Typical Bonanza owner

Posted by Throwaway05311993@reddit | flying | View on Reddit | 18 comments

A family member of mine recently retired from an airline. They’ve gotten into general aviation and it‘s pretty obvious to me that there are some pretty big knowledge gaps. There’s a million career progression resources out there, but does anyone have a good 121 to general aviation course? It would need to actually be interesting. If it’s some FAA checkbox thing, they’ll never do it. It’s a knowledge issue. Less of a skills issue.

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18 Comments

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nightlanding@reddit

I taught a few such courses. Three areas seemed to need attention: 1 - Actually handling the aircraft. This is like any other transition between types that fly differently. No more flaring at 50 feet, gotta remember your last ride climbed out on one engine better than this one does on both, etc. etc. 2 - Lack of staff. There is no FO. There is no dispatcher. There is no ramp crew dedicated to loading and fueling that you don't have to worry about. There is no mechanic waiting around for an issue so he can run right out and fix it. 3 - Lack of people keeping you out of trouble. If you want to fly overgross out of a short strip through a thunderstorm on a leg 800 miles long with 500 miles of gas, no one is going to stop you.

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rludtke@reddit

Perhaps the best thing to do is to find a gray beard instructor (not a kid working up the system, rather the guy who has seen it all), to simply nock the GA rust off.

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V35TN-BO@reddit

Bonanza owner here. The American Bonanza Society. Find an ABS certified instructor and have them do transition or refresh training. My dad recently retired and flies a twin and I hassle him every 6 months to go up with his instructor until he does. Also … typical Bonanza owner? What’s that supposed to mean.

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VileInventor@reddit

You know what it means doctor killer

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VileInventor@reddit

I mean what specifically are they lacking? Have them go with a CFI or through some of the WINGS modules. Even AOPA has a lot of resources but it’s too vague to say a lot of their knowledge is lacking,

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Public-Reaction732@reddit

After a 40yr Airline career, I went back to flying. All we fly is daytime, and mostly VFR. It was eye opening. Those that checked me out assumed I knew all there was to know. Took ALOT of study time on my own with VFR charts and the AIM. Instrument checkride, were a no brainer.

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CrosseyedCletus@reddit

I took a nearly 25,000 hour 787 captain flying in the backcountry in my plane. I tried to talk him through a couple approaches and he threw up his hands and kind of was like “your plane, not for me!” He was obviously thrilled with the experience but I was struck by how uncomfortable he obviously was. His approach to flying was soooooo different than mine - much, much, much more structured and professional (frankly). It was a very interesting experience for both parties, I think. I’m curious, after all those hours and all that experience, why is the transition back to GA so challenging?

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Public-Reaction732@reddit

Funny, that’s my background almost to the hour. It’s all how you approach it. For me it was flying single pilot with no autopilot. I had to learn a different way to manage a cockpit with only me flying. Setting up, briefing, tune and identifying. Some just adapt quicker to change. I just wanted to “fly” again.

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CrosseyedCletus@reddit

Did we go flying in the backcountry? Lol

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Hot-Fox-8797@reddit

I’m a hobbyist PPL and only fly single engines. So I’m curious to hear, where did you notice the deficit the most when going back to GA from ATP? I can’t imagine you were really caught up on the charts for too long. Maybe just a quick refresher. What else was eye opening? I’m genuinely curious as I’ve never seen the other side before (ATP)

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NearPeerAdversary@reddit

I was an AF mil guy with zero GA experience. A kid CFI checked me out at the local club after 2 flights out of a class C. I had no idea how dangerous i was and had zero clue about flying into uncontrolled fields, pumping my own gas, etc.

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PlanetMcFly@reddit

Why would you take an IR checkride after 40 years in the airline? I’m genuinely curious.

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Public-Reaction732@reddit

After a year of retirement my Wife of now 40yrs and Daughter decided I needed to fly again. Got a job at a small Pt135 cargo operator. Home every night, very short legs, FUN flying, No HR, and fly for real pilots. Also doing Check Airman work in the Caravan, and can take time off whenever I like. Great “Hobby Job”.

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equal2infinity@reddit

Sounds like poor attitudes run in the family.

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ElectronicSpend1188@reddit

After a 30+ yr airline career the absolute best decision I made BEFORE re-entering GA flying was to get my CFI reinstated! 25 hrs in a Cherokee 140 and a 4 hr oral + 1.5 hr check ride flight with a Fed did the trick. I just didn’t know what I didn’t know. It was a good bit of work, a good bit of humble pie, but also a lot of fun. Currently flying 91/91k/135 in a PC-12 and having a blast!

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Ok-Technician-2905@reddit

Why is this a typical Bonanza owner? Seems like just a pilot with a bad attitude, and I’ve seen those flying Cubs, Cirruses, and 737’s.

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DatBeigeBoy@reddit

I mean, not really. There are refresher courses from [Gleim](https://aviation.gleim.com/shop/prc/) or they should get with an instructor to get caught up. But you saying “If it’s some FAA checkbox thing, they’ll never do it” leads me to believe there is some ego involved and let me tell you, egos and bonanzas never really mixed. Whether it’s knowledge or skill, jumping from 121 to GA and assuming everything is fine has killed many pilots. Not saying that’ll happen, but even if a resource is FAA related, they should probably utilize it anyways because we are forever students and we are always learning. We should use every resource.

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rFlyingTower@reddit

This is a copy of the original post body for posterity: --- A family member of mine recently retired from an airline. They’ve gotten into general aviation and it‘s pretty obvious to me that there are some pretty big knowledge gaps. There’s a million career progression resources out there, but does anyone have a good 121 to general aviation course? It would need to actually be interesting. If it’s some FAA checkbox thing, they’ll never do it. It’s a knowledge issue. Less of a skills issue. --- Please downvote this comment until it collapses. Questions about this comment? [Please see this wiki post before contacting the mods](https://www.reddit.com/r/flying/wiki/index/rflyingtower/). --- I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. If you have any questions, please [contact the mods of this subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=/r/flying).