I've just had my first flying lesson and it was all a bit dull....

[Dave71K]

And strangely I found the whole experience a bit dull.

[machineman9]

Is that from Barton?

I always enjoyed the view from the Tutor, but when I last flew it I spent as much time inverted as I did in level flight  (Air Training Corps is a superb way to get some mock flying hours down!)



I guess they needed to try and keep it to a lesson format - If it had been about cruising around the skies having fun, then some people might've had said 'I spent

[Flying Trucker]

Goodly morning Dave

[Dave71K]

I think it was very much treated as an introductory flight even though I made it clear when I arrived I wanted to start my PPL as soon as I could.

I think one issue I have is most of the pilots I met there are all career pilots, where as I see it more as a hobby. I'm also looking for a more raw experience of flying, with that said I'm now after a go in a Microlight to see if that gives me what I'm after. It also seems a lot cheaper and more accessible to.

I'm definitely not giving up totally yet I'll see how this goes and then consider my options. 

Thanks for the advice guys!

[FSX_Dude]

That sounds fun to me not dull the lowest I was 1800 ft and I have never done a stall before.

[C]

I think it was very much treated as an introductory flight even though I made it clear when I arrived I wanted to start my PPL as soon as I could.

You might be surprised to learn that trip one in the RAF's flying syllabus is just an introduction, with nothing "taught" as such. From the point of the instructor he has to balance introducing you to flying and making the experience as enjoyable as possible, which will of course will vary from person to person. You're also limited by the choice of aircraft IIRC, unless you have access to the G115D or E (115As at Barton?) - but again, unless you've done it before, they will be reluctant to do anything that for all they know, may put you off the idea altogether.

The instructor exclaimed at the huge rate of decent we had, which was whopping 1100ft/min....Which to me seem very underwhelming it's hardly a 3000ft/min plunge

If a pilot manages to stall in the circuit, or worse, on final approach & flare (which lots of student and inexperienced pilots have in the past), 1100ft/min is very capable of killing them.



Flying is fun. Learning to fly requires a lot of time and money, and of course patience - it's not all fun flying, but to master the basics takes a fair bit of fairly mundane flying. It's just the way it is!

[Jayhawk Jake]

I flew a Cessna 172 about 5 years ago.  It was part of a field trip for class.  I flew takeoff to landing, in windy weather.  I'm not going to lie, that scared the crap out of me.  I had a blast. 

Recently, I went for a ride in a 172.  While still enjoyable, I got no stick time, and the flight was completely uneventful.  Smooth air, perfect day (Wichita gets a lot of those), and just completely not exciting.  However, what always gets me, and what makes me love flying, is I sat back and took in the reality of it all.  Here I was, in this tiny little plane, flying 3500 over everything.  Away from traffic, away from people.  Just me, the instructor, and the plane tottering away peacefully in the air.  I could see for miles, I could see my apartment, my office (happens to be at the airport), football stadiums, cars, everything.

Flying to me is magical, even though I undertand how it all works.  It's not necessarily exciting, but I'm not looking for excitement.  When I fly (and when I get my pilots license within the next few years), I do it for the sheer amazement at what is taking place.  For the beauty, for the romance.

If you are flying for the thrill, go join the air force.  I would hope that 99% of your hours in the air are far from exciting because when it's dull it means it's safe.  I say go for another lesson, but lower your expectations.  Take sometime to think about what you are doing.  You are flying, something we've only been capable of doing for the last 100 years. 

[Mictheslik]

Superb post Jake. Every time I fly I can't help but think how amazing it is to even be there.....and always have a massive grin on my face when leaving the flying school, even if I have just made a mess of 7 circuits

.mic

[Dave71K]

@Jayhawk Jake - My dream was to be in the air force since I was very very young around 4 or 5.
I dreamed of being a fast jet pilot however I do not meet the minimum medical requirements for the air force as I have asthma, luckily it is very mild, mild enough in fact that I would pass a class one medical required for an ATPL. However non of the armed services in the U.K will accept people with asthma of any degree.

I guess there lies my problem, my dream was to be doing 200knots 200ft off the deck instead I'm doing 80knots at over 1,000ft.

Another thing was any landmarks I would recognize; my house, place of work etc are well within the controlled airspace around Manchester Airport so flying anywhere near it wasn't an option. And as much as I like a thrill, flying a litter two seater in the same airspace as 737s, 757s and the odd a380 is a bit too scary.

I think I may have had the wrong idea about flying I wanted to fly for the excitement of flying, the thrill of going fast and being up high.

With my other hobbies being Rock climbing, Skiing and Mountain Biking I guess I'm somewhat of a thrill seeker, I thought flying would be the next step up for me but I think I got the wrong end of the stick. I should probably take up jumping out of aircraft rather than flying them.

I do love the idea of being a bush pilot though but that again is because there is the added danger that comes along with it or rather less the danger and more the uncertainty. I know obviously to get to be a bush pilot you have to do all the other stuff first.

The biggest nail in the coffin for me however was the lack of enthusiasm the instructor had to sign me up for more lessons.
I asked him what would be the next step and where do I go from here? He didn't really answer the question he just said well you've basically covered lesson 3 and 4 and I'd expect you to go solo after around 10 hours. And that was that. He logged the flight down and got on with his next customer.

If he had said 'o.k so when can we book your next lesson etc' I'm pretty sure I would have booked one more at least.

[C]

Reading your posts, before you decide it's not for you, it may be worth trying somewhere further afield - a smaller school perhaps. There's nothing to stop you visiting for a chat, and the warmer the welcome, particularly if you can chat to the FIs, the better.

