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Soooo a while back I bragged a little about daughter getting her pilots license. Roll forward a bit and she is done with all her certifications and is now a full time instructor on her way to flying enough hours to go fly for an airline hopefully by this time next year
So needless to say, dad can’t miss the opportunity to take a flying lesson with his baby girl and today I took the controls. Taxied, take off, flying around for about 1.5 hours in and out of Red Rock Canyon and Mt. Charleston area! Then landing with some assistance by my instructor! Man this was bucket list stuff!!! Very proud of my girl, she makes this look easy!
Plane is a Diamond DA40. Nimble and very responsive plane. Highly recommend doing this if you ever have a chance
sakodude wrote: ↑Fri Nov 22, 2024 5:00 am
Nice. I learned in a very old Piper Cherokee 140. That looks a lot nicer
I remember those! Neat planes! My first flight when I was handed the controls was a Cessna 170. Nice planes but nowhere near as nice as these Diamonds. These things are taking over General Aviation. It’s like flying a little jet.
Admin wrote: ↑Fri Nov 22, 2024 1:38 pm
Something I always wanted to do was fly. Very cool
It’s doable buddy. A lot of schools have what they call “discovery flights” and you get to go up with an instructor and fly a plane for an hour or so. It’s basically a sales tool to get you hooked and that’s what we technically booked this one under. It was one of my birthday gifts this year.
It’s a relatively inexpensive way to have the experience and it’s really worth it
Japhy wrote: ↑Sat Nov 23, 2024 2:34 am
Nothing like flying a stick!
Fully engages the pilot there is no better learning experience
From my limited experience that is true. I enjoyed this a lot more that the Cessna yoke system and a stick feels more intuitive when maneuvering. AND the DA40 is really responsive! I tried to manhandle it a little when we started and it showed me quick it doesn’t like that. Small pressure adjustments and she is as light as a feather!
My daughter has turned out to be a great instructor, really liked by the school and her students. She let me make mistakes without jumping in knowing that I’d work it out in my head quickly only giving me advice or direction when I needed it.
She did handle all the radio coms. I think having a speech impediment is a hiring prerequisite to a tower job.
Bigslug wrote: ↑Sat Nov 23, 2024 4:46 pm
"Coming down is the hardest thing" - Tom Petty.
I've got a couple of vintage airplane owners in my circle. Recently did the hangar tour - going up in them is on the "one of these days" list.
There was an airport north of us when we lived in New York where you could go on rides in old bi-planes. Always wanted to do that but mostly wanted to fly it but you could only go for rides so I never really got motivated enough to do it.
. I did get in a couple of 2G turns. Not fighter jet speeds but a lot of fun nevertheless.
