# How many Dopers are pilots? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 14, 2001, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-dopers-are-pilots/57939 "2001-03-14T13:55:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2001, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-dopers-are-pilots/57939/21 "2001-03-15T13:06:45Z")
**Oblio** , my sincere condolences for your loss of Arrow! Losing a friend of a dozen years is hard. Yes, HHR is still there. I drive by it every day on the way to work. People on the 105 freeway slow down when someone is landing. I fly out of VNY, but I’ve been to HHR with an instructor to practice autorotations-to-touchdown. **KeithT** , the block rate for the Schweizer is $175/hour and the standard rate is $190/hour. :eek: C-172s are going for $72/$75. Instruction is $40/hour for all aircraft. **Grok** , I know the feeling! LAX has a VFR corridor off of the departure end with a ceiling of 200 feet. Nothing like dropping down to 100 feet and 80 knots (helicopters are kinda slow, y’know) and skimming over the ocean with the doors off! Or flying 500 feet over the yellow desert on a sunny day! As I drive home I look at the other people on the road and I can’t help thinking, “I’ve just been _flying_! What have _you_ been doing?” **Bawdysurfer** , some people want a nap? For some reason I get the urge for Mexican food (usually a couple of tacos and some beans from Tito’s Tacos) and a beer. Oh yeah, I tend to smile a lot after flying too. **FairyChatMom** , North Island? When I was a kid in San Diego I used to belong to the San Diego Navy Sailing Club just south of the amphib base! My mom used to work at Gibbs at MYF. ---
**Author:** ![pestie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e5b9ba/32.png) [@pestie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pestie)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2001, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-dopers-are-pilots/57939/22 "2001-03-15T18:36:18Z")
Count me in as yet another pilot (private), although I haven’t flown solo in over a year. Next time I have a spare $300 to re-join the flying club I was in, I’ll be doing that. They have a Piper Warrior that’s IFR equipped (I’m working on an instrument rating), well-maintained, and a pleasure to fly. All this talk of flying is damn near making me ACHE to fly again. ---
**Author:** ![wolfstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d6d6ee/32.png) [@wolfstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfstu)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2001, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-dopers-are-pilots/57939/23 "2001-03-16T03:08:25Z")
All Single-Engine, Single-Pilot, Non-High-Performance Land Aeroplanes All Gliders All Kites (at the frequent reccommendation of the girls which I ask out). ---
**Author:** ![Race\_Bannon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Race\_Bannon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Race_Bannon)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2001, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-dopers-are-pilots/57939/24 "2001-03-16T05:46:31Z")
I have a commercial ticket with instrument rating. I got my privite license on my 17th birthday. Got the commercial and IFR ratings while I was in college. Single engine land. Veteran of 20 trips to Oshkosh. As a youngster I earned flying money by washing airplanes and pumping gas at a small town airport in Iowa. Flew Cessna 150s, 172s, Piper Archer, Warrior, Grumman Tiger, Cheetahs. Learned to turn a Citabria upside down. Went to engineerin’ school, and worked for Beech (only 6 mo. when the bottom fell out of general aviation in '79). Since then I’ve worked for the US Army on helicopters (mostly) got a little stick time (like 15 minutes) once in an AH-64. I don’t fly much nowadays (for myself) and the only time they ask me to get on a chopper is when something’s wrong with it. ---
**Author:** ![flyboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/4da419/32.png) [@flyboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flyboy)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2001, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-dopers-are-pilots/57939/25 "2001-03-16T09:03:35Z")
ASEL Navy backseater with over 2,000 useless “special crew” hours. Not nearly as many **real** hours ☹ Hoping to weasle my way soon into the pilot training pipeline. ---
**Author:** ![Tomcat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Tomcat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tomcat)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2001, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-dopers-are-pilots/57939/26 "2001-03-16T12:05:02Z")
Certified Flight Instructor. ASEL. A few hours in Gliders. Last time I flew was on my CFI check-ride. Really. Got the ticket, couldn’t get insured because of low hours, had no money and a scholarship to a liberal arts college. Hard decision, eh? I miss it though. ---
**Author:** ![AETBOND417](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@AETBOND417](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AETBOND417)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2001, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-dopers-are-pilots/57939/27 "2001-03-16T16:50:39Z")
I’m almost certain **BarnStormer** is. I added his name because he posts so infrequently that he makes me look like **Handy**. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Rectangle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c4cdca/32.png) [@Rectangle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rectangle)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2001, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-dopers-are-pilots/57939/28 "2001-03-17T08:07:47Z")
