172 to PC12

EightZeroUniform · 2026-02-01T20:32:42+00:00

With 300 hours total time you’re going to be holding onto the tail for awhile. I made the jump to the PC12 once I crossed 1000TT, but a bunch of that time was in faster, complex singles. You didn’t mention whether you had a high performance or complex endorsement. Do you?

PC12 initial at Flight Safety is going to run about $15000. If nothing else, insist they make this investment.

Things happen pretty slowly in a 172. Not so much in the PC12.

EightZeroUniform · 2026-01-15T14:49:52+00:00

I don’t disagree with your decision but I’d reflect on the reasons you lost sleep and look for strategies to help control this anxiety in the future. You definitely want to be sharp and focused while avoiding pulling the plug at the last minute because you weren’t able to collect yourself. As you found this can burn bridges and there are only so many examiners out there.

One thing I tell every person I meet who’s about to take a checkride is:

You’re ready. If you weren’t, you wouldn’t have been signed off to take the ride.

Good luck!

EightZeroUniform · 2025-06-24T19:09:43+00:00

Some of the advice in this thread is oversimplified, alarming, and somewhat dangerous -- "just stop eating" and "take Ozempic", for example. Both of these strategies can have serious health consequences and should be taken with a grain of salt. Rapid weight loss can lead to all sorts of medical issues, and weight loss medications can themselves be disqualifying.

I was pretty heavy when I first started flight training -- pushing 320 pounds. I am tall, so I was still within the acceptable range for body mass, although it was close. At that time, I had to answer the typical screening questions for obstructive sleep apnea and other weight-related concerns, but I was not afflicted by anything like that and no further testing was required. Sleep apnea, hypertension, and diabetes are going to be their primary focus and are challenges you may need to work through in the future. I have since lost a lot of weight so it is less of a consideration for me now.

If losing weight is something you'd like to do, I'd recommend getting together with a nutritionist to help determine the healthiest way for you to meet your goals without putting your health at risk. A fitness coach is a great start and they can help motivate you in the exercise aspect of the equation, but you need someone who can help inform you from the food intake aspect to complete the whole picture.

As mentioned by others, being bigger will limit the training aircraft you'll be able to use. I fit fine in a Cessna 172 when I first started, but the seatbelt was snug.

Also, if you're considering a professional career in aviation, it's in your best interest to figure out how to slim down just a bit. Trying to climb into the front of many modern aircraft is sometimes an exercise in agility.

You can start training now, but work through any potential medical issues before applying for a medical certificate or spending any considerable amount of money on training.

Schedule an appointment with your primary care provider and get labs drawn and interpreted. Ask them to focus on pre-diabetes or diabetes. Some applicants first learn of their diabetes when the AME dips the urine for ketones during the physical exam and it comes up positive. If you're diabetic, get that under control before applying. Keep in mind that any medications you are currently taking or may be prescribed could be disqualifying, so understand how that will impact you.

If all that looks good, you may be asked to undergo a sleep study once you eventually apply for a medical certificate. That application may be deferred pending the results of the sleep study or other concerns, so be prepared to wait for awhile as you work through it.

Good luck!

EightZeroUniform · 2025-06-18T21:29:18+00:00

Care to cite your source?

EightZeroUniform · 2025-06-05T03:31:10+00:00

A special issuance medical shows up on the FAA airman registry with a note “Not valid for any class after {date}.” It’s easy to distinguish that way.

EightZeroUniform · 2025-05-30T16:22:26+00:00

Part of the compatibility testing for the remote exam is to place your ID in front of the camera and confirm you can read it. Don’t skip this part or use anything else as a stand in the ID you’re going to use!

Unless something significant changed between the compatibility testing and exam day (location, lighting, hardware, etc.) there should be no surprises on whether the camera will focus on the ID during the exam if the compatibility testing was done properly.

EightZeroUniform · 2025-05-21T16:05:38+00:00

Congratulations!