I initially had flying lessons at a civvy school under the old RAF flying scholarship scheme. Even then you could see the different types of instructor - the hrs builders, and then the part time ones. I generally preferred the latter, as they generally we doing it for enjoyment and the satisfaction of instruction, not as a means to an end career wise.

And remember, aviation, even in its simplest form with a PPL, can be exciting (aerobatics etc) - there's just the PPL hoop to jump through first. The main problem of course, compared to other hobbies, is cost, but a lot of people would agree it's worth it.

[Fozzer]

I clocked up a few hours piloting an Auster Aiglet Army Trainer for the British Army in the mid 1950's.
But after leaving the Army, (I didn't like the Army, either!), took no further interest in Aircraft until the various "Flight Simulators" for the Computer appeared on the shelves in the mid 1990's.
Tried many of them out, and have used them daily since 1995, starting with Flight Unlimited II/III, Pro Pilot '99, Fly!' etc, etc, and then the MS Series, FS '98, 2000, 2002, 2004, and FSX.

I enjoy them immensely, in the same way that I enjoy cooking, but have no wish to become a licensed Pilot, or a Chef, with all the training, time, and expense involved!

I often wonder how many Sim Train enthusiasts actually become real Train Drivers...not many I suspect!... ...!

I enjoy my (very) occasional, one hour Trial Flights in the local Clubs Cessna 150/152, just for the real experience, but then I get back home to "My World... ...", in my FS 2004 Flight Simulator, and have fun at almost zero expense...and absolutely no danger of dying!... ...!
I think its all to easy to play a simple "computer game", and then think its going to be the real life for you in the future!
I think for most of us, our lives get mapped out with little or no control from ourselves, Marriage, Family, Occupation, (to pay the bills, etc), Money/Money....and so it goes on, consuming all our time and energy...
"Real Flying" is something that very few folks have the time for, and can afford, ....at best it will be the occasional Trial Flight for your birthday present, (paid for by someone else!)...

...Trust me!... ...!

Paul...aka..Captain Sensible... ... ...!

[Dave71K]

@C I think you definitely have a very good point. I imagine I would enjoy flying much much more if I were flying around scenery I love (hence wanting to be a bush pilot), Mid wales and the Lakes etc where as the area around the north west is quite dull it's flat with lots of houses. I hoped my flight would head east over the moors but there was thick cloud in land so we headed for the coast.
I also think I would enjoy the whole thing a lot more with a instructor who did do it for fun as opposed to a job. The instructor I had said he wanted to do this for a while before committing to an airline so he was definitely a career pilot.

And Fozzer I very much agree with you, apart from the lucky few who have ended up with a job that pays on the exciting side of

[pegger]

Jake had probably the best answer. I think other than to pursue a career, the only other ereason to learn to fly is simply to learn to fly. The romance, the challenge, the personal acheivments...what ever the reason, thats what you need to analyze.

I for one would be learning simply to say that in my very short time on this rock, I learned to manuever an object heavier than air...in the air.

I watch microlights flying around close to my home, and I maust say they look even more boring than a light GA aircraft. And they are more succeptable to being grounded for bad weather. So if you consider that they are generally slower, not as capable of taking passangers or payload, restricted to vfr only, and noisy andf windy, i really don't see how you are going to find them any more interesting.

There's an old saying that you've probably heard...."There are old pilots, and there are bold pilots, but there are no old bold pilots".

Aviation is not the ideal venue for thrill seekers.

[C]

The other purely recreational option, allied to Paul's points earlier, is to use the money you could use on flying lessons on other flying, such as paying slightly more for occasional (more interesting) trips in aircraft that are available all over the place. For example, an hr in something like a Tiger Moth, or aeros in a Cap 10 or Extra 200 - all which can be done at very reasonable prices if you shop around and avoid "experience days" and pleasure flying companies, as these generally more than double the price (as an example, if you search google, the going rate for a 15-20 minute Tiger Moth "experience" is around

[SaultFresh]

In my opinion, a PPL can really open the door for more adventure and more experiences. I mean, once you do aerobatics in an airplane... rollercoasters just don't seem to have the same effect. And when you fly on a regular basis, standing at the top of tall buildings kind of loses its perspective a little, since you don't really feel that high off the ground anymore. However, like I said, a PPL can create more adventure and excitement. For instance, you can travel from Point A to Point B... and beyond. You can see things from the air that you've never seen before. With a PPL, you can gradually work your way into a Night Rating, or an IFR rating, a Multi-Rating, or a Group 1 IFR rating. Allowing you to travel further, faster, higher, and with less restrictions. Even with the proper training, you'd be able to conduct aerobatics, and that is where some of the real excitement comes into play. As an instructor, I know that we can't go all out on the first flight, haha. Some students are nervous, some students may experience motion sickness, and if we go all out on the first go, they may make a mess of things, haha. My first flight consisted of a sight seeing trip around the area. We flew over my house (which at the time was a college residence... not too hard to miss), and various locations to practice stuff. I learned how to fly in Canada (some of the crappiest weather you can fly) in an aerobatic trainer (Zlin 242L, tough and rugged, yet it required some finesse on the controls), and I can honestly say I would never have traded that experience for Arizona like weather or the incredible stability of a 172. Do a couple more flights and see how it goes, I think the Grob is an aerobatic airplane, so that's something that I would suggest for added excitement and challenge, and if the stalls and steep turns don't excite you, ask to spice it up with some Regular and Accelerated Spins.
Also, microlights and ultralights may provide a certain excitement and rush, especially since many are open cockpit, but as someone said, they are slower, less maneuverable, have stricter tolerances, and in my opinion, slightly more dangerous than flying a regular aircraft, but hey, that's just my opinion.