Originally Posted by
jacey
Just interested in knowing what GA aircraft you learned on. Was it the C150 or 152? Something else? I am a potential student trying to determine what flight school I want to go with. One starts students with the C-152, another starts students with the C-172.
Please advise..
Jacey,
The cool thing--one of
many cool things--about GA, as the responses here indicate, is that it doesn't matter what plane you learn on. I used the Piper Colt/Cherokee 140 & 180/Cessna 152/172 for my private, and mostly a 172 for instrument. I did my commercial in an Arrow and an Aztec, and flew whatever was available for the CFI (I figured I'd have to be able to fly anything on any given day anyway). In between, if it had wings, I flew it: Grumman's, a Baron, a Citabria, a few hours in a Cub, Warriors, Archers, and Aztecs.
Pick whatever suits your fancy and your wallet. Bang for the buck is best achieved in a 152, and bang for the buck with comfort will put you in a 172 (or bigger).
The Piper 180/Archer/Warrior line is also comfortable, whereas the 140 is a bit tight.
Pick one you like, and preferably one that the flight school has several copies of. If they have one Diamond, and you want to fly that, expect scheduling issues. If it has 6 Skyhawks, scheduling will be easier.
Some of my students started in the 152 and moved to the 172 for cross-country and beyond. That works as well, and did not add significantly to the cost (at the time; less true now).
The two most important things are to be safe and to have fun. Right behind those is fly as frequently as possible. If money is an issue there, go for a 152. If it isn't, go for the Skyhawk.