I'm finally a real av8r!

I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to announce, but…

I passed my checkride!!
I’m finally a real pilot!! After about 2 1/2 years and more money than I’d care to admit, I got my private pilot license yesterday!

Everything was originally supposed to happen Saturday, but the weather didn’t allow us to fly. For those who have no idea what I’m talking about, the final step for getting a private license (or any, for that matter) is the dreaded oral exam and checkride with a FAA Designated Pilot Examiner. “Dreaded” because many students tend to get really nervous and forget everything they’ve spent months/years learning. In fact, the examiner is just like any other instructor; he’s there to make sure you operate the plane in a safe manner, not fail you the second your altitude drops 101 feet below the assigned altitude.

So in my case, I planned a flight from our school to Easton, MD, but Saturday morning the ceiling was only around 1000’, so we chose to do the oral exam only. I knew almost all the answers; the only ones I stumbled through were the prescription drug and runway light questions.

Now I was far more nervous for the actual flight, because I tend to get distracted by the constant radio chatter or worrying about other traffic. I had a fairly rough takeoff, which I blamed on the 12-knot crosswinds, but once we got on course I got us to Easton easily. I got a little nervous because I’d never actually landed there before, but it’s an airport like any other. I even did a short-field takeoff and landing well in the windy conditions. The other flight maneuvers were the part that worried me, because my steep turns and departure stalls tend to be erratic. He let me do the stall again, telling me that it is a failure point. We headed back, and I got to show off my crosswind landing technique.

When we got out, I saw him talking to my instructor before heading into the office. When I came over my instructor told me, “don’t look so nervous, you passed! Congratulations, you’re a private pilot.” Of course, the school doesn’t stand on much ceremony there… once I was done with the examiner and paperwork, most of the instructors were with their next students. No fanfare, balloons, photos or anything. Oh well, maybe I’ll go over later and stage my own photos. Until then, I’m just enjoying the feeling.

Congratulations, O Captain of the Air!

Ready to do your helicopter add-on? :wink:

Congrats!

When’s your first $100 hamburger?

(get thee to www.eaa.org for real fun)

Congratulations and welcome to the club!

Congrats… Someday I might go into flying… It just seems like such a great way to spend hours of time.

Johnny L.A., believe it or not, I’ve actually thought about it. How does it compare, price- and difficulty-wise, to fixed-wing craft?

My certification was in a Cessna 172, since I neglected to mention it before. Just not this one.

Is it just me or is anyone else concerned about the safety of our skys?

Uh, av8rmike, the prescription drugs are the ones that make you a happy pilot and those little flashy things on the ground…you know, where you put the airplane down… are the runway lights…:smack:

Seriously, congrats. My mom learned to fly in the 40’s but never proceeded to get her license. You have a lot to be proud of. Say goodbye to whatever disposable income you may have had, though. As you’ve already discovered, flying is an expensive habit.

Godspeed and fly safe!

A Robinson R-22 uses the same engine as a C-172. It carries half the number of passengers, has a maximum speed of 104 knots (you’ll generally cruise around 80kts), and it costs about twice as much to rent.

Difficulty-wise, it’s not difficult at all – once you unlearn many or most of the things you learned in fixed-wings. For example, if you keep flaring on landing you won’t stall the wing and set gently down on the runway. You’ll start to go backward. If you’re climbing and you nose over too quickly, you’ll cause a negative-G situation on the rotor disc. This can, if severe enough, result in a mast-bumping incident that could cause the rotor to depart the aircraft. If you stall in a fixed-wing, you recover. If you get into a full-on retreating blade stall, you can chop off your tail boom. (NB: The R-22 POH actually uses the word “doomed”. :smiley: ) A fixed-wing goes faster as it goes higher; a heli has to slow down.

In short, fixed-wings are much more practical. Helicopters are more fun.

Good job, welcome to the club.

Like my DE told me, you now have your license to learn.

He also told me that I fly ok, for a mechanic. Hurmph. :slight_smile:

Welcome to the swelling ranks of pilots on the SDMB. Has anyone taught you the secret handshake yet?

“Depart the aircraft”!!!

How about a nice, simple, "you die?