Comments on: Now what?

By: David Fox

David Fox — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 17:54:50 +0000

David, I went through this when I owned my Archer III. My mission profile was changing, I wanted to go to higher elevation airports, and I wanted to be able to carry more people, more stuff or both. My solution was to partner up and get a more high performance aircraft. It has been the best thing that I have done in regards to my flying. I am no longer bound by the limited performance of the Archer and I can fly the missions that I have always wanted to. For instance, there is no way I could have stuffed 3 of my friends, all of our golf clubs and luggage, and flown off to Bandon Dunes in Oregon for a weekend with the Archer. But it was no sweat in the Cherokee 6. And I continue to push the kinds of missions I can fly.

Also, with partners I have been able to buy a way more expensive plane than I ever would have alone. Are there scheduling conflicts? Far, far fewer than you would imagine, at least with us. And I get to share the maintenance, annual, oil changes, repairs…….. And I kid you not, with the power of the partnership we are looking to upgrade already. We have our eyes peeled for a 6XT. We’ll see how that goes, it is territory I couldn’t have imagined looking into.

Be safe and happy flying to you!

By: Tony Hunt

Tony Hunt — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 04:49:02 +0000

David, I started in 2000 by buying a Cardinal to take flying lessons, then after two years sold it and bought a Baron for family travel. Three years later, the children left for University and I found I was only flying the Baron on Hope Air missions. I bought the Husky in 2005 and am really enjoying the places I can take the taildragger and the people I meet. Warning – a Husky/SuperCub or similar are an acquired taste and not necessarily spouse friendly. My spouse never forgave me selling the Baron and has never flown in the Husky.
Along the way, I picked up the Commercial license, then Multi-IFR and recently my Instructor rating. After 900 hours, I am now trying the part-time instructor role but I will not quit my day job. Anyways, we all go through these phases and there is always some fresh excitement around the corner in aviation. Try the gliding thing, I was going to take the conversion course at Pendleton this past summer but never had time with the instructing job on Saturdays.
There are a few taildraggers in the area. I hangar the Husky at CYRP. If our paths cross at RFC next summer you can join me and try some real short takeoffs and landings.

By: Nick

Nick — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 19:41:18 +0000

I’ll second the gliding recommendation. On the subject of aerobatics, a few hours of aerobatic instruction is exhilarating and will sharpen your stick-and-rudder substantially, but any more than that requires a devotion to aerobatics that very few people have. A multi-rating, while useful, won’t substantially enhance your skillset and it costs a lot. I would however encourage the taildragger conversion, and once you have that it makes picking up ski-planes a lot more practical (which might be an option in Ottowa). Having a few taildragger hours will also make it easier when you decide to buy one once the kids graduate, because then you can jump right in to the offstrip stuff.

By: Anthony Nalli

Anthony Nalli — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 16:46:48 +0000

You know David, I sometimes find myself in the same sort of situation. I’ve had a passion for aviation my entire life so I don’t think walking away is even a possibility. I’d love to live out my dream of being an airline pilot but that just not practically or financially feasible. So that leaves me with Hope Air and Young Eagles. Something else I’ve taken on is becoming the social director of the Brampton Flying Club. We schedule flyouts monthly to places like Boston, Cleveland, etc. (among other events, like a flour bombing we’re organizing for 2008). This usually gives us the excuse to fly there once on our own to check things out then do the flyout as a group. I really look forward to these longer trips now. I really can’t get geared up to pull the plane out for a couple of circuits or to mess around in the practice area for an hour.

Now, of course, this isn’t the be all and end all but it IS just one other thing I do that requires the use of the plane. I’m open to other ideas too so I’ll be keeping an eye on replies. It does sound like you may have outgrown your Warrior though. I had one for a short while and loved it but it just didn’t meet my needs (mainly 4 adults). If you were able to move up to a 182 or a low wing equivalent you’d find the added power and speed could really expand you mission profiles. It’s amazing what kind of a difference 25 knots and 200 pounds can do for you!

Anthony

By: WestSacRob

WestSacRob — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 23:53:59 +0000

I am still a student pilot but I am anticipating your dilemma. I am thinking of joining the Civil Air Patrol or Angels Flight as soon as I get my PPL just so I do not feel like I’m wasting all of this training. I want to do more with this hard-earned certificate than get $100 hamburgers. Good luck on your quest. -WSR

By: Blake

Blake — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 15:32:09 +0000

I was actually looking into aerobatics last week. I’m unsure if my stomach would be able to take it either… but I think the challenge of performing an aerobatic maneuver would keep me interested for a a little while.

I think the idea of gliding is a great idea. It would give you a whole new appreciation for power management 😉

By: Paul Tomblin

Paul Tomblin — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 13:43:56 +0000

When I was waiting for a complicated medical renewal, a friend suggested I try sailplanes. Unfortunately the only local option was a club where you were expected to spend one weekend a month helping on the field instead of flying. Since I was spending two weekends a month driving up to see my kids, spending another weekend helping so that in the unlikely event I didn’t have anything else to do that final weekend I might be able to go flying didn’t seem like a good option to me. So instead I did my instrument rating since I could take dual without a medical.

By: david

david — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 13:27:39 +0000

All great suggestions — thanks. I can’t go for the Super Cub for now because I still have a family of four to haul around, though it would be pretty-much as fast as my Warrior and give me a lot more landing choices. Taking time off is a good idea, and I’ll probably have a month off during my annual (which starts in a couple of weeks). Gliding is the most intriguing idea, especially since it’s relatively inexpensive and there are several fields nearby, so I might try that in the spring (another option I left out was aerobatics, but I’m not sure if my stomach would be up for that).

By: ArtZ

ArtZ — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 12:31:00 +0000

David,

I’ll second the glider idea. I joined a local glider club in August and have had a blast. There is something magic about being aloft, without the propeller and engine noise, and the glorious view that only a bubble canopy can afford. Even better: coming down on your own terms, when and where you want to, and doing it without gasoline.

Cheers,
— Art Z.

By: Ed Davies

Ed Davies — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 11:41:30 +0000

– learn to fly a glider?

Learning to actually fly it wouldn’t take much – just learning to use the rudder pedals and judge the circuit (pattern) mostly. Learning to fly cross-country effectively would give a lot more satisfaction for your money than any of the items you list, in my humble opinion (based on 800 hours gliding and 460 hours power flying). It’s time consuming, though, so maybe it’s the thing to do in a few years.

By: Frank Ch. Eigler

Frank Ch. Eigler — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 01:53:40 +0000

You could take some time away – a month or so.
When you get back in after some time, the magic will relight for a while.

By: Paul Tomblin

Paul Tomblin — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 01:12:27 +0000

If I had a Warrior and your sort of experience, I’d sell it and buy a Super Cub on floats or tundra tires and go exploring.