Forum's newest PPL

[z740]

Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd like to share some exciting news with you all. Yesterday morning I completed my Private Pilot checkride in the local flight school's Cessna 152. The oral exam went exceptionally well as did the majority of my maneuvers. Some of my landings were a touch bumpy, but overall I was very satisfied considering the crosswind and such. It still hasn't quite sank in yet but every time I think about it I get this massive grin on my face that doesn't seem to go away. It feels good to accomplish something you've been dreaming of for as long as you can remember.

-Chris

[MoBL]

Congratulations! I know your feelings, I passed my PPL exam at first of July this year

Will you continue training up to ATPL or CPL?


Happy flying and safe landings!

[brianw999]

Heartiest congratulations, well done.

[Gabriel]

Congratulations!


That's one of the unforgettable moments in life, isn't it?

[3WE]

Congrats- but someone needs to burst the bubble....you are not a great pilot, you only have a license to learn- (and a lot more to learn at that...).

Statistics say you are relatively safe if you stick to fun, fair-weather hops in your 150/152.

Statistics say it's many times more dangerous to move to a high performance single and use the plane for genuine transportation.

FWIW- I suggest you do about 10 hours worth of genuine instrument training (but actually wait for the whole rating)... There's just that frightening rule of how many more minutes you have to live when you encounter clouds- and for some reason the IMC training that is done for the PPL does not cut it. And, then we have the sad tale of JFK Jr. who lost it in VMC / but total dark no visual horizon over the ocean.

If you get the whole rating- THEN you actually FLY in IMC and become a high risk again...but with 10 more hours, if you inadvertently get in clouds in "soft IMC", the plane stays upright, you fly to some acceptable weather and even do a crappy-but-not-critical approach to break out reasonably high with OK visibility to find the airport......

Congrats and best wishes on becoming a very boring, old pilot

[rmk2112]

Fantastic, well done
great achievement !!!
Regards
René

[brianw999]

I look forward to ground marshalling you onto the line up at Popham.

[z740]

Kornel- Congrats! Hopefully later down the road some more advanced ratings and certifications will come, but that's for later.

Brian- Thank you! I appreciate it.

Gabriel- It absolutely is. I don't think I'll ever forget stopping on the ramp and looking over to my right to see a hand lunging in my direction for a handshake and hearing my examiner's simple statement of "Congratulations".

3WE- Some extra instrument training is an excellent idea and I'll definitely have to look into it. I appreciate the congratulations as well as the honest advice without beating around the bush. I have every intention of becoming a very old and extremely boring pilot.

René- Thank you sir!

I'll be sure to share some of my more entertaining piloting adventures on here for everybody to enjoy. Here's to fair weather and blue skies.

-Chris

[snydersnapshots]

Originally Posted by z740

Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd like to share some exciting news with you all. Yesterday morning I completed my Private Pilot checkride in the local flight school's Cessna 152. The oral exam went exceptionally well as did the majority of my maneuvers. Some of my landings were a touch bumpy, but overall I was very satisfied considering the crosswind and such. It still hasn't quite sank in yet but every time I think about it I get this massive grin on my face that doesn't seem to go away. It feels good to accomplish something you've been dreaming of for as long as you can remember.

-Chris

Sorry for the late reply, but I've between work and a brother-in-law who decided he wanted to get married this weekend I've been away for awhile Anyway--congratulations on your PPL! I remember my check ride like it was yesterday, even though it was 33 years and 10 days ago. It's a fantastic feeling. As others have said, it's a license to learn. Go out and have a ball, but always leave yourself an "out" in case things get dicey.

[z740]

Originally Posted by snydersnapshots

Sorry for the late reply, but I've between work and a brother-in-law who decided he wanted to get married this weekend I've been away for awhile Anyway--congratulations on your PPL! I remember my check ride like it was yesterday, even though it was 33 years and 10 days ago. It's a fantastic feeling. As others have said, it's a license to learn. Go out and have a ball, but always leave yourself an "out" in case things get dicey.

Thanks! It was definitely an experience that won't be forgotten anytime soon. I've only been up once since I earned it, took my dad up to see our house and over to another local airport, but I still get this massive grin on my face every time I think about it. I have every intention to treat it as a license to learn and I can't wait to expand upon my knowledge with every chance I get.

-Chris

[brianw999]

Some "helpful" anecdotes.....

Runway behind you......isn't runway !

You only have too much fuel .........when you're on fire !

Stick forward....houses get bigger.

Stick back.....houses get smaller !

Keep stick back......houses get smaller...and then get back to getting bigger !

Clouds of any decent density......often contain cumulo-granitus !



Enjoy your flying.

[z740]

Thanks for that Brian!

I'll have to share some of those with my instructor, I'm sure he'd appreciate them.

-Chris

[Foxtrot]

Congrats on your achievement, wish you many happy flying hours to come.

[z740]

Originally Posted by Foxtrot

Congrats on your achievement, wish you many happy flying hours to come.

Thanks! I'm hopefully there will be thousands of happy flying hours ahead.

-Chris