Adventures while Renting
I’m not going to lie, renting an aircraft is a waste of money. The “wet rate” doesn’t seem bad at first, and it isn’t if you are just doing flight training. But if you want to actually go somewhere, it is going to hurt. I did a few trips renting, but it stifled the hobby for sure.
Frederick -> NYC -> Syracuse -> Rochester -> NYC -> Frederick
So where was my first flight (literally the exact one) after my check ride? Straight into the busiest airspace in the world, with low-ish ceilings for a new pilot and a mission to pick up a friend and make it to a bachelor party. Really a horrible combination of factors for a new pilot, but it worked out. A few notes for the new aviator: New York shouldn’t be intimidating, these guys and gals are professionals and quickly recognize that you’re new at this. Th ey helped me right onto the airport, and now having crossed New York many times, are always out to help GA. If you need across the Bravo, just ask for it, do as you’re told, and everything is going to be fine. The other thing is, the amount of stuff you pack in a 172 greatly affects how it performs. Yes, you knew this from flight training, but the first time you feel it, it’s going to unsettle you slightly. We had loaded this poor little skyhawk to the gross, and took off. It climbed well in retrospect, but that moment I rotated and it didn’t climb I remember my heart skipping a beat. Fly your numbers, the plane will do fine.
