Update! See below...
Okay, my bad. Haven't really updated the site in a year. I'm still flying, but there are some developments. I took a look at the new Sport Pilot rules, and while I think they'll probably be a good thing for ultralights, it wasn't good enough for me. (I really, really want to fly my trike at night.) So, I've spent most of the summer flying Cessnas with an eye on a private pilot certificate. I've accumulated 56 hours and this Sunday I take my final checkride before the FAA test with the examiner.
As far as my logbooks go, they're starting to outlive their usefulness. I've heard a few times that the early logs about training and learning to fly have been read and enjoyed by many (thanks for the emails), but nowadays they would amount to "Went flying. It was a blast." Reading about something fun isn't quite the same as doing it. I'll still put up some pics from time to time, but as of now there won't be any new additions to the logs. I'll have other stuff too, I'm much too opinionated to have a website and not (ab)use it.
"Well, now that you're a big time GA pilot are you going to quit flying trikes?" No way. I got the PPL to fly trikes with, and when they get the details figured out I'm going to look at what it takes to get N-numbered. I've also gained a number of new experiences, and for any pilot, anything new learned about flying is a "Good Thing (TM)". For instance, last Sunday I flew a Cirrus SR20-G2, which is about the closest thing I've ever seen to flying something straight out of Star Trek.
You know, what's really amusing is that since the beginning of September, ultralight hours count towards GA certificates. Given that, I've got nearly 170 total hours flying, even though I still don't have my pilot's license. It's a real trip telling an instructor that.
Fly safe!
Update: Now in addition to being an ultralight Basic Flight Instructor, I also hold a Private Pilot's License! Woo! For the curious, it only took 61.5 hours and 184 landings in Cessna 152's and 172's.
I've got a secret for you. Most GA instructors that I've talked to are not keen on signing off a student with less than about sixty hours, because they simply don't believe the student is ready. I signed up for a program that in theory would have allowed me to get a PPL with only 35 hours of training. For this reason, they're not too keen on sport pilot with its 20-hour sign-off. Sport Pilot significantly steepens the hill that must be climbed before someone can fly a trike or other fat ultralight, in terms of both money and time. I suspect this is going to give us fewer but hopefully better trained pilots. A blessing and a curse.
Last update October 23th, 2004.
visitors since September 18th, 2002.
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