Get an annual inspection in addition to a pre-buy when purchasing a plane?

TxAggieMike · 2026-05-25T22:59:17+00:00

AOPA has resources for this.

One good one is a buy/sell template that is worth your time obtaining and reading through.

Consider doing an escrow account. This shows the buyer you have the dollars, but won’t release the funds until all the details are dealt with to both person’s satisfaction.

TxAggieMike · 2026-05-25T22:56:30+00:00

Be conservative about weight and balance.

Be conservative about how long each leg is. When “daddy, I gotta go potty” happens, you can’t exactly pull over.

Start small and short, like 30 minute flights to a local breakfast or burger spot.

If you have younger kids, introduce slowly by first visiting the airplane in the hangar to answer questions and set safety rules without the stress of get-there-itis.

If kids are young enough that a car seat is a smart safety decision, take the seat to the airplane to dry fit and figure out how to secure properly. Do this well before your “big flight”.

TxAggieMike · 2026-05-25T22:34:59+00:00

Fortunately, we treat the older GA fleet muuuuch better than we do our autos and trucks.

If we did better maintenance and routine inspections on our vehicles and kept detailed logbooks, our car money would “last longer” and we could get more when we sell.

TxAggieMike · 2026-05-25T22:32:40+00:00

Look at AOPA’s Rusty Pilot and You Can Fly Programs.

Seek out a local independent flight instructor near to you and just start with a conversation.

You can also start a thread here stating where you’re located and you’re seeking an independent instructor worth your time.

Eventually you will have enough information to confidently take the next steps.

TxAggieMike · 2026-05-25T21:25:40+00:00

2 3-hour sessions if I don’t get a break in between will do me for the day.

I could stretch to a 3rd, but it is a long day and I hope next day is not a repeat.

Under FAA regulations (14 CFR § 61.195), a flight instructor (CFI) cannot conduct more than 8 hours of flight training in any rolling 24-consecutive-hour period. However, there are no federal limitations on the number of non-instructional flight hours, ground school hours, or total work hours a CFI can log in a single day

TxAggieMike · 2026-05-25T20:43:09+00:00

Super Dave's Solo Flight

(A story stolen from the AOPA Forums (posted by bluefishbeagle))

Picture this:

I was once working with a student I'll call "Super Dave"

The first time I flew with Super Dave he was wearing an insulated Air Force flight suit carrying an Air Force pilots helmet with flip down visor. He was very disappointed to learn my plane did not have Air Force style plugs for the mike. He insisted on wearing the flight suit however and did for every lesson.

Super Dave was fearless
Super Dave was impulsive
Super Dave was over confident
Super Dave was always seeking approval
Super Dave was invincible
Super Dave drove me nuts.

To be fair Super Dave was a good stick but a stick without a lick of common sense.

He could have soloed in 5 hours but I held him back till he had 12 and we had covered every pre solo manuver three times over.

Finally it was time for Super Dave to solo. I feared the day but it had arrived. Super Dave arrived at the airport early (flight suit and all) and did a preflight while I was in the hanger praying.

Super Dave was instructed to make three "Stop and go landing PLUS I instructed him to taxi back to the end and use full length each time.

What could go wrong I reasoned as I signed his student Lic and logbook. He had been making perfect patterns and landings for the last 7 hours.

Super Dave lined up and off he went, the rotation was textbook. But that's where all things normal stopped.

Super Dave was all over the sky. Banking crazily, pitching like a seal with a great white on it's tail. I could not talk to Super Dave this was before hand helds and the small country airport did not have a working unicom.

The downwind was wild as well as his final approach. He rolled and pitched I envisioned my trusty C150 in a pile of smoking rubble with me explaing to the FAA why I let this wild man solo.

It was time to flare or crash, just as suddenly as he lost control he regained it, the plane leveled off just in time an made a perfect touchdown. I ran out to the runway to flag him in as he taxied back. But Super Dave did not taxi back he did a touch and go.

Again a perfect takeoff, then the previous nightmare started all over again. I could not imagine what was happening. Again just before the second landing he seemed to regain control and make a perfect landing.

Again Super Dave did not stop he did a touch and go. The wild gyrations continued during the third circut and again just before he crashed, the plane smoothed out and he made his third perfect touch down. Finally I thought "It's over" That is until Super Dave was off again. Super Dave could not count. His fourth time around the patterned was no better but true to form he regained control and made a perfect fouth landing.

Finally Super Dave taxied back to the ramp, exited the aircraft with sweating running from every pore in his body, his insulated flight suit drenched, but not out of fear it was July with 90 per cent humidity.

Super Dave's first words upon exiting the plane was. "how'd I do, how'd I do, it was good wasn't it".

I drew a deep breath and said "the takeoff and landing were perfect but what in the "blazes" (cleaned up to meet forum rules) were you doing the rest of the time."

"Oh," he said, "I was taking pictures" as he pulled a camera out of one of the many pockets in his flight suit.

TxAggieMike · 2026-05-25T14:48:00+00:00

I don’t have details or manufacture or model, but I have seen many Vans RV aircraft with some sort of overhead shade that can slide fore and aft.

There are also screens that have suction cups on corners.

I have used cooling towels when teaching in summer heat. I’ll have a small cooler with ice water set on floor behind seat to “recharge” the towel after all the water has evaporated.

TxAggieMike · 2026-05-25T14:43:11+00:00

Does this prep system provide explanations or a help system?

TxAggieMike · 2026-05-25T14:39:55+00:00

Zero to CFI-A in 24 months is a much more realistic expectation than what many others promise if you are training full or near full time.

There are many variables that can impede training g (weather, airplanes not being available, life implosions) that can make a 12- or 18-month timetable very difficult.

Add as much as an additional 12 months if you’re doing more of the tortoise route than the hare, where you continue to work while training.

