I hope to be a Air Force pilot someday and but for now I want to get some flying experiance. But being only 17 I don't have the money to buy a Cessna or any other true aircraft. I was looking at these Ultra-Light aircraft and I was thinking it would be perfect to fly around my area. Our family owns almost 200 acres of land with about 100 of it being fields. So I was thinking of getting the kind that is basically a powered hang glider with three wheels and two seats. But the problem it that I can't find really any good information on the web. Like I have found that it will cost around $3,000 but I'm not sure if I'm looking at the right thing. So what I was wondering is does anyone here have one or know any information on a Ultra Light? What I want is like a online store that sells ultra-lights. Oh yeah I do know there is a HUGE diffrence between a Ultra-Light and a F-15 but I just want to get up in the sky ASAP. Also to be able to take-off from the field behind my house would I have to get some clearnace from the FAA or something like that? I live in a F-15 training zone and I don't want to end up a smear on a canopy of a F-15. 300th POST!!
I would take that $3000 and invest it in flying lessons in a real aircraft. Mainly because if you go to an airforce interview and mention that you have flying experience they are not going to be that impressed if you tell them it's in a rubberband aircraft flying out of your back yard. Now if you go along to the AF interview with a PPL and a serious commitment to regulated flying, in full knowledge of the rules of the air and a basic but sound knowledge of principles of flight/aerodynamics/weather they will snap you up in a heartbeat. Taking off in what is basically a toy, in a fast jet training area is little short of lunacy, considering how large the turning circle of an F-15 (not the most agile fighter) is at 500kts. I dont think you are likely to end up on the canopy, but you are likely to piss of the AFB from which the aircraft are flying resulting in either a visit from them, or them avoiding the area altogether. If it is in a restricted area, you may even lose your pilots license if you have one.
Yeah I went to Ebay and found a dude selling pretty much what I want for $5,000 and it is used. So I think I'm going to drop the idea and go for the PPL. Like you said I have read several places that having your PPL really helps with becomeing a fighter pilot. The reason I wanted a ultra-light is because with all this land we own it would be fun to be able to have that to fly all around. I'm thinking that those jets would not fly lower then a certain altitude and I could probably call the AFB they come from and see. But I think I'm going to put the money in to a PPL and I geuss could rent a plane from a airfield to fly when ever I feel like. But I think once I join the AF I will fly more then enough .
That is the best way to go about it. Most airfields will expect you to join their flying club when you go for a PPL, not massively expensive, but worth the money. The guys in those clubs are going to be very helpful in guiding you along the right path for your PPL, also you will have the opportunity to buy a share of an aircraft at some stage. As individual ownership of a decent A/C is pricey, people club together to buy something reasonable and once you own for example 1/6th of a cessna you will be able to play with it as long as you like with just the cost of fuel and maintainence. The flying part of pilot training is relatively small compared to the amount of theory that you need to learn. However, if you have the aptitude and show that you know what they want you will have a massive headstart on the guys who just walk in of the street asking to "go bomb iraq" or "fly one of them there stealth planes".
You may not even have to buy into a share of a plane. Outside of Boston there are a lot of small civil fields where once you have your PPL, you can use a plane for $80 an engine hour. You have to join the club, like Fly said, but you'll have to do that anyway to get the PPL. Expect to pay about $7,000 to get your PPL. It sounds expensive, but look what you get! Even if you never go beyond VFR, it's still worth every penny.
whats an engine hour then? would it be for like every hour the engine is turning or are they like dog years (i.e. more dog years to one of ours)?
would be difficult to work out as the life expectancy would vary significantly between aircraft class... maybe for military planes there'd be a standard engine hour and a 'friendly fire' engine hour...
At a guess it is as opposed to flight hours- so it's from when you start the engine to taxi....to when you 'park' the plane afterwards.
