Enjoy!

We just stayed local as we didn’t have a ton of time. We flew out to Lake Bridgeport and then came on back. James wanted to do a landing on the big runway at Alliance, but there was too much traffic, so we just did a touch & go on 16R.

Then we got our turn out over Texas Motor Speedway and headed back to the field. The only bummer thing is that the audio in the back seat was not working properly, and they could not hear us. We could hear them though. Mama got bored I think and Garrett almost fell asleep.

I’m going to be checking with my instructor sometime in the next couple of weeks so I can get some time to have him demonstrate spins in the 172, and then do a couple of actual soft field landing/takeoffs. 52F has grass, so hopefully I can do it there.

• Australian Heritage Hotel - One of the best beer selections
• Observer Hotel
• Mercantile Hotel - Saw live music here twice
• The Lord Nelson’s Brewery Hotel
• Hero of Waterloo - Best decor
• Glenmore Hotel - One of the best rooftop pubs in The Rocks
• Jacksons on George - Open late!
• Orient Hotel - Awesome music, and best memories of the trip

Why are they called Hotels? Glad you asked.

Back in the day, they used to try to be the one stop shop for the sailors that came into town with their pockets lined with cash. Bottom floor is the pub, the ladies were up on the second floor, and accommodations up on the third or higher.

Call me a dumb American tourist, I don’t care. The Rocks would be my anchor, or rock if you will, if I lived there.

I’m just plowing through all of the junk my RSS reader picked up while I was gone, and importing my new Aussie music! Going to fly with the family today as well, then OFF TO THE LAKE!

Looking forward to a relaxing weekend away!

Tomorrow AM is all tourist shopping before the briefing (catch up to the US work before that of course).  Then hit a few pubs and get ready to come home.  I have really enjoyed my trip, but have fallen in love with Sydney while I am here.  The city is absolutely incredible.

Keep watching the blog for more shenanigans!

• Woke up late, but good thing because the conference call (late Friday US time) got cancelled.
• Went to the Starbucks on the corner for breakfast
• Walked through The Rocks to the Sydney Harbor Bridge
• Walked the footpath & climbed in the tower
• Headed back over to Circular Quay, bought a ferry ticket to Darling Harbour, and then walked to the Opera House
• Walked around and took some pictures of the Opera House, and inquired about the tours
• Made a last minute decision to take the tour
• LOVED THE TOUR
• Briskly walked back to catch the ferry
• Rode the ferry to Darling Harbour
• Had lunch
• Hit the aquarium (not as great as I hoped)
• Headed back to Circular Quay, and then to the hotel
• Took a load off, fixed/charged my Blackberry
• Loaded back on and headed to the pub tour in The Rocks
• Did the tour
• Went back to Glenmore for food
• Hit the Mercantile for drinks & music
• Petered out and headed back to the hotel
• Got a drink, watched a crappy hotel lounge band
• Talking to you.

That about does it!  Now I need to sort laundry and pack because I am headed to Brisbane early in the morning.

Today I am going to be doing some stuff with local press and meeting a customer.  I’m going to get moving here and walk around a little bit this AM, but not too much.  When I was doing the elliptical today, I was getting a slight twinge in my left leg.  I don’t want to push it as I still have two more cities to see before I leave.

Took the ferry over to Manly Beach yesterday and walked around there for a little bit.  It was chilly, but there were at least 50 surfers in the water down the way.  After I’d been there about an hour, I headed back and picked up the Jet Cat on the way back.  Half the time, but COLD up on deck.

Last night I hit the Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel.  Quite awesome.  Then I had enough, so I walked back here to the hotel and crashed.

Yesterday on the Ferry ride, I got some great shots of the opera house.  I’m going to put together some of those and hang them at the house methinks.

1. Light switches on the OUTSIDE of the room
2. Driving on the left
3. Road signs (look EXACTLY the same)
4. The first floor of a building actually being the second.

That said, I’ve learned some key differences so far.

1. Food…. MUCH FREAKING BETTER here
2. Longer flight here…. but ultimately worth it
3. Better weather
4. Did I mention the food?
5. I went to a place called Manly Beach today.  Go find that in the UK.

Anyway… I’ve been up for a while now, and I’m going to sleep.  Catch you in the morning (or EVENING for those of you back home!).

We had some low level clouds around the airport when we arrived, so I just did the normal preflight in anticipation of waiting around a bit. Turns out, the weather cleared for a bit, so we got gas and went! Course, we got off the runway and quickly noticed another low level bank about 20 miles to the north west that was moving our direction. We flew over to Denton, but by the time we got there (3-4 minutes) we noticed that bank getting closer.

