How many real pilots here? :)
 

I was just wondering how many real pilots with a license we have? I tried to include all common ones.

You may need to translate those for your cousins across the pond...

oh yeah I forgot it's different :) err how do I edit the poll?

well here's the list:
- airline pilot or commercial
- private pilot
- gliders
- student
- other :)

Include PPL-H ;)

And, by the way, no need to translate. Those who don't know the abbreviations should check 'none' :D

yeah I thought about that but then I would have to add CPL-H,ATPL-H, etc.. and I thought I could change the number of options and edit the poll but cant find the tools for that, or maybe it's just that I got home from work about an hour ago and it's already past midnight..

Perhaps like so:

- Heavy Metal
- Fixed wings
- Rotorcraft
- Gliders, Hang Gliders etc.
- Only virtually

Private civilian, Piper 140, inactive for the last 12 years:grin:

Private Pilots Licence Instrument Rated

PPL. IR

3100 hrs in slow, vibrating and rattley helicopters!

And 1 in the back of a fast jet - mostly trying not to vomit.

Oyh! I think we Air Traffic Controllers also should have an option to feel included! :D

I'm a real pilot!
I just don't pilot anything yet besides my beloved Me-109...

ATP here. I've been flying a DeHavilland Dash 8 for a regional airline for the past 10 years. I started flying in April of 1990, so coming up on 21 years soon, and have just broken the 10,000 hour mark last month! Still love playing IL2 on my days off and have been since its release in 2001. It has always been the best. Can't wait to get COD soon.

@Dash 8: Congratulations, that is impressive. :)

I have a PPL (VFR), flying DA40 with G1000.

Thanks and congratulations on the Private Certificate. I got my private in 1992 flying a Cessna 152. I wouldn't even know how to use the G1000, the Dash 8 has all 'steam gauges' still, but what can I expect from 1980's technology.

Thanks, the G1000 is really nice and the DA40 is a lovely airplane. Did my training in PA28 with Steam gauges. But one flight in the DA40 and I was hooked.

I have my PPL single engine land, and PPL and Instrument Rotorcraft Helicopter; I’m also working on my Commercial Rotorcraft rating.

I completed my instrument rating in a Piper Warrior PA28-161. It was my favorite of all the single engine planes I've flown. That DA40 looks fun too. I have flown one in Flight Simulator, but that is a close as I've come to it. I see them all the time in Baltimore doing flight training, nice airplane! I haven't flown a light single engine since 1996. I've flown King Airs, Twin Commanders, a Navajo Chieftian, and lately of course the Dash 8 100 and 300 models. I'd probable over control a small aircraft after being used to the large twins. That's why in IL2 online I almost always exclusivly fly bombers; I'm used to the way they handle.

PPL out of KFRG

As my FI used to say when practicing landing and was a little bit early on the flare. That was nothing compared to when he had captains flying larger jets and they started the flare 30 feet up. ;)

I'm an Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic with several years experience in General Aviation, from little Cessnas to huge Gulfstreams, although I got out of the aviation industry a few years ago. My first job out of A&P school, I worked for a flight school, and was a student in the same airplanes I was fixing. Finished up there with a Commercial Pilot's certificate with instrument rating, but haven't flown for several years.

I miss it. But I don't miss it quite enough to jump through all the hoops and spend all the money to get current again. So IL-2 is my piloting fix, and some virtual mechanic gets to clean up the mess when I break a plane.

Pilots
 

I have about 650 hours in single and multi engine planes, and about 50 hours in gliders.

binky9

Not a pilot, but I did serve in the USAF and have had my fair share of hours in some C130's and volunteered for some paid "ejection seat testing" :P

I just flew in one of those last week. Bad weather out of cleveland. Not sure I like the high wing...sat by wing and could see landing gear..thougth it was going to collapse when we landed. I would prefer a smaller turbo prop to more simulate a fighter :)

SPL here

how about rc pilot :) :cool:

600 hours in Tiger Moth, just love those old bi planes. Before that 100 hours in an Auster. The word is "if you can land an Auster, you can land anything." Believe me, it's true. Stall speed 26 knots. I have actually flown one backwards.
Landing is difficult because of that low stall speed. The landing HAS to be three pointer and if you give even the slightest bounce she gains enough speed to try to continue flying. I have seen an Auster bounce all the way along a runway and the pilot had to claw his way back into the air before hitting the fence. Only way with a bounce was to treat it as another landing. Real seat of the pants flying in both of them. Minimum instruments and no stall warning device.

