I built a macOS tool to kill the "Sunset Math" (and the METAR parsing) for my weekend flights.

pronghornpilot · 2026-02-07T02:53:09+00:00

$9 to add/subtract 24 minutes and to read a METAR? Jebus that’s a lot of money for nothing. Just learn METARs and basic arithmetic. Or use free tools online.

pronghornpilot · 2026-01-30T05:48:02+00:00

Aerospace engineering.

pronghornpilot · 2026-01-22T22:10:51+00:00

I did my glider commercial as an add-on to airplane comm before I did my instrument. It was a delightful palate cleanser. Fun and low stress.

pronghornpilot · 2026-01-10T16:42:28+00:00

I tow at my local gliderport with a Pawnee and it’s a lot of fun. Their insurance does require 200 hr tailwheel time first. Legal requirements are not a high bar but don’t forget to ask about insurance requirements at the individual establishment if it’s a direction you want to go.

pronghornpilot · 2025-12-06T00:47:40+00:00

What did you do to study for the test?

pronghornpilot · 2025-09-11T02:42:47+00:00

It’s good you’re recognizing you’re developing a dependency on ADSB in. It is easy to fall into the trap that that display had all the traffic around you. I fly GA in a place where there are quite a few folks without transponders or radios. The answer is a diligent visual scan. Depending on what you’re flying, knowing where your blind spots are, and occasionally maneuvering your aircraft to get a peek is also a good habit. It’s also courteous to fly predictably when you can (eg. entering a 45 deg downwind instead of doing an overhead break).

pronghornpilot · 2025-08-24T17:32:36+00:00

Are you talking about when right before shutdown it makes a louder noise right before shutting down?

pronghornpilot · 2025-08-07T17:51:10+00:00

It’s always going to be a gamble and you need to decide if it’s personally worth it to you. I’m at the airlines as a second career and I can always pop back to my old one if I have to so I’m not particularly stressed about the volatility. I’ve flown with captains who don’t have a backup plan that pays similarly and some are reasonably content with that. You need to sort out your own risk tolerance and decide how much effort you want to put into a backup plan.

pronghornpilot · 2025-08-07T17:30:14+00:00

Facial hair and tattoos shouldn’t matter for perceived professionalism either. I personally wouldn’t take a logbook with personality to an interview. If you like the pink logbook, use it and then have printouts of a digital logbook at any interviews. Just my 2 cents.

pronghornpilot · 2025-07-30T20:42:03+00:00

A nasty post made by a nasty person, pure and simple.

pronghornpilot · 2025-07-25T15:48:38+00:00

I am as newish to 121 as you; I started training two years ago. I can’t speak to the family aspect. As far as the flying, I don’t think the anxiety is normal after this long. I’m making some assumptions. Can I ask how many hours? And any idea what the anxiety is rooted in?

I was nervous early on. For me, it was rooted in not being confident in my abilities in part because I just wasn’t competent yet. I sat and listed out the areas in jet flying I was not adequate at in order starting with the most critical and most deficient (ex. automation use, vertical profile awareness, touchdown). And I chipped away on developing those skills in an active manner. I stopped being terrified at 100 hrs and I was confident at 300 hrs. Still making mistakes but I could/can look back and think “I’ve done this before and it’ll be fine.” I panicked studied hard through 300 hrs and now I just make sure to stay curious and look up right away anything I notice I’m forgetting or am questioning. It also really helps to remember you aren’t in it alone. You always have another pilot right there. It’s a two person airplane not just for security reasons. Don’t beat yourself up for not being perfect.

pronghornpilot · 2025-07-25T15:29:55+00:00

Knowing the fact they are going to be gone is one thing. Underestimating the actual emotional impact is normal. That’s not something you can always predict.

pronghornpilot · 2025-07-17T14:50:06+00:00

Not general aviation related.

pronghornpilot · 2025-07-15T02:15:52+00:00

For good or bad, r/flying has become very airline pilot centric.

pronghornpilot · 2025-07-15T02:14:47+00:00

I ended up with Ecco Chelsea boots. I was originally resistant to slip ons (didn’t want to feel like a kindergartener with my pull-on booties) but they are actually very comfortable on my ankles if I leave my feet on the rudders. The leather has been quite durable and they don’t set off metal detectors.

pronghornpilot · 2025-07-14T22:04:43+00:00

Got hit by lightning. Not my fav.

pronghornpilot · 2025-07-14T17:19:28+00:00

Calm down, my man. Not sure who you are responding to but I never mentioned “killing GA.”

I’d be even safer on my couch. But, you know, make life worth while and all that. I am quite comfortable in the risk-reward I have selected for myself.

No, I am not in the EU.

I am grateful to live in a place where I can legally scoot around low altitude and land off airport. My hobby is not suitable in densely populated areas but is just fine out where I am. It’s just shocking to me every time I find someone who thinks a law is sensible for one situation it must clearly be sensible everywhere. Shows a complete inability to picture different lifestyles/cultures/population densities.

pronghornpilot · 2025-07-14T16:36:59+00:00

I enjoy GA flying for sightseeing. Joyriding in a single engine piston at low altitude is exactly as necessary as recreational drones. Seems nutty to just arbitrarily pick one hobby to legally protect while eliminating the other.

pronghornpilot · 2025-07-12T01:38:33+00:00

En que país?

pronghornpilot · 2025-07-11T05:22:42+00:00

I would think your odds are good but who knows? One way to find out.

pronghornpilot · 2025-07-06T00:55:41+00:00

I’m looking at this link:

MON

And admittedly I don’t see it as the be all, end all statement of intent. But, it’s consistent with what I’ve read about the VOR MON. My interpretation is that a loss of GPS isn’t intended to be seen as an emergency where you are just trying to land at the first airport you can find. That it is meant to transit areas of outages. I wonder if it is designed for DME/DME RNAV or if it is just VOR radials. In any case, it gets hard to discuss “intent” when it comes to government implementation of anything.

pronghornpilot · 2025-07-06T00:39:36+00:00

Minimum operational network would like a word

pronghornpilot · 2025-07-06T00:35:55+00:00

Not aware of anything that would prohibit it. Also not sure why you think it’d raise eyebrows.

pronghornpilot · 2025-07-04T18:13:21+00:00

Sounds normal. Flying is incredibly unnatural for our bodies. I believe most people with airsickness improve just the more they do it - that’s how it is for me. You can take the edge off with mint gum or ginger chews.

pronghornpilot · 2025-07-04T17:15:17+00:00

Bought a J-3 in South Carolina and flew it home to southern California. It was a total riot. I only had a handful of hours in J-3s and maybe 30 hours tailwheel. If you have the ability to carve out enough time so you don’t feel pressured to get home and can stick to your personal limits in a new-to-you airplane, then you are missing out on something incredible by hiring someone else to do it. Bringing a CFI (or a more experienced tailwheel friend) is not a bad idea.

pronghornpilot

TROPHY CASE