Cessna! Piper! Cessna! Piper!

Today, the weather was the typical winter Cleveland weather. Without the snow.

Mid afternoon today, I decided to just call up the airport and see if I can get a flight with my prospective new flying school.

From my location in Cleveland the drive to my regular school is about an hour and 15 minutes. If I moved to the new school the drive is only 15 minutes, including catching most of the red lights.

Since receiving the great news from the FAA recently I have been hoping for a decent day to get to the airport and just go for a quick flight.
With the pricing at the prospective new school which is substantially higher than my old one I have some decisions to make. Convenience of having the school close by or driving a good distance to save the money. Also, with the new school I can bring the price down with a deposit and joining the flying club, and also have a monthly payment for my monthly dues. By joining the club the price for the airplane is now slightly higher than my old school.

I also have another dilemma. Cessna or Piper? Just about all of my training has been in a Cessna 152, and at the new school if I choose to switch, not only do I have the Cessna 152's, but I also have access to one of my favorite planes, a Piper Warrior.

Today, I chose the Warrior. Since I have not flown in over three years, I was excited and nervous. As you can see from the photograph I was basically enjoying my flight. The steep turns kicked my butt, which actually I should have rejected when the flight instructor wanted to put me through the paces. Getting used to slow flight in this airplane was a lot different than the Cessna 152. But next time, I will be ready and be able to make the adjustments as needed. My landings were pretty decent, and that made me feel almost at home.

I am 95% sure that I will stick with this flying school and joined the club, and based on how I flew today I don't think I should have much of a problem finishing my license in a very short period of time. And while today is February 6, if the weather cooperates don't be surprised if I am completing my license by the end of March, if not sooner.