made me laugh:grin:

About a thousand hours on gliders,
And 4000 parachute jumps

I've been to a few commerical plane cockpits during my youth. Does that count? ;)

hehe!!! I am guilty too. RC Pilot every weekend:)

Winger

ATP with a few different jets under the belt. But would love to get my hands on either a Spitfire, FW190, BF109, P51,47, F4U, but who's picky anyway.:grin:

JAA PPL(A) SEP land, tail wheel endorsement; my license is alive but not current; perhaps I'll do some flying in the summer if time & money allow. Thusfar my WWII vintage experience is limited to a little time in a Stearman, but I'm hopeful that more exciting machines will eventually follow.

I am also a glider pilot with FAI silver; it's a shame that the poll only allows one option. I'm not current in gliding either due to lack of time, but hope to get back at it soon; I'm almost at 50 hours P1 now so in theory at least I might soon be able to get a BI rating and start flying for free...

PPL and SPL under my belt, some 2500 hours on various birds, among them the most interesting are:

D.H.82 Tiger Moth (ca.350)
Bucker Jungmann (by far the best biplane twin seater) (ca.300)
Boeing PT-13D Stearman (ca.50)
T-6 (different marks) (ca.30)

then I've been on a P-51D as payload, by far the best aviation thrill ever..

I also got maintenance experience on the Tiggie and the Jungmann, plus I hold a share on a T-6 restoration project.

Uh and I'm currently on a waiting list for a ride on an Eurofighter Typhoon, I know this is not a place for jets, but I can't wait to G-Lock teehehe!!

Any of you ATP pilots ever see and saucer or cigar shaped craft sharing your air space??
Have seen lots of interviews with commercial pilots telling about "close encounters" with non man made craft. When my son was a freshman in highschool a couple years ago he went to some aviation club meetings and one time they had this young girl who just started flying small ATP flights and one student asked her if she ever saw any UFO's while flying, she said she hasnt herself but some of the other pilots she nows have mentioned that they have seen some "interesting thing" that werent supposed to be there.

hahaha SO true about the Auster! I logged some hours on it and the darn thing wants to stay airborne! What version did u fly with? I flew on a Mk.V, quite a comfy machine, if not a bit too slow for cross-country flying lol

Private Pilot, Instrument rated, seaplane rated, tail dragger endorsement, warbird endorsement,
3,000+ hrs current in all categories

uuuuh I LOVE the Dash 8, that's aviation porn! Lucky man!! :cool:

yep, been there and almost got killed by one of these good fellas..
He was coming for some refreshing lessons on a single engine plane and the school director asked me if I could go with him for a check ride on the school's 172 (I was scraping hours from every possible corner at the time lol). Mr Captain with 10000 hours under his belt (a good third of it probably spent sleeping in the bunk beds) was giving me the typical patronising lecture on how hard and professional the job of the airline pilot is, so I lowered the volume of my headset to the minimum and let the engine noise cover the rest. I gave him controls right after take off and everything went fine. After a good 20 mins we came in for landing, I handed him the checklist and after a quick glance at it he gave me a typical expression of "we don't really need this sonny, I know what I'm doing".. :rolleyes:

We came on final and as soon as we pass the runway end at above 30ft he does his trick of the day: at first I thought he was gonna go for a go-around, but when I saw him chopping throttle and raising the nose to flare I istinctively put my hands on the controls and slammed the yoke and throttle to the firewall. He gave me the captain-to-copilot stare like "how dare you?!?" and I said "we're not in a triple 7 here dear, this thing is gonna crash and burn if we stall it at 30ft above the ground" and gave him a grin and wink. He was silent for the rest of the circuit and only after we taxied to a stop e apologised and asked me not to mention it to his friends there.. aaaah pilots :rolleyes:

military pilot here
Spanish air force (reserve)

F-18s? :cool:

<raises hand>

CPL+IR+MEP, just had my annual IR check ride today.

I'm saving up for my PPL and sadly had to vote "none" on this one.

come on kimosabi, it's only a matter of time and once you get your wings you won't be able to do without! Good luck man! :cool:

Thanks! I've found the club, know what to do and have done the first medical check. The club has two trainers, a Piper Cherokee Archer III and a Cessna 172. About 6months from now I'll have the funds to start and complete my training for a basic PPL. Another 6months, hopefully, I'll fly the practical. May be a bit optimistic though but if weather, instructors and aircraft availability is there, I don't think that about a year from now is unrealistic. :)

CPL IR, multi-engine, aerobatics and tailwheel ratings, last job was bush pilot on Cessna 206 in Africa. Haven't flown for 12 years and discovered IL2 when I got back - excellent substitute for the real thing. Congrats to Mr Maddox and the team on CoD - looks like it will be brilliant.

