Fellow aviator John Keating contacted me last week about his Flying Chicago Website. Flying Chicago is a new website devoted to helping aviators find creative destinations in and around Chicago. John visits each destination that he reviews personally, than posts about the experience.
Since I am new to flying in the Chicago area I am sure this will be a helpful resource. Pilots in the Chicago area should bookmark his site.
Flying gives me the opportunity to see things I would normally never have seen or to see things from a different perspective. I love to find something new while flying, then doing some research once I land to learn more about what I saw. Almost exactly a year ago I discovered a neat looking building on a river near Cincinnati, OH. I later learned it was a Civil War munitions factory. I was so interested I then visited it by foot and enjoyed snapping some photos of the historic building.
This past weekend I had the opportunity to view a shipwreck while flying over the Door County Peninsula. When I landed, I was curious to learn more about this ship that now rests in the shallow water by the shores of Lake Michigan. So I sent an e-mail to the Door County Maritime Museum. They directed me to Jon Paul VanHarpen of Lake Nautical Affairs who quickly replied with some information about the ship. According to Jon the wreck is "that of the City of Glasgow built in 1891 and called one of 'the big four' the four largest ships on the Great Lakes(297 feet in length), she was destroyed by fire Dec. 7 1907. She was rebuilt to a barge of 195 feet in length in 1911."
In 1917 the City of Glasgow ran aground off the Lake Michigan shore of the Door County Peninsula and was abandoned. I came across a website that has some interesting photographs of the wreckage. The site says the following of the current state of the sunken wooden steamship, "Over the years, due to water and ice, the top of the ship has been sheered off, exposing the deck substructure just below the surface."
In addition to viewing photos you can see some underwater video footage on the WisconsinShipWrecks.org website. Lastly, Keith Meverden of the Wisconsin Historical Society pointed me to some great details and photos of the City of Glasgow.
Anytime is a great time to start learning to fly. Magazines and newspapers tend to think the spring is best as they run more articles about learning to fly in the spring. The current issue of Private Pilot Magazine features a cover story about learning to fly. Today, the Chicago Tribune's Transportation section featured a nice article by Chuck Green titled "Taking a flier" that explained what it takes to earn a pilots license.
The article features a few student pilots that are working towards becoming private pilots. Some students are flying once or twice per month while others are trying to get out two to three times per week. In my experience flying 2-3 hours per week keeps you from forgetting what you learned and helps you progress to earning your license more efficiently. By flying 2-3 times per week I was able to pass the flight exam in just 7.2 hours over the minimum required by the FAA. One should not pass on learning to fly if they cannot dedicate the time or money to fly 2-3 per week but should realize it may end up taking more flight hours and instructor time because they forget some of what they learned between lessons. Therefore there overall costs may be higher in the end if training is more spread out.
Speaking of the costs it takes to become a Private Pilot, the article quoted the national average of $5,000 to $8,000. I think the average cost estimated by BeAPilot.com of $4,500 to $6,000 is more accurate if you can dedicate enough time and money to fly at least once a week. It cost me $4536.74 to earn my license.
One of the pilots featured in the article, Jerry Hermes, is quoted saying "I don't think there ever is a right time to earn a license. Even now, I'm getting married in June and we're going to buy a home so obviously, economically, this is probably isn't the greatest time to do it. But, is there ever a right time to do something like this?" He is right, if you truly have your heart set on learning to fly get out there and take an introductory flight to see if it is right for you. BeAPilot.com offers a discounted rate for an introductory flight. Print of the certificate and get out there!
I have scheduled my first flight time in Chicago. Based on some great feedback from a variety of my readers about great places to rent planes from and get continuing education I have chosen to fly with the Windy City Flyers out of Palwaukee Airport this Friday.
I am going to spend some time with the instructor reviewing the airspace around Chicago as it is much busier than what I am used to. I also plan on reviewing my procedures for a controlled field as it has been a while since I have flown out of a field with an active control tower. I think tonight I might pull out some of my trusted Sporty's Private Pilot DVDs.
In addition to some suggestions to check out the Windy City Flyers I received some great tips on flying out of Midway. I am definitely going to have to evaluate some Midway operations as well before I chose a home base airport. There is plenty of time to choose my new home airport. For now I am just excited to get back up in the air.
I recently moved to Chicago to Chicago. As a pilot I was sad that I was moving to Chicago too late to take advantage of the great Meigs Field that was closed over a year ago by Mayor Daley. You can read all about Meigs Field and efforts to re-open Meigs at FriendsofMeigs.com. I was curious what the good general aviation airports in Chicago would be and whether there were preferred Fixed Based Operators to rent from.
I received some great feedback from some of my readers via posts and e-mails. I have also received several offers to go flying with some chicago based pilots. I have consistently said that there is a neat bond between pilots and in relocating to Chicago I have experienced that phenomenon once again with the generous offers from Chicago Pilots.
Between unpacking from the move and a busy first week at the new job I have not been able to go flying yet but look forward to getting up in the air soon. Thanks to everyone that sent in some suggestions!
It was a year ago that I started this blog and took my first flight lesson. I remember it well and the best part was the emotion I felt during and after the flight. The best thing I can equate it to is what it must feel like to be an eagle soaring over mountains*.
