I don't know what took me so long to post... Anyway, I'm 46 which is pretty ancient, but have always loved aviation, being a general geek ( 
technology leader, prog rock fan). I lived abroad for a while in Israel which as you can imagine is a crappy place to learn to fly because the airspace is so tightly controlled, plus everything there costs more and people earn less.
The public holidays there fall on different Gregorian days every year, and in 2016 I noticed that I'd be able to take off all of September with just a few days holiday. I didn't know anything then and thought an intensive course in Florida was the way forward.
To cut a long story short, nobody told me that September in Florida can be somewhat cloudy. After four lessons including crapping myself in stalls and plonking it down, I said thanks but I'm not going to finish this in a month.
Fast-forward and in 2022 I'm in the UK for family reasons. A bereavement later in 2023 and I realised 1) life is too short not to go for your goals and 2) I live under ten minutes from Elstree Aerodrome.
Well, I'm now ~12 hours in and doing circuits. I'm clearly not in a rush although I would have liked to do another lesson a month. My instructor (who is a legend) seems happy with me and says I don't really lose anything between lessons. 1.5/2.5 circuit hours in January were a bit breezy but I like the challenge, I'll have to learn how to aviate in wind one day anyway.
Main focus now is that I'm flaring a bit late, I need to get my eyes down the runway and focus on the peripheral vision a tad earlier. I think this is partly because another thing I noticed is that on final as I got closer to the runway I would let the runway disappear beneath the nose.
So in making sure I keep heading down to the numbers, I need to remember not to bash it in to the numbers. Instructor says transition to flare is at about 200ft but with practice I will feel it. I don't look at the altimeter on final but I might have a glance here and there to get a feel for that 200ft thing and cross-reference it to what I see.
I've had a few landings with minimal input but can't wait for the "he didn't touch the controls that time" moment. I'll be away for most of the rest of this month but have three lessons booked in for March so hopefully my first solo isn't a million miles away. Medical booked and cramming the terribly boring Air Law book.
Also using PPL Tutor. If anyone has other recommendations at this stage, happy to hear. I'm trying not to buy all the things, I don't even have my own headset yet. The only flying-specific stuff I've bought so fare is a logbook and checklist.
Anyway, nothing specific, just somewhere to dump the questions that will inevitably arise as my journey continues. I'm addicted, it's great how at first it's all a bit of a blur, then those things come more into focus and other things become a bit of a blur...
I also have a friend with hundreds of hours and a share in a 182 at Denham so will be trying to go up with him as much as possible.
technology leader, prog rock fan). I lived abroad for a while in Israel which as you can imagine is a crappy place to learn to fly because the airspace is so tightly controlled, plus everything there costs more and people earn less.The public holidays there fall on different Gregorian days every year, and in 2016 I noticed that I'd be able to take off all of September with just a few days holiday. I didn't know anything then and thought an intensive course in Florida was the way forward.
To cut a long story short, nobody told me that September in Florida can be somewhat cloudy. After four lessons including crapping myself in stalls and plonking it down, I said thanks but I'm not going to finish this in a month.
Fast-forward and in 2022 I'm in the UK for family reasons. A bereavement later in 2023 and I realised 1) life is too short not to go for your goals and 2) I live under ten minutes from Elstree Aerodrome.
Well, I'm now ~12 hours in and doing circuits. I'm clearly not in a rush although I would have liked to do another lesson a month. My instructor (who is a legend) seems happy with me and says I don't really lose anything between lessons. 1.5/2.5 circuit hours in January were a bit breezy but I like the challenge, I'll have to learn how to aviate in wind one day anyway.
Main focus now is that I'm flaring a bit late, I need to get my eyes down the runway and focus on the peripheral vision a tad earlier. I think this is partly because another thing I noticed is that on final as I got closer to the runway I would let the runway disappear beneath the nose.
So in making sure I keep heading down to the numbers, I need to remember not to bash it in to the numbers. Instructor says transition to flare is at about 200ft but with practice I will feel it. I don't look at the altimeter on final but I might have a glance here and there to get a feel for that 200ft thing and cross-reference it to what I see.
I've had a few landings with minimal input but can't wait for the "he didn't touch the controls that time" moment. I'll be away for most of the rest of this month but have three lessons booked in for March so hopefully my first solo isn't a million miles away. Medical booked and cramming the terribly boring Air Law book.
Also using PPL Tutor. If anyone has other recommendations at this stage, happy to hear. I'm trying not to buy all the things, I don't even have my own headset yet. The only flying-specific stuff I've bought so fare is a logbook and checklist.
Anyway, nothing specific, just somewhere to dump the questions that will inevitably arise as my journey continues. I'm addicted, it's great how at first it's all a bit of a blur, then those things come more into focus and other things become a bit of a blur...
I also have a friend with hundreds of hours and a share in a 182 at Denham so will be trying to go up with him as much as possible.
Last edited by topdog91 on Thu Jul 18, 2024 5:38 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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