Single engine land for now, working on my instrument rating.

afirm,
F-18 around 1500hrs
around 400hrs as IP at ALA23 (spanish Fighter training wing)
plus some other stuff but those are the highlights
:-P

See any Foo Fighters!!

forget the Cherokee and learn with the 172, it's a bit of a fat ass bird but it's like a good old car, it will take you anywhere! :)

Don't u do theory and practical together? I'm sure you can also find some financing solutions for your PPL. Uh and make friends at the local aeroclub: clean planes, offer to help, be there, breathe the atmosphere, and you'll always find someone to hitch a ride from :)

It's a great passion, and above all a true discipline! Enjoy and keep us updated.

that's what I'm talking about! 1500 hours on the Hornet is A LOT man! :grin:
So you're not in active service anymore?

:confused:

nope, enjoying the beautifullness of paternity and the modern times of "let your wife provide for the family"

hahahaha that's brilliant! If you get bored I have a fuselage of a Casa 1-131E Jungmann that needs some attentions ;)

During WW2 bomber formation were occasionally followed by glowing orbs which were later called FOO Fighters (UFO's)

I promise I didn´t chase anyone in the 40´s ;)

And the only Foo fighters I have seen sing "monkey wrench". No UFOS either, sorry.

Too bad. Keep your camera ready and eyes peeled because according to other pilots there out there!!

It definitely has its own look. It always looks like a giant insect when coming in to land from a head on perspective. I have aprox. 8000 hours in the Dash 8 100 (37 passenger seats) and the -300 (50 passenger seats) and still can't consitantly make good landings in it. I'll get 5 or 6 good ones and think "I have this thing figured out", but the next 10 get pounded onto the ground. Some of the more senior guys say the same thing. They have 15,000 hours in Dash 8's and can still slam it on a few times a day. Toughest thing to land I have ever flown, but it is a fun plane to fly. There's not too many planes that weigh 34,000 pounds and still land in under 1000 feet and take off in about 1200 feet. Even shorter if no passergers on board and we don't mind using full reverse thrust and max braking;). I've seen in stop in 300 feet once.:grin:

Dash seen any saucer shaped craft in your years of flying or talked with other pilots who may have seen some out ofthis world craft??

I have never seen any myself, but the Chief Pilot I flew in King Airs with at a previous job said he did. He told me he was climbing through a cloud layer near Pittsburgh when he saw a shiney oval all lit up off at his 10 o'clock. He asked PIT departure if they had any traffic near him and they said no. It then descended into the clouds below and he never saw it again. Only story I've personally heard.

Do you think he would be the type to make that story up or do you think hes telling the truth. Have you sen the interview with the Brit pilot that saw the mile long cigar shaped craft of Guernsey Island? Very interesting, confirmed by radar and another pilot flying in the same area.

Hey thanks man. Is there any specific reasons to why the Cherokee should be avoided? Because it's a low wing config?

Yes, there are financing possibilities, I just like to have some funds ready, just in case. I'm finished paying down a loan two months from now and I was planning to convert that monthly expense into PPL education. Theory and practical does happen pretty much simultaneously but here in Norway, we don't always have the best weather. Sometimes they have to cancel scheduled airtime with students because of that, so normally you have finished your theory some time before you get to practical exam. I was told that 45 hours airtime is mandatory before you can take the practical exam. Will pop in at the aeroclub from time to time, yes. Cheers!

No, I don't think he made it up. He not the 'story telling' type. He's now in his 60's and a pretty quite guy usually. Yes I did see interview about the mile long craft. Very interesting indeed. I just personally have never seen anything that wasn't another aircraft, bird, balloon, etc...

Better keep your camera ready for when the time comes it would be nice for a pic. You know most people will think your crazy if you tell them you saw a flying saucer/ufo.
Ive never seen one my self but I know a couple people who say they have seen Ufo's and they swear that they're not making it up either. If you get a chance look up the disclosure project testimony on youtube there are lots of interviews with former military and other defense type people who have witnessed ufo's and have others to corroborate there stories. I'm a skeptic with everything that doesnt have actual evidence. This is no exception but the evidence and eyewitness testimoney is overwhelming

I say go with the cheaper one, or if the price is the same, take the one with better avionics. You WILL appreciate a good HSI, glass cockpit or a GPS over the steam gauges when you get to do the IR, or when you get into some less then pleasant weather.

