How to learn to fly

Maybe you’ve always dreamed of learning to fly. Maybe you’d like to have an aviation career flying jets to distant corners of the world. Maybe you’d like to spend your retirement flying your own airplane on trips to visit tourist locations. Maybe your dream is simply to “slip the surly bonds of earth” and leave the world behind for a few hours. Whether you are a young person excited about the prospect of flying, a middle-aged career changer, or a senior chasing a lifelong dream, there is no time like the present to learn to fly.

There are two different tracks to becoming a licensed pilot. Prospective pilots can choose between a sport pilot or private pilot license. The sport pilot license requires less flight time and therefore less money, than the private pilot. However, since sport pilots have less training, there are more restrictions on their ability to fly.

Pilot licensing requirements are set forth in Part 61 of the Federal Aviation Regulations. The sport pilot license requires that the applicant be 17 years old (although students can solo at 16) and hold a U.S. driver’s license without health restrictions. The pilot must earn a minimum of 20 hours of flight time, pass a written test, and a practical test in the airplane, more commonly referred to as a check ride. Sport pilots are restricted to flying light sport aircraft and may not carry more than one passenger. They are not allowed to fly into airports with a control tower, above 10,000 feet, at night, or in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), more commonly referred to as clouds and fog.

Private pilots are required to log at least 40 hours of flight time and must also be at least 17 years old. They must also pass a written test and check ride. Private pilots are not restricted to light sport aircraft, banned from towered airports and night flying, or limited to one passenger. Private pilots are limited to visual meteorological conditions (VMC) unless they have earned an instrument rating. Neither private pilots nor sport pilots are allowed to be paid for flying. That requires a commercial pilot license.

There are two different routes to earning either license. Most student pilots attend schools operated under FAR Part 61. These schools are informal and are found at many small airports around the country. They allow students to learn at their own pace and allow the instructor to have more flexibility with the syllabus.

The alternative is a school operated under FAR Part 141. These schools are typically larger flight academies, although some local schools also have approval from the FAA to operate under FAR 141. FAR 141 schools are more regimented, but allow students to earn their license with a slightly lower minimum number of flight hours.

In reality, either type of school is sufficient for most students. The important thing is to find a good flight instructor (CFI) with whom the student feels comfortable. A good instructor should have a good safety record and a record of training students successfully as well as a good rapport with the student. Don’t be afraid to ask for references from previous students.

Students who are considering an aviation career may want to consider attending one of the large professional aviation academies for subsequent training, but initially a local school should be sufficient for most pilots. Earning the private pilot license locally will allow the student to decide whether an aviation career is for them and will also likely be cheaper than attending a full-time school. The typical progression for professional pilots after the private license is the instrument rating, and then the commercial license and the multi-engine rating. After years of experience and 1,500 hours comes the airline transport pilot license (ATP), which allows the holder to fly as an airline pilot or captain of a private jet.

A common question is how much it costs to learn to fly. The answer varies depending on location, the aircraft used, and the learning ability of the student. In this era of high gas prices, the current price of fuel is a major factor. Often this cost is included in the total cost of aircraft rental. A sample listing of aircraft rental rates can be seen on the website of Lanier Flight Center, an Atlanta area flight school. Rental rates range from $124 per hour for a two-seat Cessna 162 Skycatcher to $143 per hour for a Cessna 172 Skyhawk. The Cirrus SR20 is a newer aircraft with more power and electronic flight displays, often called a “glass cockpit.” Air Ventures at Atlanta’s DeKalb-Peachtree airport rents these aircraft for $240 per hour. Many flight schools offer discounts for purchases of block time, for example, buying ten hours at once rather than paying for one hour at a time.

In addition to aircraft rental rates, the student must also pay the instructor for dual flight time, tuition for ground school, and a written test. Private pilot students must also get a flight physical by an FAA-approved Aviation Medical Examiner. Sport pilot medical requirements are met if the student holds a valid driver’s license. Local prices may vary, but All ATPs, a national chain of flight schools, offers the complete private pilot license for $9,995 as a 60 day course.

There are many free or low cost resources available to prospective pilots. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association offers a free trial subscription to “Flight Training”, a magazine focused on student pilots. AOPA also sponsors Project Pilot, a program in which current pilots mentor new flight students. Additionally, a free Apple app for AOPA members offers online weather, airport and flight planning information. The Experimental Aircraft Association’s Young Eagles program offers free discovery flights to youths aged 8-17. The EAA also offers aviation camps and scholarships. Similarly, the Civil Air Patrol offers solo scholarships to some of its young cadet members. Many flight schools offer discovery flights to prospective pilots at special introductory rates.

