Tell me about aviation

Well, I'm an aviation nut, I have been since I was a small child. I flew a plane for the first time when I was 8 (that's 4 years before I drove a car for the first time) and I started taking lessons when I was 16. Hopefully, if all goes well (and I make the money :roll:), I will get my pilot's license next summer. I've flown in the cockpits of commercial airliners and I've done aerobatics in a military trainer (by far the funnest thing I've ever done), I'm even lucky enough to be a volunteer for an organisation that keeps vintage warbirds airworthy which is based at my local airport. I'm definately planning on having a career in the field. I've also been known to frequently run into objects in front of me because I was too busy looking at the sky, trying to spot where that delightful engine noise was coming from, to pay attention to anything else.

I was just wondering if anyone else here is a pilot or has an interest in aviation. I'm sure we would have a lot to talk about :D!

Hehe, guess I'm all alone here... Anyways, that organisation that I said I worked for had an open house today (basically a free airshow). They flew a harvard, a mustang, a spitfire, a hurricane and a lot more... A few military guys popped by to say hi too. Here are some pics if anyone's interested (I don't have any good ones of them flying, I would need a telephoto lens for that...).



http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/6169/img1725sz8.jpg

http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/2523/img1729nc6.jpg

http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/1516/img1731df3.jpg

http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/695/img1737dp8.jpg

http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/954/img1734ga0.jpg

I was actually right next to that F-18 during it's run-up, my ears are still ringing :?.

Actually you're not alone...I LOVE THE MUSTANG!!! :D I was 13 when I took my first lesson in a Cessna 172. I don't fly anymore tho, don't have the money but still love it. I've always loved the WW2 fighters like the P-51 and the odd P-38.

Hehe, I've never heard of someone who didn't like a Mustang :D, those Merlin engines are just insane. I'm more of a spit guy myself though (By the way, do you like how the spit looks? I'm the one who cleaned it :P.)...

I used to do some amatuer flying with my friend who happens to be a pilot. He took me up in his Cessna 120. Small as fuck single engine, rickety piece of shit that scared the piss out of me to fly in. Then my friend Victor let me fly his grandfathers skylark 172r. Great plane. It has limited passenger room. I'm a Cessna person. I like pipers too. I've only ever flown a Navajo twin engine. Little bit bigger. It actually had cabin controls, which made it more confusing for me, because I never took any formal training for flying. i don't recall the Skylark having much of that. Obviously the standard stuff but not much else. Heh. I used to love aviation. I sort of lost interest when I realized there wasn't much of a chance I'd be able to pursue it.

Yeah the Spitfire looks nice...BTW it didn't show up the first time I viewed the thread. Another favorite of mine is the Corsair.

Some of the coolest planes I've ever got to fly are a Starduster (fabric and wood homemade bi-plane and KICKASS!!!), a piper cub (that was fun) and a really old high wing plane I don't know the name if it but really cool...didn't fly it much tho went up with a friend did some formation flying buzzing the airport for the hell of it :D

We actually have a Corsair here, I think it's out for maintenance though (I've only seen it fly once)... I've never flown anything lighter than a C-172, but I bet it's a whole different kind of thrill. I'd probably get tired of cruising at 60 knots after a while though :?...

Been into aviation since getting dragged round deserted bomber bases in Lincolnshire as a kid. I wanted to be a pilot for an airline, but my eyesight killed that idea off. I can still get my private pilots licence though. My favourite aircraft is the mighty Avro Lancaster

http://www.richard-seaman.com/Aircra...caster2006.jpg

I've got into the preservation side of things, and I've helped a couple of museums find a few bits, I seem to have a knack for finding wrecks. One I've been chasing is Avro Lancaster NF920, from the dambusters. I got permission to recover the wreckage a year ago, but its a pain in the ass to organise.

Ric

I've always loved planes and seeing those bright shiny things majestically cloating through the sky leaving a bright white trail. I remember one morning before school when I was in 5th grade hitting a tennis ball back and forth in the street with my brother. It was a beautiful morning and he hit the ball over by our shed which had steam rising off of it as the sun hit the morning dew. I remember looking up and seeing a beatiful plane streaking through the sky N-NW. That day was September 11th, 2001. I might never know if that plane was one of the 4 involved but that moment has stuck with me since.

