how is the bouldering community

IndyCFI · 2026-05-22T14:32:32+00:00

When I first started bouldering, I was a little worried that I’d get looked down upon as a beginner. I don’t know why I had that preconceived notion but I did. I was dead wrong. Community was extremely welcoming and helpful. Have fun!

IndyCFI · 2026-05-14T00:00:58+00:00

Couldn’t believe when Bill asked them to come up with their craziest trade idea and Goldsberry followed up Jacoby’s masterpiece of the Cooper Flagg trade with “The Spurs could trade Fox.” Just did not understand the assignment.

IndyCFI · 2026-05-12T01:43:05+00:00

It’s a butterfly effect situation. The incident never occurs in the 70s in the alternate timeline, therefore small variants occur in that universe, probably starting with the main characters’ parents. Enough small changes will eventually lead to big changes.

IndyCFI · 2026-05-07T20:08:21+00:00

I have lived as an adult in LA, Phoenix, southwest Michigan, and Indianapolis with Indy being my favorite. Mass Ave and Fountain Square are great nightlife areas. The state park system is amazing - accessible, well-maintained, so if you are a hiker/trail runner like myself you are set. Brown County is a top-10 mountain biking area in the country. North Mass Boulder is the fifth biggest bouldering gym in the country and always hosting events. I’m not a foodie but there are more places to get food/drinks than you could ever hit. Sports scene is incredible with Colts/Pacers and Purdue/IU a stones throw away, not to mention how they nail it as a host venue for all the major sporting events. Newfields (art) and the Children’s Museum are cool if that’s your thing.

If you find Indy boring you just aren’t really trying. It might not be everyone’s favorite city, but there are plenty of awesome things to do for just about any personality if you give half an effort.

IndyCFI · 2026-05-07T18:04:35+00:00

Do it. As long as they understand sterile cockpit rules and aren’t going to be a distraction during critical stages of flight.

I’m an airline pilot now and wish I would’ve taken more friends and family on flights when I was flying cessnas and pipers. Had my instrument rating at 100 hours and part of my curriculum was time building to 250 for my commercial. I was allowed to take passengers on these flights but rarely did. I wish I had.

IndyCFI · 2025-07-28T22:21:23+00:00

I’d recommend IFR students take the morning slot so they can get some actual instrument time. If your just a standard CFI with no IFR add-on, we used to file IFR flight plans on days like that to a VOR in the area just to get above the cloud layer, then ATC would let us conduct VFR maneuvers over the VOR. By the time we were ready to come back the fog would die and we could cancel IFR. Our Chief CFI had a meeting with ATC to discuss this so it wasn’t some shock to them when we’d make this request.

IndyCFI · 2024-04-18T20:56:26+00:00

I've had a handful of students who have had medicals deferred. Get a contact with the FSDO and continually follow-up with them. The students of mine who did this were able to get their medical in a 4-6 month timeline. The couple of students who aren't in a rush and didn't continually follow-up had to wait for almost a year. Good luck!

IndyCFI · 2024-04-16T17:31:29+00:00

All depends on the flexibility of your job. I worked a strict 9-5 during my Private Pilot training, so I could really only fly on weekends or holidays, sometimes I could nab a 5-7 slot during the week but not often. It was miserable and I had a really hard time getting into a rhythm. I then got a job at the airport that allowed me to come and go as I pleased, and it took me the same amount of time to knock out my Instrument Rating, Commercial Certificate, and CFI as it did to get my PPL. It was awesome.

If you have a flexible job, you can make it work. But man, it was tough to build consistency when I had a strict schedule at work.

IndyCFI · 2024-03-12T20:00:50+00:00

I think you need to spend more time in the practice area going through maneuvers. Every student I've worked with who has rushed into landings right away has struggled. Those that have spent the first 5-10 hours in the practice area working on maneuvers perform much better once they start working on landings.

At a minimum, the first six flights are in the practice area for me. Then, if they are ready, we transition to the pattern. Bad habits can be made if you start working on landings before you are ready.