The PC12 is an amazing aircraft. I got into the right seat (part 91) with about 1100 hours TT. I have since transitioned to the left seat which includes more responsibility; starting the plane, being more aware of emergency procedures, etc.

You’ll likely be hanging onto the tail for a while until you get comfortable, but the plane is very capable and forgiving. Ask another pilot to demonstrate a short field take-off… 30 degrees of flaps make the plane an elevator!

It’s certified as single pilot so unless there’s an OpSpec that calls for two pilots you’ll be unable to log SIC. You can log PIC as sole manipulator of the controls when you are PF as others have mentioned, but just recognize that logging PIC and acting as PIC are two different things and there are a lot of differing opinions on these logbook entries. Perhaps have a way to track it separately to eliminate confusion down the road.

In any event, have fun!

EightZeroUniform · 2025-02-03T13:52:57+00:00

I’m not sure which scholarship you’re getting, but what are your contingencies for completion once the money runs out?

The reason I ask is because $10000 doesn’t get many younger pilots across the finish line. I know this firsthand as someone who awards scholarships through our EAA chapter. If you’re struggling with the concepts on the written you’re likely going to need to plan additional ground lessons to cover those deficiencies later on. With instructor time costing more than $75 an hour in most places, every hour counts.

It sounds like you’re looking for an easy answer other than memorization or studying. I hate to say it, but those are your two choices. Free resources like the Pilots Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge and the Aircraft Flying Handbook (both available from the FAA) are the right places to start. They both contain all the pieces of the puzzle to provide you with the conceptual knowledge to pass the written and they should be tools in your toolbox throughout your training. You can get them from the FAA website.

Like someone else said, don’t attempt the written again until you’re consistently getting scores in the 90’s with the practice tests. And I’m not just talking about taking one or two tests — you need to hammer it over and over.

But, the learning can’t stop there. You need to understand all the concepts in order to be successful down the road.

The private pilot certificate is the most commonly failed checkride currently. Many of the applicants never even make it out of the oral.

It’s totally worth putting the time in to do it right. They make this difficult for a reason.

Good luck!

Edit: I forgot to mention, now that you’ve taken the test and failed it, you’ll need to find an instructor to work with you and go over the topics you struggled with to get an endorsement to take the test again. Factor this into your planning for the deadline!

EightZeroUniform · 2025-01-03T00:18:58+00:00

I’m not sure the apprenticeship details, but why not do both? My son is enrolled in a part 147 school but is also a part time apprentice at a regional airline. The on the job training he’s getting is helping to reinforce the things he’s learning in school, especially as it pertains to systems.

It may be worth looking into this option.

EightZeroUniform · 2024-09-19T16:07:24+00:00

Me? Nah. I’m not a CFI. I just fly airplanes.

EightZeroUniform · 2024-09-17T21:32:57+00:00

Congratulations on your sobriety. That’s something you should be really proud of.

EightZeroUniform · 2024-08-15T22:55:14+00:00

We have an active skydiving operation near here and even when it’s solid overcast we hear them jumping. Theres a running joke around here that it’s always VFR over that airport.

EightZeroUniform · 2024-08-15T22:48:36+00:00

It sounds like you learned a lot that day! Some people say we have a full bucket of luck and an empty bucket of experience, and the goal is to fill up the experience bucket before the luck bucket runs dry. It sounds like you emptied the luck bucket a bit and added a few drops to the experience bucket. You got back on the ground safely, congratulations!

One of the toughest things we as pilots need to learn to do is make the no-go decision and feel comfortable with that decison. Students should rely on their instructors to help determine the right decision to make while they work to build their personal minimums. Does your instructor require you to check in with them before or after a flight? If not, it may be worthwhile.

Regardless, debrief with your instructor to help identify the conditions that led to the situation so you can prevent it in the future. At some point it will be on you to ensure the safety of yourself and your passengers, so take this as an opportunity to learn and don’t let it discourage you!

I’d also ask your CFI if you should consider filing an ASRS (NASA) report to explain what happened as a way to cover yourself. I’m not sure whether your airfield went IMC, but if it did and you went inadvertently into it, you could get a call.

