:yeah::up::|\\

@ Bill, Platapus, Highbury & other aviators : By the way, just out of curiosity, what is the average number of lessons/hours of training required before taking the pilot exam ?

Congratulations Bill! If you want to see a F-16 up close and personal find a no fly zone ! :O: Have fun!

Congrats Bill!

:yeah:

I'm working on getting some schooling for a pilots license too

Good job Bill! Congratulations! :up:

Well done Bill! From beneath the waves to the skies! :yeah:

U.S. legal minimum is 40 flight hours, but the average is closer to 80. Living in the Washington, DC area is worse because it takes me 20-minutes to get outside the restricted area before I can do any training maneuvers. That means 40 minutes 'wasted' each time I fly.

I had 115 hrs when I took my PPL checkride.

I am not a good one to ask as it took me a lot longer as I started lessons when I was stationed in Colorado and finished when I was stationed in Nebraska probably a 2-3 year period.

And to be honest, I was not exactly a stellar student pilot. It took me a while to get the hang of it.

Congrats Sir!

your hard work and effort has paid off.

:salute:

@ Bill & Platapus : thanks for letting me know. :yep:

@ Bill : training manoeuvres being very simple ones (to experienced pilots I mean) I'm sure, and thereby considered as safe ones, may I ask you what would happen if you ever practice them in one of your so-called restricted areas, concretely ? :ping:
Just out of curiosity, once again.

Take note, Achmed. :har:

Did you find that a 360 deg. coordinated turn is much easier to do IRL than on Microsoft Flight Simulator? :doh:

Congrats! :salute:

Well done!

Yes. Landings, too!

Nothing specifically prohibits training maneuvers in the Washington DC Special Flight Rules Area. However, my airport is situated between DC and Baltimore-Washington International. The BWI Class B controlled airspace extends from 1500 ft upwards over my airport and out to the Chesapeake Bay. Most training maneuvers are performed at 3000 ft (for safety reasons), hence the neeed to fly 20-minutes to get into clear airspace.

One of the reasons I stopped flying was that upon moving to North Virginia it did not seem that flying would be as much fun as in the unrestricted airspace over Nebraska.

Did you find things different up there in MD?

There is a pain-in-the-butt factor about all the various restrictions in the DC area. I've enjoyed flying on the other side of the Chesapeake, over the Maryland Eastern Shore region.

I'll soon be moving to northern Alabama, where flying should be a lot less of a hassle.

If I ever get lucky enough to be able to move out of North Virginia, I might take it up again.

Life is so unfair

When I was younger I had the time but no money for flying
When I am older, I have the money but no time for flying

:wah:

That makes sense, thanks for your clear explanation Sir !