Is it too late for me?

[kgwilson]

I am not sure how the statistics have been produced but apparently around half of all aircraft building projects are never completed.

[rgmwa]

Marty is a builder. I assembled a kit.

[Builds By Baz]

WOW. You guys are awesome. Thank you so much for your candid answers and chat amongst each other. It's nice to know that as a noob, I might be encouraged rather than looked down upon. I am looking into it. I'll start by going to Canberra Airport and ask there.

 

I agree, it probably would be a good idea to get my licence to fly first. My kids still visit me weekends and I still work full time, so I can't probably do both at once.

 

After building the Viper from scratch over seven years, I've looked at kits and some instructions and I don't think it will take me nearly as long.

 

Years ago I dabbled in microsoft flight simulator. Do you guys recommend anything like that in this day and age? Would it help?

 

Baz.

Edited yesterday at 12:31 PM by Builds By Baz

[rgmwa]

I don’t know about a simulator. I think maybe it could help with things like navigation training but flying is a three dimensional seat of the pants thing and you won’t get that sitting in front of a screen.
One advantage of getting a licence first is it will give you time to look to look around and decide what type of plane you might want to build. You might change your initial ideas once you’ve done some flying.

 

Edited yesterday at 01:17 PM by rgmwa

[BurnieM]

I bought MS Flight Sim before I started lessons.

It was ok but I do not feel it helped much. Probably depends on your learning style.

 

If you can try to do 2 lessons a week.

May be a problem if you can only fly on the weekends as this is when others want to fly.

After work mid week is an option too but you probably need to wait for summer.

Expect to have to fly 50% more hours than the 25 year olds to absorb the knowledge.

 

You need at least 1 lesson a fortnight.

Less than this and you will forget and have to relearn each time.

 

You will probably lose a third of your lesson slots due to weather.

 

Edited yesterday at 01:26 PM by BurnieM

[Builds By Baz]

31 minutes ago, BurnieM said:

I bought MS Flight Sim before I started lessons.

It was ok but I do not feel it helped much. Probably depends on your learning style.

 

If you can try to do 2 lessons a week.

May be a problem if you can only fly on the weekends as this is when others want to fly.

After work mid week is an option too but you probably need to wait for summer.

Expect to have to fly 50% more hours than the 25 year olds to absorb the knowledge.

 

You need at least 1 lesson a fortnight.

Less than this and you will forget and have to relearn each time.

 

You will probably lose a third of your lesson slots due to weather.

 

Now that, is good information.

 

Thank you.

38 minutes ago, rgmwa said:

I don’t know about a simulator. I think maybe it could help with things like navigation training but flying is a three dimensional seat of the pants thing and you won’t get that sitting in front of a screen.
One advantage of getting a licence first is it will give you time to look to look around and decide what type of plane you might want to build. You might change your initial ideas once you’ve done some flying.

 

Makes sense. Thank you.

[Thruster88]

One problem with aircraft ownership is finding a hangar, none at Canberra and parking on the grass is something like $4k per year. I would learn to fly and so how much you like it. There is a syndicate at Canberra with a Vans RV8, a fun to fly fast, useful, beautiful aircraft, the buy in price will be cheaper than any build now that every thing is getting expensive. Renting is also a good option, plenty of choice of aircraft type.

 

Join the local aero club.

[facthunter]

I've Instructed in both GA and RAAus as well as observed a lot of people wanting to fly and many who did fly as a Career (which I did in RPT). Later,  With RAAus I came across a lot oof OLDER types some of whom should not have taken it up and came to grief, unfortunately.

      Firstly It is Harder for older people to be taught new things. No one knows how they will go when they actually  have to fly these things. Not everyone Makes it. Second , Airline Pilots are retired at 60 and many fall by the wayside as well often failing new conversions recurrent checks or just walking away...

