Harry Gordon wrote:

I am not sure how to respond without getting flamed, but here goes... It
concerns me that many of the student pilot postings that I have read in this
newsgroup over the past year or so seemed to center around the idea of "what
is the minimum I must know or do to pass the test?" I hope I am very wrong
with my interpretation of Alex's question. If so, I sincerely apologize.

My answer would be this...regarding VOR radials/intercepts/tracking, etc.,
don't worry about what is in the PTS but learn the technique regardless.
Reason being there will come a time in your flying (I guarantee it if you
fly into SAT) that you will be told to fly direct to the VOR. If you don't
know how to determine what VOR radial you're on and how to track it ... good
luck.

I took my private pilot checkride 2 months ago. Not only did my instructor
tell me to do some VOR work but so did the tower on our return to SAT. You
might say I was "tested" twice: once for the PTS and once to help make the
airways safe for both me and my fellow pilots that were in the air at the
time.


I tend to dissagree with this. Learning more than the minimum required
for a rating during the process of going for that rating is a waste of
time and money, especially in todays environment where a student is
likely to have more than one instructor befor getting his ticket, which
only adds to the useless bits of conflicting irrelevant trivia each
instructor adds.

In 1980 I started my PP lessons. I had a substitute instructor for my
third lesson. He decided to teach me 8's on pylons (required commercial
manuver WTF). This was the third time I was ever in the plane. It wasnt
difficult to do but I never did an 8 on pylons for another 20 years when
I did my commercial rating. It was just a waste of what would now amount
to about $130.00/hr.

Your example of VOR tracking as going beyond minimum training is
irrelevant because VOR tracking is required by the PTS and you better
damn well know it befor taking your PP checkride.

Now that being said. It is always good to go up with an experianced
instructor to learn more after you get your ticket, just to learn new
things and to keep sharp. Since I got my licence I have also done spin
training and occasionally I find a day with some good winds and do
crosswind landings. Last year I was pacticing approaches in wind
exceeding 50 knot gusts directly accross the runway. Of course this was
with an instructor fluent with this kind of stuff. I was able to
complete the approaches OK but I dident land the plane because it was
just too windy for me. It was still very good to have been in a plane
when someone else performed the landings just to have the confidence of
knowing that it can be done.

I belive these things are good to practice because you never know when
your forcast is going to be completly wrong.

John Roncallo