Here is an issue I have about people saying "Oh you only have X amount of hours. You don't have any experience or hardly know anything." Numbers do not mean anything,
But then you say:
I soloed in under five hours,
I completed my Private training in 36hrs (pt 141).
With the exception of my Instrument Training, I completed everything under mins
and had to fly just to build time to meet requirements.
Even in the case of my Tailwheel endorsement, I was ready for my sign off in ~5hrs
but flew with the instructor until 10 to reach insurance Mins.
I guess hours DO mean something to you. You use them to highlight your varied accomplishments.
When I was 12 years old, I took my first ride in a T-6 Texan, the pilot told me multiple times how shocked he was when I took over the controls and that he had never seen someone as young as me be so smooth.
I have flown with many kids, taught many kids tennis, swimming and coached baseball, etc....and one of my FAVORITE things to do with young children is too tell them that they don't dive off the low board correctly, hit a top spin serve correctly or swing the bat with enough speed.
Yes - I'm making fun of your comment. I'm trying to do it with a smile on my face, but seriously......
Am I Confident in my flying? Absolutely, if you are not confident in yourself, then you should not be flying, but at the same time I know I can still kill myself and others if I Screw up. I am highly critical of myself and I recognize when I should/could have performed better. I don't want to be hired and just set free at some company. I want to be trained in the aircraft as I know I have to be as part of the learning experience.
Everything you say here is right one.
Great attitude and knowing limits and working towards expanding them are key.
My confidence comes from people who I have flown with as mentors/Instructors, not something I think up about myself. When you have multiple retired Air Force pilots and career airline pilots telling you good things about your flying, what do you want me to say? "Oh I wish you would hire me for my average to below average flying skills/knowledge."
Uh....I didn't say you should say anything of the sort. This topic started with you saying that you were proficient in 14 different aircraft and have 359 total hours. I question this based on MY experience. I even said that maybe you and I had different definitions of what was meant by proficient:
OK -we must have widely different ideas of proficient Tpinks.
Not entirely sure where you got the idea that I said it took 500 hrs to be proficient in a SE piston when you said:
And you surely are not saying it should take someone 500hrs to become proficient in a single engine aircraft are you?
I specifically used myself as an example in my current aircraft.
I was **proficient** in my current King Air until I had at least 500 hrs in it.
I'm all for your enthusiasm Tpinks. I was very much like yourself at the same spot when I first started flying though I'll admit that I never thought the way you do. I didn't get my CFI right off the bat (actually I still don't have a CFI
) exactly for the reason that I didn't think I knew enough at 250+ hours to instruct anyone. I knew that was the *usual* route for a civilian pilot to progress but I felt like I really need some "real world experience".
Now that I have many years in this aviation world and have done quite a few different things - to include a decade of aviation safety experience and instruction - some of the things that you said - and how you said them - struck a dangerous chord with me and I pointed some of them out to you as a little nudge of a wake up call. Personally I think some of the things you said, and the attitude that came along with them could actually be dangerous, if given the right circumstances. Your rebuttal was to 'toot your own horn' quite loudly with a history of your first 300 hrs of flight training and the numerous accolades heaped upon you by all who's presence you have graced
I'm saying - - slow down a little. Take the time to absorb what you are being exposed too. You have a long future ahead of you in aviation if you decide to stick it out through the ups and downs. Many of us on APC have watched AZFlyer 'grow up' through the ranks somewhat and have enjoyed his journey. His words of advice ring true.
Enjoy the ride.