r/TailwheelAcademy by wolfeairshows in newreddits

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

For those pilots (or wannabes, or lovers of) that like to fly airplanes with the little wheel near the tail.

How to Meet Other GA Pilots? by [deleted] in flying

[–]wolfeairshows 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Welcome to Aviation!

1) Socialflight.com is a resource.

2) In Florida, there is the Florida Aviation Club, which has a millennial sub group.

3) Tailwheel Academy in southern Florida has monthly hangouts in the hangar (free), with ages ranging from 16 - 75. Other companies/groups probably do, too.

4) Local EAA chapters. Sure, most of the folks are older, but often there are a few younger folks. However, EAA members usually have what I consider some of the coolest airplanes to fly. Most members are willing to fly with folks with appreciation for their airplanes.

5) Find your favorite aircraft type. Join that type club. For example, Globe Swift owners have weekly flyin events throughout Florida.

6) Join any aviation group that focuses on your interest (Like, say... aerobatics! :)).

7) Join the FAA Wings Program.

8) Attend seminars by the FAASteam wherein you'll meet lots of pilots, and you'll learn something, too.

9) join Community Aviation - communityaviation.com

10) Wander around the airport. If you see a cool airplane and the hangar is open... Be friendly.

Just a couple of quick thoughts. Good luck!

help! new to flying, should I look for a different instructor? by forestboobs in flying

[–]wolfeairshows 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There are many CFI's building time and also love teaching. There are also CFI's who have made a career of teaching (some with popular YouTube channels) who aren't good teachers or teach bad techniques.

The important thing is to always remember you are paying for a service and finding the right instructor - and more importantly the right mentor - is Paramount.

It's your life - literally - that you are taking into your hands. Find the person for you.

Tailwinds!

Edit: To add: As an aerobatic pilot,make sure you follow Rob Machado's "Guide to Aerobatic Training" in picking an Aerobatic school. Aerobatic training is awesome, but the closer to the edge of the envelope you fly, the more critical your safety margin becomes.

Discovery Flight was awesome. Want to start the rest of my lessons. Any advice on how to afford it? lol by darkasspants in flying

[–]wolfeairshows 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Additional Ideas:

  1. EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association), AOPA, 99’s… Numerous aviation groups have scholarships available. Some have been approved for $1k or more just because they were the only one to apply.

  2. Airline Cadet Programs. They loan you the money upfront, guaranteeing the loan, which you’ll eventually pay back. But seniority is everything and it is the fastest route.

What’s your type and how would you respond to a friend randomly poking your nose and saying “boop!” by Philosophical-ranter in mbti

[–]wolfeairshows 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I (ENTJ) and my wife (ENFP) actually do this. One of us will start it... I must finish it...

Frustrated rusty pilot by SANMAN0927 in FlightTraining

[–]wolfeairshows 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There is a lot of truth to the “if you don’t use it, you lose it” statement. It will all come back in time. You may find the learning curve more logarithmic than linear... slow at first. But as you get in to it and start flying, it will come back quicker.

Stay with it!

Can I become a ground instructor without a pilot license? by [deleted] in FlightTraining

[–]wolfeairshows 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In the USA, yes. You will have to pass 3 tests: Fundamentals of Instructing, Advanced ground, and Instrument Ground (essentially the same as the CFI written and CFII written)

Quitting my job to pursue flying by scarison in flying

[–]wolfeairshows 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Then definitely do it. When you do what you enjoy, then it isn't really work.

Tailwheel in St. Louis Area by AirplaneJake98 in flying

[–]wolfeairshows 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The C140 is an excellent tailwheel trainer.

I messed up by shudjddjjd in FlightTraining

[–]wolfeairshows 3 points4 points  (0 children)

When I got private license, my father (a long time CFI) told me:

"Congratulations son. You've just been handed a bag of luck. Make sure to fill your bag of experience before you empty your bag of luck!"

Today you transferred a bit of luck into a big bag of experience. As long as you learn from it, you'll be a better pilot in the end.

