FLYING HIGH!!!

by Bstndance 10 Replies latest jw friends

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  Bstndance

  
  Yay! I took my first flight lesson yesterday after work. I was so fun and such a great experience. The entire lesson was hands on. The only things I didn't do were the communications and short final approach for landing.

  It was a beautiful day for flying too. I left out of Van Nuys Airport in LA. Flew out of the valley, over Hollywood to downtown, turned around back towards Century City, then to Malibu, over the mountains to Thousand Oaks, over more hills to Simi Valley, then came back to the valley to land.

  Here are two pictures: One of me flying the plane over Simi Valley and the other of my flight path. (the green circle represents the airport)
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  Swamboozled

  Wow...that's really cool! Congrats!
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  95stormfront

  Congratulations !!!!! I'm a pilot myself and remember those days very fondly. After a couple of hundred hours of flying the two milestones I remember the most are when I was finally able to land the plane without feeling the pressure of the instructors hands and feet on the controls and when I took off on my first solo flight and cross country. I can say from experience that you're embarking on an adventure that'll boost your self esteem and confidence in ways you probably can't imagine right now. Enjoy the adventure!!!!!!!
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  bigmouth

  Congratulations! I'm envious. There are quite a few pilots here on the board and a few more, like me, that have a love of aviation.
  It must be nerve racking to do circuits in controlled airspace like you have over there. We've only got a handful of international airports but a whole heap of smaller airstrips and aerodromes.
  There's so much room over here you can fly for hours and not hit anyone.
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  tijkmo

  wow..i would love to do that...is it expensive
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  Bstndance

  It must be nerve racking to do circuits in controlled airspace like you have over there.

  It was interesting to hear "you can't go over there that belongs to Burbank and that over there belongs of Los Angeles". But, we did have a tiny GPS display that actually shows boundaries. We did have to have a look out the windows constantly to watch for other air traffic. I know that when I am able to rent, I want to rent a plane that displays other aircraft on screen. It's only $30 more a flight hour but it may be worth it for a trip to Palm Springs.

  is it expensive

  The estimated cost for your Private Pilot License (plane rental, instructor, books, test, medical, other stuff) is around $9,000. But, it's pay as you go so if it takes two years to train, it's ok. I have some $$ saved up and will finance just a little bit.
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  lovelylil

  I give you a lot of credit.........I am totally afraid of hieghts and could never do anything like that. The happy expression on your face says it all. Congrats! Lilly
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  bigmouth

  By way of comparison, a PPL over here will cost about $7,000 to $9,000 and when you take the exchange rate into consideration and a comparatively low cost of living it's about US $5,000. A lot of Europeans and Asians train here for the international airlines.
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  Double Edge

  I live in the So. Calif. area too and I took lessons years ago....have a few hours solo under my belt. I didn't realize you could privately fly so close to LAX. What was your altitude? Really nice area to fly over... I like the Van Nuys Airport... a longtime air controller just recently retired.
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  Bstndance

  I didn't realize you could privately fly so close to LAX. What was your altitude?

  We were about 4,500 ft. In the parts we were flying, LAX space was above us so we were safe. Although, we had to watch out for Burbank boundaries as they take up a good chunk of the Valley and hills east of Van Nuys.