I’m going to get my pilots license. I promised my dad many years ago, that after I got my license, I would get a glider rating and take him out. It’s one of the things on my lifetime to-do list. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2001, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-dopers-are-pilots/57939/29 "2001-03-17T18:58:44Z")
**Certificate holders who have posted:** Johnny L.A. FairyChatMom Robot Arm activgurl Oblio Dr. Lao brachyrhynchos Grok Bawdysurfer pestie wolfstu kellymccauley flyboy88 Tomcat AETBOND417 **Pilots-in-training:** SexyWriter demanton KeithT **Dopers who have expressed a desire to persue a license:** rastahomie Rectangle 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2001, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-dopers-are-pilots/57939/30 "2001-03-17T19:01:50Z")
Whoops! **AETBOND417** didn’t specify status. (And **Barnstormer** hasn’t posted yet…) ---
**Author:** ![Ravendriver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/dc4da7/32.png) [@Ravendriver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravendriver)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2001, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-dopers-are-pilots/57939/31 "2001-03-17T22:32:50Z")
I’m Commercial and CFI in Rotorcraft, Helicopter. I used to teach in an Experimental Category called RotorWay, where I eventually became Chief Pilot and ran the flight school _(if we knew what it was going to do, it wouldn’t be Experimental)_. I keep my CFI current, but I’ve moved into ENG. I currently fly an R44ENG Raven(hence the name) for television and radio. As a Pilot/Reporter, I talk traffic watches and report on breaking news. I’ve also flown R22’s, H269C, Schweizers, Bell 47 and 206 BIII JetRanger, Eurocopter AStar AS350B and that giant Boeing thing with all those rotors - the Vertol 107II. Oh, yeah. I’ve got 5.1 hours in fixed-wing, but so what?🙂 ---
**Author:** ![brachyrhynchos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brachyrhynchos/32/376_2.png) [@brachyrhynchos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brachyrhynchos)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2001, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-dopers-are-pilots/57939/32 "2001-03-18T01:18:18Z")
I should have been clearer - I haven’t flown in more than 25 years. Maybe you could re-classify me as a “Member-in-Limbo.” ---
**Author:** ![flyboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/4da419/32.png) [@flyboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flyboy)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2001, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-dopers-are-pilots/57939/33 "2001-03-18T01:26:01Z")
**Ravendriver** , please explain what Rotor Way is? The only offshoot of the helo I can think of are the Osprey-type aircrafts. And out of curiosity, out of all that you’ve flown, what was your favorite and why? To all rotary **and** fixed wing, which do you like better? I’ve spent time in both (just for kicks in the rotary) and helos, while fun, didn’t really compare to fixed. Maybe it’d be on the same level if I’d known what I was doing 😕 To all Cherokee drivers, Go Cherokee!!! I learned in a PA-28-140 and loved every minute of it. Can’t stand wedging myself into Cessnas. To **FairyChatMom** : I have some hours in the T-34C, and boy, oh boy, do I miss flying that thing. Had some 34B’s at my old flying club at NAS Whidbey Island, but since we were under Navy regs they weren’t allowed to do aero [takes all the fun out of the things, y’know?] so I never touched them. Have you done any in the 34? If so, how is it? ---
**Author:** ![Grok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/96bed5/32.png) [@Grok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grok)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2001, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-dopers-are-pilots/57939/34 "2001-03-18T02:30:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by flyboy88 \* > \*\*\*\*Ravendriver\*\*To all rotary **and** fixed wing, which do you like better? \*\* I took a helicopter lesson last summer, and LOVED it! It was a really memorable experience because it was completely different than the fixed wings I am rated for. The instructor put it (a Schweizer 300C) into a hover and told me to put my hands on the controls so I could feel what he was doing. But his control inputs were so small that I could barely detect him doing anything! Very subtle skill! He let me use the controls by myself, one by one. Then we did some forward flight, which felt more familiar. We even did an autorotation landing, which was quite an experience since that eggbeater had no doors. By the end of the lesson I was able to hover, with difficulty, for about thirty seconds. But it took every bit of coordination I ever had - and I am a former professional juggler/unicyclist! So I now look upon helicopter drivers with unabashed awe and respect. One day when I am rich I plan to get my helicopter ticket. But damn those things are expensive! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2001, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-dopers-are-pilots/57939/35 "2001-03-18T03:31:14Z")
**brachyrhynchos** : You still have a license. Last time I checked there’s no expiry date! 😉 Of course, you’ll need a medical and a biennial… > [@](#): > > please explain what Rotor Way is I can’t speak for **Ravendriver** , but AFAIK Rotorway is an Arizona-based homebuilt helicopter kit manufacturer. > [@](#): > > To all rotary and fixed wing, which do you like better? The helicopter is more fun, hands down. I haven’t flown fixed-wing since I started flying helis. But fixed-wing aircraft do have advantages: They’re faster, carry more, have longer range, and are less expensive. In short, fixed-wings are more practical. But for fun, I’ll go with rotary-wings. I know what you mean, **flyboy88** , that the heli “didn’t really compare” to fixed; but from my seat (which would be on the _right_ in a heli!) you’ve got it backwards. 