Piper's fuel cock is a nuisance (one more task, have to switch it left or right all the time), and due to the low wing takes less crosswind on landings. Also, in most low wing models you have to fiddle with the fuel pump on takeoff. etc. However, Piper usually has a more simple engine startup procedures (talk about the 172SP "three hands" startup) and tends to have less draught in the cockpit (real important in cold weather, trust me :)). Newer Cessnas float quite a bit on landing, as they have a very low stalling speed. Pipers float less, but are easier to stall. On the other hand, you can hardly notice you've stalled a Piper (which can be dangerous), in a Cessna power-on stalls are quite dramatic, though harmless.

As with visibility - low wing means you don't see anything approaching you from below or opposite from the side you're turning to, high wing - the opposite. But for that reason high wing is better for "IFR" (I follow roads) navigation. Anyway, horses for courses - my favourite single engine now is a PA28R with a turbo engine, HSI and Garmin G530 - rather cheap to fly, pretty fast and fully IFR, and less complicated than, say, C-172RG which we have also in our flying club, which was my favorite before.

Both Cessna and Cherokee are docile, stable and forgiving airplanes. The differences are as above, but if I was making a choice it would come down to the two particular planes, and avionics especially.

As long as you're not asleep you should be.:)

Ive only just got my NPPL last year.

Looks like I have to go low wing either way. They are selling the 172 and replacing it with a Grob 115D this easter. I haven't peeked in the cockpit of either one yet so I can't really make an informed decision about which avionics to pick, but thanks a bunch man! Will definitely consider the avionics and ask about it before I schedule. :)

UK CPL/IR with 3000 ish hours, am currently flying the Learjet 45, in a former life I used to fly fixed wing for HM Coastguard on search and rescue and recon, I have a fair bit of taildragger time in Tiger moths and Stearmans.

I bet the dork pilots can out fly the real pilots. :grin:

He111.

In the end, it all comes down to your own brain`s ability to process information,safety and logic

What about Military and Ex Mil pilots

In simulations I bet they can too, simtechs can often fly the simulators better than real pilots because they just big computers and the simtechs can fly numbers very well, turn the tables and put a 'dork' or simtech into the real thing and it's a different story, in the real world wether you are military or civil you have to deal with spatial orientation and situational awareness and many outside influences i.e. accelration forces on the vestibular system (balance), seat of the pants type stuff that simulators will never recreate.

Mk 5 with the glorious registration number of VH ASI. How did you go when you landed it? It is quite unforgiving of any mistake. Hardest landing I had in it was a cross wind landing with 30 knot at right angles to the runway. :shock:

No acceleration forces in a FOO Fighter with the inertia dampeners!!!

This is true

Exactly why I'm starting my PPL training. I want to feel my pants. :grin:

ATPL(H), ATPL(A) flew military and Civil Airlines for 39.5 years and retired to this and other Sims 18 months ago.

I became a pilot in the vain hope that somebody else would want to feel my pants, sadly it seems chicks don't dig pilots that much........just money, and I'm affraid being a pilot isn't the well paid glamour job it used to be.

Taking them for a ride didn't work either? :(

:)

LOL I bet you are right. I am flying an airbus for a living and I have no idea how to shoot those damn britts down. So far had 2 water landings and a crash landing within 3 missions. Ummm... and no kills. For now I will blame it on the frame rates :grin: This game will be fun in no time, just like the older IL series. I've played them all. I am so glad that this is finally out even if it needs work.

Fly an Aeroprakt A22 Foxbat ( or Valor as its known in the US).

Ditto, Cherokee is a fat ass thing, but again it's down to what you want to do with it (career as opposed to fun). I love steam gauges but that's just me and my fixation for vintage aviation, I went on a Cirrus with a complete glass cockpit and and I was shocked by the amount of info and cool stuff you can do today! :shock:

30kts crosswind?! :shock: u r definitely madder than me mate! ;)

I found it quite easy to land, it's a pretty forgiving machine (mind you, I'm used to Tiger Moths, so any other taildragger is a stroll in the park) and I love its visibility from the cockpit 8)