First Solo!!!

Bill Nichols · 08-20-10, 09:07 PM

It took a bit longer than I had hoped it would, but I finally did my first solo today!

Gerald · 08-20-10, 09:17 PM

ETR3(SS) · 08-20-10, 09:21 PM

Uh oh, a bubblehead in the skies!

J/k, congratulations!

08-20-10, 09:24 PM

Congratulations!!! You are on your way to the most exciting and scary time you can ever imagine.

Take your stall practice to the horn and recover if you don't have the instructor with you.

Is it still +/-10° on the heading and +/- 50' for private pilot in the stall?

UnderseaLcpl · 08-20-10, 09:29 PM

Tower to GoldenRivet..........
Tower to GoldenRivet.........

Return to base immediately....
I say again, return to base immediately.....
Inadvertent hostile aircraft detected...
I say agai...........
SSSSHhhhhhhhhhhhhssssSTTCHhCHHCH........
.................................................. .........
......................<click>

frau kaleun · 08-20-10, 09:34 PM

Congratulations!

Try not to crash or anything.

TarJak · 08-20-10, 10:40 PM

Well done Bill, congratulations.

Platapus · 08-20-10, 10:50 PM

You will never for get your first solo.

Jimbuna · 08-21-10, 03:01 AM

Congratulations Bill

Oberon · 08-21-10, 05:08 AM

Nice one Bill! Next up, a P-51

SteamWake · 08-21-10, 12:48 PM

Nice ... congradulations are in order.

I assume your talking about a flying solo

But I am curious if you dont mind telling us how long it took and approximatly how much money did you expend on it?

Ive been thinking about trying out for a ticket but alas my age, vision, and health are obsticles

Bill Nichols · 08-21-10, 05:17 PM

It took five months from my first flying lesson (see http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/show...ghlight=lesson ) and just over 30-hours instruction before I was able to solo. Consider the plane rental is $95/hr (includes gas) and instructor time is $50/hr and you get a feel for how much I've invested so far.

One of the hangups for me was getting the necessary 3rd class medical certificate. My age and health history required I get letters from my physicians (3 of them) ... you can probably guess how long it took to get those and have them reviewed by the FAA bureaucracy. Once that was out of the way and I fulfilled the necessary paperwork steps (FAA knowledge test, pre-solo written exam, special training for the Washington DC airspace that I fly in), it was a matter of proving to my instructor (and the airplane's owner) that I was ready to solo.

Surprisingly, I wasn't nervous at all with the solo. After a few times around the pattern with my instructor on board, he got out of the plane and let me do three takeoffs and landings on my own. It was just like all the other takeoffs & landings I've done, except that I didn't need to worry about my instructor telling me during the downwind that my engine had quit, or the flaps weren't working

My suggestion if you're really thinking about taking lessons: checkout the flying schools in your area. If you find one that looks good to you, sign up for a demo flight and see how you like it. Be candid with the instructor about your concerns, listen to what he has to say, and then make a decision.

Konovalov · 08-21-10, 05:27 PM

Well done Bill. Glad that your flying lessons have come along so well and you have now gone solo. Does that mean we will see you flying an old warbird at an air show in the future? Congrats again and good luck.

08-21-10, 11:06 PM

You don't know solo flight until you can do steep turns at +/- 5° at 55° of bank. It really teaches lift vectors and the efficacy of top rudder.

Congrats again.

August · 08-21-10, 11:07 PM

Congratulations Bill!

08-20-10, 09:07 PM	#1
Bill Nichols Master of Defense Join Date: Mar 2000 Posts: 1,502 Downloads: 125 Uploads: 0	First Solo!!! It took a bit longer than I had hoped it would, but I finally did my first solo today! __________________ My Dangerous Waters website:

08-20-10, 09:17 PM	#2
Gerald SUBSIM Newsman Join Date: May 2008 Location: Close to sea Posts: 24,254 Downloads: 553 Uploads: 0	Congratulations on your new adventure, __________________ Nothing in life is to be feard,it is only to be understood. Marie Curie

08-20-10, 09:21 PM	#3
ETR3(SS) Ocean Warrior Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Between test depth and periscope depth Posts: 3,021 Downloads: 175 Uploads: 16	Uh oh, a bubblehead in the skies! J/k, congratulations! __________________ USS Kentucky SSBN 737 (G) Comms Div 2003-2006 Qualified 19 November 03 Yes I was really on a submarine.

