How I'm Learning to 'Fly Safe'

For all of you who had questions about how I'm learning to fly, I'm not taking a low cost route, but it's working well so far and I hope to have some video from the cockpit in the future.

XPlane - My simulator of choice

Logitech Simulation Controllers - Low Cost

MIT's Private Pilot Ground School

Skyvector Aviation Charts & Flight Planning

VATSIM - Virtual Air Traffic Simulator

Pilot Edge - Practice your radio work in Sim

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If you really like what I do you can support me directly through Patreon

[GeorgeCollier]

Looking forward to seeing this Scott! Don't be tempted by the rocket parachute ;)

[thomascharlton]

Having flown for a living most of my life, it's fun to see your excitement and enthusiasm. One of the best things you'll discover, on your path through the world of aviation, is some amazing people. Very happy for you.

[Arational]

My first flying lesson was with a bush pilot who gave me my first flight before any ground school.
He taxied the Cessna 152 to the runway while communicating with the tower of the international airport we were at.
Once cleared for take off he informed me that I was going to perform the take off and gave me precise instructions for every step in the procedure.
He was ready to take control at any time but I did the take off and had the controls for the entire flight until it was time to come in for a landing.
He contacted the tower who asked him if he could see the jet that was on approach and could he get the Cessna down and off the runway before the commercial jet got to the threshold.
My instructor said yes. Tower said cleared to land and we rolled to the right and went almost vertical and made a perfect landing using only the last 1/4 of the runway and we were at the school's hanger before the jet has touched down.
The whole experience is still crystal clear even after 25 years.

[kendrickkelly]

"Aviation adjacent" is a terrific term. I love the engineering and technology of aircraft, but I also have a fear of heights.

My older brother is an amateur licensed pilot, and I nearly crapped my pants when he took me on my first (and last) voluntary helicopter flight from a small airport in Palo Alto.

I immediately had a panic attack and told my bro to land. While we have joked about it since then, my brother mentioned "I have never seen you that scared before."

It was the longest five minutes of my life while he circled the airport while he communicated with the tower and followed official landing procedures.

I will stick with flight simulators.

[VosperCDN]

This is great, looking forward to in-flight videos. "Fly safe" will be more than just your outro line.

[sir-chat-a-lot]

Love the enthusiasm. Totally agree about learning the RF comms. I qualified in Helicopters 15 years ago in Cambridge UK an thought it was the hardest part of ground school. Keep the faith and remember the 3 rules. Aviate, Navigate, Communicate.

[entelin]

For those interested in learning to fly, I would recommend considering a soaring sport (Sailplanes, Hanggliders, Paragliders). Two reasons for this, firstly you will learn much more about the weather, so if you do powered flight later you will be a much safer and more knowledgeable pilot. But mainly because it's just way more fun. Learning to fly is fun, it's a structured mission, but once you have your PPL, you really have to make your own fun, come up with your own missions, the 100$ hamburger, flyins, etc. With soaring, the fun, the sport of it is built in and it comes with a community of other pilots as well. That said, soaring takes a much higher level of schedule flexibility and commitment, so it's not for everyone. However there are experiences to be had when soaring that you really can't get any other way.

[nezeroz]

Looking forward to seeing more flying videos in the future, I was actually surprised to learn you couldn't fly already!

If you're ever back in Scotland and want to experience flying flying a sailplane, feel free to give me a shout and I'll happily organise that for you!

[checktwenty]

We’ve changed a lot of CAPs parachute packs over the years at our shop. They get replaced every ten years. You used to have cut the composite fuselage to remove the assembly, but now you can remove them from behind the back seat. The line-cutters get changed more frequently and we get to discharge them in house.

[rwgallup]

Great to see your enthusiasm Scott. As a 24, 000 hour pilot for 44 years I have some wisdom to pass along. Remember this: Good judgement will get you through times of poor skill better than good skill in times of poor judgment.

[emmabentley]

I'm a Scenery Developer for X Plane 11 so good to see you using it! If you want any of our products We are Windsock Simulations. If you want any of our products hit me up. Happy to improve your experience.

[flythec]

Scott your enthusiasm for this has brought back many fond memories.

I was a full time flight instructor in canada for a couple years, and now fly for the regionals.


