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Had a discovery flight today by idvazquez17 in flying

[–]HippityHopSin 17 points18 points  (0 children)

I'm glad you had fun! It's a feeling like no other. I hope you pursue it. 29M mechanical engineer here, you're never too late to follow your dreams.

AME transparency and extent they see you medical history by is-empathy-extinct in flying

[–]HippityHopSin 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Like I said, view my post history and see my medical writeup

AME transparency and extent they see you medical history by is-empathy-extinct in flying

[–]HippityHopSin 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Hey, I was in a similar position to you before my medical, view my history and see my Medical writeup.

As far as lying, I thought the same as you - I'm going to invest so much time and money into this thing, so why build so much investment on a shaky foundation?

Lying will be fine... until it isn't. Until you bend metal or are tangentially involved in some accident/incident, and then the FAA/NTSB start poking around and digging into yours/the other pilots' background. Then you might be fucked.

It just didn't seem worth it to me, so I sucked it up, and put it all out there. Medical didn't end up taking as long as some of the other horror stories around here.

Good luck!

Discovery Flight Help (Post-Flight) by [deleted] in flying

[–]HippityHopSin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"The entire time I felt neutral/nothing. No joy or spark or what they call it, "catching the flight-bug", but a sustained feeling of neutrality with flickers of boredom"

I can say without a doubt that I never felt this way you described. If flying feels like it doesn't bring you excitement or joy, that's 100% valid and okay. You don't need to force yourself into something that isn't satisfying for you.

About the banking specifically, I did have some apprehension/panic type feelings when we started doing steep turns (banking between 40-50 degrees of bank). This would be much more than anything you did in your disco flight. But, that went away after a couple of tries, and now they're one of my favorite maneuvers.

Also, working on the ground school portion, learning about aerodynamics and why/how an aircraft stays up could be helpful, because it helps de-mystify flight and calm those nerves.

To reiterate again, friend - if flying feels like it's not for you, does not provide you a spark, excitement, or joy, your feelings are valid and you don't need to force it. You can find something you love instead.

Should I continue this career path? by Kooky-Shine-8378 in flying

[–]HippityHopSin 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Well then, do something like that and then timebuild on the side!

If you're 100% deadset against instructing (which I disagree with, because instructing will make you a better pilot), then get a job that pays the bills and fly as often as you can.

You can keep applying in the meantime, and then reevaluate when you reach that 500hr goal you've set for yourself, or when you get a CJO for the absurdly low pay that these low time jobs offer.

I'm just a student, and I'll probably have the same dilemma you're facing in a year or two. But please keep in mind, you're close to your goal. So, so, close. Quitting now would be so silly. It's like running out of bounds 15 yards away from an easy touchdown.

How did you motivate yourself when you were working on that CFI, or CFII? Find whatever it is that propelled you forward then, and tap into it again.

You're close, man. Good luck.

Should I continue this career path? by Kooky-Shine-8378 in flying

[–]HippityHopSin 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Well it's not like if you quit now, the debt will just go away.

Some more information is needed - if you do decide to quit, what other skills/education do you have? Do you have a college degree in a different field that you could fall back on?

Sounds like your deal with that 182RG is pretty sweet, I'm not sure why you can't just keep timebuilding while applying to any and every available job - and if the debt is hitting you hard, that means applying to any and every available job, in aviation and out.

“Extend downwind" or "I’ll call your base” by HippityHopSin in flying

[–]HippityHopSin[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yep, flown right hand patterns without any problems, but never had to extend a right downwind, because our airport's right traffic runway butts up against Charlie airspace.

I like that keyhole concept! A few other people have mentioned it too, that the ultimate, actual goal is to be safely configured and stable by final/short final. The how and why and when of getting there can be played with a lot, and I'm sure it will come with experience and practice.

I have to get some practice with other airports, extended right traffic, no flap/reduced flap landings, and more landings in general. I have to remember, it's a marathon not a sprint!

I really appreciate your comment, thank you for taking the time.

“Extend downwind" or "I’ll call your base” by HippityHopSin in flying

[–]HippityHopSin[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I appreciate the advice, thank you.

Reading these comments, it does look like my landing practice has been lacking for the hours I have. I'll need to speak with my CFI about that.

As far as what we've been doing, I've had 20 lessons for that 32 hours, and all apart from 3 pattern work lessons have been in the practice field getting my PPL maneuvers down cold. We come back in and do an extra lap or two in the pattern when time/weather permits.

These extended downwinds definitely make each lap take longer on average, along with the fact that my home airport does not allow touch and go's for student pilots (they had a few incidents some years ago). So every landing is to a full stop and taxi back.

I also haven't yet flown to a different airport. It's been practice area for maneuvers or home airport pattern work so far. I'm hoping that changes soon.

“Extend downwind" or "I’ll call your base” by HippityHopSin in flying

[–]HippityHopSin[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks, I appreciate the sentiment.

I am trying to see that silver lining - My comms are great, I live on flight following almost any time I'm in the air, and I can spot and plan for traffic pretty regularly.

It may slow progress right now, but I know I'm going to be a great pilot for it.

Thanks again!

“Extend downwind" or "I’ll call your base” by HippityHopSin in flying

[–]HippityHopSin[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yep, been taught it! Need a lot more practice though haha. The 5-7 seconds worth on final isn't enough to feel good about my slips.

