How I finally got into flying

Flying

Like a lot of pilots, I have been in love with airplanes as long as I can remember.

I’m pretty sure I get it from my father, who joined the army air corps in the early 40s to work on airplanes. He served 23 years, including tours in Europe during World War II and Korea during the Korean War. With all he must have done and seen, I think he was proudest of being part of the Berlin airlift, and then being a CAP member after he retired.

He ended up a master sergeant in the 90th Transit squadron and though he never became a pilot and he never lost his love for airplanes.
Our house had airplane pictures on the wall, and airplanes hanging from the ceiling. My father would buy models of planes he liked and then help my brothers and I build them to hang up with the rest.

Of the 5 boys in the family, my older brother by 10 years, Rickey and I are the only ones who kept a love of aviation through our teens and into adulthood. Rickey joined the Army and was a crew chief on UH1 Huey helicopters through the 70s. I think he was in the Army 6 years and was in 2 Helicopter crashes that I can recall. He took a ground school at the local college when he got home, but he never got his Private certificate.

Besides building plastic models with my father, I was building free flight and control line airplanes to fly, wishing I could afford RC. I started designing and flying my own as I approached my teen years. I thought I would grow up to be an aeronautical engineer. I even sent Cessna a letter when I was 14 expressing my interests in designing airplanes for them when I grew up, and my love for my favorite airplane at the time the Cessna Sky Master. They sent me a brochure for the Sky Master, which spent several years on my wall as decoration.

Growing up in Cheyenne Wyoming, home of the Daddy of them all Rodeo and F.E. Warren Air Force Base (Missile Ranch), I have seen the Thunderbirds perform so many times I’m not sure I can put an accurate count to it. I remember them flying T-38s, and the year of the tragic fatal crash in Cheyenne in 1977.

I used to watch the army guards Constellations take off/land and fly around Cheyenne. Later on they switched to C130s. What a great aircraft that is. I can’t count how many times I have toured one at an air show.

Anyway, as I went from teens to adulthood, life happened as they say. I never finished college and hadn’t ever flown an airplane. I continued to love airplanes, and there were always pictures and models hanging up in my homes over the years.
My first computer was an apple IIe, and all I ever did with it was fly an F-15 Strike Eagle flight sim on it. As I have gotten bigger and better computers over the years, I kept flying sims. I think I have owned almost every flight sim ever made for a PC, including most versions of MSFS. I have uncountable hours of PC sim time.

The morning of 9-11, I was on an airliner flying into Vegas. The days that followed were very strange with no aircraft in the sky. When they started flying again, I was back on an airliner for work, which is pretty much what I do today: fly to a different city almost every week for work.

Like lots of other Americans after 9-11, I felt the need to fight back, contribute in some way. So I joined the Civil Air Patrol, and was as active as I could be, attending all the meetings, and training I could. Unfortunately due to travel for work, and a divorce I went through, I had to quit CAP. They already have enough members that don’t have the time to give, and I didn’t want to be another one.

During my very short stint in CAP, I got the idea that I would somehow work out a way to get my Private pilot certificate, but could never justify the expense. Although I started to study flying more, seriously it never came together. In 2002 I joined the AOPA, and even though I didn’t get a private pilot certificate, I have kept my AOPA membership ever since.

Right after my divorce, I started jokingly telling my friends that when I retired I was going to sell everything buy a small sea plane move to Costa Rica to spend my retirement flying tourists around. I figured that my limited retirement fund would go further down there.

Through the last few years I have continued to fly my Sims (I have a pretty cool chair set up). I dabbled in RC aircraft even had a couple really cool RC helicopters that were a blast to fly in spite of the fact I never got very good at it.

Life went on I started my own business and have been working for myself for the past few years. I have made it a point to live life to the fullest, having adventures and fun. About 3 years ago, I met a woman of a like mind, and we go on adventures and a have a blast together. I married her August 15 2009.

