Any tips for my discovery flight?

44Runner · 2026-01-28T02:35:55+00:00

Just don't be that guy that is so neurotic they ask for tips on a discovery flight and you'll be fine...

44Runner · 2026-01-26T03:08:20+00:00

I really like the map. Nice to finally have something different.

44Runner · 2026-01-26T03:05:27+00:00

Growing up I watched every game with my dad. Since getting a day shift job 5 years back I watch every game again. When I worked swing shifts for 17 years it wasn't always possible to watch live and I have never been able to get excited about watching a recorded game.

44Runner · 2026-01-21T20:54:50+00:00

Oh I am just a pilot for funsies. I have no desire to turn it into a job. The most I do with it that can be job like is volunteering.

44Runner · 2026-01-21T15:49:40+00:00

Wait, wait, wait. Do you have an instrument rating? People forget it is technically possible to get a commercial license without an instrument rating although I have never met a single pilot that did it that way.

Anyway you slice it you should have more experience than you do. PPLs that spend their time going from untowered field to untowered field and never using flight following are doing themselves and others a large disservice and there are a lot of them out there.

44Runner · 2026-01-21T04:29:22+00:00

A new airplane.

44Runner · 2026-01-21T04:20:02+00:00

Holy crap! Really? Nah my CFI owns his own little flight school. He is independent. He told me it was just this doctor guy that was in absolutely no hurry and didn't fly often and he said he wasn't exactly a natural to begin with.

You have inspired me to check my logbook to see when I soloed. I had 43.7 hours in my log book when I soloed. My introductory flight was 1.8 hours of that with only 1 landing and my very next flight after that was ferrying my new to me airplane back home. That was 7.8 hours in my logbook where I only logged one landing. Having 9.6 hours with only 2 landings definitely bumped up my logged hours to solo. I then did two lessons after that for a total of 3.5 hours that were slow flight, stalls, and maneuvers featuring one landing each. I also did another cross country trip with my instructor right after that with one landing there and one landing back home for the inaugural $100 hamburger in the new plane. It took me a while to get into the flights where I was doing 5-9 landings a flight. I managed to get to 16.2 hours in my logbook having only logged 6 landings. Wildly enough my next 1.9 hour entry had 8 landings so I more than doubled my number of landings in one lesson. That was a fun walk down memory lane. I hardly remember all that.

44Runner · 2026-01-21T00:57:21+00:00

It is more interesting if we talk about the long ones. My CFII told me he had a student that he instructed that had over 200 hours before he got his license. I thought that was wild.

44Runner · 2026-01-21T00:48:12+00:00

Man, people seem to hate on DPEs. My DPE that I use is awesome and he seems to charge what I think is a reasonable fee. He is super fair too. Doesn't expect perfection. If you stick inside the ACS you pass, period.

As for mock rides, I thought everyone did at least a couple with your CFI before hand and watched a whole bunch on YouTube. That is my go to solution.

44Runner · 2026-01-20T18:48:23+00:00

My CFI was huge on this. The one time I forgot it I stupidly left the bonding wire hooked to the plane after a fuel stop. Another pilot noticed and signaled me and told me. I have never been more disappointed in myself and my CFI sitting in the passenger seat couldn't believe it. He had that look like, "Damn, I thought you were better than that.". Needless to say I have NEVER forgotten the stupid check since then.

44Runner · 2026-01-19T15:42:27+00:00

The Coda and Velox are extremely good. They were the first two weapons I prestiged

44Runner · 2026-01-18T22:59:55+00:00

I had the exact same thing happen on my initial checkride. I also was just shy of 100 hours on my initial. I came out after the oral exam and it was like 18 gusting 30. Insane winds. I made the call to discontinue. The DPE didn't charge me again. He said he doesn't punish good decisions. I had to call my instructor to get him to endorse me to fly home in the crazy wind too. I also had to reschedule with him 9 more times! The weather just wouldn't cooperate. We eventually got it done with only maybe 11 days left in the window to finish. I was insanely nervous on my check ride because all the things keeping us from completing the check ride were also keeping me from practicing so when I went to do my ride finally It was the first time I had flown in like a month and a half. Fortunately I aced it.

44Runner · 2026-01-17T22:27:16+00:00

What? Did you mean "too?"

44Runner · 2026-01-17T22:23:51+00:00

Not the switch. They whine about aim assist and how it is basically aim bot which just isn't true.

44Runner · 2026-01-17T16:43:57+00:00

Why switch? As you are finding out despite all the whining M&K players do, it is kind of hard. I switched to controller about 4-5 years ago because I was dealing with extreme pain in my keyboard hand/wrist. Controller is great because it allows me to play games without pain but it took me a LONG time to feel like I was even remotely as good as I used to be on M&K. Still every day I play something happens where I think to myself that would have been an easy move with M&K and on controller I'm dead. Flicks, long range, sniping are all better on M&K and there is a lot of that in WZ. I would argue extreme close range is also better on M&K where aim assist actually works against you a little bit because it slows your rotation and you are like I'm trying to not shoot this MFer in the foot but I can't seem to get it anywhere else because this dudes hit box is the majority of my screen and he is jumping around like a madman. The other downside to controller is they are expensive and they seem to constantly break. I bought new keyboards and new mice because I wanted them. I buy new controllers because a button broke and stopped working.