08-20-10, 09:29 PM	#5
UnderseaLcpl Silent Hunter Join Date: May 2008 Location: Storming the beaches! Posts: 4,254 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Tower to GoldenRivet.......... Tower to GoldenRivet......... Return to base immediately.... I say again, return to base immediately..... Inadvertent hostile aircraft detected... I say agai........... SSSSHhhhhhhhhhhhhssssSTTCHhCHHCH........ .................................................. ......... ......................<click> __________________ I stole this sig from Task Force

08-20-10, 10:50 PM	#8
Platapus Fleet Admiral Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 19,369 Downloads: 63 Uploads: 0	You will never for get your first solo. __________________ abusus non tollit usum - A right should NOT be withheld from people on the basis that some tend to abuse that right.

08-20-10, 09:24 PM	#4
The Third Man Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:	Congratulations!!! You are on your way to the most exciting and scary time you can ever imagine. Take your stall practice to the horn and recover if you don't have the instructor with you. Is it still +/-10° on the heading and +/- 50' for private pilot in the stall?

08-20-10, 09:34 PM	#6
frau kaleun Rear Admiral Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Skyri--oh who are we kidding, I'm probably at Lowe's. Again. Posts: 12,706 Downloads: 168 Uploads: 0	Congratulations! Try not to crash or anything.

08-20-10, 10:40 PM	#7
TarJak Fleet Admiral Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 17,052 Downloads: 150 Uploads: 8	Well done Bill, congratulations.

08-21-10, 03:01 AM	#9
Jimbuna Chief of the Boat Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: 250 metres below the surface Posts: 190,539 Downloads: 63 Uploads: 13	Congratulations Bill __________________ Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something. Oh my God, not again!!

08-21-10, 05:08 AM	#10
Oberon Lucky Jack Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 25,976 Downloads: 61 Uploads: 20	Nice one Bill! Next up, a P-51

08-21-10, 12:48 PM	#11
SteamWake Rear Admiral Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 13,224 Downloads: 5 Uploads: 0	Nice ... congradulations are in order. I assume your talking about a flying solo But I am curious if you dont mind telling us how long it took and approximatly how much money did you expend on it? Ive been thinking about trying out for a ticket but alas my age, vision, and health are obsticles __________________ Follow the progress of Mr. Mulligan : http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=147648

08-21-10, 05:17 PM	#12
Bill Nichols Master of Defense Join Date: Mar 2000 Posts: 1,502 Downloads: 125 Uploads: 0	It took five months from my first flying lesson (see http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/show...ghlight=lesson ) and just over 30-hours instruction before I was able to solo. Consider the plane rental is $95/hr (includes gas) and instructor time is $50/hr and you get a feel for how much I've invested so far. One of the hangups for me was getting the necessary 3rd class medical certificate. My age and health history required I get letters from my physicians (3 of them) ... you can probably guess how long it took to get those and have them reviewed by the FAA bureaucracy. Once that was out of the way and I fulfilled the necessary paperwork steps (FAA knowledge test, pre-solo written exam, special training for the Washington DC airspace that I fly in), it was a matter of proving to my instructor (and the airplane's owner) that I was ready to solo. Surprisingly, I wasn't nervous at all with the solo. After a few times around the pattern with my instructor on board, he got out of the plane and let me do three takeoffs and landings on my own. It was just like all the other takeoffs & landings I've done, except that I didn't need to worry about my instructor telling me during the downwind that my engine had quit, or the flaps weren't working My suggestion if you're really thinking about taking lessons: checkout the flying schools in your area. If you find one that looks good to you, sign up for a demo flight and see how you like it. Be candid with the instructor about your concerns, listen to what he has to say, and then make a decision. __________________ My Dangerous Waters website:

08-21-10, 05:27 PM	#13
Konovalov Ocean Warrior Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: High Wycombe, Bucks, UK Posts: 2,811 Downloads: 9 Uploads: 0	Well done Bill. Glad that your flying lessons have come along so well and you have now gone solo. Does that mean we will see you flying an old warbird at an air show in the future? Congrats again and good luck. __________________ "In a Christian context, sexuality is traditionally seen as a consequence of the Fall, but for Muslims, it is an anticipation of paradise. So I can say, I think, that I was validly converted to Islam by a teenage French Jewish nudist." Sheikh Abdul-Hakim Murad (Timothy Winter)

08-21-10, 11:06 PM	#14
The Third Man Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:	You don't know solo flight until you can do steep turns at +/- 5° at 55° of bank. It really teaches lift vectors and the efficacy of top rudder. Congrats again.

08-21-10, 11:07 PM	#15
August Wayfaring Stranger Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 23,198 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Congratulations Bill! __________________ Flanked by life and the funeral pyre. Putting on a show for you to see.