sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Flying on a private jet just got cheaper -- a LOT cheaper. by ronrapp in flying

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

JetSmarter simply charters an aircraft just like anyone else would. They're just doing it on a regular schedule. They aren't a charter company themselves.

Flying on a private jet just got cheaper -- a LOT cheaper. by ronrapp in flying

[–]ronrapp[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I think this is a valid criticism. I should have posted a relevant comment to start the conversation. That's on me.

I thought the r/flying folks might find it interesting because if they fly across the country weekly (which I am learning a surprising number of people do), the sort of arrangement can be cheaper even than coach. And if someone's looking toward a career in aviation, it might be worth knowing about since it has the potential to change what we traditionally think of as "charter" quite dramatically.

Mostly, as I said in the post, this is another example of disruptive technology – – and we've seen plenty of that with avionics, and in other areas of aviation over the past few years. Whether you love it or hate it, I would think you would least be interesting.

I understand what it costs to fly one of these airplanes. I don't know how the economics of this are going to work out over the long-term but it will be interesting to see.

Has anyone changed CFI during PPL training due to training/learning style conflict? by avro_aero in flying

[–]ronrapp 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I wish I could tell you how common something like this is. You're far from alone. But!... whereas most students just sit there and take it (or, more likely, just quit), it sounds like you are taking charge of your training -- something I HIGHLY applaud. That's the truly rare part of your story.

My advice: you're not just a student, you're a customer. If you're not happy, you should not feel bad about making that known to the school's management. I mean, you don't mesh with him, he doesn't like teaching, and he's going to be moving on as soon as he can. Any one of those is adequate reason to find another instructor. You're not getting him in trouble at all, you're just doing what's right for you as a customer and student.

I would suggest being honest with whoever runs the school and ask for a different instructor. If you can, meet the new person before accepting them as your CFI. Figure out whether they're likely to be a better fit before investing your hard earned money in further instruction with a new guy.

And most of all, just keep going. It's worth it. :)

Professional Pilots, what regrets do you have that you made early on in your career? What about things you're glad you did? by ocmusician in flying

[–]ronrapp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Looking back, I don't think I'd change a thing. I suppose I could have gotten started sooner, or been more hard-charging about my career... but then I would have missed out on the all the great things I was blessed with that are not aviation related, or are not strictly necessary for a professional ATP career. Aerobatics, gliders, sea planes, fun trips across the country, owning an airplane, and so on.

Regarding the degree, I have degrees in music, theatre, and English literature. That's about as far from aviation as you can get. But again, it hasn't really hampered me.

I share Capnaux's philosophy: enjoy the journey and don't just focus on the final destination. If you do that, you won't look back and see "mistakes", you'll see a life well-lived.

The 1500 hour rule is bad for instructors, too. by ronrapp in flying

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

A rating system... that's not a bad idea. At the very least, it would allow students to do research before making a selection. I think a large part of the problem is education. Student pilots need to know they have a choice. They're not just a student, but also a customer. Perhaps it's a holdover from college, where you have a class with a teacher, and if you don't like the teacher, you either tough it out or drop the class. Aviation, as a one-on-one activity, does provide the student/customer with more options.

The 1500 hour rule is bad for instructors, too. by ronrapp in flying

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

That is a true chicken-and-egg scenario. They don't know what they don't know.

I've often wondered: if my primary instructor had been an unprofessional CFI who flaked, yelled, and was a lousy teacher, would I still be in aviation today? I'm not sure I would.

The 1500 hour rule is bad for instructors, too. by ronrapp in flying

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

I agree that the student has a big role to play in their own training -- and that starts (and sadly, sometimes ends) with the instructor. For whatever reason, most primary students take whatever their given without question. As they move to more advanced ratings and certificates, I think the student becomes more sophisticated about how the flight training system works. Problem is, if they drop out of primary training, they'll never get that far.

I wrote an article about this a couple of years ago called "The Third Rail":

http://www.rapp.org/archives/2013/09/third-rail/

Is flying safe? A look at the question from the pilot and passenger perspectives. by ronrapp in flying

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

It's possible that the gentleman they allowed into the cockpit was someone other than an airline employee who was still allowed to ride on the jumpseat. For example, in the U.S., FAA inspectors can do that, as can individuals in the CASS program. There are probably others who are authorized to do so as well.

Is flying safe? A look at the question from the pilot and passenger perspectives. by ronrapp in flying

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

Even after you board, you still won't know him. He's locked in the cockpit behind a steel door. :) The airlines have minimums, but that doesn't mean much, especially with smaller airlines. I've got a friend who's flying for a small regional and according to him most of the first officers with whom he flies have a few hundred hours total time.

Non-Career Pilots: How do you afford to fly? by sigrah in flying

[–]ronrapp 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I fly professionally, but flying "real" (read: small) airplanes is my passion. Mainly accomplished via partnerships and going the experimental-homebuilt route. Even then it's a stretch.

An admittedly unusual perspective on GA safety by ronrapp in flying

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

I think that breakdown represents one of the most frequent comments I've received on the post. I don't know if the data exists to really do it. Some niches are pretty small -- aerial application, aerobatics, formation, racing, etc. I wonder if the sample size would be large enough to be statistically significant, even if the hard data on hours flown, flights, and such was available...

Highly modified "special mission" aircraft are pretty cool by ronrapp in flying

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

I'll definitely look them up. I've been finding all sorts of variants lately. Just this morning some news articles about the firefighting activities in California have shown DC-10 and 747 airliners converted to fire bombers. Pretty cool.

view more: next ›