To any of my readers who have dreamt of flying but not taken the first step to do so I recommend you go out to your local airport and sign up for a lesson this spring. Visit BeAPilot.com and get your introductory flight certificate for just $49.
It has been an exciting year learning to fly and interacting with fellow pilots through this blog. I look forward to another great year of flying!
*If you love photographs of eagles check out my friend Tom's Alaskan Photography at www.rock36photography.com - Some of the best Eagle photographs you will ever see.
My wife and I have decided to move from Cincinnati to Chicago and the moving day is quickly approaching. I was hoping to get one more flight in before leaving but based on the current weather forecast it doesn't look like it will happen.
I will miss flying over Cincinnati and in and out of such great airports as Lunken and Blue Ash. I will also really miss being able to drive or fly to Sporty's Pilot Shop at the Clermont Country Airport. Anyone looking to learn to fly in Cincinnati should check out Co-Op Aviation based out of the Blue Ash Airport.
Although I will miss flying in the Cincinnati area I am really looking forward to new flying experiences in the Chicago area and in Wisconsin. You can't go wrong with having the Chicago Skyline as a backdrop for your flying experiences.
I plan on posting a message on StudentPilot.com to find suggestions for great airports in the area. If you know of a great Fixed Based Operator(FBO) or airport let me know. I will need to spend some time working with an instructor in Chicago getting comfortable flying in a higher trafficked airspace and being so close to an airport as busy as O'Hare.
I am not sure if all pilots associate flying with the spring or if I just do it because that is when I started learning to fly last year. But, Spring is a great time to fly.
For the past few months I have not flown as much. It just is not as much fun to pre-flight a plane in the dark and the cold not to mention it has been cloudy and overcast for much of the winter. But, with the time change behind us providing more evening light combined with warmer weather I am itching to get back out to the airport and in the air.
The weather looks to be nice this weekend so I plan on reserving a Cessna 152 or 172 on Saturday or Sunday. The Katana I flew recently although more sporty does not allow you to open the windows and I am looking forward to getting up in the air and letting some cool spring air float through the cabin.
As, I posted earlier this week I had the opportunity to hear and meet Aircraft Owner and Pilots Association President, Phil Boyer, speak at an AOPA Pilot Town Meeting. The purpose of these meetings is to share all the great work AOPA is doing for its members.
Phil talked about the ongoing concern that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) could begin imposing user fees for General Aviation pilots. The FAA is always looking at ways to save on their budget and pilots have been concerned they might start charging GA pilots to pay for usage of FAA services. Phil played a video clip of FAA Administrator Marion C. Blakey saying the FAA is not interested in charging usage fees which was followed by applause in the auditorium. Phil mentioned AOPA has been proactive in helping the FAA find ways to cut costs so that usage fees would not need to be an option.
One way to cut costs is the privatization of Flight Service Stations (FSS). AOPA has been supportive of this process and active in finding a solution. Phil recently was quoted saying "...as the consumer advocate for general aviation pilots, AOPA fought in the halls of Congress and the FAA to make sure that FSS customers are going to get the service they need." Flight Service Stations for a long while have been functioning with older equipment and tight staffing. The FAA selected Lockheed Martin to take over management of the flight service stations and modernizing them while at the same time providing an FAA cost savings estimated to be more than $2 billion over the next ten years.
Lockheed Martin is also guaranteeing to answer FSS calls within 20 seconds and radio calls from aircraft in five seconds. Additionally, they will be setting up a profile system so that when I call in for a weather briefing they already have information including my common routes, aircraft flown and my experience readily available to them to help personalize my briefing. AOPA was very involved in the selection process.
Phil also talked about another big initiative for AOPA which is the development of the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS). AOPA has worked closely with the Federal Aviation Administration in the development of WAAS which will provide more accurate GPS navigation. One benefit of WAAS is that it improves GPS signals accuracy from 100 meters to approximately 7 meters.
The FAA states the following benefits:
I love that AOPA offers these forums to share all the great work they are doing for General Aviation on behalf of their members.
If you are a frequent reader of this blog you know I am a member of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA). AOPA is a great organization that promotes and protects general aviation through local, state, federal and international advocacy.
Throughout the year AOPA holds Pilot Town Meetings where they share their accomplishments and goals with pilots as well as talk about current issues related to General Aviation. I was excited that one of these meetings was planned for Cincinnati.
I did not know what to expect and was pleasantly surprised. First off it was great to see over 200 pilots or General Aviation enthusiast in a room together some of which travelled great distances by plane and car to make it. I met a gentleman that drove an hour and a half to be part of the meeting. His home airport is in Hillsboro, OH which happens to be home of one of my favorite airports - Highland County Airport (KHOC). I wrote a post about this airport when I was first learning to fly.
Secondly it was great to hear all the accomplishments AOPA has made. They work very hard in Washington to protect the interests of General Aviation enthusiasts. Phil Boyer, President of AOPA, gave a great speech and was not only knowledgeable but very entertaining as well.
Keep an eye out for a Pilot Town Meeting near you and make sure you attend!
I will write tomorrow night about some of the issues that were discussed in the meeting.