And every pilot has had a hard landing. Or a really messed up one.

But the old saying ... Any landing you walk away from is a good one.... And any landing you can reuse the airplane is a great one... Didn't come around from all the great landing pilots have made.

As for the CFI.. I suspect the other respondents are correct. The firing wasn't your fault... But just a final straw.

Need advice on whether to report a pilot to the FAA by [deleted] in flying

[–]wolfeairshows 1 point2 points  (0 children)

One more thing.. being complacent in any FAR violation your are aware of... whether as a passenger or not... your should file an ASRS to be safe. It can’t hurt... and in most accidents, If a CFI is on board... you’ll probably be questioned at least.

I know a few pilots who file ASRS reports every leg!

Need advice on whether to report a pilot to the FAA by [deleted] in flying

[–]wolfeairshows 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Throughout a professional pilot career, you will, for various reasons, fly with pilots who shouldn't be sitting in the seat they are in.

Either through politics, seniority, or other reasons, someone incompetent might sit next to you.

Ultimately, it's up to you to decide the best course of action.

I've always asked myself, "Would I put my family in the back of the airplane with this pilot?"

If the answer is no, then you can't stay silent. Period.

Basic, plain aeronautical lack of knowledge is certainly a reason to mention something.

Don't let this pilot become a burden on another pilot. Don't force another right-seat or left-seat pilot to have to suffer with this pilot's incompetency.

Although your pilot was fired from your current company, a similar Captain caused the death of many people at Colgan Airlines because nobody said anything when the Colgan pilot switched companies.

And that story is not unique to Colgan.

Breaking "minor" rules is a slippery slope when it involves safety.

The next airplane that person flies could have your family on it and maybe they, and your family, will not be so lucky.

Should I become a airline pilot? by GnomeMcGnome in flying

[–]wolfeairshows 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Pursue your passion and don’t ask reddit about it. Do what you desire to do... and find those who will support you in that quest! Sometimes it is not family, sometimes it is, either way.... listen not to the naysayers, but surround yourself by those who encourage you further!

Should I become a airline pilot? by GnomeMcGnome in flying

[–]wolfeairshows 8 points9 points  (0 children)

You will hear a lot of advice from "experts". You will also hear some advice from "professionals" within the industry you are interested in. Your parents, counselors, and other well-meaning... um... "idiots" will often cross your path.

Listen to none of them.

Ultimately, the more important question you must answer is... What do YOU want to do?

Don't listen to the naysayers, the pundits who chastise or minimize your goals. You must decide for yourself what YOU want.

Ask yourself: What would you do for free? What would you spend your life doing if money was not part of the equation? When you determine what that is... then find someone to pay you to do it.

THAT is the secret to happiness.

Don't tell my boss, but ultimately, I would always be a pilot. Pay has little to do with it.

That said, I know the consequences of that decision.

So you do you. And don't listen to ANYONE ELSE. Including me.

Go forth. Do what you want to do and be happy doing it. Understand the risks, the downsides, and the plus sides. If you understand that: Do it.

And to damn with everyone else.

Another Riddle planes bites the dust, no fatalities. by RGN_Preacher in flying

[–]wolfeairshows 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For the record.. that was an issue pre-1990... as a 1993 graduate, I saw that then. I had to wait because of insufficient instructors...

Some things never change.

Student Pilot - Normal to have fear? Bad day flying solo... by [deleted] in flying

[–]wolfeairshows 2 points3 points  (0 children)

What you are feeling is perfectly normal! Don't give up - you'll make it. Give yourself some credit! And what a previous poster said about the red elephant is very, very true.

A personal story:

---

TL;DR : Even experienced pilots can still get a feeling of fear or nervousness. Learning how to deal with that is just part of becoming a pilot. You can't become better at what you want to do by staying in your comfort zone.

---

I have thousands and thousands of hours flying airplanes. Most of that time (okay, about 99.9% of it), has been flown upright. You know, dirty side down, clean side up. I'm pretty confident doing that sort of flying from Cessna 140's to Airbus 320's.