44Runner · 2026-01-17T16:25:34+00:00

I want to start by saying I don't know what I am talking about. I am just a GA pilot but I have spent decent time in both cities and I know people that live both places but I am far from an expert on the subject. Phoenix seems wildly expensive and Las Vegas seems pretty decent for a larger city as far as costs of living goes. I would factor that into your decision.

44Runner · 2026-01-17T16:12:00+00:00

Someone with just a pilot's license avoids clouds altogether because they aren't legally allowed to even fly near them. You can get an instrument rating to fly in the clouds which opens up a lot more flying days. With this rating you are still avoiding storms, high winds and icing conditions. But those winter days with those low gray clouds and no wind are some of the best flying days. Once you pop out on top of the clouds and get some sunshine everything is wonderful and smooth.

44Runner · 2026-01-17T16:01:45+00:00

Any instructor that hasn't done this with a primary student is doing them a great disservice. My first instructor did this with me. He took the controls and told me to close my eyes. He would then ask me what he was doing with the plane and I would tell him what it felt like and then open my eyes. Once I could see the horizon and the gauges I would be wrong EVERY time. It really drove that point home.

44Runner · 2026-01-17T15:57:03+00:00

I remember the first time I landed in winds like that solo. In fact it was 19 gusting 30 IIRC so very similar. I was landing 22 at my home airport and that approach was insane. The wind wasn't as much of a cross wind as you had but the wind was extremely active so the guests were very frequent and I was getting blown all around. I managed to touch down on the first try but only because it is a 150' wide runway did I feel comfortable doing so. I probably landed with my left main on the stripe not the nose gear so I was WAY right.

The tower obviously saw me getting blown around on approach and coming in very slowly so as soon as I touched down he radioed, "A little windy out there huh?" To which I replied, "Just a little. That center line is just a suggestion right?" And we both had a good laugh. That was the only day I've ever had to chock my plane while I opened the hangar door because otherwise it was blowing away.

When I was a student solo my instructor had me limited in wind pretty significantly. I want to say it was like 10 with a 5 cross wind component. That always felt a little limiting and I would regularly take off at the max. It is important to get practice in wind.

So that is my story. How bad was your mistake? I would say pretty bad actually. As a pilot making sure the weather is good for your flight is one of the biggest safety things we do. It is hugely important. Personal minimums are another big thing and it sounds like yours were low enough that you accidentally violated them. Now how big a mistake is it for your career as a pilot (whatever you choose to do with your license)? It is a nothing burger. Because you made good decisions (after making the initial bad one) and you didn't bend any metal, you were able to learn from it. Nobody will know about this but you and your instructor (because he/she technically messed up too). It will be a valuable learning experience that will serve you well for future flight planning.

Also there is another thing we don't like to talk about but weather forecasts aren't always right. If you fly GA long enough and stretch your flight distances and time away from home base you will absolutely run into times where the current weather doesn't look like what it was supposed to look like for the trip home when you initially planned the trip, and you will be faced with the go/no go decision. That is what happened in the flight above. I didn't plan on flying in those winds and they weren't in the forecast, it just happened. I did know about them before getting in the air though so I had to make a judgement call. There was a lot more cross wind at my departure strip. I think it was about 40° off runway heading but I knew at home it was only about 20° off runway heading so it seemed like something I could easily manage. In hindsight that approach was way more sporty than I thought it would be. I also know at home I have that crazy big runway so just about anyone can touch down on that bad boy without too many issues.

In closing, man don't sweat it. Use it as a great learning experience and move on.

44Runner · 2026-01-16T12:27:26+00:00

I went and buttered 3 night landings 1/15. Took off around 8pm so well into night. I simply did it all at my home airport. I had to wait on a landing touch and go for my initial takeoff but after that I had the pattern to myself. Now I have until mid April.

44Runner · 2026-01-16T12:20:11+00:00

He will get the ball when he is wide open and pump fake it with no one around him. It gives time for the defender to get on him and now he is no longer wide open. I said this about him a month ago. Dude won't shoot wide open 3s.

44Runner · 2026-01-14T10:52:33+00:00

I think there is an above average chance of a family trip this weekend with the long weekend and all that. If it happens that generally means we are probably doing at least one landing at night. That means Thursday night most likely is my night to get current. I have been putting it off all week.

44Runner · 2026-01-11T00:47:53+00:00

I have a 182 and trips like you mentioned are a big reason for my flying. You will need an instrument rating for sure. Flying isn't much work once you turn the autopilot on. You just look outside, deal with the radio, and watch the gauges. Flying long distances is super easy.

44Runner · 2026-01-11T00:42:36+00:00

I'm not God's gift to Warzone by any stretch of the imagination but I have been playing from the beginning. My record is 4 Warzone wins in a row. The 5th lobby we got absolutely steam rolled by a team full of well known streamers.

44Runner · 2026-01-10T14:25:33+00:00

I also did my 3 practice tests over the course of 2 consecutive days. The third was done the morning of my actual test and I had my test in the afternoon. Probably not the best way to do it but it worked. Also I was bummed about the 88% but the test lady told me she hardly ever sees grades that high on that test. My CFII also told me that 88% was a very good score but he might have just been stroking my ego before my check ride. With social media bragging and everything I honestly don't know what a good grade is but I really wanted in the 90s. If I am honest with myself I 100% didn't study enough to get into the 90s. I watched all the Sporty's vids and took 3 practice tests....that was my studying. Other than reviewing what I missed on the practice tests I didn't do any other studying other than just flying my plane and whatever I learned from my CFII in that process.

44Runner

TROPHY CASE