ff0718

Hi Guys, I was finally able to register on this site since it wont take my gmail or yahoo account. I used my fire dept. account. However, I have been reading forums a lot on this site for few months now. I have always wanted to be a pilot and have finally started taking steps in it's direction now and needed some advise from fine folks on this site.

About me:
I am 22 years old and have associates degree in IT and am working on another associates degree in business since i only need 4 more classes for that (I wish I could combine 2 associates degree into 1 bachelors). I know I need bachelors degree in order to be considered to get hired for majors. I started flying few months ago and got about 5 hours in and then stopped. I was not happy w/ my instructors or the school I had a gut feeling that the owner was trying to cheat me. He said that I HAVE to fly a 172 and wont fit in a 152 because of my height and weight, since 152 can't handle my weight. I thought that was such BS because I am not fat by all means... I am 5'11" and 210lbs.
So I stopped going there and now am doing research on finding another good school. Do any of you know good schools around Washington, DC area.... preferably in VA. I originally went to Dulles Aviation. I am now looking at aviation adventures in manassas, va. Does anybody know anything about this school?
Also my other problem is motion sickness!! Does anyone have any recommendations for this? I would hate to stop flying just because of this.

Once I find a good school... I plan to get my certs as follows (feel free to comment if I should change the order of any of the certs or I need to add something else.

PPL
Instrument
ME
Commercial
CFI
CFII
MEI

Thanks in advance for reading this and trying to help me out!!

Happy Flying!

Cubdriver

Hi and welcome to the Forums!

I agree, you can probably fit into a 152 so maybe it was a good idea for you to get out of your school if they insist on that. The useful load of a 152 makes it very hard to fly with full fuel and 200 lb. instructor, this is the likely reason your manager did not approve your use of the airplane. The difference in revenue between an older 152 and 172 is not very much.

Can't help on the VA flight schools, maybe someone else can.

Your timeline for certs and ratings is ok but I would recommend putting ME after commercial as an add-on to your single engine instrument commercial certificate rather than a stand alone cert. AllATPs is known for giving commercial ME as the initial commercial cert, and this means the students must go back and do a complete retake in a single engine to get those privileges.

You have the right idea bout 4 year degrees vis-a-vis majors. You will need it to be competitive if you plan to go the whole way.

de727ups

My CFI was 6'4" and had to be 210, but I was about 120 dripping wet at the time. I don't know how big your CFI was, but if he was bigger than you, I can see how it MIGHT be a problem.

As far as motion sickness, I remember having it the first two or three flights, but it went away after that.

Cubdriver

As 6.0 ft. 185 lb. male I did all my primary training in a 152 with a small female instructor. That was ok, but when I went for my checkride the examiner was pretty heavy and I specifically recall having to carry half tanks of fuel. I actually flew to the examiners airport, then added the amount I could legally carry to remain under gross. I was terrified of failing on account of a technicality, but as it turned out the guy never asked how much fuel I had on board. All I remember is he was too fat to get comfortable, and he couldn't wait to get us back on the ground.

ff0718

thanks guys for helping out... that was a very quick response!!
I will go ahead and get commercial and then ME. I still have long time before I even complete instrument.
How long do you think it should take me to get my private and instrument if I fly 1 to 2 times a week. Also, the cost of getting private. I saw that most of you guys said someone can get a private for about 6K. But around here nobody seems to do it for less than 8 - 9K .
Now if someone can offer good reviews on any fbo's.... that would help.
de727ups - how do u like flying for UPS... I would like to do that one day too. I actually own a UPS Store in D.C

P.S - If you guys are looking for a crash pad around DCA or IAD, let me know. I am looking at buying a house in the area and would need help paying the mortgage.
Thanks again guys!!

de727ups

"de727ups - how do u like flying for UPS..."

Check out the link in my sig line.

fjetter

I'm 6'7'' and 220lbs and there is no way in hell I can fly a 152 I tried and it was probably the most nerve racking .7 ever because I didn't feel like I had full range of the flight controls. Currently my school flies a pair of Tomahawks which due to weight constraints, I have never taken off with full fuel in to prevent being over max gross takeoff. It certainly was a rapid change of gears to go from flying the crj-200 to a tomahawk a month later following a furlough, but I like the little bugger now.

ufgatorpilot

I had terrible motion sickness in the beginning. On my first flight, I remember looking around the airplane trying to figure out what I could throw up into. Luckily, I did make it onto the ground. I thought this might prevent me from becoming a pilot, but I started researching it a lot. It does go away. I got an instructor that was also very motion sick when he started flying so he always said "if you ever feel sick, tell me and we'll get back on the ground because you can't fight throught it; it will only get better once you get out of the plane." I thought that was good advice. There is no sense in flying around wasting precious flight time when you just feel terrible and can't learn. Just keep your banks pretty shallow in the beginning. Your body will definitely get used to it. Also, even when your body adjusts, don't do anything like letting someone make the pen float in the air. Someone did that to me once and I just felt awful. Good luck!

inky13

Your body should start getting used to the flying. Until it does, ginger root pills have helped me, even when I go up to do aerobatics. Just take a couple before the flight as your body gets used to it. Eventually you won't need them anymore, I got to the point where I didn't need them for aerobatics...but those days are gone now.

Ewfflyer

One thing about the costs is you are in the DC/east coast area, things just cost more. So if you went out a little ways west bound you could find some cheaper alternatives.

The 152 can be a tight fit for anyone pushing 200+. Especially if there's 2 200lb's. I was about 220 when I flight instructed, but got along fine in the plane, but I just put my arm behind my student and it made plenty of shoulder room.

Motion sickness, been there, done that, got better over 50hrs. In college I had the 7:30am slot, and I'd always eat breakfast..... Finally I just stopped eating breakfast before I flew, and keep as much air as possible moving over you and it helps.

Good Luck