A Pilot

(Note: Be aware that I kept the file sizes large to maintain detail and that if you are accessing this page with a dial-up modem,

you will likely have to allow some time for all the images to download. But trust me,,, it will be well worth it! :)

Flying to Watsonville for the 42nd Annual Watsonville Fly-In & Air Show

A Pilot's Journey Comes Full-Circle: The Student Becomes the Teacher. Passed my CFI Checkride! PilotGuy is now a C.F.I. (Certificated Flight Instructor)

Rich flies the skies to San Carlos Airport!

My CFI Cross-Country Adventures - Special Dual Cross Countries with flight instruction students

(these are ongoing adventures)

Click this link for an overview of what this special section is for

Flight to Red Bluff Municipal Airport with a lunch stop at Willows Airport

Flight to Oroville Municipal Airport with a stop for lunch!

Flight to Van Nuys Airport in Southern California. Van Nuys is the airport where the movie "One Six Right" was filmed.

Dual flight to Placerville Airport

Rich and Charisse and I, go for a Bay Tour and lunch at Petaluma Airport

January 28, 2008 - Got my FAA Gold Seal Flight Instructor Certificate!

1 February 5th, 2008 - Gave my 1000th hour of instruction as a flight instructor !

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Over 2,000 hours of instruction given as a flight instructor! 10/2009

Click here for my list of favorite aviation related websites on the World Wide Web!

If you are wondering whether you should start your flight training in one of the new, so-called 'glass cockpits' - like the new Garmin 1000 equipped aircraft,,, you might want to read this:

I would say (as would many flight instructors and a variety of aviation organizations) that the average beginning student would be MUCH better served with the more conventional round gauge instrumentation display, instead. Learning in a Garmin 1000 as a primary student will add at least 10 to 15 hours to your training program (that's at about $169 an hour for the 'glass' versus around $100 or less, for a conventionally equipped cockpit). Figure that if you choose to learn to fly in a so-called, 'glass cockpit' (i.e., with a G1000 for example), you will spend at LEAST an additional $2500 to $3200 (or more), over the course of your training when compared with the cost of renting an aircraft with a traditional cockpit. Wouldn't it be MUCH better to have that $3000 or so, to spend on lots of fun flights for you and your family/friends after you get your pilot certificate ? Remember the Private Pilot certificate is a 'license to learn'; once you get your 'ticket' you should fly, fly, fly and learn all that flying and the sky has to teach you.

Keep in mind too, that unless you have the $$ to BUY a G1000 equipped aircraft (about one quarter of a million dollars to start), you will find infinitely more flight schools to rent from which have the conventional round gauge cockpits. What good is a pilot certificate and training in a G-1000 aircraft if you have a very limited number of flight schools to rent them from, in the first place (they aren't that common)? Contrast that with the hundreds of flight schools that have the conventional round gauge aircraft for rent! Wouldn't it be nice, when you are visiting some other state, to be relatively certain that you will be able to find a plane to rent, for some fun flying with your family? You won't have that option if you get your training in a G-1000? You'll pretty much be a 'slave' to the one school where you took your G1000 training (good for the particular school, but not necessarily good for you!). Some of these schools that have the G-1000 will argue that it is part of the future, which it is. Problem is the economics of it all to the average flight school. Think about it.... A new, basic G1000 equipped Cessna is going to run a school at least, $250,000. For that same money, they can get three or four older model Cessna 172's which greatly increases the number of training and rental planes that flight school has available on their flight line. So, if you are one of these business owners - where would you want to sink your dollars? In just one plane,,,, or get three or four for the price that one G1000 plane would have cost you?

The biggest challenge for an instructor with any new student, is encouraging them to look OUTSIDE the aircraft and learn to fly by visual reference. With all the colorful and bright twin computer screens of a G-1000 cockpit (which of course requires more pilot interaction to access the various nested menus and functions) trying to lure the attention of the student, well, it only makes the process far more complicated.

The technology is exceptional,,, but I'd say to get your certificate with a traditional cockpit and then if you want to, you can always take the two or three hours of training to get checked out on the G1000.

So, I guess this was a long way to give you the simple answer; 'no' you would be better off spending your aviation training dollar on a conventional round gauge equipped aircraft!

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