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RC Pilot journeying to a full-scale pilot from NC

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FoamyDM

Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2021
Messages
22
First off HELLO! Thank you for letting me poke my head around here, and learn.

Short Intro:
I have quickly progressed from a guy with a young family and no money or interest in flying to one with a passion for aviation, and a love of building RC Aircraft inexpensively. I have recently (2 months ago as of this post) started my private pilot lessons in an effort to take to the skies myself. my extended family lives 9-12 hrs away on a good day, and I see full-scale aviation as a way to shorten the gap between us.

Long intro:
Around when 40 (6yrs ago) I was temporarily pushed out of my woodshop. During that time I needed a creative, quiet, hands-on hobby I could do at night inside. RC planes turned out to be my solution. The passing from an onlooker, I turned into an interested passenger, turned to a participant, turned to avid participant, turned to sky obsessed builder and flyer of aircraft. With over 50 foam craft built and 23+ of my own designs (of varying success). One I'm most proud of lately, is building a foam version of the PRANDTL-D wing experiment done by NASA.
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I have been so avid, I started a podcast. My RC Podcast: www.aviationrcnoob.com

A gift for my 45th birthday was an investigatory 1st fight lesson. (the best gift from an amazing GF) During the following year I had a rare moment where I pulled back and looked around. I noticed i hadn't visited my family in some time, 3 years. and Thant was brought on by a cancer scare. The main culprit was the distance from Fayetteville NC to Louisville KY, or near Hartford CT where my parents and siblings reside. I thought about why, and I came up with time. To visit was a minimum of 1 week, because of the 9-12hr one-way drive. Realizing that as I age, so do my parents, I needed to remove the barrier keeping us apart. I spoke to a few pilots I knew (non-military and military) and tried to figure out if becoming a pilot would meet these goals, considering the cost. Upon the results of these conversations, and "with your passion and interest in aviation, you won't regret the decision", I enrolled in pilot lessons over the Summer. (my 2 boys spend summers with their mother in PA - another reason to learn to fly, for much shorter Drop-off times). Considering my goals and how I'm not getting younger, It was time to get moving.

This past week I received my student pilot certificate and am flying down the path to become a full private pilot, trained on a Cessna 172.

So that now leaves me with a few more things to consider, which brings me here. How to I Fly regularly? The options to meet my mission/purpose goals area many. Lease, rent, club ownership, buy new (too expensive) Buy used or Build (kit or Scratch). As I love to build RC Planes, Building my own plane is a very attractive option. I have a two car garage. That's why I'm here. I want to see what it takes to get from "I'm going to build an aircraft" to a finished flying craft.

As I sit here I also consider, how my goals and my wants with general aviation may be different.
1) Goal: I want to be able to fly my family to visit I need a 4 seater comfortable efficient aircraft equipped for IFR flight.
2) Want: I want to inexpensively get into the air and have quick local fun. (and practice proficiency without breaking my bank.)

It is Possible I my fill goal #2 with a built ultralight, or light sport plane, and belong to a club for the #1 mission. As I am not independently wealthy this must be done - carefully. It should be fun
-I'm here to learn and share
 
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