WEBVTT 00:00:10.702 --> 00:00:12.160 PHILIP GREENSPUN: All right, folks. 00:00:12.160 --> 00:00:12.715 Welcome back. 00:00:17.080 --> 00:00:22.618 So now we'll learn about the process of learning to fly 00:00:22.618 --> 00:00:24.160 and some of the regulations around it 00:00:24.160 --> 00:00:26.400 that will be on the test. 00:00:26.400 --> 00:00:27.980 All right, so when you learn to fly, 00:00:27.980 --> 00:00:31.760 you'll pre-flight the aircraft with the instructor. 00:00:31.760 --> 00:00:35.870 Learn about that-- how to inspect everything. 00:00:35.870 --> 00:00:38.000 The first few lessons are really about learning 00:00:38.000 --> 00:00:40.100 to see the aircraft attitude, seeing 00:00:40.100 --> 00:00:43.400 whether you're pitched up, pitched down, banked 00:00:43.400 --> 00:00:44.000 left or right. 00:00:44.000 --> 00:00:46.340 Most people have a fairly easy time with. 00:00:46.340 --> 00:00:49.040 Then you learn to take off and land. 00:00:49.040 --> 00:00:52.350 As I said earlier, that takes about five or 10 hours. 00:00:52.350 --> 00:00:55.100 And in fact, people used to solo after four hours 00:00:55.100 --> 00:00:57.790 of flight training, especially young people. 00:00:57.790 --> 00:00:59.540 Now it takes a little longer, because they 00:00:59.540 --> 00:01:01.580 want you to know about more bureaucracy 00:01:01.580 --> 00:01:03.680 and how to talk to the control tower and so forth. 00:01:07.270 --> 00:01:09.160 A good trainer airplane-- 00:01:09.160 --> 00:01:11.530 why not start with the best and just learn 00:01:11.530 --> 00:01:16.410 how to fly your personal Gulfstream or whatever. 00:01:16.410 --> 00:01:19.000 If it's a very heavy airplane like a Gulfstream, 00:01:19.000 --> 00:01:21.520 which can weigh 100,000 pounds, then you 00:01:21.520 --> 00:01:24.280 have to think ahead because of inertia. 00:01:24.280 --> 00:01:26.680 The airplane tends to keep doing whatever it was doing 00:01:26.680 --> 00:01:29.290 five or 10 seconds earlier. 00:01:29.290 --> 00:01:31.540 At the same time, though, a really tiny airplane 00:01:31.540 --> 00:01:36.108 like some of the little two-seaters, they are unstable. 00:01:36.108 --> 00:01:37.900 And they just get kicked around by the wind 00:01:37.900 --> 00:01:40.150 so much that you're not sure if it's something you did 00:01:40.150 --> 00:01:43.210 or something that the environment did to you. 00:01:43.210 --> 00:01:44.860 Also people have gotten heavier. 00:01:44.860 --> 00:01:46.240 The owner of East Coast Aero Club 00:01:46.240 --> 00:01:49.960 says that when he started in the '80s 85% of the customers 00:01:49.960 --> 00:01:53.210 and instructors could train in the two-seat Piper Tomahawk. 00:01:53.210 --> 00:01:59.590 Now 85% require training in the four-seat Piper Warrior. 00:01:59.590 --> 00:02:04.270 You don't want it to be too powerful, actually. 00:02:04.270 --> 00:02:07.280 And that's because when you go from-- 00:02:07.280 --> 00:02:10.360 on a go around, for example, and you go from near idle power 00:02:10.360 --> 00:02:12.860 to full power, that's a huge transition. 00:02:12.860 --> 00:02:16.390 And those left turning tendencies that Tina mentioned 00:02:16.390 --> 00:02:21.130 mean that you need immediate and significant rudder input 00:02:21.130 --> 00:02:21.880 and so forth. 00:02:21.880 --> 00:02:23.560 So an airplane that has a narrower 00:02:23.560 --> 00:02:27.550 band of possible powers is easier to learn on. 00:02:27.550 --> 00:02:31.900 You want something that won't spin if it's abused. 00:02:31.900 --> 00:02:34.870 And also ideally an airplane that if you just let 00:02:34.870 --> 00:02:37.540 go-- the Cessnas tend to have this characteristic. 00:02:37.540 --> 00:02:40.570 They'll come out of most bad situations 00:02:40.570 --> 00:02:42.910 if you just let go of the yoke. 00:02:42.910 --> 00:02:44.680 So the best trainers-- 00:02:44.680 --> 00:02:46.917 my personal favorite is the Diamond DA-40. 00:02:46.917 --> 00:02:48.500 It's kind of physically uncomfortable, 00:02:48.500 --> 00:02:53.050 which is why I don't use it as a family airplane anymore. 00:02:53.050 --> 00:02:56.860 The Cessna 172 and Piper Warrior are the most popular. 00:02:56.860 --> 00:02:58.000 You can check these out. 00:02:58.000 --> 00:03:01.550 The Cirrus SR20 is the most popular personal-- 00:03:01.550 --> 00:03:05.200 or the 20 and the 22 together-- the most popular family 00:03:05.200 --> 00:03:07.240 and personal airplane these days. 00:03:07.240 --> 00:03:08.920 They're OK trainers. 00:03:08.920 --> 00:03:12.370 And some airline training programs and college training 00:03:12.370 --> 00:03:13.910 programs use them. 00:03:13.910 --> 00:03:18.050 But they're a little bit more challenging to handle 00:03:18.050 --> 00:03:20.360 than the Cessnas, Diamonds, and Pipers. 