I have always liked looking up at planes and wondering who might be on it, if I have ever seen it before, where its going, and so on. I have dabbled a little bit into ACARS and listening to the local airport over the scanner. We used to have airshows here but our airport is pretty much backrupt so not anymore. Some kids at my school started GhostWings magazine so we've had some times when B-24s or B-17s come in and you can buy rides. We have a Balloon Fest but it is always dismal (although last year we yelled a conversation back and forth with a guy in a balloon as he flew over the tennis courts during a match). I have always loved jets and the raw power and speed.

The funny thing is that I've never flown before. Maybe someday but I would probably uneasy about the possibility of crashing.

Lamneth-25: Here's a pic of that Corsair I was talking about.

http://img68.imageshack.us/img68/6839/img1487kp2.jpg


Ric W: Wow, beautiful Lancaster :shock:! If I recall, there are only 2 in the world that are still airworthy. One's here in Canada, the other's in England. So I guess that's the other one :P. So you're into restoration, eh? We could sure use your help here... One of the guys that works with us comes from Duxford. The stories he has about warbirds are insane! Here's a pic of the Lanc we have here when it did a few fly-bys for Battle of Britain Day, it's flanked by a Spitfire and a Mustang.

http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/404/img0813sg3.jpg


ThePhobiaViewed: 9/11 was a great blow to aviation :( (among other things). Airplanes aren't meant to be used in such a cowardly manor. Anyways, I'm glad to hear that you're still into the stuff. Also, don't let any fears keep you from exploring aviation for yourself! The chances of anything going wrong are infinitesimal, in fact, you have way more chances of dying in a car crash on your way to the airport. If ever you do decide to go flying, you'll quickly see that you'll be way to busy concentrating on flying the plane to worry about anything else :D. If ever you do get a break, then you'll probably be in awe from looking at the scenery. Just in case you need a little incentive, this is what it looks like up here ;).

http://img68.imageshack.us/img68/7693/img1311ab5.jpg

Wow, I would love to get into flying when I'm older. I thought about joining the RAF option of the CCF that is compulsory at my school, but everyone says it's not that much to do with flying.

I hate commercial airline flights though, but that's mainly because of the waits and the airports and the air conditioning :(

I would love some advice about how best to start and what kind of qualifications you need to get :)

Well, excluding commercial aviation which you don't seem to like, you are left with military aviation and private aviation. I don't know how the RAF works, but here you need to have a bacc (either from a civil or military college) before you can be trained as a pilot. You need to be in sound physical shape and have 20/20 eyesight uncorrected. Once you get in and pass basic training, you train on small planes to learn the basics. From there, depending on your skills and the military's needs, you progress to either helicopters, multi-engine airplanes or jets. An average military pilot's day consists of briefings, flying (pretty much every day), debriefings and paperwork. If you think that this is the way for you, then work hard on subjects like math, physics... A degree in engineering isn't a bad idea either.

The private sector totally revolves around one thing: money. Flying on your own is very expensive, so get the highest paying job you can find and prepare to make a few compromises. It's easy enough to get the required licenses though. Also, it's incredible what planes you can find in the private circles. Anything from light propeller planes, to helicopters, to aerobatic planes, to ex-military jets... In fact, all those warbirds I posted belong to some guy who made it big and decided he wanted to trump his neighbor's corvette :P.

Well the only thing I can tell you is that there was an aviation flu going around a little while ago... it killed a lot of chickens.

Otherwise, sounds like you got yourself a really cool hobby. Although, I bet it's harder to pick up chicks in an airplane.

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Originally Posted by CoLd BlooDed

Although, I bet it's harder to pick up chicks in an airplane.

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*puts down a 20* You're on :P.

Spartiate the Lanc in the picture is the flying one you guys in Canada have. In my eyes it looks better that the one we have over here as the RAF have taken to shining it up, and it looks wrong. Mine's just wreckage, still at the crash site, but one day it might come to something.

This is a pic of it:

http://www.warbirdregistry.org/lancr...c-nf920-11.jpg

Duxford... now that's an eye opener. When they have the flying legends airshow, they get everything airworthy off the ground for the finale.

One year they had something like 20 spitfires in one formation to celebrate the battle of britain.

I'm loving the scenery shot in your post, its making me want to go fly.... but I'm stuck at work.

