Flight Training at 15?

You don't "ramp up" for solo or even the private, you ramp
up for a career in stages. The goal is always coming and it
isn't just the solo, or even the private, but the CFI and
ATP experience level.

That's a good point, Jim, but at 15 I don't think Joe's ready to commit to a
career in aviation.

After watching what has happened to the airlines, I'm not really all that
enthused about encouraging him in that direction, either. Although, of
course, in the next few years a HUGE chunk of the "baby boom" generation
will be retiring, and opening up a bunch of left seats...

At this point, I just want him to get his Private.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

I started at about 15, but money (even at $9/hr) kept it slow and I did
not have
the background your son has. Then came the Air Force and I continued at
Chanute

Hey, we fly to Chanute (Rantoul, IL) as often as possible, which usually
works out to once per year. They've got a very good aviation museum on the
site of the old air base that is staffed by a bunch of former base
personnel.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

While I would have LOVED to have learned how to fly at 15 (that's the age
I was when I first started sneaking my father's car out in the middle of
the night), I have to question what the hurry is? And would you be
comfortable letting a kid fly off in your precious airplane IF you could
even find a way to insure it? It's not the technical skills I would
question but rather the maturity.

Agree. He's a good kid, but at 16 he's not always thinking clearly.

I like the idea of seeing how he does with his driver's license. He's an
excellent driver, thus far (how could anyone with 3 billion hours of PS2 and
XBox time NOT be?), but (as you say) it's the judgment that is critical.

We've talked it over, and he's decided to wait until Summer '07 to start his
"real" flight training, just so he can go straight through till his
check-ride. I think it's the best decision he can make at this time -- I
just hope his interest doesn't wane.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

There has got to be a glider group near by, go to www.ssa.org and search the
"Where to Fly" section.
He can solo now have a glider rating long before he can in power.

BT

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:5w0jg.27259$No1.21289@attbi_s71...
While the objective isn't merely to solo, I find myself asking why not go
ahead and do a lot of training this summer? Why should your son wait
next year
to experience solo flight?

How many guys do you know that tell you "I soloed a plane back in 19xx" --
but never got their ticket?

I have met a whole bunch of them. I don't want my son to solo, get
"stuck" in a rut waiting, and then never finish up.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

I wouldn't worry at all about how the timing might affect his enthusiasm.
It's more important that he be able to follow what he wants to do. If
training now turns into a bust because he gets distracted by other things
before he can take the checkride, so be it.

Philosophically, I agree. However, finances must also come into play here.
Joe knows that we will help him with flight training expenses. He also
knows that he must kick in a fair share of the cost.

Mary and I are firm believers in training as fast and as hard as you can, in
order to minimize the time spent. We both treated flight training like
just another semester of college, flying Mon/Wed/Fri, and studying Tue/Thu.
By doing so, we kept the cost of flight training to a minimum, and finished
up in about four months.

If he can't do that (due to his age), he will end up spending a great deal
more money (both his and ours) to get his ticket. With college looming on
the horizon (and a daughter coming up not far behind), stretching out his
flight training is not a good option, financially.

But, as you may have read in another part of this thread, Joe has already
decided to wait another year before he starts his "real" training. In the
meantime, he will continue to learn all of our bad habits by flying
"unofficially"...

:-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

We both agree that he's ready to learn to fly "for real". So, last week
we
sat down with a local flight instructor to check out his options on
learning
to fly.

Was he there at the meeting? He should have been. Does he really want
to do this? Or is this something you and Mary want?

"We" was Joe and me, with Mary joining us mid-meeting. We met the new head
of the flight school, and (of course) Joe already knows 'most everyone at
the airport.

In a world full of people, only some want to fly. Isn't that crazy?
But it's true. I think if your son really wanted to fly, you would
already know what to do. He could have soloed a glider at 14

Sadly, there is no glider training available in Iowa City. He has flown a
glider several times in CAP, but we're in no position (geographically) to
get him soloed in a glider.

I know a kid who chose having a glider over having a car at 16. Would
your kid make that choice?

At 16, we wouldn't let him own either one -- and he knows it.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

There has got to be a glider group near by, go to www.ssa.org and search
the "Where to Fly" section.
He can solo now have a glider rating long before he can in power.

The nearest glider ops are in Muscatine (MUT) -- about a 45 minute
round-trip (by air), and about a 2 hour round trip by car. And their "ops"
are FAR from consistent.

It's a shame -- he really enjoyed flying the CAP gliders.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Set high goals, the private is just one step. Pilot ratings
are useful for many career paths, engineers, doctors,
lawyers, race car drivers, ranchers, school teachers. The
goal for a teen is easy because you have time, it seems lie
a lot of time, but it isn't.
He doesn't have to commit to an aviation career, but he can
begin and there are plenty of "new" experiences to keep the
spirit alive. After solo, there are many tasks required to
get the private, cross-country, instrument training doesn't
have to wait for the private. Aerobatics, seaplanes, there
are many training roots in the tree of knowledge.

A year between solo at 16 and a certificate at 17 isn't a
long time and there is plenty to do that will carry forward.


--
James H. Macklin
ATP,CFI,A&P

--
The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.
some support
http://www.usdoj.gov/olc/secondamendment2.htm
See http://www.fija.org/ more about your rights and duties.


"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:bB0jg.27265$No1.24393@attbi_s71...
| You don't "ramp up" for solo or even the private, you
ramp
| up for a career in stages. The goal is always coming
and it
| isn't just the solo, or even the private, but the CFI
and
| ATP experience level.
|
| That's a good point, Jim, but at 15 I don't think Joe's
ready to commit to a
| career in aviation.
|
| After watching what has happened to the airlines, I'm not
really all that
| enthused about encouraging him in that direction, either.
Although, of
| course, in the next few years a HUGE chunk of the "baby
boom" generation
| will be retiring, and opening up a bunch of left seats...
|
| At this point, I just want him to get his Private.
| --
| Jay Honeck
| Iowa City, IA
| Pathfinder N56993
| www.AlexisParkInn.com
| "Your Aviation Destination"
|
|

Mortimer Schnerd, RN schrieb:

And would you be comfortable letting a kid
fly off in your precious airplane IF you could even find a way to insure it?

Interesting that you seem more concerned about your precious plane than
about your kids.

Suggestion: let him see how he does with a driver's license first. If he
handles that responsibility well, then escalate.

In e.g. Germany, kids can start to fly gliders at 14, while they must
wait until 18 to drive a car. I hear that the clubs make very good
experiences letting 14 year old kids solo in pretty precious ASK21 gliders.

Stean

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:5w0jg.27259$No1.21289@attbi_s71...
How many guys do you know that tell you "I soloed a plane back in 19xx" --
but never got their ticket?

I have met a whole bunch of them. I don't want my son to solo, get
"stuck" in a rut waiting, and then never finish up.

Get over it. There's nothing wrong with him deciding he doesn't want to
pursue aviation, and it's pointless for you to attempt to arrange things to
"ensure" that he does.

He is his own person, and he needs to be allowed succeed, fail, or lose
interest as he likes. It's highly unlikely that the exact sequence of his
flight training will affect his interest, but even if it does, it's not your
job to take advantage of that. If anything, it's a bit creepy to be that
interested in forcing your kid onto a certain path.

Pete