00:03:20.360 --> 00:03:22.450 The marginal operating cost of all of these 00:03:22.450 --> 00:03:25.030 is about $100 to $150 an hour. 00:03:25.030 --> 00:03:27.352 So flight schools usually have to mark that up 00:03:27.352 --> 00:03:29.560 a bit in order to stay in business, because they have 00:03:29.560 --> 00:03:32.500 to cover the fixed costs, as well, of owning the aircraft, 00:03:32.500 --> 00:03:37.940 hangering, and paying insurance. 00:03:37.940 --> 00:03:42.170 But that cost includes the fuel and the engine overhaul 00:03:42.170 --> 00:03:44.150 and the prop overhaul. 00:03:44.150 --> 00:03:45.950 What about doing gliders? 00:03:45.950 --> 00:03:49.490 So we don't want to sell you too hard on the idea of just 00:03:49.490 --> 00:03:52.310 starting in a single engine land airplane. 00:03:52.310 --> 00:03:56.280 You can go out to Sterling, Massachusetts, 00:03:56.280 --> 00:03:58.940 get towed up to 3,000 feet, and then 00:03:58.940 --> 00:04:03.290 on a handful of good summer days stay up 00:04:03.290 --> 00:04:05.450 by soaring in the thermals. 00:04:05.450 --> 00:04:08.990 Ridge lifts-- people have soared all the way down for, I think, 00:04:08.990 --> 00:04:10.760 about 1,000 miles-- 00:04:10.760 --> 00:04:13.370 tend to be the record for soaring. 00:04:13.370 --> 00:04:16.790 That's usually on following the edge of a mountain range 00:04:16.790 --> 00:04:21.970 where the wind blowing, let's say, from the west generates 00:04:21.970 --> 00:04:25.430 a lift right on the Western edge of the mountain range, 00:04:25.430 --> 00:04:27.110 right in the center. 00:04:27.110 --> 00:04:32.400 You can be a Captain Sully-style hero on every landing, 00:04:32.400 --> 00:04:32.900 actually. 00:04:35.770 --> 00:04:37.620 Raise your hand if you think that there 00:04:37.620 --> 00:04:42.340 was another pilot in the aircraft with Captain Sully 00:04:42.340 --> 00:04:43.570 or if he was by himself. 00:04:43.570 --> 00:04:46.670 Who thinks that there was a second pilot in there? 00:04:46.670 --> 00:04:48.770 OK, who knows the name of the second pilot? 00:04:48.770 --> 00:04:52.310 Without going to your phone, does anybody in this room 00:04:52.310 --> 00:04:56.220 know the name of that second pilot? 00:04:56.220 --> 00:04:57.350 All right. 00:04:57.350 --> 00:04:59.760 AUDIENCE: Jeffrey Skiles. 00:04:59.760 --> 00:05:03.090 PHILIP GREENSPUN: Jeff Skiles, all right. 00:05:03.090 --> 00:05:06.240 Hold on a sec. 00:05:06.240 --> 00:05:09.756 We've got to give this guy his reward. 00:05:09.756 --> 00:05:11.510 [LAUGHTER] 00:05:11.510 --> 00:05:15.700 I'll pay out $20 to this student for that answer. 00:05:15.700 --> 00:05:21.580 [APPLAUSE] 00:05:21.580 --> 00:05:23.850 I only brought a handful of cash, 00:05:23.850 --> 00:05:25.826 because I knew I wouldn't need most of it. 00:05:25.826 --> 00:05:28.210 [LAUGHTER] 00:05:28.210 --> 00:05:30.880 OK, a good trainer helicopter-- 00:05:30.880 --> 00:05:32.170 same issues. 00:05:32.170 --> 00:05:34.690 The really light helicopters-- the Robinson R-22 00:05:34.690 --> 00:05:36.610 is very popular for training, because it's 00:05:36.610 --> 00:05:37.820 inexpensive to operate. 00:05:37.820 --> 00:05:41.470 But it's so light that it's unstable and gives people 00:05:41.470 --> 00:05:45.850 the impression that heroic skills are required. 00:05:45.850 --> 00:05:48.190 Also you want reasonable amount of rotor inertia 00:05:48.190 --> 00:05:49.300 for autorotations. 00:05:49.300 --> 00:05:52.960 And helicopters, a lot of the training after those 10 hours-- 00:05:52.960 --> 00:05:54.640 after you've learned to fly, you also 00:05:54.640 --> 00:05:57.370 need to learn to fly a helicopter with no engine. 00:05:57.370 --> 00:06:02.080 And that requires making some adjustments 00:06:02.080 --> 00:06:08.320 in the pitch of the rotating blades or spinning wings. 00:06:08.320 --> 00:06:11.590 So if there is no inertia in those blades, 00:06:11.590 --> 00:06:13.300 then it becomes a little bit harder 00:06:13.300 --> 00:06:16.335 to control during the autorotation. 00:06:16.335 --> 00:06:18.710 If you're a student, you may not make the best landings-- 00:06:18.710 --> 00:06:21.040 so rugged skids. 00:06:21.040 --> 00:06:24.610 This ends up all pointing towards the Robinson R-44. 00:06:24.610 --> 00:06:26.530 It's a four seat helicopter. 00:06:26.530 --> 00:06:29.110 And those extra two empty seats in the back 00:06:29.110 --> 00:06:31.090 give you a lot of performance margin. 00:06:31.090 --> 00:06:32.760 That's more expensive to operate. 00:06:32.760 --> 00:06:35.260 And therefore, the prices that flight schools have to charge 00:06:35.260 --> 00:06:36.400 are higher. 00:06:36.400 --> 00:06:38.860 Because all the rotating components 00:06:38.860 --> 00:06:40.930 get thrown out every 2,200 hours. 00:06:40.930 --> 00:06:43.540 The blades, the transmissions-- 00:06:43.540 --> 00:06:45.410 there's more that gets overhauled. 00:06:45.410 --> 00:06:47.560 OK, you can get a pilot's certificate from FAA 00:06:47.560 --> 00:06:51.940 by doing your pre-solo written exam with an instructor 00:06:51.940 --> 00:06:55.000 on the characteristics of the aircraft and anything 00:06:55.000 --> 00:06:57.820 that's important locally. 