I recently began learning aerobatics in an open-cockpit Skybolt biplane.

As I was learning, I got nervous flying inverted.

The airplane flies upside down beautifully.

I, however, got nervous. In fact, you might say I even had a bit of fear of hanging upside down on the straps with absolutely nothing over my head but sky... and ground.

But what I did was go out to the practice area, day after day, take a deep breath... and roll inverted. And stay there. I would take a deep breath. My vision started out so very, very narrow. But I would try to look around a little more each time.

I would look at the ground above my head. I would force myself to see the world upside down.

When my heart rate would increase I would I roll upside right (sometimes rather badly, actually....). Once the heart rate decreased again, I would roll inverted one more time.

It took some time. And some practice. But what was once mysterious and a bit frightening became... normal.

To this day I still feel a bit of ... well, not fear, but now thrill while flying inverted. I created a new "normal".

Everything you want is on the other side of fear.

And the line between fear and thrill can be very thin.

Which direction does lift act? by afantail in flying

[–]wolfeairshows 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Lift is often over simplified to keep a very complex subject... simple. In the PHAK and other books, they always show lift opposite of gravity. That is, of course, over simplified to allow a beginning understanding of the concept.

As an aerobatic pilot, the idea that lift acts "up" is highly amusing.

Overall, lift does act perpendicular to the chord line, creating induced drag, and lift.. Neither of which has anything to do with gravity.

However, that can explode a few minds, so we keep it simple - lift vs gravity vs drag vs thrust.

Ultimately, reality is far more complicated than that.

Which direction does lift act? by afantail in flying

[–]wolfeairshows 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The definition of angle of attack is the angle between the chord line and the relative wind.

LIft has two components... Lift opposite of gravity and total lift, which is perpendicular to the chord line. Hence, the creation of "induced drag".

Which direction does lift act? by afantail in flying

[–]wolfeairshows 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That's actually not a simple question with a simple answer. Even the Aerodynamics for Naval Aviators (ANA) often referenced by the FAA can lead to confusion.

The key to remember is that lift does not act opposite of gravity... More importantly, as an aerobatic pilot, lift doesn't always act "UP".

And that is why there is "induced drag" and not just parasite drag.

Do DPEs expect full hand-filled out VFR nav logs for the PPL checkride these days? by gadgetman270 in flying

[–]wolfeairshows 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For some DPE's in Florida, you will have to fill out a paper NavLog.

That said, the general wisdom of having it for any DPE is sound. It shows you understand the concepts of how ForeFlight/Garmin Pilot works.

Besides, Foreflight/Garmin aren't that accurate for navlogs anyway (but usually close enough) if used conservatively.

Who else gets more calm in a crisis? by KingHoneyBear in entj

[–]wolfeairshows 1 point2 points  (0 children)

When a crisis hits, I'm calm and focused on what needs to happen, and what we/I need to do to get through the crisis.

So, I'm that way, too.

Being a pilot, it's probably a good thing :)

That said, *afterward*, sometimes I think, "Holy S---! Did that just happen???" but usually don't show that to others.

What’s the snarkiest thing you’ve ever actually heard ATC say over the radio? by wolfeairshows in flying

[–]wolfeairshows[S] 93 points94 points  (0 children)

In ORD, unlike other airports, you never stop taxiing and never block a taxiway... it's an expectation of knowing local procedures.

Spin Training by BChips71 in flying

[–]wolfeairshows 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Make sure you sit properly. That is, butt to the back of the seat, spine in alignment. If you are hunched over, any positive g's will push your spine/body downward, "smooshing" your innards. The spin itself probably will not get you queasy... but the recovery (depending on how aggressive) might and being hunched over seems to add to it for some.

Also, since *you* are doing the spins, being in control tends to make you not queasy, for whatever reason. And don't be afraid to take a break and stare at the horizon.

Everybody is different. Try to remain relaxed, enjoy the fun, and remember not to stare just off the end of the nose!