Sunday, February 1, 2015

Decisions, decisions.

Okay, now that I have come back down to earth I have to put things into perspective and get the ball rolling.

I have pretty much selected where I'm going to do my ground school. Since I had good results with the previous ground school class I took, I will return back to them. I will return to do the Gleim On-Line program.

When I took the program years ago the end result was a 94% on my ground school test. I also took the time to expand my knowledge with the Rod Machado's Private Pilot Handbook. I feel strongly that this book should be required reading for anyone coming into aviation to obtain their pilot's license.

Since the weather has been snowy and cold, I have not had a chance to go to the airport to take a flying lesson. As it stands right now, I am not sure if I'm going to go back to my old school or to go to the airport which is 13 minutes away from me. Both have strong advantages and disadvantages.

My old school is in the environment that I really prefer. I like small airports, where people know each other, and there is no problem hanging out outside by the planes and just shooting the bull. At the same time, the drive is around an hour and 20 minutes. While the airplanes are very airworthy, due to the low rate that they charge for rental, let's say, you're getting what you paid for. More specifically, cosmetically speaking, they have been around the block quite a few times. If I come back here I plan on finishing up by leaving the Cessna 152 and moving up to the Cessna 172.

The new school, which is about 13 minutes away from me, is a larger airfield with a runway that is over 5000 feet. That is almost 3000 feet more than I am used to, and I am not sure if my skills would benefit by being challenged with a runway that is far longer than is needed for a four seat airplane. Also, the rate for the instructor is much higher, in fact, it is double than the rate at my old airport. If I decide to move to this airport, I will be limited financially to fly the Cessna 152.

Luckily, since the weather is still snowy for the past two weeks and will continue to be for the next six weeks, there is actually no rush to make a decision.

While I am deciding, I can do my ground school and play with my new toy, my Asus Transformer, and decide which Android app I am going to use to aid me in my flying.  :)

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