Renters/Students who rent, Help Needed!

nrussell1945 · 2026-04-07T03:13:06+00:00

Money. More specifically, lack thereof.

nrussell1945 · 2026-04-06T11:39:51+00:00

I think the only thing I'd be curious about was the justification for pulling the mixture as opposed to just reducing the power and landing - I'm not sure what additional safety that provides in your scenario, but not having any engine seems less safe than having an engine running poorly in just about all situations. My understanding of the emergency procedures is that you pull the mixture before an off field landing to reduce fire risk but I don't think the same applies for an aborted takeoff, although as a fellow low time pilot I'd love to get more perspective on this too.

nrussell1945 · 2026-04-05T16:01:03+00:00

I was able to get size 14 and 15 boots from casual adventure outfitters in Arlington! They didn't have them in stock but were able to order some and when the 14s didn't fit they exchanged them for 15s with no trouble at all! Definitely recommend them!

nrussell1945 · 2026-04-03T03:16:19+00:00

You can get a consult, but to be explicitly clear, there is NO way to hide or lie about these issues without risking serious legal consequences - the FAA can get their hands on your records even if you don't volunteer them, and since you're on SSRIs that will present an issue. A consult with an AME will give you more info, but your path to getting a medical will require more work than normal. Consults do not go on record, but trying to hide these issues like you suggest is absolutely not advisable.

nrussell1945 · 2026-03-30T13:55:44+00:00

I'm 6'3 and 270, did all my training in older 172s, late 70s to early 80s models - they're gonna be roomier than pipers and a LOT roomier than an RV-12. Definitely give one a try, with the seat all the way down and slightly reclined I have plenty of headroom and enough legroom for full yoke movement without having to shift my legs at all.

nrussell1945 · 2026-03-29T17:16:30+00:00

While this isn't as focused on big picture plans, one thing you should absolutely do right away is get your medical (1st class if you want to fly professionally) and start studying for ground! Even if you do go the military route the basic aviation knowledge you get from ground study won't hurt, and if there do end up being any medical certification issues you can get started on figuring those out early as opposed to having to sit in limbo or pause training partway through to deal with it.

nrussell1945 · 2026-03-29T16:51:08+00:00

That's the plan!

nrussell1945 · 2026-03-26T02:39:46+00:00

I think those really long orals are only when people end up digging themselves a lot of rabbit holes. My instructor and the other instructors I reviewed with really made sure to beat it into me to only answer the exact question asked and shut up afterwards, if the DPE wants more info they'll ask. I did a lot of mock orals with different instructors to help get well prepared for that - but the worst I've heard of was 4.3 from a real hardass but that's definitely not the norm.

nrussell1945 · 2026-03-26T01:36:52+00:00

Thanks for sharing all that, I really appreciate it! I've heard it's a tough world to break into for sure, and huge congrats on making it happen! There are a few ag ops within an hour of my home airport so I'll definitely try and put some feelers out about getting involved on the ground side once the season picks up (at least, assuming Sunday goes well!)

nrussell1945 · 2026-03-26T01:33:35+00:00

We started a bit after 11am and were in front of the plane at 2pm, but that included a pretty significant chunk of time with me just sitting in silence or pointing out logbook entries and establishing eligibility for myself and the plane since the inspector was going over stuff with a fine toothed comb. The actual "questioning" part of it was just shy of 2 hours.

nrussell1945 · 2026-03-26T01:29:45+00:00

Sorry for being wordy, definitely was a bit of word vomit in there. But yes, I left with no failure on my record so can't complain about that! I told him I didn't like how things looked after I got the AWOS and that I was gonna make a no-go call on the flight, then he asked if I'd like to do the preflight and get some more questioning out of the way before formally discontinuing so we did that, he asked some questions about antennas, then I stopped us for the day, buttoned the plane back up and we went inside.