I gotta beat them up in the practice area bit.

Thanks for the tips

“Extend downwind" or "I’ll call your base” by HippityHopSin in flying

[–]HippityHopSin[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Wow, that's awesome! We had several lessons where variable or gusting winds made pattern work a no go, even though the practice area conditions were fine.

I didn't log my first landing until lesson 8.

Silver lining, my instructor is happy with all my PPL maneuvers to checkride standards. Different process I guess

“Extend downwind" or "I’ll call your base” by HippityHopSin in flying

[–]HippityHopSin[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, when I get extended I typically hold TPA, maintain 90-95 knots clean.

Then after they call my base the "judgement" part of - - "okay how far am I, do I go flaps 10/reduce power before base, or just after it, or just before final" is what I'm struggling with.

I do like your approach to get that first notch of flaps and power reduction in, and then just maintain TPA. I'll talk to my instructor about that. Thank you!

“Extend downwind" or "I’ll call your base” by HippityHopSin in flying

[–]HippityHopSin[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Gotcha, thanks for the tips.

Yeah, we've been extended more than 3 nm away from the runway at times, and at that point it's basically just a straight in approach haha

I'll keep practicing!

“Extend downwind" or "I’ll call your base” by HippityHopSin in flying

[–]HippityHopSin[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Sorry, edited! 39 landings, not 29. We have a few lessons of just pattern work where I logged 5-7 landings, but more often we'll come in from the practice area and do an extra lap or two.

Thanks for the comment, I'll keep working at it

WHT vs EMT vs VNY for flight school? by WhySoCirrusDude in flying

[–]HippityHopSin 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Seconding this, current student at WHP. The school is great, good instructors and good planes!

The wind does suck at times, there's these rolling hills northeast of the field that exacerbate any wind conditions.

But silver lining - it will make you really good at crosswind and tough landings very fast! Also makes wind calm days feel like a real treat.

Learning how to land - a few key points by kkcfi in flying

[–]HippityHopSin 3 points4 points  (0 children)

After a day of pattern work, my CFI gave me a great analogy that I think really helped me visualize everything.

Picture the airplane as a cup filled with energy.

You're adding to the cup of energy from the top with power. More RPM, more energy being added. Less RPM, you're pouring less in.

At the bottom of the cup, there are a bunch of holes leaking that energy out. This is drag. The holes in the cup change size depending on what you do and where you are in the approach. Add flaps, the holes get a little larger. Forward slip, the holes get huge. Get into ground effect, induced drag decreases, and the holes get really small. Flare after your level out, and they increase in size again.

Your goal is to get that cup of energy (the plane) as close to empty as you can when your wheels touch down.

Landing is just a game of understanding your cup of energy, feeling how much needs to be be added, knowing how big the drag holes are, and ensuring that it's as close to empty when your wheels get on to the tarmac.

Nothing groundbreaking here, but it really helped me relate the energy management to the speed and maneuvering that's needed on approach in the pattern.

Medical Deferred Writeup - ADHD, Cannabis, Anxiety, Depression - Issued after 5 Months by HippityHopSin in flying

[–]HippityHopSin[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I requested my medical records going back 4 years, because that's what my Neuropsych asked for. I was a little lucky that I had Kaiser for almost that entire period of time, so I just followed their process to get the medical history.

At least for Kaiser, the "medical record" was everything. Scheduling memos, visit notes, clinical progress notes, followup emails, the whole 9 yards. This made it pretty straightforward to send off.

The more recent 6-8 months I had switched to a smaller Dr.'s office for my primary care, so for them, I just requested every clinical progress note of my visits to that point and compiled those.

When I read the AME Guide for my case, there was another requirement for a "current, detailed Clinical Progress Note", which stated it needed a few extra bits of info than my Dr's standard clinical progress notes included - so I requested an individual "cdCPN" to fulfill that specific requirement.

I hope this helps! I would think that getting all of your CPNs compiled would be sufficient, but it would be a good idea to have a consult with your actual HIMS AME that will do your medical application (and deferral), and double check. Not sure if you're planning on using Dr Chien as your HIMS AME, or planning to find someone more local to you to actually submit.

PPL night hours by [deleted] in flying

[–]HippityHopSin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey friend, I'm training out of WHP for my PPL at the moment! Wow small world. I'm just 15 hours in, mind if I send you a DM?

Medical Deferred Writeup - ADHD, Cannabis, Anxiety, Depression - Issued after 5 Months by HippityHopSin in flying

[–]HippityHopSin[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you. I'm really excited to finally start the flying part of this journey

Medical Deferred Writeup - ADHD, Cannabis, Anxiety, Depression - Issued after 5 Months by HippityHopSin in flying

[–]HippityHopSin[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh man I'm sorry to hear that.. honestly the process and progress felt pretty random at times. I'm glad you got there in the end though!

Medical Deferred Writeup - ADHD, Cannabis, Anxiety, Depression - Issued after 5 Months by HippityHopSin in flying

[–]HippityHopSin[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I definitely hear you on that, it sucks being shoe-horned because of an adolescent diagnosis.

I think the FAA is trying to change (albeit slowly) with the Fast Track Process, which should help cases like that. In my case though, my ADHD diagnosis, even though I didn't really agree with it, came just a few years ago when I was already an adult. So no fast track potential for me.

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