00:06:57.820 --> 00:07:00.470 Then you do some solo flight after your training. 00:07:00.470 --> 00:07:04.240 You'll do some flights by yourself. 00:07:04.240 --> 00:07:06.220 You will do cross-country trips. 00:07:06.220 --> 00:07:08.380 So you will go with an instructor 00:07:08.380 --> 00:07:11.470 on some trips that are at least 50 nautical miles if you're 00:07:11.470 --> 00:07:12.910 in an airplane-- 00:07:12.910 --> 00:07:14.260 25 in a helicopter. 00:07:14.260 --> 00:07:15.460 That's called cross-country. 00:07:15.460 --> 00:07:20.440 You don't have to go all the way to California or Alaska. 00:07:20.440 --> 00:07:24.460 And then you'll do a bit of solo cross-country flying. 00:07:24.460 --> 00:07:27.040 You will do a checkride preparation. 00:07:27.040 --> 00:07:29.350 That has to be, I believe, at least three hours in prep 00:07:29.350 --> 00:07:31.660 with an instructor for your checkride. 00:07:31.660 --> 00:07:34.900 And once you take your checkride with an FAA employee 00:07:34.900 --> 00:07:37.330 or a designated pilot examiner, you 00:07:37.330 --> 00:07:39.250 get issued the pilot certificate. 00:07:39.250 --> 00:07:42.100 It takes you about 40 hours of flight time. 00:07:42.100 --> 00:07:47.530 And I believe only 10 of that has to be solo. 00:07:47.530 --> 00:07:50.500 The other 30 is typically with an instructor. 00:07:50.500 --> 00:07:52.850 55 hours is probably more typical, 00:07:52.850 --> 00:07:56.860 but young people like yourselves who do it intensively 00:07:56.860 --> 00:08:00.020 can come and finish pretty close to the 40 hours. 00:08:00.020 --> 00:08:01.520 There's my certificate. 00:08:01.520 --> 00:08:05.480 Notice it says airline transport pilot there. 00:08:05.480 --> 00:08:08.270 Oh, let's use the fancier feature. 00:08:08.270 --> 00:08:09.530 Airline transport pilot. 00:08:09.530 --> 00:08:11.322 So that's a different level of certificate. 00:08:11.322 --> 00:08:13.310 There's private, commercial, and ATP-- 00:08:13.310 --> 00:08:14.850 again, beyond the scope. 00:08:14.850 --> 00:08:17.060 Notice also there's a hole punched in it. 00:08:17.060 --> 00:08:19.280 Because when you get an additional rating, 00:08:19.280 --> 00:08:24.750 they issue a new certificate and destroy the old one. 00:08:24.750 --> 00:08:25.568 OK. 00:08:25.568 --> 00:08:27.360 What can you do once you have your private? 00:08:27.360 --> 00:08:33.450 You can go anywhere in the world in a US registered airplane 00:08:33.450 --> 00:08:37.110 and carry friends and family as long as you're not 00:08:37.110 --> 00:08:39.210 charging the money. 00:08:39.210 --> 00:08:41.250 You can fly at night. 00:08:41.250 --> 00:08:42.997 That's not true in some other countries, 00:08:42.997 --> 00:08:44.039 but it is true in the US. 00:08:44.039 --> 00:08:46.547 You don't need any additional rating to fly at night. 00:08:46.547 --> 00:08:48.630 You will have had three hours of training in night 00:08:48.630 --> 00:08:51.270 flying with an instructor. 00:08:51.270 --> 00:08:53.910 And you will fly what you learned in. 00:08:53.910 --> 00:08:57.450 So if your mom has a hot air balloon and that 00:08:57.450 --> 00:08:58.890 was your first aircraft, you will 00:08:58.890 --> 00:09:03.960 have a rating for flying that hot air balloon. 00:09:03.960 --> 00:09:09.840 You don't have to start with a Cessna or similar. 00:09:09.840 --> 00:09:17.040 So Congress passes kind of loose laws about aviation. 00:09:17.040 --> 00:09:19.470 But really most of the things that you 00:09:19.470 --> 00:09:21.630 might think of as laws governing flying 00:09:21.630 --> 00:09:23.370 are actually regulations that are 00:09:23.370 --> 00:09:29.880 drafted by the bureaucrats in the FAA and the agency. 00:09:29.880 --> 00:09:31.740 A lot of the stuff is public. 00:09:31.740 --> 00:09:34.440 You can look up anybody who claims to be 00:09:34.440 --> 00:09:36.413 a pilot in the airman registry. 00:09:36.413 --> 00:09:37.830 One reason it's not called a pilot 00:09:37.830 --> 00:09:39.960 registry is that there are actually 00:09:39.960 --> 00:09:42.670 other functions for which certificates are issued-- 00:09:42.670 --> 00:09:44.550 for example, flight engineer. 00:09:44.550 --> 00:09:47.010 Maybe in the old days, there was navigator. 00:09:47.010 --> 00:09:48.000 Similarly, airplanes. 00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:50.125 If you see an interesting airplane, 00:09:50.125 --> 00:09:51.750 you can look up the tail number and see 00:09:51.750 --> 00:09:52.830 to whom it's registered. 00:09:52.830 --> 00:09:58.410 Sometimes it's obscured with a shell LLC somewhere. 00:09:58.410 --> 00:10:02.190 But it can be interesting. 00:10:02.190 --> 00:10:06.510 This is one of the worst parts of the FAA and the exam. 00:10:06.510 --> 00:10:09.460 They use the words category and classes in two different ways. 00:10:09.460 --> 00:10:12.900 One is for getting your pilot's certificate, in which case 00:10:12.900 --> 00:10:18.090 a category is something like airplane or rotorcraft. 