Category: FMA Solo 2020

Hello All!

Since before I started flight training, I have been using the Gleim Aviation Private Pilot Test Prep. Here, I will show you some of my thoughts on it. Overall, I think it’s a great program. I love how you can customize practice tests. You can control what kind of questions you see in a test, and as well as how long the tests are. The practice tests are the main thing I use it for, but it does have some other functions as well. You can access text ebooks for review, as well as take full practice tests simulating the FAA Knowledge Test. I primarily use it for the Study Sessions so I can review specific concepts that I have learned at a flight lesson with my instructor. The only complaint I would have about it is that to me, the dashboard and test prep just kind of looks a little dated to me. But overall, the information the program presents is good and current. It’s a good program for any student pilot to use to study, as well as for any pilot to use to keep current on information.

On Saturday, I went to an EAA Chapter 122 fly-in with my instructor, who is the chapter president, in his L-16 Champ. I really enjoyed talking and socializing with everyone there, and I think I hit it off with everyone quite well. I wore my FMA shirt, and I told everyone there about the FMA and me and my scholarship. It’s a great flying community, and I will definitely be going back to all the future meetings and fly-ins I can make. I got to meet John Rathmell (hope I spelled that correctly). He runs Sport Flying USA, a company who handles sales of all Bristell aircraft in the US, and it’s also the company who subcontracts Jon Still and his company, Still Flying LLC, who trains me. John Rathmell brought his Bristell 915IS, which is pretty much the same airplane I fly, just with a turbocharged engine that produces about 35hp more than the plane I fly. On the way back to Carlise (N94), John Rathmell formed up on our right ring and flew formation with us all the way back to N94, before breaking off and heading home. (Just so everyone knows, Jon Still and John Rathmell ARE in fact both trained in formation flying and are ex-military pilots. As I’m sure everyone knows, formation flying should never be attempted without proper training and experience). It was awesome! Nothing like an old warbird and a beautiful new Bristell flying together. I got some awesome pictures and a video that I’ll put in this post.

So long for now,

Jake

Hello!

Yesterday, I had my first training flight to a tower controlled airport, Capitol City Airport (KCXY). It was a bit intimidating, but also a lot of fun. I thought I was going to do pretty badly with communications, but under the pressure of actually making the calls, I did pretty well. I also learned how to do a touch and go. I did three yesterday, two at Cap City and one at Carlisle (N94). A highlight of that training flight was flying right under Air Force One! My flight instructor told me that Air Force One often does practice and training flights in the area.

Today my instructor, Jon Still, took my girlfriend and my little sister up for an EAA Young Eagles flight in his North American L-17 Navion. I got to ride along, and it was great! It’s such a cool airplane. North American produced the L-17 for the Army and fledgling Air Force at the end of WW2 in order to keep business going as they began to slow down production of the P-51. Although Jon’s is painted with a Navy paint scheme, the Navy only tested the Navion for its suitability and never really used it that much. When you look at the Navion, you can see some very similar design characteristics to the P-51, such as the designs of the tail and canopy.

I have around six or seven hours of total flight time now, and I believe I am about halfway to my solo. My passion for aviation has gotten even deeper during the course of my training so far, and I am extremely motivated to finish through solo and get my pilot’s license. I’m really looking forward to it and to hopefully continuing my training afterwards if I can find the financial means to do so.

Here’s some pictures and videos of the Navion flight as well as one of me with the beautiful Bristell NG5!

Hello!

Since my last post, I have had a few more lessons and gained about four or so more hours of flight time in the Bristell NG5. I am learning a lot and making very good progress. I’ve found that Sporty’s Ground School and Gleim’s test prep has helped a lot in quickening my progress through instruction, as I already know, or at least have heard of, 75% of the things I am being taught, which minimizes my time on the ground and maximizes my time in the air, overall maximizing my progress to solo. One thing I’d recommend to anyone aspiring to fly: Hit the books! Study a lot before you ever start! It’ll make your flight training much more enjoyable and economical for you if you do.

I’ve been doing lots of takeoffs, landings, stalls, and turns. On my last lesson, there were scattered clouds, but my instructor told me that he was comfortable with us going up. That has probably been my favorite lesson so far, as it was so so cool trying to figure out a path up through the clouds to get on top of them. I loved it! The Bristell handles absolutely wonderfully. It’s extremely agile and powerful. You have to back the power off quite a lot to do a power on stall, because if you don’t, it’ll just keep on climbing, even at extreme attitudes! During a simulated engine failure, I was able to glide the plane over five miles (starting at 4000′) all the way back to the runway and land.

Here’s a video of one of my first landings!

(I apologize for the rather poor video quality. I’m not sure what caused it.)

Hello All!

As I am writing this, I have just finished my first flight lesson with Jon Still at Still Flying LLC. It’s so good to finally get the ball rolling on flight training, and I feel that my first lesson went very well! We did some pattern work, several takeoffs and landings, as well as getting me familiarized with the area the airport is located in. I learned more about how the Bristell 912 ULS handles and operates, and it is a truly wonderful airplane. The Bristell air frame and the Rotax 912 ULS really go quite well together to make an awesome combo. It was awesome that I was able to take off and land during my first lesson as well! (with some help, especially the first couple times) I still certainly have some work to do as far as that goes, but I feel like I was doing better with each time that I did it.

Here’s a few pics of me and the Bristell 912 ULS post-flight, as well as a diagram of the airport where I’m training!

Hello All!

This week has been a pretty exciting week for me. I met someone who I think will be a really good fit for me as a flight instructor, Mr. John Still. He’s a retired Navy pilot and flight instructor, and his curriculum and teaching methods seem to be really professional and efficient. He is a med-evac pilot as well as a ferry pilot for Bristell, giving him access to top of the line equipment, including his main training plane, the Czech-made Bristell Classic, complete with a modern GPS system and digital instruments. His training company is called Still Flying LLC, based at N94 in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He is also the president of EAA Chapter 122 out of Capitol City Airport (CXY).

Also, my brother and I competed in a band competition in Chambersburg PA this past Saturday. It was great to finally play in front of a live crowd again, as we haven’t had the opportunity to in awhile because of the corona virus. We don’t know how we did yet, but I thought I would share a clip of us playing with you all!

Hello!

Hope this post finds everyone well. I have been playing around with my air scanner that I got a few weeks ago. It took me a little while to figure it out, but I believe that I’ve got it now. It’s such a cool product, and I definitely would recommend it to anyone out there looking to have a radio or air scanner at your home or hangar. For example, It’ll be a really nice thing to have when I start flying, as I can just tune in to ATIS real quick before I go to a lesson just to see what I’ll be up against.

Thanks again to FMA and Sporty’s for sending me this great product to enjoy,

Jake Myers

A lot of cool stuff just arrived on my doorstep! Thank you Gleim, Mygoflight, and all the other companies who made this possible by sponsoring the FMA. And of course, thanks to the people at FMA as well! I can’t wait to start flying and put all this new gear to good use. So cool!

-Jake Myers