Best Place to Learn to Fly?

Go to New Mexico. You can fly every day, enjoy breathtaking mountains and
it is very inexpensive.



wrote in news:1116650149.869157.26980
@g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

Hi folks,
If you want to learn to fly and have half a year or more to take off
and live anywhere in the USA, where would you go to learn to fly?

I ask this because I have the opportunity in 2006 to live anywhere
(preferably in the US) to fulfill a dream I've had since I was 5. I am
25 years old now and am self-employed and therefore can live anywhere
for the time being on a moderate income of around 50K.

So, if I could focus all of my time and energy on flying lessons, where
would you go? Alaska? Seattle area?

I am just interested in a PPL, not commercial, but I want to learn from
the best. I also prefer small town airports to big metros.

So, lets hear it!

I second that.
--
Gene Seibel
Hangar 131 - http://pad39a.com/gene/plane.html
Because I fly, I envy no one.

I, too, second that! And I recommend Albuquerque, a city with a small
town ambiance.

You will have the opportunity to experience a nearly full range of
flying - open spaces, hot and cold temperatures, a relatively high
altitude (expect to train in something bigger than a C-152 or like
trainer), an uncrowded Class C airspace for the procedures practice,
flat land and mountains, windy and calm conditions, you name it but
mostly blue skies (CAVU means severe clear and visibility like 50 miles,
not the 5 or 10 miles used as the standard elsewhere in the country).
And I too judge it to be inexpensive.

New Mexico has a wonderful culture, the most distinctive in the country
(I think). And -real- New Mexican food (which most Mexican restaurants
elsewhere in the US try to emulate, by and large unsuccessfully). Let
me add - in October, the biggest Balloon Festival around - don't miss it.

george



Andrew Sarangan wrote:
Go to New Mexico. You can fly every day, enjoy breathtaking mountains and
it is very inexpensive.



wrote in news:1116650149.869157.26980
@g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:


Hi folks,
If you want to learn to fly and have half a year or more to take off
and live anywhere in the USA, where would you go to learn to fly?

I ask this because I have the opportunity in 2006 to live anywhere
(preferably in the US) to fulfill a dream I've had since I was 5. I am
25 years old now and am self-employed and therefore can live anywhere
for the time being on a moderate income of around 50K.

So, if I could focus all of my time and energy on flying lessons, where
would you go? Alaska? Seattle area?

I am just interested in a PPL, not commercial, but I want to learn from
the best. I also prefer small town airports to big metros.

So, lets hear it!

You may want to try along the Southern Ca. coast during the summer and then
come inland during the winter.
wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi folks,
If you want to learn to fly and have half a year or more to take off
and live anywhere in the USA, where would you go to learn to fly?

I ask this because I have the opportunity in 2006 to live anywhere
(preferably in the US) to fulfill a dream I've had since I was 5. I am
25 years old now and am self-employed and therefore can live anywhere
for the time being on a moderate income of around 50K.

So, if I could focus all of my time and energy on flying lessons, where
would you go? Alaska? Seattle area?

I am just interested in a PPL, not commercial, but I want to learn from
the best. I also prefer small town airports to big metros.

So, lets hear it!

If your looking for quality training, look at Florida. There are tons of
flight schools, among them are the very best with brand new fleets of
Cessnas, Diamonds, etc.


wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi folks,
If you want to learn to fly and have half a year or more to take off
and live anywhere in the USA, where would you go to learn to fly?

I ask this because I have the opportunity in 2006 to live anywhere
(preferably in the US) to fulfill a dream I've had since I was 5. I am
25 years old now and am self-employed and therefore can live anywhere
for the time being on a moderate income of around 50K.

So, if I could focus all of my time and energy on flying lessons, where
would you go? Alaska? Seattle area?

I am just interested in a PPL, not commercial, but I want to learn from
the best. I also prefer small town airports to big metros.

So, lets hear it!

wrote:
Hi folks,
If you want to learn to fly and have half a year or more to take off
and live anywhere in the USA, where would you go to learn to fly?