About a year and a half ago, I was in Milwaukee for work and a friend of mine talked me into buying my first iPod, which led to him convincing me to try some podcasts. I’m not a big fan of talk radio, and I searched for listened to various pod cast, but none of them did anything for me until I stumbled upon the Student Pilot Flight PodLog. I enjoyed listening to Will learning to fly. Then I stumbled upon Uncontrolled Air Space, Airspeed, AOPA Never Again, Pilot's Flight PodLog (will pat his check ride)…. I was hooked on Aviation podcasts. I have a lot of time while traveling to listen to podcasts and within a few weeks I had the aviation bug worse than ever.

In June of 2008 I made the decision that it was like riding my Harley. You can’t justify the expense; you just do it because you want to and you enjoy it. So I started to do some research and came up with a plan.

Being out of town almost every week, and on a limited budget meant this was going to take some time.

I decided to take the sport pilot route on the way to private. It just seemed to make sense, and be a less expensive way to go.
Of the 3 GA airports near me, Boulder city, which is uncontrolled, seemed like the best as my way of thinking at the time was learn to fly first; then after I felt comfortable in the aircraft I would learn to deal with controlled airspace. I also started a diet, to lose some weight realizing that sport planes were small. My theory was that the less of me there was the more fuel I could carry.

I worked out a budget to start flying lessons in mid November, and then I started looking for instructors and sport planes.

The Sport Pilot certificate was mostly (maybe still) misunderstood here in Las Vegas. Almost everyone I talked with told me not to waste my time and just get the private. I decided I needed to meet more people in the local aviation community so I joined the EAA, and went to local EAA chapter 1300s meeting. Among the many people I met that night was Brian, who coincidently belonged to both local EAA chapters, and a flying club composed of some of the chapters' members. On his recommendation/invitation I went out to the hangar at KVGT (North Las Vegas airport) and met some of the guys from EAA chapter 163 and the flying club. They had the engine out of the club’s 1958 172 for overhaul.
Over the next few weeks I hung out at the airport (KVGT) as much as I could talking with the guys, and I made my decision to join EAA chapter 163.

I was considering joining their flying club. They have a cap on the number of members, but there was a membership available.
I was concerned about a 50 year old Cessna.

After interviewing about a half dozen CFIs, I decided that Greg in the flying club was the one I felt most comfortable with.

I started flying in mid-November out of KVGT a towered class D airport. I soloed January 31st 2009 http://mike-daniels.blogspot.com/2009/01/learning-to-fly-first-solo.html.

I joined the flying club and started flying the clubs 1958 172 in March. She may be old but she flies great. And costs less than half of what I was renting a plane from a flight school for.

I took my written exam in July, scored an 83.
After taking most of the summer off for budget reasons. I did my long Solo Cross Country 11-2-2009. KVGT-BTY-0L7-VGT. http://www.spotadventures.com/trip/view/?trip_id=180940

Now in November of 2009, I have 65 hours, have passed my written, and done my solo cross country. I have 2.3 hours of check ride polish (You need at least 3).

I’m very close to being ready for my FAA Practical test which includes an oral exam and a check flight with an FAA Designated examiner. With some more practice, and study I should be able to do this before the end of the year, schedule and weather permitting.

When I get my certificate I’m going to start flying to Southern California on a regular basis to visit my mother.
My wife (likes flying with me and my instructor) and I will fly to breakfast lunch, or some other adventure on a whim a couple times a month. Eventually we will own our own airplane…. I’m considering building one, a BD-4C. Belonging to the local EAA chapter, I have a wealth of knowledge, and experience at my disposable to help me with the task.

I plan to continue my education. I want instrument, commercial, and maybe CFI. I also want to add complex, high performance, and sea plane ratings.


I enjoy listening to podcasts; they help round out my education and keep me interested and enthused, providing knowledge and opinions from other pilots that I wouldn't have access to without them. All the input makes me a better rounded pilot.

Thanks to all the Podcasters. I do appreciate what you do. I especially want to thank, Will, Dave, Jack, Jeb, and Dave.

Thanks to my instructor Greg, and the helpful members of EAA 163. Special mention to Brian, TA, Randy, Less, Bob, …

And of course special thanks to my very supportive and loving wife Elisabeth, who said I can build an airplane but only as long as we have something to fly while it is being built.

Mike

Mike Daniels,
Twitter: Mike_Flys
Mytransponder: buells2t
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/buells2t
http://mike-daniels.blogspot.com
http://www.danielsperformance.com/backroad