Getting Started and purchasing a LSA

[mcurcio1989]

I will very likely take the rotax maintenance courses. I'm sure they will pay for themselves. The main thing I would hope to get out of them would be good information / training on synchronizing the carbs.

Another question for you all. Can you guys point me to what you would consider to be the best literature to get me started on learning general flying principles as well as information to help with the written portion of the test?

[zaitcev]

Gleim and ASA's Hayes guide worked well for my written and oral portion, respectively.

[drseti]

I concur with Pete, although I wouldn't be in too great a hurry to start on the bookwork. Get some flying experience under your belt first, and the written test prep will then be something more than just memorizing material to pass a test - it will prrovide you a solid basis for understanding the reasonong behind the questions.

My curriculum is divided into pre-solo and post-solo courses, each running about 5 weeds at two lessons per week. There is ground instruction, as well as reading assignments and PowerPoint lessons, associated with every flight.

After achieving that significant milestone of the first solo flight, we have a bit of a celebration for the student to bask in the glory of the moment, and then I encourage him or her to take a break from flight training for a few weeks. (After all, if you've been working hard on developing the requisite "airplane driver" neuromuscular skills, you're pretty burned out by then, and in need of a breather.). During that hiatus, my students prepare for, and complete, the written. Then, they're ready to come back for another five or six weeks of twice-a-week flight lessons, taking the big step from "airplane driver" to "pilot" in preparation for the checkride.

Once that's passed, the whole flight school turns out for a big celebration.

[mcurcio1989]

I concur with Pete, although I wouldn't be in too great a hurry to start on the bookwork. Get some flying experience under your belt first, and the written test prep will then be something more than just memorizing material to pass a test - it will prrovide you a solid basis for understanding the reasonong behind the questions.

My curriculum is divided into pre-solo and post-solo courses, each running about 5 weeds at two lessons per week. There is ground instruction, as well as reading assignments and PowerPoint lessons, associated with every flight.

After achieving that significant milestone of the first solo flight, we have a bit of a celebration for the student to bask in the glory of the moment, and then I encourage him or her to take a break from flight training for a few weeks. (After all, if you've been working hard on developing the requisite "airplane driver" neuromuscular skills, you're pretty burned out by then, and in need of a breather.). During that hiatus, my students prepare for, and complete, the written. Then, they're ready to come back for another five or six weeks of twice-a-week flight lessons, taking the big step from "airplane driver" to "pilot" in preparation for the checkride.

Once that's passed, the whole flight school turns out for a big celebration.

The primary reason I want to get started on the bookwork now is just the weather. I don't anticipate being able to get started on actual flying until the weather warms up some. I know the closest CFI uses an open cockpit plane. Also, I travel some for work and I'll be heading over to Germany / Europe next week (for vaca) so it is always nice to have good reading material for flights.

[FastEddieB]

Stick and Rudder was the first flying book I read, long before I actually took lessons.

I'm preparing a post about it, which I'll hopefully have completed within a few days.

Anyway, an easy read, highly recommended and worth revisiting every once in a while.

[mcurcio1989]

Stick and Rudder was the first flying book I read, long before I actually took lessons.

I'm preparing a post about it, which I'll hopefully have completed within a few days.

Anyway, an easy read, highly recommended and worth revisiting every once in a while.

I ordered stick and rudder this morning. Should be able to take care of it in the next couple of weeks with all my flights. Thanks for the advice!

[FastEddieB]

Hope you enjoy it.

As far as Fast Eddie history goes, the root of my aviation career was "The Whole Earth Catalog".

Around 1970 I got a copy - which I still have.

This is the page that recommended Stick and Rudder...



I bought it, read it, and the rest, as they say, is history.

[Jack Tyler]

Mathew, books like Gleim are useful for preparing for the written tests around which they are designed. But I don't think that's exclusively what you are requesting recommendations on...and I hope it isn't, as well. One of the most rewarding aspects of being a competent pilot is that you understand flight and the larger world of aviation, and my suggestion would be to balance your reading so it becomes a blend of three things: the regulatory arena (aka: the test material), aviation as it's practiced here in the U.S., and some motivational candy of which there is a vast selection. For that second area - which I think you were wanting to hear about - try viewing the Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge: https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policie ... _handbook/ Don't start at page 1 but rather skim the chapter headings and see what appeals or intrigues you most, and then dig in.