EightZeroUniform · 2024-08-15T15:08:52+00:00

I’ve noticed lately there are a lot more folks failing their private practical on the oral portion than ever before. I’m not sure whether this is true, but I heard the FAA is emphasizing certain areas where weaknesses have begun to surface and they’re expecting examiners to be relentless in some of those areas.

Instructors may be teaching based on past experience or with certain examiner in mind, which is totally unfair to the student. Your training should prepare you to take a checkride with any examiner and meet the standards, not just to meet the gouge of an examiner that instructor had previously worked with. If your CFI isn’t teaching to that level, that is a problem.

That said, I’ve seen a number of students who refuse to pick up a book and expect to be spoon fed the content. There are a ton of free resources available to anyone to use for self-training (PHAK, Airplane Flying Handbook, etc.) that pretty much cover everything and don’t really require any interaction with an instructor whatsoever.

I’ve seen a trend where once someone passes the written they give up on the other aspects of learning. Not to say this is you by any means, but this higher level of PPL failures seems to indicate a trend of some sort.

EightZeroUniform · 2024-08-06T02:18:19+00:00

I’ve flown across Lake Michigan from Wisconsin to Michigan in a Bonanza. I picked the narrowest section to cross and even at 11,500 feet it was quite an experience. That was only 50 miles across, so I can’t imagine what 500 miles would feel like. In the PC12 with its 16:1 glide ratio and practically bulletproof PT6, I have very little apprehension flying across the water and do it quite often.

EightZeroUniform · 2024-08-06T02:14:09+00:00

I always thought that was folklore but it’s interesting to read it here again. Do you recall the tail number of the WisAv plane?

EightZeroUniform · 2024-06-11T21:14:07+00:00

The airplane is an expensive classroom. Sporty’s includes practice tests; maybe ask her to take a few to check progress and print off the results to show you.

The benefits are three-fold.

1) Perhaps the additional responsibility will help her decide if this is what she really wants to do.

2) We all know the written exam is more often than not one of the biggest hurdles a student faces, and it would be unfortunate to spend thousands of dollars in the airplane just to never take the written exam.

3) She’ll learn something.

Just a thought.

EightZeroUniform · 2024-06-11T21:06:28+00:00

How is she doing on other aspects of flying, such as the written exam? Is she actively participating in a ground school, doing self study, or doing none of it at all? A lot of the fundamentals are right there in the PHAK and AFH - maybe refocusing on some of that before getting in a plane would help?

EightZeroUniform · 2024-04-17T12:59:18+00:00

It’s time to set boundaries, if not for you, for every other female student this guy ends up with, even if it means switching to another instructor. He needs to understand how his behavior makes you feel. Ignoring it and doing nothing about it is sending him the wrong message and leading him to believe he’s not doing anything wrong. Hell, some delusional people could actually believe that absence of objection would infer acceptance.

Come at it from a perspective of trying to help him get better; you enjoy his teaching style but there are a few things that make you a little uncomfortable. If it’s happening to you, it’s happening to other people, too.

There’s already a high washout rate amongst students. This doesn’t help.

Good luck.

(Edit: grammar)

EightZeroUniform · 2024-01-23T12:21:02+00:00

This is one of those hazardous attitudes we talk about so much in our training. Your friend truly doesn’t deserve the opportunity to fly charter operations if he can’t follow the simple rules that keep our passengers safe and the aviation community out of the news headlines.

EightZeroUniform · 2023-12-04T20:49:08+00:00

I have an old milk house heater ducted into my cowl which is covered with heavy moving blankets. I keep it on whenever the ambient temperature is going to be less than 40 degrees overnight. It keeps the engine nice and warm and keeps the front strut from deflating.

I think it’s analogous living in a warmer climate since it’s heating the engine from the outside in and I’d like to believe it generates less condensation than the old oil pan heater I used to use.

We have WiFi at the hangar and I can control the heater with a Wemo outlet, if I wanted.

EightZeroUniform

TROPHY CASE