😉 > [@](#): > > By the end of the lesson I was able to hover, with difficulty, for about thirty seconds. But it took every bit of coordination I ever had - and I am a former professional juggler/unicyclist! My first lesson was at a dam near El Monte, so it took some time to fly out from Van Nuys; and we still had to get back to VNY after the lesson, so there wasn’t a whole lot of time to practice (already having my SEL ticket, the straight-and-level to-and-from and the radio was no prolem). Anyway, with the limited time at the dam, it took me until the end of the lesson to hover. By the start of the second lesson I was practicing hovering turns. ( **Ravendriver** : A friend who used to fly UH-60 Blackhawks was shocked when I told her I was hovering in my second lesson. She thought it should take longer. Could you tell me as a CFI(H) how long it usually takes for a student to hover without the assistance of the instructor? FWIW, my logbook says 2.5 hours.) The one part of training that I got stuck on was the landing flare. You know the drill: Power off, over the numbers at 60, flare-flare-flare, stall warning on, wings stop flying as the wheels touch the runway, flaps up, light brakes, first turnoff. Works pretty well in an airplane. So I’m in the helicopter and the pattern is good. The approach is good. The flare is good. But the instructor doesn’t know why I don’t level out. Subconsciously, I’m still flying an airplane. He keeps “shouting” at me to level out. After several lessons the penny dropped and the gumball came rolling out the chute: If you keep flaring a helicopter, it will go backwards. Fly it like a helicopter and not like an airplane. I stopped trying to flare until it stopped, my landings suddenly worked like they were supposed to, the instructor signed me off, and I soloed. > [@](#): > > The instructor put it (a Schweizer 300C) into a hover and told me to put my hands on the controls so I could feel what he was doing. But his control inputs were so small that I could barely detect him doing anything! Very subtle skill! If you consciously try to move the cyclic (you’re making constant, minute inputs) you will never be in synch with the machine. Let your body fly instead of your mind. Of course, you direct the helicopter, take it off, land it, etc.; but the tiny control inputs that keep these inherently unstable machines (remember your basic aerodynamics about aircraft “positive”, “neutral” and “negative” stability) are made on a subconscious level. Flying a helicopter is very “Zen”. You fly it by not flying it. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Pinky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/848f3c/32.png) [@Dr.Pinky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Pinky)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2001, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-dopers-are-pilots/57939/36 "2001-03-18T03:56:38Z")
I have 20 hrs in my Dad’s 182. Terrible, terrible accident with some dork in a Korean warplane with no radio taking off on the wrong runway. I never went up again. Landing is not my forte anyway. Anybody want a #2 who’s really good with maps? ---
**Author:** ![Mercutio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/51bf81/32.png) [@Mercutio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mercutio)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2001, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-dopers-are-pilots/57939/37 "2001-03-18T06:19:45Z")
I just had to chime in that picturing **Johnny L.A.** flying a whirly-bird seems nuts to me. ---
**Author:** ![KeithT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@KeithT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KeithT)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2001, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-dopers-are-pilots/57939/38 "2001-03-18T08:23:30Z")
I scheduled my checkride: Thursday, March 22, at 1730Z! Weather permitting (and barring any major boo-boos on my part), I’ll be a proud holder of a PP-ASEL certificate in about 110 hours. **To the Cherokee drivers:** I definitely concur with **flyboy88** and **SexyWriter** … Piper makes some of the best damned aircraft flying. I love “my” Archer- though it’s four years older than me and the paint is a bit faded, it’s such an incredible thrill to have a hundred eighty horses up front, pulling you off the runway into an icy cold Wisconsin sky (0[sup]o[/sup]F and _minus_ 4000’ density altitude!) at over a thousand feet per minute, to cut through light turbulence like a hot knife through butter, and blasting toward the Dells at 140 miles per hour. **To all of you:** Who’s planning on going to Oshkosh this year? Seems to me like it would be the perfect opportunity for a July Wisconsin Dopefest. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2001, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-dopers-are-pilots/57939/39 "2001-03-18T14:28:44Z")
> [@](#): > > I just had to chime in that picturing Johnny L.A. flying a whirly-bird seems nuts to me. Really? Why is that? (This is one of those before-caffeine posts.) ---
**Author:** ![activgurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7cd45c/32.png) [@activgurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/activgurl)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2001, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-dopers-are-pilots/57939/40 "2001-03-18T14:52:42Z")
Heck, yeah, why didn’t I think of that? Oshkosh! I was there in '81, and the warbirds of the CAF were beautiful! Stood behind a B-17 when it fired up, and the grass pieces flying by me felt great! Don’t know if I can afford it this year, though. God, what a crowd of people on that spot! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-dopers-are-pilots/57939.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-dopers-are-pilots/57939.md?page=3)