Your comment about the weather is one reason 'reading before doing' can be the right choice insofar as the learning sequence. But it's a deeper issue than just what local conditions dictate. Paul and I have voiced this same disagreement of sorts in past threads, and I have a lot of respect for his professional approach to 'learning', a word that to me has a broader meaning than 'training'. But like any packaged syllabus, the sequence he uses may suit you well - or not so much - depending on your learning style. Some folks learn best when they assemble an intellectual scaffold first and then attach new experiences to that framework such that the experiences fit the bigger picture. They tend to be 'forest first, trees second' in learning style, altho' that's generalization. That 'big picture' orientation is how they are remain grounded when learning new things, and the individual experiences otherwise feel somewhat fragmented. The 'experiential learner' learns better by doing first. It feels more purposeful - and motivational - to start with incremental hands-on tasks and only later retreat to the intellectual, 'big picture' arena (which otherwise would feel 'academic and somewhat pointless'). Most learners fit somewhere in-between, of course, while I'm describing the ends of the continuum. My point is that one size doesn't fit all.

There's a saying in grad school that one purpose of advanced study is to make one a good student. So given that you've got a well-defined set of goals, my advice is to ask yourself how you best learn subjects that are a combination of things - rules, concepts and manual skills - and use that insight as you receive our various, diverse suggestions. Go where you are most thirsty first.

[FastEddieB]

Let me add that a subscription to Flying magazine, or the AOPA Pilot, or the magazine(s) of one's choice can go a long way to immersing a prospective pilot in the large and varied world of aviation.

The articles and columns are written to be entertaining as well as informative, and to hold the interest of pilots and wannabe pilots of all stripes.

I agree with Jack about The Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge. Also Airplane Flying Handbook. Free PDFs loaded onto an iPad or whatever would be fantastic bedtime/bathroom reading. Kershner's Student Pilot's Flight Manual is also high on my list.

Good luck. You've chosen a fascinating pasttime, and I think you're on the right track.

[mcurcio1989]

Thanks for all the great recommendations. Stick and Rudder came in the mail yesterday and I will definitely have that knocked out pretty soon. Like you mentioned Jack, at this point I am definitely not focusing my reading on passing the written. I am really not concerned about that at all I have always been a good test taker and it is a ways down the road.

My learning style is definitely more of a hands on approach. I like to experience something and get a vague understanding of what is going on first and then go back and study up the intellectual aspects. to fill in the details. That said I have flown a Cessna before and I fly my ultralight all the time so I do have a very basic understanding that I am starting with. I would prefer to get a little more hands on now but with the weather, books are my only real option. I'm hoping that by coming in well prepared I can avoid paying for a lot of extra hours with a CFI.

[drseti]

I fly my ultralight all the time so I do have a very basic understanding that I am starting with. I would prefer to get a little more hands on now but with the weather, books are my only real option. I'm hoping that by coming in well prepared I can avoid paying for a lot of extra hours with a CFI.

When I started my LSA flight school, my first graduate had been an ultralight pilot for years, and he picked up the requisite skills very quickly. Surely, your experience will enhance your learning process. Have fun, and stay safe.

[mcurcio1989]

^ That is good to hear. I had a conversation last night with a friend who is a member of the local EAA chapter and his brother is the president of it I believe. I've stopped by there hanger on my ultralight before a couple times and they are a good group of guys. They have a CFI who is a commercial pilot and can instruct for ratings well above what I would ever want. They also have 2 other members who are sport pilot instructors and the club own a pietenpol that is free (pay for fuel) to use with membership. I'm going to get plugged in over there as soon as I get back from my trip so I should be well on my way.

The club is building a LSA in there hanger now so I may help out with that some to get another perspective of aviation knowledge.

[mcurcio1989]

I finished reading Stick and Rudder halfway through my trip last week. I did all of my reading on airplanes and I always try to get window seats just behind the wing. That made it pretty cool because I could look out and see a lot of the things the book talked about in action. Especially on the sections on ailerons.

[FastEddieB]

Sounds like you enjoyed it - great!

[zaitcev]

Stick and Rudder did not work too well for me, because it was 95% the obvious things, 5% interesting stuff. The part about airplanes being embedded into the airflow and drifting with it was the most eye rolling one. The net result was a large effort not to doze off through the 95% in order to identify the 5%. Too much labour. Also, the 1940s writing style is an acquired taste. It is a classic book that I found more worthwhile to read for amusement than for study.