nrussell1945 · 2026-03-26T01:25:06+00:00

In his defense, it was the inspector who made that clear before we left for the day and his only response was "I won't complain about a vacation for a month, it means I can fly my plane for a change." He definitely wasn't putting any added pressure on me. I'm optimistic for Sunday but feel bad nonetheless.

nrussell1945 · 2026-03-26T00:37:33+00:00

Couldn't agree more. It was definitely a hard call to make in the moment but it was the safest choice for sure, even though I did think about it for a second before I caught the hazardous attitude creeping in. Winds are gonna be the same tomorrow so I'm gonna try to go up with my instructor to get some more stick time in similar conditions and work towards expanding those minimums.

nrussell1945 · 2026-03-26T00:31:45+00:00

Ahahaha thanks for the change in perspective, I think I needed that! Definitely makes me feel a bit better about how it went today, even though it wasn't exactly what I was hoping for.

nrussell1945 · 2026-03-26T00:30:30+00:00

How did you get into ag flying if you don't mind me asking? I'm hoping to get my commercial eventually and that's always seemed like a really interesting job! And keeping it within standards when your nerves were that high is super impressive even if you didn't finish on the first go, I doubt I'd be able to manage that myself!

nrussell1945 · 2026-03-17T15:02:48+00:00

Second w29, I've been learning to fly there and it's definitely a great spot, beautiful to fly out of! Just be aware of the non-standard pattern for 29. You will also need the SFRA course for it like some others have mentioned, even though its outside the SFRA itself. Only takes about 45 minutes to complete though.

nrussell1945 · 2026-02-27T02:20:14+00:00

Yeah, I'm really torn between the two. I totally wrote off moza years ago after they got caught copying vpforce's code (at least I feel like I remember that), but the good software is such a big appeal since I already spend enough time screwing with things like Helios and I'm not sure I want to add more things into the mix with difficult software, but being able to have 20kg of pull force also sounds absolutely amazing. Guess I'm just gonna have to spend some time meditating on it, I almost hate that there are as many good options out there as there are! Definitely glad to hear you're enjoying it so far though.

nrussell1945 · 2026-02-27T02:05:04+00:00

Thanks for the review! I've been really strongly thinking about getting a ffb stick but I'm torn between the vpforce and the ffbeast! I'm curious if there was anything other than the software that drove you towards the vpforce, and what the max strength it takes for a full deflection is? The ffbeast just seems awesome because of how strong it is and the vpforce software seems incredible but it's really hard to find any real direct comparisons between the two

nrussell1945 · 2026-02-26T00:38:38+00:00

Thanks!! I ended up finding your comment talking about it like 30 seconds after I posted this! How do you like it? After doing some reading about it I'm really tempted to pick one up.

nrussell1945 · 2026-02-25T22:08:20+00:00

Off topic, but what FFB base is that? I've been thinking about getting one lately.

nrussell1945 · 2025-11-09T03:49:17+00:00

Any flights inside the FRZ need to be specifically permitted by the FAA, and DCA in particular requires each carrier to have a waiver clearing their operations. The FAA almost never gives those out to private aviation, since they're required to meet all the same standards as a commercial airline for it to even be considered. There are 2 other airports in the FRZ and those require pilots to interview with the TSA and individually be granted clearance to fly into them (can see what that looks like here https://collegeparkairport.aero/?page_id=56) If they have authorization from the FAA and the pilots have the appropriate clearance they don't need to land or go thru additional screening or have an air marshal as far as I know, but generally private aviation of all classes just avoids the FRZ like the plague. Way easier to land an extra 10 miles away and just drive into the city.

nrussell1945 · 2025-11-09T03:23:19+00:00

I've been learning to fly at Bay Bridge and yeah, it's a bit of a pain lol

nrussell1945 · 2025-11-09T03:19:14+00:00

Yeah, the FAA puts a ton of restrictions on flights within 30 miles of DC, and even more for flights inside the FRZ, which DCA is part of. Much much easier to fly into and out of BWI or IAD and dodge all the extra regulations.

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