00:10:18.090 --> 00:10:19.860 And then you have this class, which 00:10:19.860 --> 00:10:25.500 could be multi engine C in the case of this Grumman. 00:10:25.500 --> 00:10:28.140 I think it might be a mallard there on the right-- 00:10:28.140 --> 00:10:29.730 1940s Grumman seaplane. 00:10:29.730 --> 00:10:32.280 So that's a multi engine C rating 00:10:32.280 --> 00:10:36.730 that you would have in the airplane category. 00:10:36.730 --> 00:10:38.880 Here's your little matrix. 00:10:38.880 --> 00:10:41.070 You can study this from the books. 00:10:41.070 --> 00:10:44.280 But you see these are the different categories 00:10:44.280 --> 00:10:46.110 of aircraft here on the left. 00:10:46.110 --> 00:10:48.810 Some of the fun ones like powered parachute, weight shift 00:10:48.810 --> 00:10:50.440 control. 00:10:50.440 --> 00:10:52.800 Fortunately, there are no flight schools 00:10:52.800 --> 00:10:55.050 for those kind of aircraft that I know of in the area. 00:10:55.050 --> 00:10:57.420 Wouldn't be much fun in a New England February. 00:11:02.000 --> 00:11:03.140 Category, class. 00:11:03.140 --> 00:11:06.080 Very exciting. 00:11:06.080 --> 00:11:09.980 So just to give you an overview of the pilot and instructor 00:11:09.980 --> 00:11:11.720 certification. 00:11:11.720 --> 00:11:13.970 On the left here, you have your levels of pilot. 00:11:13.970 --> 00:11:16.580 We're concentrating on private pilot. 00:11:16.580 --> 00:11:19.880 Recreational pilot is extremely unpopular. 00:11:19.880 --> 00:11:21.590 Sport pilot-- it's just a handful 00:11:21.590 --> 00:11:24.320 of schools for that as well. 00:11:24.320 --> 00:11:25.910 So really, it's private, commercial, 00:11:25.910 --> 00:11:29.780 ATP are the three core levels of a pilot certificate. 00:11:29.780 --> 00:11:32.390 To those, you add ratings. 00:11:32.390 --> 00:11:34.670 So airplane single engine land-- 00:11:34.670 --> 00:11:36.950 that lets you fly the Icon A5 seaplane 00:11:36.950 --> 00:11:39.860 that you might have seen. 00:11:39.860 --> 00:11:42.410 And you also need type ratings for heavier 00:11:42.410 --> 00:11:44.480 or turbo jet powered aircraft. 00:11:44.480 --> 00:11:47.790 That means you've had special training for your DC 3, 00:11:47.790 --> 00:11:49.550 which is heavy, or for your Boeing 00:11:49.550 --> 00:11:53.720 737, which has turbo jets. 00:11:53.720 --> 00:11:57.380 The flight instructor has a separate certificate. 00:11:57.380 --> 00:12:03.620 And that has its own set of ratings which are simpler. 00:12:03.620 --> 00:12:05.360 So single engine airplane-- notice 00:12:05.360 --> 00:12:07.040 it doesn't say land or sea. 00:12:07.040 --> 00:12:11.750 So I have a commercial seaplane rating. 00:12:11.750 --> 00:12:13.820 And I have an instructor certificate 00:12:13.820 --> 00:12:15.530 for single engine airplane. 00:12:15.530 --> 00:12:19.640 So for anybody who wants to die by drowning, 00:12:19.640 --> 00:12:22.580 I can offer you instruction in a single engine 00:12:22.580 --> 00:12:25.860 seaplane or a multi engine seaplane, for that matter. 00:12:25.860 --> 00:12:27.980 Although there aren't too many of those. 00:12:27.980 --> 00:12:29.810 There is a totally separate certificate. 00:12:29.810 --> 00:12:32.360 If you are also passionate about drones, 00:12:32.360 --> 00:12:36.290 you'll end up with three pieces of plastic-- 00:12:36.290 --> 00:12:40.040 one for the pilot certification, one for the instructor, 00:12:40.040 --> 00:12:42.980 and one for being a remote pilot. 00:12:42.980 --> 00:12:45.440 So aircraft, they use the same words 00:12:45.440 --> 00:12:48.050 but to mean different things. 00:12:48.050 --> 00:12:52.850 We will have a normal or utility category 00:12:52.850 --> 00:12:54.980 of aircraft or acrobatic. 00:12:54.980 --> 00:12:57.830 Those are the three that you're going to see 00:12:57.830 --> 00:13:00.560 at your typical flight school. 00:13:00.560 --> 00:13:02.810 On the right there is the GameBird, a very interesting 00:13:02.810 --> 00:13:06.520 plane that I just flew in Bentonville, Arkansas. 00:13:06.520 --> 00:13:08.720 I would encourage you guys to look that up. 00:13:08.720 --> 00:13:11.780 And then you have class. 00:13:11.780 --> 00:13:13.520 If you have a really big helicopter, 00:13:13.520 --> 00:13:18.870 it's a transport category and rotorcraft class. 00:13:18.870 --> 00:13:21.020 All right, there on the right is-- 00:13:21.020 --> 00:13:23.830 I think that's a Pitcairn autogyro. 00:13:23.830 --> 00:13:28.370 So that's a rotorcraft autogyro from the 1930s. 00:13:28.370 --> 00:13:30.770 That's a replica from Oshkosh, which 00:13:30.770 --> 00:13:33.490 we'll hear about at lunchtime. 00:13:33.490 --> 00:13:34.740 The bureaucracies. 00:13:37.620 --> 00:13:40.830 You have the NTSB, the National Transportation Safety 00:13:40.830 --> 00:13:43.440 Board-- a little bit separate from the FAA, which 00:13:43.440 --> 00:13:47.320 is part of the Department of Transportation. 