Instructing was a very rewarding experience (ok maybe not financiallly).

Enjoy the journey and all the best for your training experience!

[longlive]

Hi Scott! I’ve been flying for over 10 years now and I’m so excited to hear you’re starting to pursue piloting. Keep up the progress videos on your private pilot training, it’s so fun to hear the passion in your voice about the simple flying things long past for me.

[joker_g]

I decided to stop flying a while ago, because I was only wasting fuel. I know the feeling now and flight simulators have become really good.
I made a home cockpit. Even played Kerbal on it. I mostly use it for Star Citizen nowadays.

[xbvalkyriech]

Got my PPL almost 2 years ago, and I gotta say it's been some of the most fun I've ever had. I wish you luck!

[derekbaker]

As a pilot myself, I’m glad to see you got the ball rolling on this, flying is SO liberating!

[ToolSchool]

I'm a military pilot and have been watching your videos forever, I'm really excited for you! If you ever have questions or just want to fly around on X-Plane or MSFS sometime let me know!

[iPig]

I was a CFI for several years until covid mixed things up. Passionate, curious, intelligent students like you are the absolute best and most fun to work with- regardless of their stick and rudder skills. I'm sure your instructor is stoked to be flying with you. Enjoy the experience and stay proficient!

[JosephHHHo]

When I switched from a basic headset to a ANR headset, my radio work instantly got better and I was more relaxed in the pattern. There must be some subconscious effort to listen through the noise which is notably alleviated by the improved audio. Probably would be no big deal with more experience but I was surprised by the change as a task saturated student. I'm using the ONE-X which is a still made by David Clarke.

[howardknytych]

Scott, I was pleased to know you've started taking flight lessons "for real". When I was a current CFII, I owned a Cessna C-120, which I used to offer tail wheel instruction. I also offered free flight instruction for me three sons, although they had to pay for fuel. Soon after he started taking lessons, my son Ethan wanted to know what spins were like. Most airplanes are not approved for intentional spins. C-120s are. Spins are…the best, but they’re not for the faint of heart. You have to have a special attitude (pun intended) to appreciate them. Ethan once mentioned that he and a friend used to drive to distant amusement parks just to check out the roller coasters. When the boys were about eight or nine we drove down to LA one summer. Ethan liked the big rides at Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm. I figured he had the right stuff.

You start a spin with plenty of altitude. At least 3000’ above ground level. You note your initial heading. Look around, behind, and below you to clear the area. Pull the power back to idle. Maintain level flight and bleed off airspeed by pulling back slowly and steadily on the yoke. Your angle of attack increases. You see nothing but sky as the horizon drops away. The controls become increasingly sloppy as you lose airspeed. You have to increase your effort to keep pulling the nose up. Finally the airplane starts shuddering. The wing is producing very little lift, but lots of drag. You’ve entered a stall. The nose wants to drop, but you can still hold it up, seemingly against the airplane’s will. Normally at this point you’d do a stall recovery, but not this time. This time, you kick in full left rudder. The yaw to the left causes the left wing to stall more severely while the right wing momentarily produces a little more lift than the left. Quickly, the left wing and the nose both drop as the right wing arcs overhead. Suddenly you’re falling vertically out of the sky, spinning counterclockwise, seeing the whole world turning clockwise around a point on the ground which is getting bigger, rising straight up to meet you. That’s where you’d impact the ground if you continued the spin. You’re nearly weightless as you fall, and your stomach may not have caught up with you, but you hardly notice because you’re busy right now. As you continue holding back pressure and left rudder the rotation rate increases. Things on the ground are rapidly getting larger. You should start your recovery now. You relax your back pressure on the yoke and kick in full right rudder until the rotation stops. You’re vertical, but picking up airspeed quickly. The plane starts flying again, but in a steep dive. You pull back steadily but not too fast on the yoke, increasing the G force until you’re level again, maybe 500’ or 1000’ lower than when you started. If you recovered as well as the stunt pilots, you’d be back on the same heading you had when you started this insanity. Restore power and breathe again. You feel fully alive – much more so than what you experience day-to-day. Ethan was stoked. I didn’t bother to ask him if it was better than a roller coaster.