182manThank you all so much. I will let you know how things turn out for us. Thanks a bunch.
182manOh, one more thing. I did fly on the day of the check ride at my home airport just to get the jitters out of the way and thudded each landing. I simply shrugged it off and greased each landing on the checkride holding centerline each time. I did not talk to anyone prior to the checkride for fear of folks giving conflicting views. I simply stuck to what I knew.
182manMan I’ve been studying this oral exam guide to help prepare me for my checkride, and I don’t think I’ll ever learn all this crap. I hate no knowing what the guy is going to ask me.
I don’t think I’ll ever get my PPL at this rate….
The DE’s first impression of you is your presentation. I had my log books tagged for ready reference. I had the aircraft’ logs tagged to show compliance etc as well. I had the money (cash) in an envelope clearly marked on the outside as “Examiner Fees”. Then I had my written test results next in my folder. The key was to convey that I was organized and prepared.
How did you do on your written. Any mistakes? That usually sets the tone for his line of questioning. Of course, I was nervous and whiffed on the very first question. But he simply shrugged it off to jitters, I nailed the rest and we were done in 10 mins. Then came the check ride. And I was sure to impress him, as others have stated so well before, that I was a safe pilot.
My DE was, and is, an unique guy. He is based about 50 miles from my home base and he told my CFI, if I could find my way there on time, I have passed the XC flying part. So, that’ what I had to do for that portion of the checkride. It was to a nontowered airport and he was listening to me on the unicom freq to get a feel for how I handled myself over the airwaves.
During the check ride, I did my left steep turn perfectly and rolled in to the right turn but did a poor job. So, I broke it off halfway and asked to reset myself and try again. He was fine with it. That was the only snafu on my part. But I was not flustered by it and that helped.
I like his style and so I then went back to him for my IFR rating too. I did not go to him for my AMEL because he expects you to fly his duchess (no counter rotating props).
Sorry to ramble on. I hope it helps in some small way. Email me for more details if you wish. I would be happy to talk to you. Where in the US are you located?
182manI know, no one asked me, but allow me to profer my own conspiracy theory on this C152 incident.
Ever since 9/11, the left wing media in the US has tried to make a bogeyman out of GA. I bet, NBC or CNN or even Dan Rather was behind this stunt/incident. Now the airways will be full of blather of “we told you stuff” from the Ted Koppels of this loony left wing segment of our country.
182manNot on LHR-JFK.
Plenty premium pax.BA can fly a 777 on the route with just the Business cabin full and make money. OR so I’m told.
I too heard something similar.
On a BA LHR-BOS flight on a 777, the Captain told me something similar. He said that if all the FC passengers paid full fare (not upgrades/freq flyer stuff), the rest of the folks in cattle er.. coach class could be flown for free.
182manNot on LHR-JFK.
Plenty premium pax.BA can fly a 777 on the route with just the Business cabin full and make money. OR so I’m told.
I too heard something similar.
On a BA LHR-BOS flight on a 777, the Captain told me something similar. He said that if all the FC passengers paid full fare (not upgrades/freq flyer stuff), the rest of the folks in cattle er.. coach class could be flown for free.
182manOk whatever, I got it wrong but I can admit when I’m wrong! 😀 So couldn’t he make his mind up which church to follow then? :rolleyes:
Couldn’t care less, as long as we are free from the tryanny of Islamofascism/Pakislamism.
182manOk whatever, I got it wrong but I can admit when I’m wrong! 😀 So couldn’t he make his mind up which church to follow then? :rolleyes:
Couldn’t care less, as long as we are free from the tryanny of Islamofascism/Pakislamism.
182manShould have slotted the b@st@rds on sight, would have saved a lot of taxpayers money and a lot of left-wing ‘civil rights’ nonsense.
Amen to that.
182manShould have slotted the b@st@rds on sight, would have saved a lot of taxpayers money and a lot of left-wing ‘civil rights’ nonsense.
Amen to that.
182manCan anyone stop the Chinese and Americans using all the fossil fuel? 😡 Need to move to the land of the free where fuel is free-er!
Yup, not green as in environmentally just green as in jealous. 😀
It maybe the land of the free (I am assuming you are refering to GA in the US), it is also the land of the brave. These days we really have to be brave in using our wallets for GA 100LL fuel. I posted some prices from very recent purchases. I did not do the Sterling=USD conversion nor did I do the gallon to Liter conversion. Sorry, but I will make the attempt below.
Let’s assume 1lbSterling=1.5USD and 3.75L=gallon
Then, you folks are paying at 1.1/L the equivalent of ~$6/gallon. Ouch. What can I say, the Land of the free and the brave indeed. But it is the fault of them ChiComs, not us Capitalists Yanks 😉
182manKWLM = $3.50/Gallon for 100LL (Lawrence, Masschusetts – Home base)
KBWI = $4.80/Gallon for 100LL (Baltimore-Washington, Maryland)
182manQuite interesting! Need to see a video of this! Date? Place? Source?
Ah here! http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7081234/
They really should rename it! It’s not good to sink America.