00:13:47.320 --> 00:13:50.100 The structure of regulations-- 00:13:50.100 --> 00:13:52.160 the Code of Federal Regulations is huge. 00:13:52.160 --> 00:13:55.640 I think it's doubled in size in the last 20 years or so. 00:13:55.640 --> 00:13:59.060 The FAA is part of that in title 14. 00:13:59.060 --> 00:14:02.930 If you look up the FARs, the Federal Aviation Regulations, 00:14:02.930 --> 00:14:05.000 oftentimes you'll be directed to a site that 00:14:05.000 --> 00:14:08.800 has the entire electronic code of federal regulations. 00:14:08.800 --> 00:14:12.830 The most relevant parts for this class are 61-- 00:14:12.830 --> 00:14:15.170 what does it mean to become a pilot? 00:14:15.170 --> 00:14:17.960 And part 91-- what can you do if you're flying privately? 00:14:21.590 --> 00:14:23.900 If you want to have fun extra knowledge, 00:14:23.900 --> 00:14:26.150 these are some of the other FARs that are occasionally 00:14:26.150 --> 00:14:29.110 worth looking at. 00:14:29.110 --> 00:14:33.660 You can look at doing charter and airline operations. 00:14:33.660 --> 00:14:36.420 Those have air carrier certificates. 00:14:36.420 --> 00:14:39.300 And then you add something for scheduled big airplanes, 00:14:39.300 --> 00:14:44.700 like FAR 121, or smaller charter airplanes, 135. 00:14:44.700 --> 00:14:48.608 If you want to see what kind of engineering 00:14:48.608 --> 00:14:50.025 you have to demonstrate to the FAA 00:14:50.025 --> 00:14:54.150 to get your product certified, you can look into, for example, 00:14:54.150 --> 00:14:58.260 FAR 27 to see what Robinson had to do for the R-44 00:14:58.260 --> 00:14:59.760 to show that it was safe. 00:15:03.620 --> 00:15:09.020 FAR 61 is about pilots, flight instructors, 00:15:09.020 --> 00:15:10.970 and ground instructors. 00:15:10.970 --> 00:15:13.848 The standards are actually reasonable. 00:15:13.848 --> 00:15:15.890 You have to do a flight review with an instructor 00:15:15.890 --> 00:15:18.800 every two years in order to continue 00:15:18.800 --> 00:15:23.550 to exercise the privileges of your certificate. 00:15:23.550 --> 00:15:26.610 If you want to add, for example, the capability 00:15:26.610 --> 00:15:30.300 to fly in the clouds, that's the instrument rating 00:15:30.300 --> 00:15:32.010 that Tina was talking about. 00:15:32.010 --> 00:15:39.170 And that's in FAR 61.65. 00:15:39.170 --> 00:15:41.040 Some of these are just sign-offs. 00:15:41.040 --> 00:15:42.800 For high performance or complex you just 00:15:42.800 --> 00:15:45.728 need an endorsement from an instructor that you did it. 00:15:45.728 --> 00:15:47.270 For the type ratings, you'll actually 00:15:47.270 --> 00:15:51.080 get a new pilot certificate after usually simulator 00:15:51.080 --> 00:15:53.260 training at a simulator center. 00:15:53.260 --> 00:15:55.010 All right, so these are some of the things 00:15:55.010 --> 00:15:56.570 that you need to know for the test. 00:15:59.180 --> 00:16:02.240 Until 9/11, the pilot certificate 00:16:02.240 --> 00:16:04.520 was a piece of paper, I think. 00:16:04.520 --> 00:16:06.900 And the photo ID was not required. 00:16:06.900 --> 00:16:10.550 So you could just go out and fly with your piece of paper 00:16:10.550 --> 00:16:12.673 and your medical certificate. 00:16:12.673 --> 00:16:14.090 Now you don't need that, actually, 00:16:14.090 --> 00:16:15.673 because of this thing called BasicMed. 00:16:18.500 --> 00:16:19.938 You know, I guess, that-- 00:16:19.938 --> 00:16:21.980 you have to know, I think, for some test question 00:16:21.980 --> 00:16:27.040 that they can be inspected by these various agencies. 00:16:27.040 --> 00:16:29.350 All right, drugs and alcohol. 00:16:29.350 --> 00:16:32.350 This is actually one of the worst 00:16:32.350 --> 00:16:35.920 parts of the FAA certification projects for young people. 00:16:35.920 --> 00:16:38.420 People my age, we don't get invited to parties. 00:16:38.420 --> 00:16:38.920 [LAUGHTER] 00:16:38.920 --> 00:16:42.500 So getting arrested for DUI is not really an issue. 00:16:42.500 --> 00:16:44.980 But I know this guy, really wonderful young guy, 00:16:44.980 --> 00:16:47.130 about 20-- very enthusiastic, very smart. 00:16:47.130 --> 00:16:48.880 He was in college. 00:16:48.880 --> 00:16:49.870 He was drinking. 00:16:49.870 --> 00:16:52.330 And he got arrested for DUI. 00:16:52.330 --> 00:16:56.150 And the FAA treated him like they would-- 00:16:56.150 --> 00:16:58.100 if I were arrested for DUI, it would 00:16:58.100 --> 00:17:00.020 mean that I was an alcoholic. 00:17:00.020 --> 00:17:02.000 But he was not an alcoholic. 00:17:02.000 --> 00:17:03.810 But they don't have different standards. 00:17:03.810 --> 00:17:06.140 So they can't just say, well, he's in college. 00:17:06.140 --> 00:17:08.401 So of course, he's drinking. 00:17:08.401 --> 00:17:09.859 They said, well, he's an alcoholic. 00:17:09.859 --> 00:17:12.109 So they wanted him to do years of proving 00:17:12.109 --> 00:17:14.540 that he went to alcohol treatment programs and all 00:17:14.540 --> 00:17:16.349 this other stuff. 