Any GA pilots on here?

My dad is. He got his pilot's license before his driver's license. He's retired twice now (30yr @ BellSouth and another ~15 @ CMPD). He's now a flight instructor based out of Monroe. He was awarded the Wright Brothers Master Pilot award a couple years ago for 50 years of flying without a major incident.

That being said, I've bounced around in Cessna 172s/182s for my entire life. He used to keep his at Wilgrove, and Brockenborough way back when it existed.
 
Welcome!

I don't fly, if I can help it. That said, my Dad was a pilot and I admire anyone who takes that responsibility.
 
BigWaylon said:
My dad is. He got his pilot's license before his driver's license. He's retired twice now (30yr @ BellSouth and another ~15 @ CMPD). He's now a flight instructor based out of Monroe. He was awarded the Wright Brothers Master Pilot award a couple years ago for 50 years of flying without a major incident.

That being said, I've bounced around in Cessna 172s/182s for my entire life. He used to keep his at Wilgrove, and Brockenborough way back when it existed.
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I'll bet that we have forum member who don't even realize they've been to the old location of that airstrip.

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Gator said:
I'll bet that we have forum member who don't even realize they've been to the old location of that airstrip.
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Probably quite a few. They've even driven down the runway and/or taxi strip without having any idea.
 
Welcome aboard. I got my private ticket in 1991. Flew a variety of aircraft for several years and then some business things interrupted my flying. I haven't flown since 1999.

My seventeen year old son is very close to getting his pilot's license from TAA in Greensboro at PTIA.
 
PP-ASEL-I

Previous owner of a PA28 then a Beechcraft Sundowner (C23). That was one great aircraft! It lives on the left coast now and I'm pretty much ground-bound without a medical.
 
Daedalus-NC said:
PP-ASEL-I

Previous owner of a PA28 then a Beechcraft Sundowner (C23). That was one great aircraft! It lives on the left coast now and I'm pretty much ground-bound without a medical.
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The Beech Sundowner was one of the aircraft I used to fly. It was a nice little plane to fly. I remember it had a big long manual flap handle and a taxi light in addition to landing lights. I enjoyed flying that aircraft.

My comparison to an aircraft equipped with manual flaps to one with electric would be akin to comparing a car with a manual transmission to one with an automatic.

You start pulling up on that flap handle, or dumping them all at once on rollout, you can feel the feedback the plane gives you much more quickly and pronounced than one equipped with electric flaps.
 
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Several solo cross countries but ran out of pilot finance just when the market crashed. Also met the FAA. Funny story about how bright Charlotte runway lights are when they turn on during final and it's not your airport.
 
I've tried to land at Donaldson Center thinking it was Greenville (SC) Downtown, but I'd love to hear how you ended up in CLT, lol.
 
Qball said:
The Beech Sundowner was one of the aircraft I used to fly. It was a nice little plane to fly. I remember it had a big long manual flap handle and a taxi light in addition to landing lights. I enjoyed flying that aircraft.

My comparison to an aircraft equipped with manual flaps to one with electric would be akin to comparing a car with a manual transmission to one with an automatic.

You start pulling up on that flap handle, or dumping them all at once on rollout, you can feel the feedback the plane gives you much more quickly and pronounced than one equipped with electric flaps.
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Mine was the last year of manufacture. Dual doors and electric flaps. My Cherokee, on the other hand, would drop like rock if I played the flaps wrong! I sure do miss flying
 
A friend of mine busted a TFR a few years back in Ohio. The black Suburbans met him on the taxiway and the guys who walked to the plane had MP5's
 
Daedalus-NC said:
Mine was the last year of manufacture. Dual doors and electric flaps. My Cherokee, on the other hand, would drop like rock if I played the flaps wrong! I sure do miss flying
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Lol....yes, slow a Cherokee down and pull 3 notches in and it will imitate the glide ratio of a brick
 
My neighbor and I are just finishing up a 2500’ grass airstrip here on the farm. It has a 300’ cleared approach and 500’ cleared departure in addition to the airstrip.

I sold my 170B about 4 years ago, but plan to get another one in a year to two. Still a student after all these years...
 
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Got my private ticket right out of high school back in the late 70s. Most of my time was in a Piper Warrior. Have not flown since the late 80s. I still love it and miss it.
 
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I got my private license in 1987 in my Cessna 172 that was on lease-back to Triple W Air Park south of Raleigh. A student totalled it in Hartsville, SC, and I replace it with another 172. I upgraded that plane for a Piper Comanche 250. Boy do I wish I had that beauty now. I finally down-graded to a Piper 140 with manual flaps. I virtually stopped flying after I sold the 140, and haven't been up in fifteen years or more.
 
I almost bought a Comanche 250 before I bought the Cherokee, but just couldn't justify the extra cost in maintenance and insurance. Great aircraft though
 
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