  You are only an ab-initio once and you should do that as well as can be done with as few distractions as Possible and do the Recovery from unusual attitudes thing early in you flying experience.. It's no use building a Plane Before you are SURE you want to/can  fly.  Enthusiasm is what you do have. You need an experienced and Patient Instructor who you Trust and who won't just give you an easy ride.  The More you  see other flying people and experience various Planes the more likely you will end up with a Plane that suites YOU. IF you Train GA (VH reg) you  will have better Aircraft hiring prospects and the Conversion to RAAus from VH is relatively easy. There's a Lot of Air Law you will need to know and start Learning about Meteorology and basic Aircraft knowledge ASAP.  Keep your theory ahead of your flying and do thorough briefings before and debriefings after. Talking in the air should be Minimal.  Don't learn from  Forums or U tube. Stick to your training references and your Instructor. IF you train out of a place Like Canberra your radio work will have to be spot on and you will be held up a bit. Good luck. Nev

 

Edited 20 hours ago by facthunter

[T510]

Baz,

 

I took a week off work and did ~18 hours of flying and all my theory.

 

Was a great experience and worked well for the way I learn.

 

I used a combination of Bob Tait books and Pilot Practice exams to get through the theory.

 

Flying is one of the most challenging and rewarding things I have done.

 

 

[facthunter]

I wouldn't Cram it as a recommendation and you Need consolidation  after or it May Be transitory.  If it's a Heavy Learning period, after about 50 Mins in the Air you are wasting your Money.  Nev

[skippydiesel]

On building & the unexpected time / $ it may take;

 

About 15 years ago, I purchased an old ATEC Zephyr - Great aircraft!

 

She was flyable but looked a little care worn. As my knowledge of the aircraft increased, it turned out that various bits were well past the factory recommended "time" in service.

 

I decided to do a complete in/out make over/refurbish, on the bird.

 

I estimated 1-2 months & about $10,000 AU.

 

About this time, I retired, so was able to devote up to 7 days /week and anything from 6 - 12 hrs + /day. I  guess I averaged at least 5 + day's/week and likly 8 +hrs /day

 

It took all of 12 months and probably $15,000 AU.

 

Some of the unexpected factors were:

• Cost of importing the Stewart paint & fabric system from the US. Australian importing add-ons can be a bit of a shocker
• All the little essential hard to budget for bits & pieces eg special temperature controlled iron for shrinking the fabric, quantity of sandpaper, etc
• The  shear length of time / hard graft, to remove fabric & paint.
• The learning curve required to replace the fabric.
• Purchase of a high volume, Honda powered, compressor, to suit the Stewart application system.
• Built a temporary spray booth with forced, filtered, heated, through air, ventilation and wall / ceiling strip lighting
• PPE for toxic dust & paint spray
• I already had the 4 kva generator to power tools, lights, fan & heating
• Etc, etc.

The reward ;

• The project got me through the potential for post retirement blues .
• The satisfaction in the remade/new aircraft, that was now safe (particularly the fabric) and flying better than before.

If I had moved straight to another (similar) project, within the next 1-2 years, I could probably do it in 1/2 the time (skilled up) and now that I have invested in various tools, a few $K less.

 

The take home message;

• Get some advice on exactly how long it will take to build or refurbish.
• Ask & cost (if you don't have them) what tools will be required.
• Budget for the project PLUS a significant factor for additional consumable etc
• Think carefully about the estimated time, against your other commitments.

😈

 

 

[Neil_S]

1 hour ago, facthunter said:

I wouldn't Cram it as a recommendation and you Need consolidation  after or it May Be transitory.  If it's a Heavy Learning period, after about 50 Mins in the Air you are wasting your Money.  Nev

Agreed. I learnt at 54 and with work and the Melbourne weather the elapsed time was about a year before I went for my ticket. Then about another 6 months for PAX and Cross Country endorsements.

In hindsight it was good because I got to fly in all 4 seasons that Melbourne throws at you (not necessarily in one day!).

It was also good to learn in an area that has Controlled Airspace (our airfield was under the Melbourne Airport 2500ft step) as it taught me from day one to be aware of both my altitude and location so I didn't bust Tullamarine airspace.

 

Cheers,

Neil

Edited 16 hours ago by Neil_S

[T510]

Pick the method that works best for you.

 

Everyone absorbs and retains information differently. It's not something that can be generalised.

 

For some people, they learn better over a long period, other people will not retain the information from lessons from 12 months earlier. Especially if they are not using it often.

 

I found studying the theory for a couple of months followed by a week of flying, theory and the theory exams worked best for me.

I was doing 2 x ~90 minute flights a day and found that to be my personal limit to keep improving whilst under instruction.

 

[BrendAn]

20 hours ago, Marty_d said:

Everyone's circumstances are different.