Ric

Here's a good shot... Canadian Lancasters were used after the war to save lives. This one is now at Toronto Air Museum after spending years outside ona concrete stand.

http://acam.ednet.ns.ca/newslet/mar2003/fm104.jpg

Ric

Spartiate,

that really is a fantastic hobby, glad you're into it.

I did about 25 takeoffs and landings in a Cessna 172, as part of the private pilots program, unfortunately I couldn't devote all the time necessary, and put it on hold. Hopefully one day I'll be able to continue...

I quite enjoyed being up there though, piloting my little tin can with a prop around,...a thrill, and a joy really.

I've been a Fsim fan as well, with all the versions except the newest (my card I don't think is fast enough to run it adequately) and it was unbeleivable to actually experience the sensations of my movements...I did love it.

Anyway, stay up there! and I wish you luck and perseverance in your training...stay safe:)

P.S- Cold Blooded, you may be mistaken...something tells me chicks dig planes:D

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Originally Posted by Ric W

Been into aviation since getting dragged round deserted bomber bases in Lincolnshire as a kid. I wanted to be a pilot for an airline, but my eyesight killed that idea off.

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Can't you get your medical with glasses for an airline?

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Originally Posted by Ric W

One I've been chasing is Avro Lancaster NF920, from the dambusters. I got permission to recover the wreckage a year ago, but its a pain in the ass to organise.

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That is awesome! Ah man that's cool, get your ass into gear and organise it!

Anyway I applied in February this year to join the South African Air Force, I went through all the selection processes (I was gonna fly a gripen!) but at the end, it turns out I have mild hearing loss so I failed my medical :(

So I've started my PPL I've got 24.7 hours in a piper 140 I'm going to try finish it by the end of this year (money allowing obviously).

I got to sit in a pilatus pc7 mkii (astra) after the silver falcons (SAAF aerobatics team) did a flip, a friend was the safety officer at that airshow. That was cool!

My uncle was in the Rhodesian air force, my gf's dad was a chopper pilot in the SAAF, he also flew harvards and did his SAAF ab initio training in a harvard, as well as doing some aerobatics. He flies A320s for South African Airways.

I've got a couple friends who are pilots too, one guy flies the CRJ for South African Express Airways, another guy flying the dash 8, and then one or two others flying hercs for SAFAir (UN) and DC3s. Another guy flies cheetah's in the SAAF.

So I say I'm interested, but I haven't got anything on them in terms of experience!

13redfan

I AM organising it, thats how I know its a pain in the ass!!!

For the airline my sight was borderline for them to take me on for training, as I have poor depth perception. It is however within the limits for private flying.

I flew in a DC-3 once it was an amazing experience, it was on the anniversary of Operation Market Garden, the attempt to capure Arnhem bridge during WW2.

Love the da Vinci quote in your signature. He was right....

Ric

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Originally Posted by Spartiate

Lamneth-25: Here's a pic of that Corsair I was talking about.

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:drool: :goodjob: Can I have it? :D

Ric W: Wow, looks like you have your work cut out for you :shock:, good luck! Oh and 20 Merlin engines at once... *goes into convulsions*

Bro: Thanks for the support! Hope you get to slip the surely bonds of earth again soon too :)!

13redfan: Sorry to hear you didn't get in. I'm kind of in a similar jam too (I was accepted into the military college but I didn't pass my medical after I had hand surgery :?, so that plan has been cut short for now). Hope you find some way to keep the miracle of flight alive at heart!

Lamneth-25: Feel free to make an offer, although I must say that the fuel efficiency is crap :P...

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Originally Posted by Spart

*puts down a 20* You're on

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I mean AWHILE you're flying.

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Originally Posted by CoLd BlooDed

I mean AWHILE you're flying.

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Haha, I guess it is a little tricky in the literal sense, but nothing a skilled pilot can't pull off :P...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Spartiate

13redfan: Sorry to hear you didn't get in. I'm kind of in a similar jam too (I was accepted into the military college but I didn't pass my medical after I had hand surgery :?, so that plan has been cut short for now). Hope you find some way to keep the miracle of flight alive at heart!

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Thanks... you too! I was getting to fly quite regularly but it's slowed down a bit now...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CoLd BlooDed

I mean AWHILE you're flying.

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lol who want's to do anything other than fly, when they're flying?