Looking for a CFI - not that easy

Sport aviation is growing rapidly. But the new sport pilot / light-sport aircraft rules are still a mystery to many flight schools and instructors. To locate a flight school offering sport pilot training and/or light-sport aircraft rentals, click on the "Flight School And Rental Finder" tab above. This is a great place to share ideas on learning to fly, flight schools, costs and anything else related to training.

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TimTaylor
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Re: Looking for a CFI - not that easy

Post by TimTaylor »

I have been flying general aviation aircraft since 1963. I think the system works well and have no issues with it. I have found the FAA and ATC to be nothing but cooperative and helpful. I just wish I didn't miss Basic Med by 45 days. Bummer.
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3Dreaming
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Re: Looking for a CFI - not that easy

Post by 3Dreaming »

Warmi wrote:There are reasons for every insanity out there - just most are not very good reasons.

Why even bother with offering a license that skips on cross-country training ? Why create this maze of slightly different rules and licenses that don't really bring anything to the table ?

My point here is not to debate of this or that rule is out of date etc but rather to highlight that the non-commercial sector of aviation, as a whole, is way over-regulated and basically requires a reboot - all of it - hardware certification, medical aspects, licenses ...
You are certainly entitled to your opinion. I am quite OK with the rules and regulations we have compared to the rest of the world.
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Half Fast
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Re: Looking for a CFI - not that easy

Post by Half Fast »

WDD wrote:
WX is Weather?

Would a flight school offer an accelerated program but not take steps to ensure that pilots and planes would be available?

Yes, WX is weather.

Planes break or get damaged unexpectedly, especially with the use and abuse of flight training. Instructors leave for other jobs or just quit sometimes. TFRs shut down flying. Hurricanes happen. And on and on and on... Nothing is guaranteed.

FL switched me to another plane when one went down, but that required some familiarization time and re-learning. When a CFI left, it might take two or three weeks to mesh with the schedule of another one, if they were booked with other students. Go a few weeks without flying and you slide back down the learning curve.

I'll toss out another thought about accelerated programs, just based on personal experience and I'm sure others will disagree, but...

It's a good idea to train the way you will fly. If your post-cert flying will be occasional, maybe flying a few times a month, there's some advantage to training at a similar pace. Yes, it will almost certainly take more hours in total, but you'll find your skills don't atrophy as quickly as if you do an accelerated program and then go a couple of weeks without flying.

Fate (meaning wx, CFIs, family, work, etc.) saw to it that I sometimes had lapses of several weeks in my training. Nevertheless, I reached the point where I could get into the plane after not flying for a week or two and still fly within standards and execute good landings. Now that I'm flying for fun, and not necessarily several times a week, that's a good thing.

I've heard from CFIs that they have seen students go through a 2-week program and then not fly for a month, and their skills had deteriorated significantly when they got back into the plane.

Just food for thought.
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Scooper
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Re: Looking for a CFI - not that easy

Post by Scooper »

Buzz Air Flight Academy http://www.flybuzzair.com/ in Lawrenceburg, TN does sport pilot training and gets good reviews, but I have no personal experience. It looks like they're about a four hour drive (256 miles) south-southwest of Louisville on I-65.
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TimTaylor
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Re: Looking for a CFI - not that easy

Post by TimTaylor »

It's easy to say certain rules or regulations make no sense when you don't understand their purpose and/or weren't involved in their inception and implementation. Actually, the process of getting a license to fly an airplane seems quite simple. Decide which type aircraft meets your needs, get an FAA medical or not, learn the rules and regulations and how to operate an airplane in the airspace, take and pass a written test, learn how to fly, take and pass a flight test. Seems pretty straight forward to me. I'm not aware of any regulations I would delete although there might be one or two, IDK.
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TimTaylor
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Re: Looking for a CFI - not that easy

Post by TimTaylor »

TimTaylor wrote:It's easy to say certain rules or regulations make no sense when you don't understand their purpose and/or weren't involved in their inception and implementation. Actually, the process of getting a license to fly an airplane seems quite simple. Decide which type aircraft meets your needs, get an FAA medical or not, learn the rules and regulations and how to operate an airplane in the airspace, take and pass a written test, learn how to fly, take and pass a flight test. Seems pretty straight forward to me. I'm not aware of any regulations I would delete although there might be one or two, IDK.
Actually, the rules and regulations protect the rest of us from the cowboys who are anti-authority and think they should be free to do whatever they want, whenever they want, and where ever they want. That is a bad attitude for pilots to have.
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Warmi
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Re: Looking for a CFI - not that easy

Post by Warmi »

TimTaylor wrote:I have been flying general aviation aircraft since 1963. I think the system works well and have no issues with it. I have found the FAA and ATC to be nothing but cooperative and helpful. I just wish I didn't miss Basic Med by 45 days. Bummer.
No offense but that's why you don't see the problem ...

This has nothing to do with anti-authority cowboys or any of that ... there are plenty of rules I am more than glad to follow not because I am "pro-authority" but simply because , as a responsible and mature human being, I do recognize that these rules make us all safer and allow us to enjoy our hobby in relative safety.
On the other hand I will call BS when I see it - Deus vult is not enough - it has to make sense.

