New Trainee Checking In

Pilot? Student pilot? Future pilot? Interested in learning to fly? If you're reading this forum, you've got flying in your blood! SportPilotTalk is a great place to ask questions about this exciting new segment of (more) affordable aviation!

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joey4420
Posts: 150
Joined: Tue Nov 22, 2016 8:25 am
Location: Cincinnati Ohio

New Trainee Checking In

Post by joey4420 »

Hello, my name is Joey, I live just outside of Cincinnati Ohio.

I am currently going through Sportys Academy to get my Sport Pilots Licence. I have already logged .8 hours in the Cessna C162 SkyCatcher and can't wait for weather and work to align so I can get back in the air again. I spent 11 years in the Navy as an Aviation Maintenance Administrationman (logs and records/Maintenance paperwork for aircraft, mostly the A-6E Intruder). I have been dreaming of flying since I was a kid, but sadly money and time haven't aligned until recently.

My day job is Telecommunications, and I spend a lot of seat time in front of computers. My first experience with aircraft was around 10-11 years old and someone doing line work landed and older helicopter near the line (phone or electrical I don't recall) and I got to see it up close. I also got to enjoy about 4 hours in an A-6E NCLT training simulator (Night Carrier Landing Trainer). I remember I took off from NAS Oceana and Landed on the carrier at night, of course in 3 attempts I made 1 hard landing, 1 hit the round down, and the last took out the Island, but hey it was my first ever attempt at flying and it was a Jet SIM that was as real as you can get at least in 1989-1990.

Hoping I can learn and share info here to further my education on sport piloting and aviation in general.

Joey
Cincinnati OH
Joey
Cincinnati OH
Sport Pilot
Double Eagle N35DE
HAPPYDAN
Posts: 390
Joined: Mon Mar 16, 2015 11:49 am

Re: New Trainee Checking In

Post by HAPPYDAN »

Welcome aboard and I have a question for you. I have read about the Sporty's Academy in Cincinnati but saw nothing regarding Sport Pilot Training or a Skycatcher. I have been in a desperate search for 2 years trying to find a structured course for Sport Pilot that flys the Skycatcher. Now I have 48 hours in the C162, soloed once last year, got bumped by military funded university students, quit, started again with a new instructor, he quit and left, yada, yada, yada. I really like that plane and have become very familiar with it. I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO FINALLY GET THIS DONE. Any info you can provide will be appreciated, especially regarding a "finish up" program. Thanks!
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joey4420
Posts: 150
Joined: Tue Nov 22, 2016 8:25 am
Location: Cincinnati Ohio

Re: New Trainee Checking In

Post by joey4420 »

HAPPYDAN wrote:Welcome aboard and I have a question for you. I have read about the Sporty's Academy in Cincinnati but saw nothing regarding Sport Pilot Training or a Skycatcher. I have been in a desperate search for 2 years trying to find a structured course for Sport Pilot that flys the Skycatcher. Now I have 48 hours in the C162, soloed once last year, got bumped by military funded university students, quit, started again with a new instructor, he quit and left, yada, yada, yada. I really like that plane and have become very familiar with it. I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO FINALLY GET THIS DONE. Any info you can provide will be appreciated, especially regarding a "finish up" program. Thanks!

Yes they offer the sport pilot training and Unless I am mistaken they only have the one Skycatcher. Like I said I only have .8 hours so far, but really enjoy it and Matt my instructor is very good. Not sure where you are located, but if near the area drive out and chat with them. I actually live on the Northern Side of Cincinnati and drive about 40 minutes to get there even though I have a flight school (not sure about sport) about 10 minutes from my house.

Here is the Flight School Managers info:

Charlie Masters
Flight School Manager
513.735.9100 ext 264
[email protected]

Sportysacademy.com

Not sure if my emails got through to him or not, but I found calling him was a better option. And I hope I haven't done anything wrong by posting his info (came off of his Business card)

I also purchase the deluxe flight training pack (online option) from them and it basically goes through Private/Recreational/Sport in three separate sections. A little dry, I preferred what I seen from Kings Flight school, but figured this followed Sportys training so I could just follow along with the curriculum and have supporting videos.

Hope this helps.
Joey
Cincinnati OH
Sport Pilot
Double Eagle N35DE
RTK
Posts: 115
Joined: Sat Mar 14, 2015 10:43 pm

Re: New Trainee Checking In

Post by RTK »

Welcome Joey.

I used the Gleim training program for the written and it was pretty good. I'm sure Sporty's is very good too. But what I found to be useful (and easier to read) is Rod Machado's Sport Pilot Handbook. That gives you most of the info you'll need in an easy to read and understand format.

I would also recommend getting the ground school out of the way first. I was happy to have studied that material and have taken the written exam before flight training. The knowledge was helpful, and it was great not having to load myself down with both homework and flight training.

In terms of flight training itself, I'd recommend going as frequently as you can. 2 - 3 times a week is best. Otherwise it gets dragged out (like me) and takes a while to finish. You don't want to get rusty, and the first time you encounter turbulence, you'll want to make sure you're back in the aircraft and flying again so you don't build up any fear/insecurities. Confidence in your abilities and skilled, consistent performance is what you want to develop.

Good luck!
HAPPYDAN
Posts: 390
Joined: Mon Mar 16, 2015 11:49 am

Re: New Trainee Checking In

Post by HAPPYDAN »

Thanks for your reply, Joey. I live near Tacoma WA, but all my relatives live in Columbus, OH. I used the King Schools course and passed with no sweat. One question tripped me up, about what type of roads are shown on the sectional chart. I'm still not sure what the answer is. And I'll jump in with RTK. It all sounds like gobbledygook until you start flying, and then it begins to fall in place, so it helps to get that Knowledge Test over with early on. (Ex: Oh, Yeah! High density altitude really does effect aircraft performance! Thought it would never get off the runway!)
HAPPYDAN
Posts: 390
Joined: Mon Mar 16, 2015 11:49 am

Re: New Trainee Checking In

Post by HAPPYDAN »

Hey Joey! Just checked the METAR for KI69 (Clermont Co A/P). Ceiling 12,000, visibility +10 statute miles, 40*F, wind 210 at 5 knots. Compared to the crap we get here in western Washington from October to April, you've got beautiful flying weather. Hope you can get up today! Also, I checked out "Sport Pilot Training at Sporty's Academy" on Google. Came right up with all info and a picture of their C162. Thanks for your lead on this one; I'll add this to my list of possibilities.
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joey4420
Posts: 150
Joined: Tue Nov 22, 2016 8:25 am
Location: Cincinnati Ohio

Re: New Trainee Checking In

Post by joey4420 »

Not sure about getting up today, but I did get up yesterday and wow that was fun. We had a ceiling of 2900ft doing slow flight practice. I can see this at 54kts that cockpit got very cold, I could see my breath during slow flight practice since the engine wasn't got enough for carb heat and cockpit heat. Hoping to post some of the video later today on my youtube channel.
Joey
Cincinnati OH
Sport Pilot
Double Eagle N35DE
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