The first step in learning to fly is to go to go talk to an instructor. Take an introductory flight to find out if flying is for you. Stop dreaming and start flying.

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Ga Ga for Geocaching

Sneaking a peak at something in his hand, the stranger walks up to the bus stop and sits on the bench. He casually looks around and, when he sees no one is watching him, reaches under the bench. He pulls a small object from under the bench. He examines the object, opens it, and pulls out a piece of paper. He unrolls the paper, makes a note on it, and replaces it in the object. He then replaces the object under the bench, and strolls away.

The stranger is not a spy or drug dealer engaging in nefarious deeds. He is a geocacher, who has just logged another find.

I became aware of geocaching several years ago through coworkers and acquaintances that were involved in the sport. I recently received a GPS for Father’s Day and decided to try searching for a cache. My frequent business trips give me the opportunity to geocacher around the country, although at this point, I am still a novice.

Geocaching (pronounced “cashing”) is a relatively new sport that revolves around the availability of handheld GPS (global positioning system) units. Geocaching is essentially a high-tech scavenger hunt in which cachers look up the coordinates of caches on the internet, and then use their GPS units to find them. When they find a cache, they log their find on the internet. Some caches are only large enough to hold a piece of paper for cachers to sign. Others are large enough for cachers to swap small trinkets and coins. Still others are virtual caches that are simply logged on the internet.

GPS is a satellite navigation system that first became operational in the early 1990s. In the early days, it was primarily a military system. Civilian GPS receivers had only a limited ability to decode the GPS signals, and so were not as accurate as military units. That changed on May 1, 2000 when the Department of Defense turned off selective-availability, which greatly improved the accuracy of civilian units. Geocaching got its start a few days later on when Dave Ulmer of Oregon placed a cache, which was found twice in the next few days.

Today, GPS accuracy is much improved by the addition of more satellites to the GPS constellation. However, a civilian GPS still does not have pinpoint accuracy. Most GPS units can find a position within 30-40 feet. When searching for a cache, this means that your GPS will get you close, but you still have to do some looking.

To start geocaching, visit www.geocaching.com. The site is the grand central station of the geocaching world. It includes a section on how to get started and has links to websites that will help you select a GPS unit. You can purchase a GPS for approximately $150. Registration on geocaching.com is free for basic services. You can become a premium member for $30 per year.

Once you have your GPS, the next step is to find a cache. On geocaching.com, you can search for a cache in several different ways, including near an address and by ZIP code. On my trips, I usually search for caches using the address of my hotel. In most areas, there are a multitude of caches within one mile of the hotel.

Caches are listed with a name, code, and distance. There is also a rating on how difficult the cache is to find and how difficult the terrain around the cache is. A novice geocacher would probably want to look for 1s in both areas. Icons tell the type of cache as well as identifying caches that contain special items such as travel bugs and geocoins.

A travel bug is a tag that is attached to an item. You then place the bug in a cache and track it as cachers move it from cache to cache. Geocoins are promotional coins with unique IDs that are tracked like travel bugs.

An important item to note about the cache page is its size. Caches range from micro, about the size of a film canister, to large ammunition cans and watertight plastic containers. Micro caches are more common in urban areas because they are easier to conceal. Larger caches may require camouflage to prevent passersby from finding them.

People not in on the geocaching game are referred to as mugglers. Mugglers sometimes muggle, or remove, caches. Geocachers should try to avoid mugglers to ensure that caches are not muggled.

An assortment of tricks and camouflage are used to prevent muggling. Micro caches can be concealed in nooks and crannies. Magnetic key holders could hold a micro cache. Larger caches can be hidden under leaves, rocks, bricks or other debris. Fake rocks can also camouflage a larger cache. Cache creators can be very creative.

Geocaching has become a popular family activity. Adults and kids alike enjoy getting out and searching for a cache. Kids enjoy swapping items, such as small toys, from the “treasure chest.” Kids sometimes seem to have an easier time finding caches than the adults.

Geocaching can be whatever you want it to be. Whether you want to drive directly to the cache site or go on a hike, you can find caches to suit your preference. Many of the caches that I have found were in urban areas where my feet never left the pavement. With 620,132 caches currently listed on geocaching.com, the odds are that you can find a suitable cache near you, no matter where in the world you are.