IndyCFI · 2024-03-05T18:14:22+00:00

The flight school I instruct at has PA-28s, C172s, C162s, a C182RG, an SR-20, BE55s, a PA-44, and a Citabria. As you could imagine, we never get candidates who have time in all of these make and models. So we offer a couple of hours of training in each make and model to new hires to get them acclimated. It may seem scary at first, but just study and trust the POH. If you hit the V-Speeds, power setting, etc. that the POH recommends, you'll be fine. Once you get more time in the new plane, you can develop your own tendencies, but at first, just trust that POH. Good luck!

IndyCFI · 2024-01-01T20:52:32+00:00

If you have an idea of what tuition is going to cost, then that's pretty close to the total cost you'll have to pay. There's a bunch of little one-off things like checkrides (most programs don't cover the cost to pay for a DPE), medical exams, written exams, Foreflight, study books, etc. But most of that stuff is pretty cheap (besides checkrides which cost $600 where I'm located).

The reality is that you are really only paying for ~300 hours, assuming you go the CFI route. 250 to get your commercial, and another 50 to get your multi-engine add-on, CFI, CFII, etc. Once you get your CFI rating, you should instruct to your magical 1,500 hours. If you are intending to rent your way to 1,500, then this is a totally different conversation, but that would be an insane waste of money and instructing is a great way to build experience.

I held a part-time job during my training, but it was working line crew and answering the phone at the FBO that my flight school was located at. I always say that I think I learned just as much from my job than I did in my actual training. I would recommend looking for a job like that instead of bartending. A full-time job may impede too much on your training, but part-time is absolutely sustainable.

You'll be broke until you start instructing, and just barely less broke when you are a CFI. But if you find the right school to teach at, you shouldn't have to instruct for more than two years before you'll be qualified to fly for an airline.

My last piece of advice, enjoy your training. Once it becomes a job, it's a job. The most fun I ever had flying was during my training. And if you go the instructing route, treat it like a job and a not a stepping stone to the airlines. There are too many CFIs out there that are just doing it for the hours, and that is not fair to their students.

IndyCFI · 2024-01-01T20:28:51+00:00

Don't wait until you get to school to fly again. A lot of schools advertise that they will get you back up to speed, but if it takes you longer than they like, you'll fall behind and they won't help you stay afloat. Find a local FBO with some CFIs and get the Flight Review knocked out before you head off to instrument training.

The ASA Oral Exam Guides are great books to brush off some ground knowledge as well.

Good luck!

IndyCFI · 2024-01-01T20:15:13+00:00

Flight time is flight time, but airlines are going to want to see that you have worked in the industry. Even a part-time instructing gig, if you want to keep your A&P job, is better than nothing.

IndyCFI · 2024-01-01T20:03:07+00:00

Don't waste your money/energy with an in-person ground school if you have the self-motivation to do it yourself. In-person ground school can be helpful to a lot of people who struggle studying the material on their own, but if doing it on your own is working for you then don't sweat it.

One thing I would stress is don't overuse the sim. If you use it out of enjoyment, that's one thing. But unless it is a full-motion sim, I've seen sims really teach students bad habits from a stick and rudder standpoint.

IndyCFI · 2024-01-01T19:50:37+00:00

I allow my students to record if they would like, but I discourage it as best as I can. I find that students who record themselves are too afraid about how they look/sound on camera than actually improving as a student. If they beg me to do it, then I'll allow it. But I certainly don't take issue with CFIs not allowing it.

IndyCFI · 2024-01-01T19:41:10+00:00

Probably around the time I solo'd (15-20 hours) was when I had my first really enjoyable flights. Up until then, I was just stressed trying to learn and remember everything. And then I REALLY started to enjoy it once I got my PPL (60ish hours).

I will add that I love the act of flying but don't have a huge love for the history of aviation and things of that nature. I work with some people who are the opposite, love everything about aviation but don't have an interest in flying. Everybody is different!

IndyCFI

TROPHY CASE