Congratulations!!! Didn't see any pics of the shirt cutting though

Check out www.beapilot.com. You can print a coupon for a $59 intro flight. Just print it, look up your nearest small airport and go take a flight. I can't imagine that anyone will NOT want to continue flying after that, it is the most addictive thing I have ever done.

I got my private back in 2003. I haven't been able to fly for a while becuase of money, but I will as soon as I get a few extra dollars. I can't wait to take my daughter up.

Jeff

Well folks, with the express written permission of the originator of the pictures, I went ahead and spiced them up to make it more action friendly. And it'* not pilot school.... it'* Air Pirate school!

The true pictures!

Congrats. I still remember my first solo in a Cessna 152 in October 1982. Instructor played a trick on my mom by getting out of the plane on one of the taxiways out of sight of the FBO, then walking up behind her and taking a seat on the picnic table while I was off on my own shooting touch and go'* for another hour. Quipped something to her like "Don't worry, the plane is insured"

Did the line crew rip your shirt off when you landed? (That'* how I can remember the date so clearly...the back of my shirt is hanging on the wall over here )

Wow.... there are about eleventymillion questions to answer from that first page!

ssei1995 - I haven't had a chance to fly into any other airports yet, being that I'm still a student and I'm relegated to my base airport (Glendale). You can bet that I'll be making appearances at some of those places in the future, though!

Boosty - It depends entirely on the sum (j/k Bob!)

willwren - A cross country trip to Oregon may be a possibility, but I'll have to see what happens. I might want to make a long cross country to Iowa later in the year, and I know I don't have the funding to do both. You can be sure I'll let you know if I plan on making an appearance at WCBF.

Darrel - tripscarcare95 is right... just go to a municipal airport and ask about flight instruction with the local air service. It can be a lot of fun, but I must warn you: I was a bit airsick for the first few flights. The intense heat of summer (especially the Arizona summer) can really compound the effects of air sickness, so look for a place that has air conditioned trainers. The Cirrus aircraft I'm flying do not have A/C, unfortunately.

chadow427 - Actually, I'm at a small flight school out of the Glendale airport called Air Safety Flight Academy. There are quite a few flight schools in the area aside from Embry Riddle, which is north of Phoenix in the city of Prescott. My landings are decent at this point, though there'* a lot of room for improvement. And yes, the Cirrus has the full airframe parachute in the event of an irreversible emergency. The procedure for spin recovery in the Cirrus is just that: pull the chute!

kristie_jeff - Somehow I got home yesterday without my instructor coming after me with scissors! I guess I was so sweaty from the flight that he didn't want to get anywhere near my soaked shirt. For those that don't know, the tradition after a student'* first solo is to cut up the shirt they wore for the flight. I have no idea how the tradition originated, though.

Thanks for all the comments and congratulations! And special thanks to Doug for revealing the true nature of my "Pirate Training."

big_news_1...feel free to PM at any time if you need any tips or help.
I got 4,300.0 + hours logged. Been flying since the age of 14...got civilian + USAF flying time. Former CFI and CFII ratings, including ATP, FE and turbine/jet time.
Have not flown for some time. I let everything expire since I could not pass the Class 1 medical.

Holy cow! You've definitely got a bit of experience built up! I'll have to remember that for future reference.

My "plan" thus far is to follow Air Safety'* airline preparation course, which will get me my private, IFR, Commercial, Multi, CFI, and CFII ratings (I think I remembered all of them). At that point I'll probably get a job as an instructor, then build up some time and try to get a job with a regional airline. I'll also look at private or corporate flying if I have the opportunity. It'll take a few years to get to that point, but that'* where I plan on heading.

Thanks for the heads-up and the offer to give me tips. I just might take you up on it sometime down the road.

There arer 3 pilots in the family: an older cousin, just retired from the Air National Guard as a Full Bird Coronel, F-16 jock. Myself, former A-7D/A-10A Captain/Jock, and my little cousin, current Captain, C-141/C-5/C-17, Air Reserve and also works as a civilian, C-17 instructor at McGuire AFB.
I am former USAF ROTC. My little cousin also started flying at the age of 15; worked as an instructor while attending Embry-Riddle at Daytona Beach. Upon completion of school, he joined the USAF and flew C-141 and also as an instructor on the T-37 and T-38 before leaving and joining the airlines. After 9/11, he lost his job and joined the Reserve, and then later on, got an instructor job for the C-17.

So you flew Corsairs and Warthogs? Sweet, man!

Yes, I am a former SLUF (Small Little Ugly F*cker) and Hog driver.