I didn’t want to get stuck today.

So I turned around and called Flight Watch and asked for a weather update. That layer of clouds was coming our way! So I decided to run back south and this would just be a very quick (but safe flight). So we flew over Alliance so Dad could get a picture, and then entered the pattern to land. On final, I noticed that cloud bank had stalled a bit, so I decided to do a touch & go.

On our way back around, the clouds that were to the south were coming back up to the north, so I decided to make this our last one. We landed and taxied back.

Now I’m preparing for Australia!

I’ve had some people ask me about costs. I wanted to outline some of the costs you can expect if you are considering a private pilot license. Incidentally, there is a recreational pilot license that was set up a few years ago, and that is cheaper to get. Based on FAR 61.99, you can do it with less than half of the minimum flight time. There are limitations though. For example, it is daytime VFR only, limits to the number of passengers, types of planes, domestic only flights, etc. It’s a good place to start if you want to get up in the air on a budget, but just remember that you are limited.

If you decide to go the private pilot route, you will have much more flexibility and it does not cost too much more. Here are some of the minimum requirements of a private pilot (I’m going to stick with single engine fixed-wing aircraft here) under FAR 61.109 are:

• 40 hours of total flight time (at least 20 instruction and 10 solo)
• 3 hours of cross-country flight training (dual)
• 3 hours of night flight training (dual with 1 cross country and 10 takeoffs and landings to a full stop at a towered airport)
• 3 hours of flight training on maneuvers (dual)
• 3 hours of practical test flight training
• 10 hours of solo flight training (at least 5 cross country)
• 1 solo cross country flight with three stops
• 3 take offs and landings to a full stop at a towered airport
• Ground instruction

So here’s how you should figure out cost. The numbers I am using here are valid for an average Cessna 172 at a flight school. They are pretty close to what I paid at my flight school. One thing to note is whether your rates are wet or dry. Wet rates mean fuel is included. The last time I filled up at 52F, AVGas (100LL) is running $4.76/gal, and the 172’s burn about 10 gallons/hour.

• 45 hours of flight time, this rate is a wet rate so fuel is included (45 hours @ $106/hr = $4,770)
• ROUGHLY 45 hours of instruction time, though this really seems to vary (45 hours @ $35/hr = $1,575)
• Charts, you need a current sectional from where you fly (they expire every six months and cost $10), and an optional Terminal Area Chart if you are flying in a highly congested area ($5)
• An Airport/Facility Directory is something you should have in your bag as well as it contains information about all the airports in the covered area (they expire every 56 days and cost $5)
• Speaking of bags, you will need a flight bag with the appropriate instructional materials, E6B, plotter, and headset. Most pilot shops have a kit for this, and it will run you about $400 for everything, though you can go higher with an electronic E6B (HIGHLY recommended) and a better headset
• Red flashlight for night flights ($10 headlamp from Home Depot)

So, if you total all of that up, we’re looking at around $6500-$7000. Fuel makes a big difference here, but it is what it is. I ended up paying less than this because I had some dry rates in the beginning, and I also completed it in much less time.

Some optional equipment to consider…

• GPS. You cannot use this for your navigation, but it is a really nice backup. Prices vary
• Kneeboards are excellent for using your VFR flight plans and navigation logs with. They are also very handy in storage of additional things (such as light gun signals), and a nice hard surface for writing down the fast list of instructions that ATC may give you. These range from $20-$50
• Upgraded flight bag. The one that you get is nice and sturdy, but mine lacked enough pockets and zipped areas to keep things organized. I ended up upgrading to a bag that has the flexibility to store my headset. Range from $70 to $150 and up on the high end

So how about some lessons learned?

