'Serenity'
Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, pandas, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.
I'm three weeks into ground training for my private pilot license.
Cool! Are you getting the Sportsman license or the regular one?
eta: The Sportsman license is new. You need less training to get it, but you're limited to simpler, slower planes and you can't fly into busy airspace or something....
Sportsman? Um, I'm working on my private plane pilot license. Sorry, I should have been more specific as I was responding to a sailing comment. For flying, there's private pilot, instrument rated, commercial, and multi-engine licenses, in ascending order of time and effort required. I don't know where I'll stop. It'll probably come down to the time and money I have on hand to pursue it. Or who knows. Once I'm finally flying on my own I might not be that into it. (But I doubt it.)
In case you miss my edit: The Sportsman license is new. You need less training to get it, but you're limited to simpler, slower planes and you can't fly into busy airspace or something....
Ah. It's called the Sport Pilot License: [link]
The Sportsman license is new. You need less training to get it, but you're limited to simpler, slower planes and you can't fly into busy airspace or something
Oh, ok. That's not one my flying club training group offers, but they're pretty conservative and safety mad. I'll be in ground school through April, in a class that some places offer over a weekend. On the other hand, the club's safety record is about three times better than the average for similar organizations, so I'm willing to spend an hour of class-time on making sure the pitot-static tube isn't plugged and suchlike.
Do you fly, tommyrot?
Calli! That's so awesome!! You should go up to AK and fly with my mom! (She's a CFII - started out just getting her license, and decided to teach. She loves it.)
Do you fly, tommyrot?
Nope. I've often thought about it though.
You should go up to AK and fly with my mom!
That sounds great! One of the things I'm enjoying is how much closer a bunch of places look when you can just rent a plane, check the weather, and go. Visiting my sister in Michigan would be as easy as (if rather more expensive than) visiting my Dad use to be when he lived 90 miles away. (I'm in NC.) While the planes I'd have access to probably wouldn't make it to the west coast in one hop, it would be a lot easier than a road trip.
Have y'all seen this? An Alaskan bush pilot had his Piper Cub trashed by a grizzly bear while out in the field. He then patched his plane with duct tape, and flew it home!
Carrot cake:
Nope. I've often thought about it though.
Right now we're learning a lot about the math and physics involved in aeronautics. It's very enjoyable.
Lift = angle of attack times velocity-squared (times a bunch of constants that vary from plane to plane--but it's the angles and speeds that really matter). I think the instructor may be a former Navy pilot. He hasn't said, but he's used a few Navy vs. Air Force jokes to illustrate some aerodynamic principles, and Navy always comes out ahead.