Chapter 21

Hairy

“Lessons ... for three, please,” I said, like I was ordering lunch at a one item restaurant. They have those in the west.

No menu ... you sit and the waitress brings it ... what ever it is. The meal might be chicken on Sunday. That’s presupposing that the restaurant is open on Sunday. Usually it’s the main and two or three sides. The sides are a choice but the main is what they cooked.

Those are very popular with families ... home cooking and no dishes. The kids don’t have to eat green beans or ... ick ... spinach. They can have Mac and Cheese made with REAL cheese, not that powdered crap ... or smashed potatoes ... or even fries.

Shoot ... now I’m hungry.

After we filled out the forms and got the recommendations as to which doctor, who is an FAA-authorized aviation medical examiner ... AME, to conduct the exam. As students the AME may issue a class 3 certificate. If the doc won’t issue a certificate you don’t get to fly.

“You have to have the certificate before you solo,” said Ted, the old fighter pilot who gave us our introductory flight, “We’d prefer you have your Class 3 before you start. No sense in paying for lessons if you can’t solo.”

I asked, “How much? for the three of us?”

“Gimmie a second.” Ted started mumbling to himself. He hauled a calculator out of the desk we were sitting around. “Private Pilot?”

“Yup. All three of us,” I said.

“Got your own plane?”

“Don’t I have to have a pilots license to buy an airplane?”

“Nope ... one of the contradictions of American jurisprudence. You may buy any aircraft you like. But you can’t move it without a license.”

“So I could buy an aircraft and hire ... say ... you ... to fetch it?”

“Yup, not that I would ... but yes. I can even arrange for a transport flight. It’s not cheap ... takes a test pilot to fly an uncertified aircraft ... and a boat load of insurance.

“Let me get back to my figuring.”

He figured. And figured. And figured some more.

Janie, the desk jockey, said, “Four thousand six hundred fifty dollars ... plus fuel”

That got her a sour look from Ted.

“What do we get for our money?”

Ted said, “To get a Private Pilots License? The requirements to obtain a private pilot certificate for “airplane, single-engine, land” are:At least 35 hours of piloting time including 20 hours with an instructor and 5 hours of solo flight, and other requirements including cross-country and night flights.

“Solo requirements: 5 hours of solo cross-country time. One solo cross-country flight of at least 150 nautical miles, total distance, with full-stop landings at a minimum of three points and with one segment of the flight consisting of a straight-line distance of at least 50 nautical miles between the takeoff and landing locations.

“Three solo takeoffs and landings to a full stop at an airport with an operating control tower.

“Night requirements: 3 hours of night flight training, 10 takeoffs and 10 landings to a full stop (with each landing involving a flight in the traffic pattern) at an airport.

“3 hours of flight training on the control and maneuvering solely by reference to instruments.

“3 hours of flight training for cross country flights.

“3 hours of flight training with an authorized instructor in preparation for the practical test, which must have been performed within the preceding 2 calendar months from the month of the test.