Fort Collins, Colorado!

Mountains, high density altitude, warm days, cool nights (it cools off
every night), learn to fly in a fun environment, ~50 miles north of
Denver, so close access to class B, C, D, AND we have "uncontrolled
airspace nearby" (difficult to find east of the Mississippi River), or
the coasts.

Rocky Mountain National Park is within 50 miles. Aspen and Steamboat
Springs are easy driving and flying distance... hot springs pools
in the mountains...

Did I mention the beauty of Mountain Flying?

Beautiful!


I ask this because I have the opportunity in 2006 to live anywhere
(preferably in the US) to fulfill a dream I've had since I was 5. I am
25 years old now and am self-employed and therefore can live anywhere
for the time being on a moderate income of around 50K.

Yup... I got the bug at an early age... and fresh out of college at
age 21, I learned to fly... now 52, and do not regret the time or $$
invested. I'm conducting flight training, and am a checkpilot for
Civil Air Patrol doing mountain search and rescue... airborne!

So, if I could focus all of my time and energy on flying lessons, where
would you go? Alaska? Seattle area?

Sea level is nice, but learning to fly at a higher altitude (5000 feet
MSL) gives you a much better education about aerodynamics and density
altitude.

You CAN't focus all of my time and energy on flying lesson. You won't
retain enough information... much better to take 3-5 months, fly 2-3
times a week in varying weather conditions and LEARN cross wind
operations and high density altitude operations.

In your SPARE time, go see the countryside.

In your SPARE time, go soaring (soaring is when you are going up...
gliding is when you are going donw), at the local gliderport,
Colorado Soaring Association, Owl Canyuon Gliderport (4CO2).
http://www.soarcsa.org/

I am just interested in a PPL, not commercial, but I want to learn from
the best. I also prefer small town airports to big metros.

Here we are! Friendly little small town airport (Fort Collins
Downtown Airport), FAA designator = 3V5. Near enough to Denver,
Colorado to do "big city things", yet far enough away to be peaceful.

So, lets hear it!

Since you asked!

Check us out at: http://poudreaviation.com

Or... my mountain flying web page... with writeups and a few pictures
and descriptions about mountain flying. The PATTERN altitude at
Leadville, Colorado, USA is 11,000 MSL! I am there often, flying in
the mountains (safely) is GRAND!

http://users.frii.com/jer/

Send email, give me a call.

Best regards,

Jer/ "Flight instruction and mountain flying are my vocation!" Eberhard

--
Jer/ (Slash) Eberhard, Mountain Flying Aviation, LTD, Ft Collins, CO
CELL 970 231-6325 EMAIL jer'at'frii.com WEB http://users.frii.com/jer/
C-206 N9513G, CFII Airplane&Glider, FAA-DEN Aviation Safety Counselor
CAP-CO Mission&Aircraft CheckPilot, BM218 HAM N0FZD, 227 Young Eagles!

As sunny and warm as SoCal and Florida....both are very expensive. But
then, flying is expensive, all things considered. Florida is
unbelievably humid (and this coming from someone who lived in Houston, TX
for 7 years!) and has hurricanes. Just saw on the news that New Piper
is finally back into full production, after almost a year.

Yeah -- try Fort Collins.

[This has been an unpaid, non-political announcement]

Blanche Cohen wrote:

As sunny and warm as SoCal and Florida....both are very expensive. But
then, flying is expensive, all things considered. Florida is
unbelievably humid (and this coming from someone who lived in Houston, TX
for 7 years!) and has hurricanes. Just saw on the news that New Piper
is finally back into full production, after almost a year.

Yeah -- try Fort Collins.

[This has been an unpaid, non-political announcement]


Dunno about SoCal, but I lived in Florida for 9 years and to my way of
thinking, it's not the best place. Yes you avoid winter blizzards and cold
weather. But on the other hand, it rains right around 3 pm every day -
especially in the summer - and there's tornados in addition to the
hurricanes. Bad thunderstorms to.

