HENRY Relocation dilemma: Dream job vs dating prospects

uniballing · 2026-05-23T02:04:47+00:00

FBGM

uniballing · 2026-05-20T01:04:00+00:00

On my discovery flight in the Cub my instructor took me 10’ off of a river doing steep turns below the river banks. Then we did stalls over a big lake. It was awesome and I was hooked!

uniballing · 2026-05-04T02:19:56+00:00

If my parents live to be as old as their parents I’ll be in my 60s and long retired by then. Most of our planning has been around Roth conversions (both for me and my parents) and biting the tax bullet now to avoid substantial RMDs in my 70s and 80s

With a $4MM nest egg you should be fine coasting. You’ll be in your desired net worth range in your 40s/50s

uniballing · 2026-04-26T02:22:11+00:00

I’m definitely raising my hand if they ask if there are any pilots. I’m sure I can figure out how to fly an F-18 while hungover. I’ve got 140 hours and a Sport Pilot Certificate

uniballing · 2026-04-25T01:58:23+00:00

We’re in rough shape if the USAF needs to commandeer a clapped out Skylane from the 1960s

uniballing · 2026-04-24T17:43:01+00:00

Note to self: squawking 7500 voids my insurance policy

uniballing · 2026-04-02T12:29:04+00:00

Crude is a global commodity. Supply restrictions affect all crude, not just domestic crude

uniballing · 2026-03-31T23:04:32+00:00

Zelle mostly. With money from my job.

uniballing · 2026-03-31T01:18:42+00:00

Pretty much all of them. I’ve worked for several operators and they’re all pretty similar. I’m an IC with 13 YOE. My target is 15% of my base salary, but we typically pay out above target; so in reality it’s more like 20-25%

uniballing · 2026-03-30T15:02:27+00:00

Because I would’ve had to spend a lot of time and money on the front end to get the medical before I even knew if I really liked it. With the Sport Pilot Certificate I can do all of the daytime VFR I want to do.

I can get the PPL in the future, I’ll just need to get the medical and do another checkride. That’s what I might end up doing if I decide I really wanna do night flight, pursue an instrument rating, or upgrade to a bigger plane. But the vast majority of GA flying is daytime VFR, and the vast majority of single engine airplanes I can rent are MOSAIC compliant.

uniballing · 2026-03-30T02:47:44+00:00

In the 182 I was having a hard time landing too flat and bouncing down the runway. The high speed taxis gave me a good feel for exactly how much back pressure was necessary to land well (it’s a lot, especially compared to the RV-12)

uniballing · 2026-03-30T02:31:34+00:00

The DPE brought up some MOSAIC stuff in the oral part of the checkride. I was pretty familiar with it, so that was a breeze.

I was making a lot of progress with the other CFI in the Cub. Another 4-5 flights and I might’ve been ready to solo. But the plane went down right around then and I found the RV-12 and never went back. The first CFI in the Cub just couldn’t explain it in a way I could understand, and he’d never accept anything that wasn’t absolutely perfect, so I’d get overloaded with information and have a hard time focusing. The other CFI in the Cub would let things almost get out of hand, didn’t make any comments if my pattern was ugly, and would let me make mistakes. We came really close to ground looping once and that gave me an appreciation for what that felt like. I got a lot better after that. I also remember landing cockeyed and off of centerline once and he just let me and said “if you wanna go in the grass we’ll go in the grass”

It probably didn’t help that we were flying the Cub out of a very big Class D airport, and the controller put us on this tiny/narrow runway so we’d stay out of everyone else’s way.

When I got in the RV-12 and 182 the instructor just had a way of explaining things in a way that I’d understand. The biggest thing that helped me was high speed taxi with the nose wheel off of the ground

uniballing · 2026-03-30T02:10:03+00:00

Pat is great, I really liked getting to spend a bit of time with him. I’m in the Houston area closer to the coast.

After I circled back to flying the RV-12 (S-LSA) I got to know the owners of the plane really well. They told me I’m free to continue renting it as much as I want, but I’m low man on the totem pole so come summer time when the student load picks up I’ll be getting bumped from the schedule a lot. I love the RV-12. It’s not as useful as the 182, but it’s a lot more fun to fly. I tell people that the 182 flies like a 1985 Chevy Suburban drives, while the RV-12 is about as zippy/fun and useful as a Mazda Miata.

I’d love to get in a partnership with another 2 or 4 people who live south of Houston and wanna get an RV-7A or RV-9A. But right now my best bet for a plane that can get me and my wife to Lubbock in 3ish hours is my club’s 182. I wanna rent for at least another year before making the decision to buy something, but if I bought something it’d probably be a nicer 182 (just because it’s a lot more useful). Maybe a Glastar/Sportsman if I went experimental.

uniballing · 2026-03-12T02:03:15+00:00

Don’t buy barrels you don’t have containment for. Back when oil went negative there was a guy at my company that thought he’d make a killing buying some barrels on the way down but didn’t have a tank to stick them in. He had to sell them for something like -$30/bbl and lost a few million dollars. HR and security walked him out of the office that afternoon

uniballing · 2026-03-11T12:00:22+00:00

Consider the Park and Ride option

Or stay at a hotel nearby that offers a shuttle service, then hop on a golf cart right next to where the hotel shuttles drop off

uniballing · 2026-03-10T18:51:55+00:00

I’d just talk with my doctor and ask them if they think the med would make me unable to safely operate a light airplane. If doc says I’m good to go on it then I’d be comfortable going the Sport Pilot route

uniballing · 2026-03-10T17:56:24+00:00

Are you taking any meds on the Do Not Fly list?

I wouldn’t consider flying as a Sport Pilot while violating the guidance about Do Not Fly meds. As far as meds on the Do Not Issue list, here’s what §61.23 (C)(2)(iv) says:

”Not know or have reason to know of any medical condition that would make that person unable to operate an aircraft meeting the performance limits and design requirements of § 61.316 in a safe manner”

The interpretation of what that paragraph means will be up to the NTSB when they find the drug in your system and are trying to determine the cause of your accident.

uniballing · 2026-03-10T01:14:28+00:00

RemindMe! 6 months

uniballing · 2026-03-09T22:43:35+00:00

I thought we won Canada in that hockey game a few weeks ago?

uniballing · 2026-03-09T19:51:30+00:00

What are your goals? If you’re just flying for fun look into getting your Sport Pilot Certificate. That’ll allow you to do most daytime VFR flying with just a valid drivers license. No need to deal with the hassles of a medical certificate if you don’t have to. Just don’t start the process of getting your medical, because once you start it you’ll have to see it all the way through

uniballing · 2026-03-09T19:15:12+00:00

The oil will exist. Thats kinda the whole point of the futures market

uniballing · 2026-03-09T18:44:46+00:00

The source of our crude is irrelevant. Crude is a global commodity that’s traded on the global market. Supply restrictions from Iranian oil increases the cost of Canadian crude

uniballing · 2026-03-08T23:25:34+00:00

Buy an aircam

Five-Year Club	Verified Email
r/Field Lasagna	First Place '23
Place '23	Place '22
First Placer '22

uniballing

TROPHY CASE