a Few Rants

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association ("AOPA") is a great source of information about lots of things, including flight training, insurance and $$money$$--loans, scholarships etc.  Read all about it here:  http://flighttraining.aopa.org/

I only have time (money etc.) to fly about once a week (once a month, once every six months etc etc.), can I learn to fly?  YES!  The more often you can fly the quicker you'll learn, but the most important thing is to GET STARTED!  Don't wait for that magic day when you have time or can afford it, the kids are grown up, whatever--it never comes.  That day is NOW!  Life ain't no rehearsal.  This is the real thing--GO FOR IT!

Do I have to be really, really smart or an athlete with Super Vision and Really Fast Reflexes?  No, nO and NO!!!

I'm not a kid anymore, can I still do it?  Hey, NONE of us are kids anymore, ha ha!

What about Guaranteed Courses?  Do you have GUARANTEED COURSES? Yes, of course!  Pay in advance,  fly a minimum of twice a week, keep up with your ground studies and get all the instruction you need--no matter how much--at no additional cost for the instruction.  Is there a catch?  Of course there's a catch.  Teaching people to fly is FUN, but it ain't no charity!  Here's the deal:  You gotta fly at least twice a week--less than that your retention falls off.  Do that and ALL flight and ground instruction, 5 hours or 500 hours--no limit--is included in the Course price.  If you still need more instruction it's ALL FREE!  The catch?  If your total Flight time exceeds the standard Course length, you pay for the additional aircraft flight time, but NOT for the ground or flight instuction.  ANYONE can learn to fly--I guarantee it!  Look--I've been doing this for 35 years.  If I didn't KNOW you could do it, I wouldn't offer it--this is how I pay the bills. 

How long does it REALLY take to learn to fly?  Tired of all the double talk?  Here's the facts:  The national average is about 70 hours over a period of about a year.  Of course we're all good looking and above average, so you'll do it lots quicker, right?  Hah!  Notice that my Guaranteed Private Pilot Course requires you to fly at least twice a week.  If you fly twice a week you'll complete the course in about three months--not a year--three months or less.  That's the key to becoming proficient quickly and reducing the number of hours you'll need.  Forget those 35-hour courses you see advertised.  Bunch of Baloney!  Nothing more than a marketing ploy designed to suck you in--the old bait and switch!  Yes, I've trained lots of pilots in those 35-hour courses, and some actually completed the course in 35 hours, but the truth is you'll probably need at least 50 hours, more if you take a year to do it.  You'll probably need about 30 hours of flight instruction, at least 20 hours of solo flight (the minimum required by 14 CFR Part 61--hey, it's the law!), plus at least 15 hours of pre- and post-flight ground instruction to be both safe and proficient.  That's assuming you keep at it, fly as often as possible and is the realistic TRUTH!  The 35-hour courses just don't provide enough time for you to become both safe and proficient--STUPID and UNREALISTIC.  Can you do it in 35 or 40 hours?  Yes, but probably not with any degree of proficiency and certainly not if you take a year to do it.  Be realistic:  You want to be safe and proficient.  If you fly once or twice a week you can figure about 50 hours.  But, you're not gonna stop flying then, anyway.  You've just begun!  You want to be confident, safe and proficient.  Wouldn't let your spouse and kids fly with someone who could just barely fly, would you?  Now you know the truth about this stuff, makes my Guarnateed Private Pilot Course look like a pretty good deal, eh?  No lie!

Aren't taildraggers harder to fly than nosedraggers?  The short answer is NO.  You CAN do it.  In fact, if you want to learn how to fly well, not just kinda, you need to learn in a taildragger.  Yes, I know there's lotsa taildragger macho baloney out there, but the fact is if you can't fly a taildragger you're probably pretty marginal.  Anybody can do it.  But you gotta DO IT!  And it takes training.

