The next logical step for an Instrument Rating holder is a Commercial License. Finally, I can fly without ‘foggles’ or a ‘hood’! It’s so beautiful outside!
I decided that it does not make sense to follow the 141 route for my commercial course. I already have some flight time under my belt above the private+IR course minimums, so at the end of the 141 course, I would have about 250 hours anyway, which equals the part 61 requirements. But for the 141 route, due to my school policy, I should fly the entire course in a Cessna 172 (excluding complex and ME hours), and for part 61, I can use a Cessna 150, which is way less expensive.
So now I am flying a VFR-only Cessna 150 without GPS. It seems much lighter than the 172. To fly alone, I had to pass a check flight with one of the instructors and sign a renter’s agreement.
It’s a bit unusual to fly visually again, and even more unusual to fly without GPS. It was hard to find an unfamiliar runway again. But it’s totally amazing to try flying with paper maps, compass, clock, and my eyes.
Visual flying in Florida is easy: ocean coast to the west, ocean coast far to the east, straight wide North-South and East-West highways, and a lot of landmarks. Even the Czech Republic is not so straightforward for navigation!
This airplane’s cruise speed is just a little less than the C172’s, but the rate of climb is much slower. Fuel consumption is also less, but due to smaller tanks, we still have only about 4 hours of endurance. And I love this model: I started my PPL in that airplane.
This C150 has only one comm without other frequency monitoring possibility, so it’s better to quickly grasp ATIS messages and return to the active frequency ASAP. Probably that’s how our grandfathers flew: pure VFR with a minimum of instruments. Even all Czech school airplanes had GPS and two radios, but basically, the compass, clock, and paper maps are enough, so I am enjoying this experience 🙂
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