00:17:16.349 --> 00:17:21.589 So really, you have to report any time 00:17:21.589 --> 00:17:24.180 that you have an alcohol related infraction with a motor 00:17:24.180 --> 00:17:24.680 vehicle. 00:17:24.680 --> 00:17:26.472 And that's how I would say this is probably 00:17:26.472 --> 00:17:29.510 the number one reason that pilots lose their certificates. 00:17:29.510 --> 00:17:31.130 Marijuana. 00:17:31.130 --> 00:17:32.630 I was just in Haiti actually. 00:17:32.630 --> 00:17:34.560 And the shaman was showing-- 00:17:34.560 --> 00:17:36.290 not the tourist part of Haiti, of course, 00:17:36.290 --> 00:17:38.540 but the authentic Haiti. 00:17:38.540 --> 00:17:42.260 So the shaman was showing us the 50 different medicinal plants 00:17:42.260 --> 00:17:44.540 that they used to treat various ailments. 00:17:44.540 --> 00:17:46.630 And I said, you guys are so primitive. 00:17:46.630 --> 00:17:49.000 In Massachusetts, we have one plant 00:17:49.000 --> 00:17:51.440 that people say will cure almost any kind of problem. 00:17:51.440 --> 00:17:53.680 And that's medical marijuana. 00:17:53.680 --> 00:17:54.180 [LAUGHTER] 00:17:54.180 --> 00:17:59.510 So you can't really be a stoner and honestly 00:17:59.510 --> 00:18:01.880 answer the questions on the-- 00:18:01.880 --> 00:18:04.190 despite the legality in Massachusetts, 00:18:04.190 --> 00:18:06.890 you can't be a stoner and hold your pilot certificate. 00:18:06.890 --> 00:18:11.150 Because you're supposed to tell the FAA about your glaucoma 00:18:11.150 --> 00:18:14.430 and how you're treating it with medical marijuana. 00:18:14.430 --> 00:18:19.272 So the certificate duration is two years 00:18:19.272 --> 00:18:20.230 for flight instructors. 00:18:20.230 --> 00:18:22.510 They want us to do recurrent training 00:18:22.510 --> 00:18:25.480 or sign off so many students that we don't need it. 00:18:25.480 --> 00:18:28.690 For remote pilot, they want you to pass a test every two years. 00:18:28.690 --> 00:18:31.210 The pilot certificate never expires. 00:18:31.210 --> 00:18:33.700 Here's a couple pictures from last week. 00:18:33.700 --> 00:18:35.680 I was out in Sonoma, California. 00:18:35.680 --> 00:18:38.980 And I stumbled on this airport where 00:18:38.980 --> 00:18:42.250 one pilot was flying this 1940s Howard airplane 00:18:42.250 --> 00:18:43.870 that you see on the left. 00:18:43.870 --> 00:18:47.560 And another pilot was flying this P-51 Mustang-- 00:18:47.560 --> 00:18:51.790 which on a 2,500 foot runway, that's a pretty short runway. 00:18:51.790 --> 00:18:56.590 And it's very windy, nasty wind patterns off the bay. 00:18:56.590 --> 00:19:00.100 So that's kind of a short runway for a $3 million airplane. 00:19:00.100 --> 00:19:03.220 Those were $1,500, by the way, when the government sold them 00:19:03.220 --> 00:19:05.740 as surplus at the end of World War II. 00:19:05.740 --> 00:19:08.710 But anyway, those pilot certificates never expire. 00:19:08.710 --> 00:19:11.230 Somebody could not fly for 30 years, 00:19:11.230 --> 00:19:13.720 go out and do a little bit of recurrent training, 00:19:13.720 --> 00:19:17.230 and get signed off by an instructor for a flight review, 00:19:17.230 --> 00:19:19.210 and fly again, assuming-- 00:19:19.210 --> 00:19:22.000 I guess he or she would need to get a renewed 00:19:22.000 --> 00:19:23.830 medical certificate. 00:19:23.830 --> 00:19:28.540 For you all, you're going to have a third class medical 00:19:28.540 --> 00:19:30.698 that'll be valid for five years. 00:19:30.698 --> 00:19:32.240 Everything's based on calendar month. 00:19:32.240 --> 00:19:34.830 So if you get it on the 1st of June, 00:19:34.830 --> 00:19:39.160 it will expire at the end of June five years later. 00:19:39.160 --> 00:19:43.150 Airline pilots need first class medicals. 00:19:43.150 --> 00:19:47.650 The captain needs a first class medical by regulation. 00:19:47.650 --> 00:19:50.080 Might be true of the first officer too. 00:19:50.080 --> 00:19:53.020 Just ordinary charter use or doing helicopter sightseeing 00:19:53.020 --> 00:19:57.130 or whatever, that's a second class medical operation. 00:19:57.130 --> 00:20:00.850 One reason that people like sport pilot and glider flying 00:20:00.850 --> 00:20:03.050 is that these medicals are not required. 00:20:03.050 --> 00:20:06.250 So if they think that they might not pass a medical, 00:20:06.250 --> 00:20:08.285 then they'll transition to one of those. 00:20:08.285 --> 00:20:10.660 I think they say that you have to have a current driver's 00:20:10.660 --> 00:20:11.160 license. 00:20:11.160 --> 00:20:14.020 And it's a little bit of self reporting. 00:20:14.020 --> 00:20:18.430 You have to basically consider yourself to be healthy. 00:20:18.430 --> 00:20:20.770 BasicMed, you start with the third class 00:20:20.770 --> 00:20:22.090 during your training. 00:20:22.090 --> 00:20:26.800 And then you'll go every four years to a regular doctor. 00:20:26.800 --> 00:20:30.160 You can see in FAR 61.113 that there's a limit to what you 00:20:30.160 --> 00:20:31.270 can do under BasicMed. 