In high school, the dream of being a pilot was nearly fulfilled. I was enrolled in the Aeronautics program at Samuel F.B. Morse High School where I received flight instruction and ground school and no cost. I logged over 40 hours dual instruction and .7 hrs PIC. The .7 hrs of PIC (pilot in command) was on Jan 10, 1992 when I soloed in a 1978 Cessna 172. 3 circuits in the traffic pattern at Gillespie Field in El Cajon, California.
After I soloed I flew one more time. :-(
The flight time was limited in the Aeronautics program, we (the students) had to share a single flight instructor. So flight time was spread among the students in 5 or 6 classes. As I was getting close to solo, I was scheduled to fly more often in the push to solo. After the actual solo happened, the other students nearing solo got the attention from the instructor that they needed so I got to sit in the classroom and study ground school material.
Our final exam for the class was the FAA written exam. I passed and was on my way to becoming a Private Pilot.
SO WHAT HAPPENED?
I lost focus. I enlisted in the U.S. Navy while I was in school and was placed in the delayed entry program for 11 months. So my final few months of civilian life, I was more concerned with having fun and enjoying life before boot camp. I should have invested in a private flight instructor and finished my Certification.
Deployments, marriage, and children soon followed.
Fast forward------------------->
Almost 22 years later. Things have changed a little bit, and my focus in back on aviation.
I am in a position now that my attention outside of work can be focussed on flying again.
I have started accumulating the required studying material, dug out and dusted off the logbook, and started reading and relearning the material that I once knew. Things have changed some. Airspace classifications, required solo flight time, new plastic credit card like certificates, prices.......
Aviation has never been an inexpensive lifestyle. Fuel costs have really changed!
My plan is to get my aviation physical in the next few weeks, and then start socking away the money.
I have saved the big dollar expenses until I know that I am physically qualified to get my certificate. Again things have changed. I'm not 18 years old anymore, so there are no guarantees when it comes to the medical. I'm not horribly out of shape or in bad physical condition so I'm not really worried about the physical, but it remains a hurdle that I have to jump.
Saving the money...... Once more, things have changed. Ebay, Amazon, and online shopping have really helped to keep the cost down on the ground school side of things. I recently purchased 2 flight knee boards, a metal E6B (flight computer), electronic flight computer, and navigation plotter through ebay for $24.00. A new E6B through sporty's pilot shop alone would have cost me almost $30.00.
How I want to go about this is,
- Get 3rd Class Medical
- Collect remaining required equipment, headset, flight line gear, etc
- Study my butt off while saving the money for the flight instruction
I want to be able to put enough money away that I am not flying paycheck to paycheck. I want to concentrate on the flying itself, and not be worried about how much time is ticking away on the HOBBS meter. (Records how long the engine has been running in the airplane, and is normally used to determine how much flight time you log, and how much you pay for the insturctor and airplane)
So this is where The title of this blog entry come into play.
You'll Never Know if you Don't Ask
SO, who want to help me????
What I am asking is simple, I am going to link this to my Facebook friends and ask them consider a small donation to my flying fundraiser. As much or as little as they want. I have set up a Paypal donate button for you to use, if you hate Paypal and would like to send a big FAT check just message me on FB or email me and I'll give you my mailing address.
My ultimate goal is to collect 5 to 6,000 dollars. I don't expect anyone to actually give, but I would greatly appreciate it.
I will update this blog with my flight instruction status, photos, milestones, etc...
Thanks for taking the time to read this, and if you decide to help me with a donation, (unfortunately not tax deductible) I appreciate it more than you could ever imagine.
Thanks again,
Dan
Thanks for taking the time to read this, and if you decide to help me with a donation, (unfortunately not tax deductible) I appreciate it more than you could ever imagine.
Thanks again,
Dan
Donate Here
In the event this link doesn't work, go to
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=YAAUYJJQ3BGM6
