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How often do you fly as PIC

Sat Jun 16, 2012 10:32 am

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Last edited by Mark Allen M on Fri Aug 31, 2012 12:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Re: How often do you fly as PIC

Sun Jun 17, 2012 12:20 am

Ok, I'll bite.....( I feel like a trout for a second, ha!)
I fly PIC always. It's the type of planes that enable my PIC.
Winter time, I expect to stand down, but invariably I get ferry requests and check rides, etc. So I end up being busy any way.
Summer, I hire out for air shows, so I am busy on those three days of the weekend. Though I may file IFR, I generally fly VFR for aircraft sake ( prevent rain from shorting the radios or chipping the paint).
Your story sounds exactly like mine, just before I got a CFI and commercial ticket. Then things got busy.
Hope this helps,
VL geek

Re: How often do you fly as PIC

Sun Jun 17, 2012 10:22 am

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Last edited by Mark Allen M on Fri Aug 31, 2012 12:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Re: How often do you fly as PIC

Mon Jun 18, 2012 11:59 am

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Last edited by Mark Allen M on Fri Aug 31, 2012 12:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Re: How often do you fly as PIC

Mon Jun 18, 2012 1:08 pm

No problem. I fly from 0 to 30 hours per month. Weather, maintenance, schedule and family are all factors.
But also, I'm former airline, where I flew 70 to 100 hours per month. So warbirds are " relaxing" nowadays.
VL

Re: How often do you fly as PIC

Mon Jun 18, 2012 4:23 pm

vlado,Buonasera.

Just out of curiosity,are you willing to tell us more about your flying career ?

Ciao,Francesco.

Re: How often do you fly as PIC

Tue Jun 19, 2012 7:29 am

Briefly:
Soloed in 1970 in a Cessna 150.
Accumulated civilian ratings/licenses CFIIASMELG & ATP, FE 1970 to 1980
Worked at Boeing ground school & simulator instructor 747 1980 to 1983
Flew Frontier Airlines 727 1983 to 1986
Flew Midway Airlines DC-9 1986 to 1987
Purchased P-51 1988 for $290,000
Built & flew Pitts S-1S 1976 to 1989
Rather mundane as compared to many others, actually.

Re: How often do you fly as PIC

Tue Jun 19, 2012 2:05 pm

Vlado,Grazie.

Also a P 51 for $ 290.000 in 1988,serious money for almost everybody but way cheaper than today.

BTW,was it flyable ?

Ciao,Francesco.

Re: How often do you fly as PIC

Tue Jun 19, 2012 4:29 pm

Francesco wrote:"BTW,was it flyable ?"

I was! It also had no damage history (It was owned by a little ole lady..........no, REALLY!!). I had the wing rebuilt 3 years ago to replace any corrosion or wear items. The Dakota gang found no damage AND the wings still had their original factory bolts. Plus, so I'm told, they needed to readjust their wing jigs to accomodate an undamaged P-51D-25 wing. Very neat to find this history.

VL 8)

Re: How often do you fly as PIC

Tue Jun 19, 2012 4:39 pm

What is the name of your P-51 mate? an do you have any pictures of it? And how was it owned by a little old lady?!?!?!

Re: How often do you fly as PIC

Tue Jun 19, 2012 7:36 pm

I hope this also helps, and it's certainly no Mustang, but I used to try and take up a Tiger Moth for circuits about two or three times a week. I figured since I was flying it for my own enjoyment I better be good at interacting with the ground because that's where any incidents were going to happen. If I were the aerobatic type I would have been out honing that pretty frequently too, but I digress. A couple years ago work took me far away from the beloved Moth and now I'm down to basically flying it one weekend a year. Don't worry, that's not the only time I fly (I do 90-ish hours a month in a turboprop twin for work) but I'll admit that while I'm comfortable and safe in the Moth (with lots of respect given to weather conditions, I don't want to damage other people's things) after a quick checkout it takes about eight hours in the cockpit to really get my mojo back.

-Tim

P.S. I just re-read that you were talking specifically about high performance aircraft. Just think of me as a pretty low-performance guy and remember everything is relative, right?

Re: How often do you fly as PIC

Wed Jun 20, 2012 8:37 am

Wildchild wrote:What is the name of your P-51 mate? an do you have any pictures of it? And how was it owned by a little old lady?!?!?!


This is Vlado's beautiful P-51.

Image
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