• Do your medical early. It’s not convenient, but really easy to get done.
• Memorize the written test and take it early. It’s not too hard, but the question bank is pretty large. Read the book, go through the lessons, and do the questions. Memorize if you do not understand, and you will understand later on, I promise.
• Shop flight schools. Make sure you get a seasoned instructor or at least one you are comfortable with.
• DO NOT just pull handles in an aircraft. Make sure that if you are trying to pull carb heat out for landing that you don’t accidentally lean the mixture all the way. If you do, don’t panic, just put it back in quickly.
• When I fly, I usually fly the GPS path I entered from my sectional, and validate it is correct by checking visual references and using instruments such as a VOR or ADF. Never trust any one instrument or method, always double or triple check your position.
• Better yet, USE ATC! They have one of those thankless jobs, but they are there to help you. Flight following, Flight Watch, Flight Services, and other resources are there to help you.
• Make sure you have all the correct endorsements you need in your log book before taking your FAA Written, Solo, Cross Country, Class B operations, Night operations, or landing at another airport within 50nm of your home airport.
• File and activate a flight plan! That way if you get lost, someone will come looking for you.
• CLOSE your flight plan when you have the airport in sight (or after landing) so you don’t have the search and rescue squad sent when you are safe.
• Get renter’s insurance, and get enough coverage. AOPA has good deals.
• Over plan your cross-country trips. And be sure to get weather briefings! It will go a long way to building the habit and being a safe pilot.
• Over prepare for your written and your final check ride. It will make it seem much easier when you do it.
• You will blow some landings. At the worst times (like when an FAA examiner is sitting in the right seat). Just don’t quit the day until you get a nice one.
• If you get airsick, Bonine is your friend. Even if you normally don’t (I normally don’t), hot summers or the Unusual Attitudes (google this. Essentially it’s where you can’t see out the window and the examiner pulls and pushes all kinds of levers, and then makes you recover using only instruments) can make you airsick.
• And finally, FLY EVERY DAY YOU CAN. I can’t stress this enough. If you want to do it in 40 hours, you should fly as often as you can. I started on July 7, and did my checkride on August 10. That’s 33 days. In that date range, I did not fly on 7 days due to travel and family commitments. It’s imperative that you keep your skills up (long term as well, but very important in the beginning).

Thanks to all of you guys (and gals) who kept me encouraged during this quest! Your encouragement as well as a blog to keep me honest made this a very rewarding experience! Time to go flying for real now!

I did my check ride this afternoon, and it was pretty good all around! The oral exam was about 1.5-2 hours (I lost track of time), and I logged 1.1 hours of flight time. I have my temporary license and am ready to go!

Now I am going to take a break from all things aviation and grab a beer.

No worries.

But then I had to go run back to the house to get some paperwork and hit an ATM because we could not submit the FAA stuff online.

Next is the checkride!

So I did my oral prep, and now have my study materials to do this thing tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Today was pretty light, just flew up to Denton and hung around that airport for a while. I also finished my instrument requirements, so that is now out of the way. We did a little porpoise like maneuver that put us weightless for a few seconds. Fun, but a mess for the gear in the back.

I’m traveling today, but will be back in the left seat on Saturday for my check ride prep!

So I threw down just short of a dozen, then headed back to 52F. One thing I did get to see was several helicopters taking off from Alliance. The tower has them hover taxi over to the main taxi way (Alpha) and then clears them for takeoff. Kinda weird to watch while you are in the pattern and using the main runway.

Tomorrow morning I fly the Sport Star again so I can get my five hours of dual instruction. Then I can take it when I want (after I finish).

Just 3.2 hours to go!

I had ATC following me the whole way, and I do want to say that those guys do an incredible job. I could not imagine working in that career especially after doing my flight tonight and listening to the workload they manage. Those guys do not get enough credit, and I thank them for the job they do! It’s so comforting to have a safety net helping you out.

At any rate, I am less than 5 hours from being able to qualify! Provided the weather holds out, I will be doing my check ride on Monday!

I need .4 more hours of simulated hood time. We’ll do that on my checkride prep which will probably be this Saturday morning. I just filled out my second page in the logbook, so I thought I’d list my stats to date.

• Total Hours: 33.3
• Solo (PIC) Hours: 11.5
• Dual Hours: 21.8
• Cross Country Hours: 9.4
• Night Hours: 1.3
• Hood (Simulated IFR) Hours: 2.6
• Total Landing/Take Off: 133

Tonight I am doing my night cross country in N80508. If you are in the Dallas area and want to try and follow me, you can start by tuning to 135.15 (Alliance Tower) in your trusty scanner until you hear the instruction to contact departure, and switch to 118.1. They will keep up with me as I do my trip. You will need to listen for my call sign and catch any frequency changes they call out or you will quickly lose me.

Will write some time tomorrow on my experience!

Why is it wierd?

You cannot see the horizon. So your inner ear is telling you that you are doing one thing, but your instruments are saying another. The exercise is designed to make you trust your instruments.

If I had not taken my airsick medicine, I would have probably yakked. The heat certainly contributed to that.

So I only got 1.2 hours of hood time today and I need three total hours. We’re doing more hood work tomorrow AM, and then I do my night cross country tomorrow night. I’m going to get some good hours there because of the amount of flying I have to do. 2.5 for sure, if not three.