00:20:31.270 --> 00:20:34.110 You can't fly a heavy fast airplane 00:20:34.110 --> 00:20:35.810 with a lot of people in it. 00:20:35.810 --> 00:20:40.930 OK, for most tests you need an endorsement from an instructor. 00:20:44.650 --> 00:20:48.340 For the checkride you can pass it. 00:20:48.340 --> 00:20:51.400 It can be discontinued-- maybe the weather turned bad. 00:20:51.400 --> 00:20:54.490 You can fail, usually on one or two maneuvers. 00:20:54.490 --> 00:20:56.680 You can retake the failed test, which might only 00:20:56.680 --> 00:21:00.670 be on those one or two maneuvers at the examiner's discretion. 00:21:00.670 --> 00:21:06.308 You have to log sufficient to prove to the FAA 00:21:06.308 --> 00:21:08.350 that you meet currency requirements-- like you've 00:21:08.350 --> 00:21:11.950 done three takeoffs and landings within the last 90 days 00:21:11.950 --> 00:21:15.160 if you're carrying passengers, or that you had a flight 00:21:15.160 --> 00:21:16.360 review within two years. 00:21:19.370 --> 00:21:23.180 That's from a-- I have a nephew in medical school. 00:21:23.180 --> 00:21:27.290 So you're supposed to ground yourself if you get sick. 00:21:27.290 --> 00:21:29.600 So you've got a medical certificate five years ago. 00:21:29.600 --> 00:21:32.690 But if you're not fit to fly, then you ground yourself. 00:21:32.690 --> 00:21:35.130 There's a regulation about that. 00:21:35.130 --> 00:21:40.240 The flight review requires an hour of ground 00:21:40.240 --> 00:21:41.930 and an hour of flight at a minimum-- 00:21:41.930 --> 00:21:44.470 whatever the instructor thinks that you need to be safe. 00:21:44.470 --> 00:21:46.450 Or if you get a new pilot's certificate, 00:21:46.450 --> 00:21:48.880 for example, because you got an instrument rating, 00:21:48.880 --> 00:21:51.050 then the flight review is not required. 00:21:51.050 --> 00:21:53.590 So oftentimes, people are enthusiastic about it. 00:21:53.590 --> 00:21:56.500 They won't have a flight review for the first five or 10 00:21:56.500 --> 00:21:58.900 years of their aviation journey, because they 00:21:58.900 --> 00:22:03.010 keep getting new certificates for this or that. 00:22:03.010 --> 00:22:06.380 The insurance requirements for more complex aircraft 00:22:06.380 --> 00:22:09.355 usually require training every 12 months. 00:22:09.355 --> 00:22:11.480 So they essentially are more stringent than the FAA 00:22:11.480 --> 00:22:12.260 requirements. 00:22:15.320 --> 00:22:18.650 So as I mentioned, you need to have done some recent flying 00:22:18.650 --> 00:22:22.790 by yourself or with passengers before you 00:22:22.790 --> 00:22:24.920 can take additional passengers. 00:22:24.920 --> 00:22:26.810 And if you're going to carry passengers 00:22:26.810 --> 00:22:32.330 at night, which is defined for this currency as one hour 00:22:32.330 --> 00:22:35.718 after sunset to one hour before sunrise, 00:22:35.718 --> 00:22:37.760 you have to have done three takeoffs and landings 00:22:37.760 --> 00:22:40.490 to a full stop before you can carry passengers at night. 00:22:40.490 --> 00:22:42.860 This is the one where people often 00:22:42.860 --> 00:22:45.650 have trouble maintaining their currency 00:22:45.650 --> 00:22:47.750 and have to make a special trip to the airport 00:22:47.750 --> 00:22:50.120 to build currency. 00:22:50.120 --> 00:22:54.630 This has to be in category, class, and type, if applicable. 00:22:54.630 --> 00:22:57.440 So if it's a jet, you have to-- if you're 00:22:57.440 --> 00:23:01.370 typed in a Boeing 737, you have to have done the three takeoffs 00:23:01.370 --> 00:23:04.610 and landings at night in your Boeing 737 00:23:04.610 --> 00:23:07.580 to be current to take more passengers at night. 00:23:07.580 --> 00:23:11.998 It's not enough to do it just in a Cessna 172. 00:23:11.998 --> 00:23:14.290 The flight review, oddly enough, doesn't work that way. 00:23:14.290 --> 00:23:16.970 You can do it in any of the aircraft for which you're 00:23:16.970 --> 00:23:18.500 rated. 00:23:18.500 --> 00:23:23.330 Again, the insurance company might be stricter about that. 00:23:23.330 --> 00:23:26.890 Tell the FAA if you move. 00:23:26.890 --> 00:23:29.550 This is packing up for a recent trip to Florida. 00:23:29.550 --> 00:23:31.970 So it sure looked like we were moving. 00:23:31.970 --> 00:23:34.670 Let me tell you, once you have a light aircraft and a family, 00:23:34.670 --> 00:23:38.150 every trip becomes just like that movie Sophie's Choice. 00:23:38.150 --> 00:23:41.420 You have to decide who or what is going to be left behind. 00:23:41.420 --> 00:23:42.800 It's pretty painful. 00:23:42.800 --> 00:23:44.090 OK, student pilot. 00:23:47.300 --> 00:23:49.550 Before you can solo, you pass a little written test 00:23:49.550 --> 00:23:53.540 that's kind of chosen and given by the CFI. 00:23:53.540 --> 00:23:56.660 You have to receive training on specific listed maneuvers that 00:23:56.660 --> 00:23:59.240 are in this FAR 61.87. 00:23:59.240 --> 00:24:02.540 You get signed off for solo flight. 