I have bought the mircrsoft flight sim and I can take off and land no problem on a cessna. I think more what I need to learn is like you said all the traffic control and all that stuff. About how much does it cost a lesson to get your PPL? I know before you fly you have to go thru a ground school how much does it cost to get all that stuff?
cool, i've played a bit of nfsu, if i read the highway code, can i just go out and buy me a car to drive around? i cba with all the lessons and taking the test tbh... (j/k )
When I posted that I knew I would get someone saying it's a diffrence in a game and the real thing. What I mean is that I know how to keep a plane in the air and I know how to land but I don't know if I could do it with a real plane. But I know the process and how it's done. Also there is a huge diffrence between a flight sim and NFSU in terms of realism. I know the Navy tells recruits wanting to be a pilot to get Micrsoft's flight sim. Because a recruit had the game and played it all the time and when he went to flight school he was way ahead of his classmates who had not ever flown a plane. I talked to a pilot before who owns his own plane and he said that microsoft's flight sim is very close to the real thing and is a very good to use to practice. I know you were just joking but I'm posting this so other people understand what I mean.
I think you mean a micro-light aircraft, basicly a trike suspended between a hanglider powered by a big fan... I actually used to deliver papers to a guy who owned one of these, one summer day i pulled in his drive on my bicycle and there he is pulling it out of his garage and into his garden ( ok it was more of a nice long field ) and i just watched him swing out the wings, and take off down his field and off he went. Looks good fun, but i doubt its very comparable to flying a real plane, apart from the being off the ground bit of course. It doesnt have the technicalities of flaps, hell no rudder or arielons!(sp) I also know HOW to fly a plane, id love to learn to fly one someday, failing all this training / learning , go join the army / navy and they will teach you very well! Plus you'll get paid for doing it, and while your there having no time to spend the money you'll come out with a nice sum
you can get ppl for just microlight aircraft, but its kinda pointless if you want to join the forces, much more worthwhile going all the way and getting a full ppl for single engine light aircraft. as for flightsim helping, it will give you a general idea but dont expect it to help too much. get books! go buy something like flight or another magazine aimed at pilots, plenty of websites and books you can read up on. i took several lessons in a microlight in the thought of getting a ppl (m) but was too expensive at the time for me so i gave up and went into paragliding, then gave that up due to going to uni Either way as said get friendly with a local club. They will provide you with as much info as you can absorb, even if you just turn up to talk about possibly getting a licence, they will guide you in the correct area. p.s. www.bmaa.org <- british microlight aircraft association an ultra light is usually a fixed wing plane unlike a microlight where you move the wing to change direction etc. edit: also... if your at school still then join a ccf unit with an raf attachment, i used to go flying 4-6 times or so a year. which really helped, but dont expect the officers to actually know much unlike the real raf people on the bases you talk to.
I was bitten by the flying bug when I was in High School. I ended-up getting jobs at local airports as a "line boy", essentially the poor smuck who fuels the airplanes and washes them (btw this is in the 70's). I ended up with a thourough understanding of small aircraft, totally acing the ground school and more than enough "free" flight time with instructors to nearly get my PPL. Unfortunately I never took the last step. But, the point is, get a job at a local small airport and getting your PPL becomes MUCH cheaper. I don't know where you are in VA, but my first job was at Woodbridge airport, don't even know if that place still exists. And the flight sims games are nothing like real flying, but they do give you an overall feel for the controls and such. Good Luck!
Also terminology and aircraft parts are all pretty accurate so you will increase your base knowledge by playin them.
Forget Microsoft FS, what you want is http://www.x-plane.com/ I've been using it since v4, very nice to get the hang of
That is the job I have been thinking would be perfect for me. What are the chances of a really small airport having a job like that? I live kinda close to a airport but they are not very busy(I think the newspaper said 2-10 planes a day). What other jobs would a airport have available for some 17 (18 in august)? Yeah I have thought of getting that Xplane game but I decided just to stick with what I got. Oh yeah I don't think there is any kind of flight restriction in my area. We have crop dusters come by all the time one was so low I could see him waving. What I would do to fly in one of them. I also use my telescope to spot aircraft that leave contrails and they are all so far passenger planes like a 747 or something.