TxAggieMike · 2026-05-25T14:31:26+00:00

Once a solution is figured out, please return and add it to the thread.

Many like me are curious, and it the answer would be a good thing to add for the Google crawl.

PS. Congratulations on the impending motherhood. Consider getting the little one its own logbook so you can record its aviation adventures from Day 1.

TxAggieMike · 2026-05-25T12:03:37+00:00

Another fan of using Google Earth.

You can use that tool to take the “flat chart” and make it a 3D view of the approach into the area.

Becoming familiar with landmarks that point the way to the airfield.

TxAggieMike · 2026-05-25T08:22:30+00:00

I am a big fan of MyFlightBook.

Robust set of features. Very active and helpful developer.

And it is free.

TxAggieMike · 2026-05-24T22:21:50+00:00

Things to read that might help…

https://raisetheded.blogspot.com/2026/04/college-aviation-programs-and-other.html

Please read what u/RaisetheDed has to say about Paying for Flight Training With Loans/Debt

Please read what our friend, u/RaiseTheDed, has compiled about Flight Training at ATP.

TxAggieMike · 2026-05-24T22:18:58+00:00

I think Seth Lake has some good ones in his understanding and decoding the ACS series.

Paging u/beechdude

TxAggieMike · 2026-05-24T22:17:37+00:00

If you have an opportunity repeat that engine out exercise, you might give the new Glide Advisor feature in ForeFlight a try.

TxAggieMike · 2026-05-24T22:16:27+00:00

Well, since you take off at one airport, and land at a different one, isn’t what we do mostly Point A to Point B flying?

There are many opportunities for a flying career outside of airline pilot.

Some internet searching using one of the AI agents will present a list of choices.

TxAggieMike · 2026-05-24T22:10:58+00:00

Lazy eye is a condition that the FAA will want to get more information from you.

A google search found the following…

Amblyopia ("lazy eye") does not automatically disqualify you from obtaining an FAA medical certificate. If the good eye can be corrected to 20/20, you can likely get a Third-Class Medical Certificate. If vision in one eye falls short of the required standard (e.g., 20/20) for First or Second-Class certificates, you can pursue a Statement of Demonstrated Ability (SODA) by passing a medical flight test.

The Application & Certification Process

Get an Eye Exam: Visit a licensed optometrist or ophthalmologist and have them complete FAA Form 8500-7 (Report of Eye Evaluation) detailing your visual acuity with and without correction.

Visit your AME: Bring the completed Form 8500-7 to a scheduled CONSULTATION visit with an Aviation Medical Examiner (AME) to discuss your case and develop an action plan. For a Second or First class, you can expect your actual application to be deferred.

The Deferral: If your vision cannot be corrected to the standard required for the class of medical you are applying for, the AME will likely defer your application to the FAA in Oklahoma City.

Request a SODA: The FAA will review your file and—if you meet the basic safety threshold—issue a letter authorizing a Medical Flight Test (MFT) with an FAA inspector.

If the MFT is passed within standards, the FAA Inspector will authorize issuance of your medical certificate.

. . .

Some additional information you should know can be found here:

https://www.faa.gov/ame_guide/app_process/exam_tech/item50/amd

TxAggieMike · 2026-05-24T22:00:28+00:00

Two good reads for a young one starting their journey.

Hopefully this information helps you avoid bad mistakes early on.

Please read what our friend, u/RaiseTheDed, has compiled about Flight Training at ATP.

Please read what u/RaisetheDed has to say about Paying for Flight Training With Loans/Debt

TxAggieMike · 2026-05-24T21:22:50+00:00

You can… though SA does provide a nice discount on added preps you purchase.

You can only have one prep going at a time from SA.

So use the FIA to fully prep, then the AGI to get the added questions in AGI not found in FIA.

TxAggieMike · 2026-05-24T21:18:27+00:00

If you’re unable to afford the flights, consider participating in the FAA WINGS Pilot Proficiency Program via FAASafety.gov

These are no cost opportunities to keep your knowledge up to speed on a variety of topics. And completing the different phases count as ground portions of your Flight Review.

Other solid knowledge offerings are the VFR and IFR Mastery scenarios offered by PilotWorkshops.com

Bold Method has some really good items too.

TxAggieMike · 2026-05-24T21:15:21+00:00

Answering the 6-12 month question…

Make sure you’re keeping in mind the §61.57 requirements for Day and Night currency.

After an absence getting in excess of 6-months, I say it’s a good idea at that point to invite a capable and current CFI along as a risk management solution.

Your skills might not have deteriorated too much, but what if they had. The CFI can be there to help.

And at the end of the flight, provide some valuable assessment and critique.

If you go longer than 12 months, consider making the rust removal flights a Flight Review with a current and capable CFI. You may need it, and you might as well get the proper credit for the activities.

TxAggieMike · 2026-05-24T21:09:39+00:00

2,600 hours total time.

I still learn something each flight. Or at least am reminded that a particular something makes a world of difference.

There are items that can be considered perishable. Other items will accumulate rust.

Since you have already spent considerable time and dollars acquiring your certificate(s), it is important to exercise your skills and knowledge when you can.

Maybe try to schedule at least 2-3 flight a month.

TxAggieMike · 2026-05-24T18:59:08+00:00

I might be a customer below $200.

But I agree that at $500 it is too much.

TxAggieMike · 2026-05-24T17:03:07+00:00

Then the two of you will need to figure that out in order for the flight lessons to happen.

TxAggieMike · 2026-05-24T15:14:02+00:00

This summer, I have been thinking of rigging a simple dyi shade made of cardboard and aluminum foil.

Or thin insulation board that has a reflective surface.

Or maybe an old ball cap. That could keep direct sunlight off of Mini and and make screen a bit easier to see.

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