Sport Pilot Talk

Hi,

I live up the hill from FDK (Frederick Municipal Airport), and the local pilots will see me, on occasion, sitting on my deck with binoculars in hand watching them as they fly their pattern over my neighborhood.

Having just moved to that location, I find myself bitten by the bug of wanting to ride again on the small aircraft. I do a lot of passengering on the big commercial birds, but I do remember (15 years ago) the last time I got to ride in a small craft (Columbia, SC, I believe - at an airshow).

I am not currently interested in training to become a pilot, but I would like the opportunity to go for a ride once in a while. Any help the members here can provide in pointing me in the right direction for that will be appreciated.

Bill

Bill - you could make yourself *and* someone else happy by doing this:

Go to a local small airport. Ask for the names of some Certificated Flight Instructors (CFI).

Here's a link to a list of CFI's registered in Maryland:

http://www.nafinet.org/directory/maryland_1.html

Contact one or two of them, tell them what you want to do, and I'd bet they'd be more than happy to take you up with them as an "intro" flight, even tho' you don't plan to take any more lessons. You'd have to pay for the flight of course. Or maybe even just pay them directly for their flight time - "sightseeing".

Regardless, you pay them for their time. I don't think there's any restriction on this for CFI's, altho' more experienced members here may have more detail.

Of course, if you know any pilots of small aircraft, just ask them. Most private pilots can't be paid for their services unless they have further endorsements, but you could certainly share the costs of a "fun flight" 50/50.

Just a thought.
Tom

Tom,

The 50/50 fun flight is exactly what I had in mind. I want to be able to do this every few months or so. I like your suggestion of going to an instructor list to find a pilot. It gives me a better confidence level that they know what they are doing (though I am sure a pilot who has been certified also knows what they are doing).

Thanks for the help!

Bill