Lets face it , VFR GA ( which is the great majority of flying ) is not that much more complicated than driving a car - true, it is overwhelming at first, it takes practice ( as does everything ) and it is certainly more unforgiving if you are careless, but in the end it is not really that hard or warranting so much regulatory overhead.

Anyway, it doesn't matter what I say or don't say - GA Is dying and once all these 40-50 year old Cessnas finally give out , unless something changes - i.e recreational flying becomes more like driving , most airports will end up being ghost towns or alternatively, playgrounds for few truly rich able to afford new "FAA certified and safe " planes ...
Flying Sting S4 ( N184WA ) out of Illinois
TimTaylor
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Re: Looking for a CFI - not that easy

Post by TimTaylor »

Please list a few aviation FAR's you think we don't need. Generalizations don't mean much. You've been flying less than a year and are already an expert. That's quite an accomplishment.
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Warmi
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Re: Looking for a CFI - not that easy

Post by Warmi »

I am not an expert but you know what ...

Nothing is wrong - everything is peachy. I got a plane and I am enjoying flying it ( and spending what seems like never-ending stream of money )
Flying Sting S4 ( N184WA ) out of Illinois
HAPPYDAN
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Re: Looking for a CFI - not that easy

Post by HAPPYDAN »

The EAA Sport Pilot Academy, at $10,000, not counting personal airfare and rental car (or driving your own car) is not cheap, but you will fly a lot and you will learn a lot. Oshkosh, in and of itself, is a very enjoyable town. The people are very friendly, there are good inexpensive restaurants, everyone is aviation-oriented, and the YMCA is absolutely the best I have ever seen (even has a year around indoor hockey rink. Cool!). The 8,000 foot runway at Wittman is huge. On my first take off, the tower gave clearance and I rolled onto the runway, only to stop and ask the CFI, "Where's the centerline?" His left arm extended across my nose, pointing out the port side window. "Over there!" I had never seen such a large runway, at least not close up. And did I learn to land: Upwind, downwind, cross wind, no wind, bunny hop, short field, soft field, power on, power off, at night (not required, but great fun!). Every day we flew from the Class D at Wittman to a non-towered airport, usually Fond du Lac, also a very nice and friendly FBO. Rumor has it, that before Cessna scrapped the remaining Skycatchers, they donated the last 3 to EAA (tax write-off?). The planes are used exclusively for SPA and their Young Eagles programs. For my cross country, I flew to Sheboygan for lunch, and out over Lake Michigan, back to Wittman field over Lake Winnebago (where we developed some carb ice). While I did solo, and get to fly a beautifully restored T-6 Texan, I was not able to achieve the needed endorsements for the checkride. No excuses, just didn't happen. If you decide to choose that route, bear in mind there are no guarantees but you will have a very enjoyable experience.
TimTaylor
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Re: Looking for a CFI - not that easy

Post by TimTaylor »

Warmi wrote:I am not an expert but you know what ...

Nothing is wrong - everything is peachy. I got a plane and I am enjoying flying it ( and spending what seems like never-ending stream of money )
I know that's true. I have owned 3 airplanes and leased 1/2 of another. I'm flying a rental SkyCatcher and Remos now and loving it. I may own another when/if my flying budget gets back up to $1,000 per month.
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WDD
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Re: Looking for a CFI - not that easy

Post by WDD »

joey4420 wrote:Just heard back from Tim Pence who is the head Flight Instructor and he said they have sold the 162 Sky Catcher so sporty's no longer has an LSA for sport pilot training. But stated if you have an LSA they would train you in your Aircraft.
I called Charlie at Sportys, and he confirmed that they don't have the Sky Catcher anymore. I asked if he would still instruct if I rented the plane from somewhere else, etc., but not interested.
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Re: Looking for a CFI - not that easy

Post by 3Dreaming »

WDD wrote:
joey4420 wrote:Just heard back from Tim Pence who is the head Flight Instructor and he said they have sold the 162 Sky Catcher so sporty's no longer has an LSA for sport pilot training. But stated if you have an LSA they would train you in your Aircraft.
I called Charlie at Sportys, and he confirmed that they don't have the Sky Catcher anymore. I asked if he would still instruct if I rented the plane from somewhere else, etc., but not interested.
Renting an airplane from one source and using an instructor from another can cause insurance issues. They consider it a secondary commercial operation, and it will void the policy. At least that is the way I understand my policy. I had one time that a non employee instructor wanted to donate his time to a student, and we had to jump through hoops for the insurance company to get it covered.
HAPPYDAN
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Re: Looking for a CFI - not that easy

Post by HAPPYDAN »

There is a fella in or around Glendale AZ that calls himself LightSportMan and posts on this forum sometimes. He has a web site, is a CFI, only trains Sport I think, and has his own plane. It should be excellent flying weather there in the winter I think. When I was still looking to get a license, I gave that serious consideration. It can't hurt to look it up. For me, wife said enough is enough, and that ended my pursuit. But I just can't lose that feeling . . .
https://lightsportman.com/
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joey4420
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Re: Looking for a CFI - not that easy

Post by joey4420 »

I am not sure of his schedule, but I know Tom Hogan at Butler County Airport where I keep my Ercoupe KHAO, has a Cub that he trains people in. I plan one day to get my tail wheel endorsement from him. http://hoganflyingservice.bradsgadgets.com/ per his web site it is $60 an hour wet for the plane.
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