What about Light Sport?  What are the differences between Sport Pilots and Private Pilots, Light Sport Aircraft and Standard Category Aircraft?  Lots of interest in Light Sport these days.  In fact, a lot of people are very excited and think LSA will revitalize low-budget fun flying.  I hope they are right!  Cessna just announced their entry into the LSA wars, so they're taking it seriously, too.  In fact, Cessna also announced they will be introducing a whole new line of airplanes, so looks like interesting times ahead!  Good!  As for differences between Sport Pilots vs. Private Pilots and LS Aircraft vs. Standard Category aircraft, there are many, many differences, in fact its a pretty complex subject.  First, Sport Pilots vs. Private Pilots.  The most important things are 1) Sport Pilots can only fly Light Sport Aircraft, which have lots of restrictions on size, performance and use and 2) you don't need to pass a medical exam to fly Light Sport Aircraft--if you have a current driver's license you're good to go.   Although a medical exam is not required to become or act as a Sport Pilot, if you know you have a medical "deficiency" or have failed a FAA medical exam you are not eligible to fly Light Sport Aircraft, or any other aircraft.  Lying to yourself or the FAA about your health to fly Light Sport is not only lying, its dangerous.  If you're not a pilot now and are thinking of becoming a Sport Pilot, there may be some small initial savings on training--the training requirements are somewhat less, mostly having to do with flight in busier airspace and night flying--important stuff to know.  Private Pilots can fly LSA as well as Standard Category aircraft, Sport Pilots can only fly LSA.  Restricting yourself to LSA only is a pretty big restriction!  Howzabout LS Aircraft?  If you own or build a Light Sport Aircraft you may be able to perform more of the maintenance yourself, compared to what you are allowed to do to a Standard Category aircraft, which may or may not be a good idea.  Are Light Sport Aircraft less expensive?  Maybe.  Several aircraft already certificated in the Standard Category (Piper J-3 Cubs, some Luscombes, Aeronca Champs, Taylorcrafts, Ercoupes etc.) also qualify as Light Sport Aircraft.  You can buy some of them for pretty reasonable prices, maybe as little as $15-$20K or even less.  In fact, I highly recommend buying your own simple, cheap airplane as a good way to save money, maybe even make a little $$ when you sell it and have lots of good, cheap fun.  But there are NO cheap NEW airplanes, LSA or otherwise--that's the big hurdle lots of folks are hoping LSA will jump.  Yes, there are lots of new LSA's coming on the market, but they're not cheap, unless you consider at least $75K or $80K cheap!  (In which case I'd like to have a chat with you about a really terrific economic opportunity!)  Most LSA are imported from Europe, where all this LSA stuff really started.  Some are very interesting, technologically advanced and high-performance for the power--though FAA rules place many restrictions on performance for LSA in the U.S.  I've had a couple of nice chats with some LS folks about costs.  Although many are advertised for $80K or less, some are $130K or more!  Don't know about you, but $80K and up is a lot of money to me.  There's hardly an airplane been made that can't be had for $80K or (way) less used.  In fact, you can buy several new US aircaft that are certificated in the Standard Category--meaning none of the restrictions placed on LSA--for close to the same price.  Why aren't they getting the attention LSA are?  Yes, low powered airplanes burn less gas, but $80K+ buys lots of it!  Plus, you want to be able to fly in any kind of airspace, don't you?  Night?  Aerobatics?  Faster, more capable airplanes?  If you already are or become a Private Pilot you can fly Light Sport Aircraft any time without further ado--no additional certification required, no limitations, nada, zip, zero, nuthin'.  If you become a SP and then decide you really do want to fly something with a little more zip, big enough to take family or friends along, fly in busier airspace, at night etc., you have to upgrade to PPL.  No can do as SP.  True, it may not take whole lotta training to upgrade, but if you take that little bit of extra training to start out as a PPL, you can fly LSA any time you get the urge, no questions asked and you'll be a much better trained pilot!  The little bit of additional training required to become a Private Pilot is all Good Stuff that will only make you more capable, safer and more proficient, with none of the restrictions on the airplanes you can fly, how or when.  Who wants to be halfapilot?  Bottom Line:  I really can't think of any good reason for being a Sport Pilot.  Listen!!  Training is the most valuable part of flying--get all you can!  Be a ratings collector!  You will never stop learning to fly--don't even think about trying to skimp to save a couple bucks.  It don't work!  Want to fly Light Sport Aircraft?  Sure, me, too.  But Sport Pilot?  No, don't think so, thanks for asking.  Doesn't sound like much of a deal to me.  For more info see http://www.sportpilot.org/learn/final_rule_synopsis.html.  Sorry if I rained on your parade, but that's the way I sees it.  BTW, whatever happened to all those "Recreational" pilots?  Ever met one?  Me, either.  Isn't RP a lot like SP?  Hmmm.

