Jump Right in Here: Flight Training
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***NOTE: I have traded in the Champ for a Gobosh 700S and the blog reflects that. That taildragger got me and I have gone over to the easier to land tricycle gear Gobosh.

Note that most links on this blog will open in a new window, Just close that window when you are done and you will be right back here.

This blog is about my flight training in a 1946 Aeronca Champ, and my CFI, Ron. I will try to post an entry after each session, mostly to remind me of what I did that day, what was right, what needs work and what I need to watch for on the next session. I am trying to fly on Tuesdays & Fridays, 2 hrs a week. That makes it 10 weeks to the minimum total hours for a sport pilot rating and 8 weeks to solo. We’ll see how I do…

As a kid, we had a reserve airbase close by, and I remember the air shows and planes and the rides in helicopters. They had a “graveyard” of WWII fighters & bombers that we used to explore, sitting in the pilots seats and playing make-believe.

A few years back, I took my granddaughter to an EAA Young Eagles event. The EAA sponsors plane rides for children to expose them to the fun of flying. It was windy that day, and Dottie was my granddaughters pilot (in an Ercoupe). She graciously invited us back the next week. When we get there, Dottie was waiting with her husband, who also had his own Ercoupe. She went up with my granddaughter, I went up with Paul. The ‘Coupe was easy to fly, having no rudders… My interest was re-kindled. A year later, I got a ride in an Extra 300 with Fighter Combat out of Phoenix. What a blast.

Then the Sport Pilot rating was introduced by the FAA, and I started looking at the possibility of training. At the time, I had flown in an Ercoupe and research showed that some planes fit the LSA category and were available at a reasonable price. (That has since changed, in that so few aircraft meet the requirements for LSA, the price has almost doubled in many cases, and the new LSA aircraft, while not as pricey as the “normal” planes are going for $80 to $120k)

OK, a few years back, I took an “Introductory Flight” at Midfield Aviation in a Cessna 172. Was not terribly impressed. Went in the Ercoupe, pretty cool. no rudders, easy to fly (I thought). Debbie got me a ride of your life thrill with an aerobatic pilot in an Extra 300, now that was awesome. Loops, spins, rolls, barrels, flat spins, tumbles, definately the ride of my life. Then the sport pilot rating came along. Got me to thinking. About 8 months ago, I decided to take an intro flight in a PPC (powered parachute), and that was kind of boring. Then, my new pool guy comes alaong and is into the Trikes, so I tried that. Issue #1 is you need a sport pilots license to fly one of these, and getting training and check-out can be difficult to come by, and almost the cost of training in a standard aircraft (not to mention that trikes can be pricey, too, cost 15-25k). Here are some shots of that adventure. (Flash & Java)
Here are some shots of that adventure . (Straight html for those that can’t view the above flash gallery)

So, I decided that a sport pilot license in a standard aircraft would be the way to go. Now, all I had to do was find a CFI to train me. Oh, and an FAA listed Light Sport Aircraft to train in…

Jump Right in Here: Flight Training
Scroll to the bottom of the page to view in chronological order.