Pilot Introductions

[Lisette]

Hi Guys,

I want to introduce myself here on the PE forum; I'm Lisette Ouwersloot and I'm living in the netherlands.
My whole life has been dedicated to aviation, I was an employee at Fokker Aircraft B.V. for 16 years as an Avionics Engineer. Unfortunately Fokker does not exists anymore so I try to get my aviation share through other channels now.
I used to fly as a private pilot in the Netherlands for quite some years and before that I tried my hand on Gliding, Ultralights and even hang gliding. Nowadays I'm not flying anymore in real life. Throughout my life I always have spent many hours behind my PC flying MSFS, some years ago I changed to X-Plane and I do not regret it. It all started with the sublogic version on the C64.........
Some years ago the flightsim hobby expanded and I decided to build my own simulator cockpit. The cockpit project turned out to become a twin engine turbprop aircaft like the Beech B1900D or the Piaggio P180 both of which I like very much.
My cockpit has evoluated such that it is stable and I feel quite comfortably flying the B1900 in it. However one aspect of aviation I'm really missing is the interaction with ATC. I tried IVAO and VATSIM in the past which were OK but when I read about PE I knew that this was what I wanted.
Like many new people here on PE I'm quite nervous about flying "in the system" the first time, I did already do some simple 'dry runs' on some simple flights. I bought myself an USB headset and downloaded the required software which I will install in the X-Plane sim.
Ultimately I want to fly IFR flights in the US airspace, doing SID's, STAR's approaches from and to controlled airports but I realize I need to start from scratch with simple flights getting comfortable with talking to ATC.

So, most probably one of these days you might find me on PE flying my B1900 (N258SL) in the "system"......Wish me luck!!!

I have attached a picture of my current simulator setup

[bbuckley]

Lisette, Welcome to PE. Jump right in, you're going to love it. Nice simulator setup! --Bruce

[Lisette]

Hi Guys,

Well....I did it......tonight made my first flight on PE.
Flew from Oceano to San luis Obispo (the beginners flight....), I used the beech Baron as speeds are considerably lower then the B1900.
Takeoff from Oceano and made some circles south of the Oceano airport to collect some courage to call San Luis Tower.
Everything went fine (at least that's what I think....) and it gave a great feeling once parked at the airport, it felt like a great accomplishment (while actually being just a start...).
Now I want more.......
Will listen to the recording later this evening to see how it actually went.
Thanks PE for this first experience.

Lisette

[Keith Smith]

Lisette, I'm glad to hear it went well. Your next stop should be http://training.pilotedge.net for a series of VFR and IFR flights that will walk through all types of airspace and situations unless you already have some other flights in mind.

[Lisette]

Thanks Keith, I certainly will try the suggested VFR flights to start with.
I'm still feeling a bit uncomfortable flying online as I'm not very confident (yet) with the US ATC system and not being a native english speaker which makes understanding the controller sometimes a challenge (maybe for them to understand me as well.......)
Next step is to do some pattern work at a towered airport...

[carguy4471]

I guess in my excitement I jumped right past the intro page, I hope I'll be forgiven.

So I got my PPL when I was 17 years old, 21 years a go or so here in my fine come state of Minnesota. I began flying at KLVN. Have never been able to fly much, maybe once or twice a year at best. Flew sims years back but never got too terribly into it.

For some reason I caught the itch again lately and picked up P3D and a few nice aircraft, tossed in a GTN 750 and hopped on PE.

This is the most fun I've had in years!! The training system, workshops and forums here on PE are marvelous. I've met some great folks on avsim as well that have helped me dial in a few aircraft to boot. I'm glad I took the plunge and signed up on PE for sure. What an amazing training tool!

I sure do appreciate everyone in the community that's helped me get things dialed in and pointed in the right direction on training. Good folks abound in the sim community!!

[Jim Parish]

Lisette, I'm glad to hear it went well. Your next stop should be http://training.pilotedge.net for a series of VFR and IFR flights that will walk through all types of airspace and situations unless you already have some other flights in mind.

This is where I'm going next. I first got on PE 2 or 3 years ago, but was pretty sporadic in flying. Now that I'm retired I find it to be an excellent place to sharpen old skills and learn new ones. I flew in the Air Force during Vietnam, then, among other duties, flew for the FBI after I left active duty. I have my Commercial Certificate, but haven't flown in several years. I am hoping to start flying RW again with a Rusty Pilot program near me. In the meantime, PE and the VFR and IFR training series is a great start in getting some of this rust off! Plus it's fun to just get on the PE network and fly the skies of Southern California. Thanks to all the controllers who have to put up with my antics in the sky!

Jim

[bushpilot]

Greetings. I'm John Sanders from Texas. I've been simming for several years. I mostly fly VFR flights in small single engine prop planes, my favorite being the Piper J3 Cub. I've made a couple of flights now on PilotEdge, making mistakes along the way. I flew into LA airspace the other night without clearance, was directed out of the space by a relatively patient controller, and then discovered a bit about the tight and complex area around LA. I'm looking forward to improving my flight skills through PE. It's good to be here.

[Kyle.Sanders]

I've made a couple of flights now on PilotEdge, making mistakes along the way. I flew into LA airspace the other night without clearance, was directed out of the space by a relatively patient controller, and then discovered a bit about the tight and complex area around LA. I'm looking forward to improving my flight skills through PE.

I ALWAYS recommend the pilot training program that PE offers but if you want to learn a bit more about VFR around the LAX area, the V3 exam is a great place to get some info:
(for you to get your name on the roster, you must complete the ratings in order starting with the V1)

Program: http://training.pilotedge.net/page/overview
V3: http://training.pilotedge.net/object/v3Rating.html

Good Luck and WELCOME TO THE NETWORK!

[bushpilot]

Thanks Kyle.