Flying lessons don't take all day and neither does building.

If Baz has both time and money (lucky man!) then there's nothing to stop him doing both.

If not, well then choices have to be made.

It's taken me 15 years to almost finish a plane because I work full time and have 3 kids (a 2yo and a baby when I started building) so had neither money nor time.

have you got your pilot certificate or are you doing that when you finish your plane.

[BrendAn]

biggest mistake i made was buying aircraft along the way.  if i did it again i would just put my money into training.

i bought 5 in the years i was training.

[facthunter]

Marty is YOUNG.  That's an entirely different circumstance to the situation under discussion and He's done enough flying to know he CAN. Nev

[BrendAn]

6 minutes ago, facthunter said:

Marty is YOUNG.  That's an entirely different circumstance to the situation under discussion and He's done enough flying to know he CAN. Nev

have i said the wrong thing again

[facthunter]

Well it is slightly off topic as It is ONE Particular Person asking relating to being too Late for HIM.. I think in the circumstances we could keep the Discussion focussed..  Nev

[BrendAn]

6 minutes ago, facthunter said:

Well it is slightly off topic as It is ONE Particular Person asking relating to being too Late for HIM.. I think in the circumstances we could keep the Discussion focussed..  Nev

didn't think it was off topic but anyway. i was just curious if he did any flying or was waiting til his build was completed.

 

[T510]

25 minutes ago, BrendAn said:

didn't think it was off topic but anyway. i was just curious if he did any flying or was waiting til his build was completed.

 

I don't see it as off topic. It's about building planes and getting your licence, just not specific to 56 year olds.

 

2 out of 3 is hardly off topic compared to what usually happens here

[skippydiesel]

2 hours ago, T510 said:

 

I was doing 2 x ~90 minute flights a day and found that to be my personal limit to keep improving whilst under instruction.

 

 

When I started flight training  @ 40,  60 minutes +/- , once or twice, a week (as my instructor and his farm activities allowed) was about my limit. Any more and it was wasted teaching, that had to be repeated.

 

I found it exhausting & exhilarating. 

 

I have no idea how you were able to do 2 x  90 minutes / day and the training stick.

 

30++ years later, I can now fly for 6 hrs in day (longest trip to date) but its still a challenge in a small, twitchy aircraft.

 

😈

[BrendAn]

19 minutes ago, skippydiesel said:

 

When I started flight training  @ 40,  60 minutes +/- , once or twice, a week (as my instructor and his farm activities allowed) was about my limit. Any more and it was wasted teaching, that had to be repeated.

 

I found it exhausting & exhilarating. 

 

I have no idea how you were able to do 2 x  90 minutes / day and the training stick.

 

30++ years later, I can now fly for 6 hrs in day (longest trip to date) but its still a challenge in a small, twitchy aircraft.

 

😈

I was the opposite. I had some long breaks due to instructor shortages , weather and free time. If I had a break of 6 weeks or more I was almost back to square one with the actual flying part. Theory was ok.

[BrendAn]

On 18/06/2026 at 10:47 AM, facthunter said:

Don't build a Plane at the same time you learn to fly.  Make sure you get a good instructor, so that you learn the Basics well. Doing unusual attitude recoveries  in the correct Aircraft I would consider essential. You are obviously Keen and 56 is not  OLD. Get going . Time Marches on.. Nev

I would like to do the unusual attitude training. Just need to get over the nerves.

Edited 11 hours ago by BrendAn

[facthunter]

Now we really DO have thread drift. Great work. I should know better than ask for something special.  Nev

[Marty_d]

5 hours ago, BrendAn said:

have you got your pilot certificate or are you doing that when you finish your plane.

Hey Brendan, waiting til I finish. I have my PPL from many years ago (restricted) - only 45 hours or so on C172s, so I have a lot to learn/relearn.

5 hours ago, facthunter said:

Marty is YOUNG.  

Thanks Nev, guess it's all relative, I'm 54, pretty much the same age Baz is.

 

Building and flying are 2 different things. @Builds By Baz you're obviously very capable of building things to a high standard and I'm guessing you like doing so, otherwise you wouldn't spend years doing so.

They're right though, it's a good idea to do a TIF at least to ensure you like it before committing.

My only point is that if you enjoy the process of creating something, then you'll probably enjoy making a plane.