Gee, Jerry, Wild Blue Aviation is practically a one man operation.  How do you do it?  How come you don't have a pretty secretary, a glass palace, a bunch of 18 year old, 200 hour flight instructors working for $10/hr (no offense--I was 18 and had 200 hours once), a bookkeeper and high prices?  Answer:  Flying is supposed to be fun--that's why I'm here.  I loves to FLY!  And I love teaching people how to fly!  If I was trying to make money or get an airline job I wouldn't be doing this.  Leave that stuff to those other folks who think flying is a BUSINESS.  Hey!  I don't want my flying to become WORK.  I put my emphasis on having FUN and FLYING, not making money or trying to impress people with a lot of BS.

Can women be REAL pilots?  What a dumb question!  Believe it or not, some people are still living in caves and ask this question--even women!  If you're a woman and looking for a career in aviation, you've got lots of advantages over men--it's true.  I'm not talking because you're nicer to look at and smell better, either.  The female persuasion has lots of advantages in the cockpit and women make great Flight Instructors, too!  TRUE!  Just ask the FAA.  Plus, there ain't no better life nowhere.  You CAN do it.  Of course you can.  What a dumb question.  Sorry I brought it up.  But don't go away yet!  Women in Aviation is an organization dedicated to the advancement of women in, you guessed it, Aviation!  Check out their web site www.wai.org.  Among other things, they' ve given away more than $3million in scholarships.  Maybe they have some $$$ for YOU!

TAILDRAGGERS?  How come so many TAILDRAGGERS?  And CLASSIC AIRCRAFT, WARBIRDS, FORMATION FLYING and AEROBATICS, too?  What's the deal?  Well, you want to be a complete pilot and have some FUN, too, don't you?  It's a big aviation world with lots of interesting things to fly.  Some have tailwheels!  Some are older than you and even older than me!  Some fly upside down and inside out!  Formation flying with your (properly trained) buddies is lots of FUN!  Sad to say, but lots of old airplanes are nicer flying than new ones and WARBIRDS may be the most fun of all.  Really!  Hear me now and believe me later--try 'em out for yourself.  There's a whole world of cool airplanes out there not made by Cessna, Piper or Beech.  Some are even made in some a them furrin' countries!  AND, fact is you'll never really learn to handle a crosswind takeoff or landing unless you train in a taildragger.  Having Said All That, nosewheels offer many advantages and only a few disadvantages, so forget the macho stuff.  In fact, one of my favorite airplanes is the good ol' Aircoupe--one of the best flying, best performing, most fun airplanes ever made.  Stand by, I'll be getting one soon!  But if you don't learn to fly taildraggers you're closing the door on lots of great airplanes.  PLUS, the sky is a 4-dimensional place.  Try putting the blue side down and flush that old blood from your brain.  Flying is FUN!  More different kinds of airplanes and more different kinds of flying are MORE FUN!

WOW!  This flying is EXPENSIVE!  Yes, it is.  It's addictive, too.  Want to save some money?  Get a 10% discount for payment in advance--no phony "club," no "membership" fees, no dues, no baloney.  Take a look around--I've got the best airplanes at the best rates available anywhere!  But I'll let you in on a little secet:  Want to save real money?  BUY YOUR OWN AIRPLANE!  But aren't they expensive?  If you buy a 747, sure!  But you don't need a 747 or a jet or a twin or a Bonanza or anything fancy.  You just need a simple, easy to maintain, cheap to fly FUN airplane!  But aren't old airplanes unreliable?  That's why we have the FAA and those rules--so airplanes will be absolutely stone dead reliable and SAFE.  These are airplanes, not old beater cars!  Find yourself a cheap airplane, buddy up with an A&P mechanic who'll help you learn how to do most maintenance yourself and fly for not much more than the price of gas.  In fact, you might even make a little money!  Find an airplane that needs a little TLC, put a shine on it and have GOOD CHEAP FUN!  Do the math:  Even if gas hits $5, lots of airplanes only burn five or six gallons per hour.  That means you can fly for only $25 or $30 per hour!  Be smart, watch for good deals, get a nice simple cheap airplane and fly for almost nuthin'!  Airplanes aren't cars--most airplanes are going UP in price. They don't depreciate like a car.  You don't need a glass panel super gee whiz IFR flight director retractable gear constant speed prop autopilot multi-engine jet to have real FUN flying.  Just the opposite.  Cheaper airplanes are MORE fun than complex, expensive airplanes.  Like my friend Bud Granley says, "What's the hurry?  Slow down and enjoy the FLYIN'!"  And save a bunch of money, too.  Maybe even make a little $$ while you're at it.  How do you think I got into this horse tradin' biz, anyway?

Can I use my own airplane for training?  You betcha!