"Hot and humid" for me, is a Bad Thing(tm), but that's a personal choice.

--
Saville

Replicas of 15th-19th century nautical navigational instruments:

http://home.comcast.net/~saville/backstaffhome.html

Restoration of my 82 year old Herreshoff S-Boat sailboat:

http://home.comcast.net/~saville/SBOATrestore.htm

Steambending FAQ with photos:

http://home.comcast.net/~saville/Steambend.htm

I kind of figured you'd get lots of divers opinions about that
subject, and I was right. Thing is, they are all right too, in their own
way. I won't try and tell you where the "Best Place" is, but I'll tell you
my experience.
I did all my primary training out of Inyokern (IYK) near the
northern boundaries of California's share of the Mojave Desert. The eastern
face of the Sierra Madre towers several thousand feet above the airport's
three runways. Occasionally the winds whip up from the S and SW with enough
force to sandblast paint. In the summer, temperatures can exceed 120 F on
the runway surface. Winter temperatures plummet into the teens every winter
and every couple of years the snow will pile up several inches on the
runway. Thermals are numerous and bounce aircraft every which way,
especially on short final. IYK is imbedded deep inside Special Use Airspace
and inside one MOA. R-2505 is so close to the airport that runway 20
requires right traffic to remain clear.
I am particularly glad I did my primary at IYK because, as my
instructor told me, "If you can learn to fly here, you can fly anywhere!"
That was while I was crabbing down a runway, flying into a 30+K, 90-degree
crosswind. We did another pass a few minutes later in a slip. None of that
was required in the PTS, Bob wanted me to learn how to handle crosswinds.
Was that the best place to learn to fly? It was for me. Density
altitude was a fact of life, sometimes even in the winter, not a text book
drill. Cross winds and turbulence, the same. Learning to navigate SUA was a
reality. Cross-country over mountain ridges an absolute necessity.
Go learn to fly somewhere where the air is silky, the ground is flat
to the horizon in every direction, and the winds hardly get above a
breeze -- if you want to. But if you want to experience reality, find a
place like IYK.

wrote in message .

Hi folks,
If you want to learn to fly .... .

So, if I could focus all of my time and energy on flying lessons, where
would you go? .

Conduct a search, as you are doing. Use other methods as well, although at
the moment I don't know quite what to suggest. The net will give you the
broadest reach in the shortest time. The point is this: Find yourself a
small airport in a rural or semi rural area, with a little flight school
thats been around for years, with at least a couple of old coots who have
been flying 45 years or so doing some teaching. Latch on to one of these
guys - they've got more aviation in their blood than you'll ever find in a
book.

Get a place to live, and find some kind of simple job. You apparently won't
need the money, but you will need something to keep you occupied in your
non-flying time. You shouldn't fly all the time - you need breaks to allow
the knowledge to settle in. Fly about 3 times a week, and hang around the
field some of the other time, but not all the time. You'll learn a lot
there, too.

The school should have some sort of common area - a lounge, or a front porch
in nice weather - where the regulars hang around and talk flying, even when
they're not scheduled. Furniture should be some old overstuffed chairs and
an old sofa, cast off from someone's house, and there has to be a real
coffeepot - not a machine. Check to see if at least some of the instructors
hang around and shoot the bull when they're finished, or if they pack up and
bolt right away. Its easy enough to find an "Aviation Academy" that's all
stainless steel and glass, with a legion of anal 23 year-old instructors who
can recite the FARs and the POH verbatim and debate airspace arcana all day.
What you need to find is a flying school, where you can learn to be an
aviator - no one can teach you, they just guide you in the right direction
until it clicks. You have to pick it up yourself. Once you've got that,
you can pick up all the rest either from a short stint at a production
school, or by reading books.

Don't cut yourself short on this. The difference is between absorbing it or
simply learning it, and the value inherent in the fomer won't be apparent
for several years. Good luck.