Page 9 - Dear aviator...

in a similar fashion to what the first seven astronauts did with the Mercury capsule
in the early years of the space race: they themselves said that they were wearing
the capsule!
The school you choose will often offer initial training in either a good old vintage
Cessna or Piper, or in any number of more modern aircraft, often classified as Light
Sport Aircraft (LSAs) such as the AP22 Foxbat, AP32 Vixxen, NG5 Bristell or more
performing DA-20 Diamond. It is worthwhile to ask the flight school if their aircraft
are appropriate for the type of licence you are after: the Cessnas and Warriors are
excellent platforms for all types of early training; they are tried and tested and
reliable. What they are not is fuel efficient. Newer, smaller and lighter aircraft may
be equipped with more modern engines and avionics (the instrumentation installed
in the cockpit) but since they are lighter they can be a bit of a handful to operate in
windy conditions; additionally some LSAs may not meet the regulator’s
requirements in terms of performance to be suitable platforms to train for the CPL
licence - for example the Australian federal regulator (CASA) requires an aircraft to
be able to sustain 120 knots in cruise for it to be CPL-worthy.
The other side of the coin is that, even though older aircraft are getting upgrades, it
is the newer LSAs that are often fitted with the more recent instrumentation which
reflects what you are more likely to be working with in your professional career:
digital electronic flight instrumentation, electronic fuel management, GPS moving
maps, etc… whereas the older aircraft are still fitted with the so-called “steam
gauges”, old but reliable analogue instrumentation. In the early stages of training I
don’t think one is better than the other and perhaps a mix of the two is actually the
preferable option; but it all depends on what type of aircraft the school is using and
how they are set up.

Another thing: although they are designed to be tough, they may give you the
impression of being flimsy. Once you’re in the air, everything vibrates and shakes
and rattles; if you cast your gaze at a reflection in the windshield you may see it
wobbling and bowing all over the place and it may be a little disconcerting but I can
assure you it is normal. Your instructor should explain what a truly dangerous
vibration or rattle sounds like.

The aircrafts you will be flying will fall into one of two categories: high wing and low
wing. There are several differences from an aerodynamic point of view and you will
have to learn some of them for your written and oral exams; but in terms of
handling I never found much difference at all and it may come down to pure and
simple aesthetic preference… that and if you prefer the shade and better ground
visibility offered by a high wing or the improved visibility of the sky and ease of
refuelling typical of the low wing.

8