That’s why the Germans changed the name of their battlecruiser “Deutschland” into “Lützow” before the war.
Wasn’t the “Deutschland” “Adolf Hitler” before that?
182manYes, you cannot do this anymore either…
I was on a 777 from LHR to BOS pre-9/11 (Sept 2000). As I settled into my seat, I could see cockpit door was open. I asked the purser, if I could take a quick peek inside. He said he would ask the Capt and get back to me. I figured that was a polite way of saying no and stretched out in my seat, and buried myself in the book I was reading.
In about a few minutes, the purser came back and said that the Capt would love to have me visit but that I would have to wait till we were airborne and over Shannon. I was stunned and excited.
Sure enough, I was called to the cockpit and was strapped down in the center seat (jump) and both he and the co-pilot took turns explaining their FMS etc. I was very fascinated by all that stuff, but this was pre-flying days for me so I never got to ask about airspeed and fun stuff like that.
Instead, while chatting we both realized that we like to boat. He has 35′ sail boat that he keeps on the Med and we have a power boat for coastal cruising off the NorthEast seaboard and based in the Boston harbor. He then said, that he sees a lot of islands as he comes into land at Logan (BOS) and asked if I could identify them for him from the air. I know the place rather well and agreed and was wondering how I could do that. Just then he said, that he would like me to join him on the flightdeck 150 nm out and sit in the jump seat all the way to the ramp.
Another thing I learned. According to this Capt, BA could essentially fly everybody free in economy if all seats in FC were fully paid fares (not upgrades or other freebies). Don’t know it is true and perhaps was true then but certainly may not be true in today’ fuel costs etc.
I was stunned and mumbled a thank you and left for my passenger seat.
Sure enough, just as we neared BOS, the purser again took me to the flight deck and strapped me in. I got the experience of my life. I could see BOS and its islands ahead, heard ATC reroute him, saw them enter that into the FMS and felt the a/c respond to the new vectors. I did my stuff and pointed out the islands. I instinctively shut up as we turned final and finally heard the descent called out and touchdown on the RNY. We taxied to the ramp and I waited for them to finish their checklists and could not thank them enough for their kindness for affording such an unique opportunity for me.
My only previous experience, in seeing a plane land, from such vantage, was in 1996 during my intro flight in a rickety C172!
My thrill was further enhanced when I saw the look on two of my former colleagues who saw me emerge from the cockpit as they were deplaning. The only downside to the experience – I was essentially the last one off the plane. These two colleagues were so curious, that they waited for me at Customs. It was so much fun. My regret, I did not get the name of either the Capt or the Co-pilot. My bad.
Such was life before 9/11.
182manCYTZ – City Center Airport in Toronto. This is my favorite for at least two reasons.
For many, many years, and as recently as 1996, my wife and I wnted to take up flying. After our intro flights, we realized the time and $$ investment required and reluctantly backed off.
Then in 2002, I was having a biz dinner at the CN tower in Toronto. The CN tower has a revolving restaurant. As our table revolved to face Lake Ontario, I saw a nice small airport (I guess it was the elevation of the tower) where I could, in the setting sun, see several small airplanes land and TO. At that moment in June 6, 2002, I made two decisions;
1. Learn to fly
2. Land at this airport on my next visit to Toronto
So, mid July, I simply blocked off time in my calendar and started taking lessons. As part of taking lessons, I was introduced to Sporty’ a catalog store located at I69 (Claremont County Airport) just outside Cincinnati. On the cover, they featured 6 of the most picturesque airports in NA. Guess, which one I recognized? Yes, CYTZ. I do not remember the rest, but I am sure Meigs was one of them before that thug Mayor Daley tore it down later.
So, that resolve, at the CN tower overlooking CYTZ, resulted in my working on getting my License in ’03 and I promptly flew to CYTZ at the very next biz opportunity. As I made my entry into the circuit, I could see, in the distance, the mist rising from the Niagara Falls.
As I turned final, a gigantic (it was that close) bird (with real feathers) swoped down into my flight path. I instinctively swerved and landed without incident. I explained my evasive move to tower and there was really no issue. Apparently, par for the course at this place.
Now, the airport is on prime land, minutes from Toronto downtown, and is an island to boot. Several commuter airlines operate from here instead of from Pearson Int’l which is on the far outskirts of the city. After disembarking, one catches a 2 min ferry ride to mainland.
After concluding my biz, as I hopped on the ferry to take me back to the a/c, I was approached by a local reporter. She was doing a piece on this airport and wanted my opinions on it. Apparently, was a move afoot to close this airport, and like Meigs, convert it to more of a public use space. The only difference being that there was at least some public debate on the matter.
I made my impassioned plea to keep the airport as is, and I pointed out its advantages to the city.
1. Proximity to downtown – good for business and tourists.
2. Picturesque to boot.
I have not followed up on the airport’ continued status. I have not seen anything in the press. Perhaps, Canadians resident here can update us all on its status. I hope it is allowed to remain a GA gem.
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