00:24:02.540 --> 00:24:06.890 And that has to be renewed every 90 days. 00:24:06.890 --> 00:24:12.400 You can't take passengers or go above a broken or overcast 00:24:12.400 --> 00:24:12.900 layer. 00:24:12.900 --> 00:24:16.380 So as unwise as it may sound, if you're only visually rated 00:24:16.380 --> 00:24:19.440 you can take off, fly over clouds with the expectation 00:24:19.440 --> 00:24:20.900 that when you get to your airport, 00:24:20.900 --> 00:24:22.400 the weather is forecast to be clear, 00:24:22.400 --> 00:24:24.630 or at least you're hoping it will be clear. 00:24:24.630 --> 00:24:26.980 They won't let you do that if you're a student pilot. 00:24:26.980 --> 00:24:29.100 The CFI may also add other limitations 00:24:29.100 --> 00:24:32.980 like a maximum wind, for example. 00:24:32.980 --> 00:24:37.320 Each cross-country flight-- so if you're going from, 00:24:37.320 --> 00:24:40.420 for example, Hanscom Field up to Portland, 00:24:40.420 --> 00:24:43.740 Maine as a solo cross-country or to Keene, New Hampshire, 00:24:43.740 --> 00:24:47.490 that requires that you do the flight plan and review it with 00:24:47.490 --> 00:24:48.090 the CFI-- 00:24:48.090 --> 00:24:50.250 doesn't have to be a regular CFI. 00:24:50.250 --> 00:24:54.780 And have the CFI sign off that your planning is adequate. 00:24:54.780 --> 00:24:59.310 You can, actually, fly in Bravo airspace. 00:24:59.310 --> 00:25:01.780 We'll get into that a little bit later. 00:25:01.780 --> 00:25:04.470 The most controlled airspace in the US, basically-- right 00:25:04.470 --> 00:25:06.263 around the biggest airports. 00:25:06.263 --> 00:25:08.430 However, you have to have a sign-off from the flight 00:25:08.430 --> 00:25:10.270 instructor. 00:25:10.270 --> 00:25:14.760 You can actually land at a class Brave airport. 00:25:14.760 --> 00:25:17.550 Salt Lake City has a flight school. 00:25:17.550 --> 00:25:19.170 So they obviously have people who 00:25:19.170 --> 00:25:23.820 are soloing at a huge commercial airport. 00:25:23.820 --> 00:25:27.180 However, in the FARs, appendix D, 00:25:27.180 --> 00:25:31.140 some airports are excluded from student use 00:25:31.140 --> 00:25:33.990 of the actual runways as opposed to the airspace. 00:25:33.990 --> 00:25:36.840 Logan happens to be one of them. 00:25:36.840 --> 00:25:39.090 So once you get your private pilot certificate, 00:25:39.090 --> 00:25:39.810 what can you do? 00:25:39.810 --> 00:25:41.400 This is what I like to do. 00:25:41.400 --> 00:25:43.560 Fly over Boston. 00:25:43.560 --> 00:25:45.150 I've got the family in the back. 00:25:45.150 --> 00:25:46.710 We start in the Cirrus. 00:25:46.710 --> 00:25:48.690 We end up at Provincetown. 00:25:48.690 --> 00:25:51.390 We find the whales by-- 00:25:51.390 --> 00:25:54.330 after careful study of marine biology, 00:25:54.330 --> 00:25:56.010 I've learned that the best way to find 00:25:56.010 --> 00:25:58.050 whales is to look for a whale watching boat. 00:25:58.050 --> 00:25:59.120 [LAUGHTER] 00:25:59.120 --> 00:26:01.390 They're just off shore. 00:26:01.390 --> 00:26:02.830 It saves, actually, a lot of time. 00:26:02.830 --> 00:26:04.920 It's about 20 minutes to P-town. 00:26:04.920 --> 00:26:08.700 And the whale watch cruises that leave from P-town, 00:26:08.700 --> 00:26:10.210 those are three or four hours. 00:26:10.210 --> 00:26:13.710 So this is a very efficient way to see the whales. 00:26:13.710 --> 00:26:14.850 Who is eligible? 00:26:14.850 --> 00:26:18.030 A lot of people solo on their 16th birthday. 00:26:18.030 --> 00:26:25.440 And they get a pilot certificate on their 17th birthday. 00:26:25.440 --> 00:26:27.780 You can do it even a little bit younger, a year younger, 00:26:27.780 --> 00:26:30.780 in gliders and balloons. 00:26:30.780 --> 00:26:34.590 You must have that CFI sign-off to take the practical test, 00:26:34.590 --> 00:26:37.890 pass the knowledge test that's kind of the end of this course, 00:26:37.890 --> 00:26:40.120 and meet the experience requirements. 00:26:40.120 --> 00:26:43.560 That means at least 40 hours of total time, three 00:26:43.560 --> 00:26:45.640 hours of night, and so forth-- 00:26:45.640 --> 00:26:46.530 10 hours of solo. 00:26:49.200 --> 00:26:50.890 Flight proficiency. 00:26:50.890 --> 00:26:54.750 So this is the stuff that's in the airman certification 00:26:54.750 --> 00:26:56.200 standards that we talked about. 00:26:56.200 --> 00:27:04.280 So it says you've got to be able to fly, power off landing. 00:27:04.280 --> 00:27:08.670 You've got to be able to demonstrate a soft field 00:27:08.670 --> 00:27:10.510 take-off, like how you would take off if you 00:27:10.510 --> 00:27:12.603 were on grass and so forth. 00:27:12.603 --> 00:27:15.270 Everything's in there, including some basic instrument training, 00:27:15.270 --> 00:27:15.960 actually. 00:27:15.960 --> 00:27:17.762 The FAA has three hours of training. 00:27:17.762 --> 00:27:19.470 And they want you to demonstrate that you 00:27:19.470 --> 00:27:22.992 can fly by reference to instruments, at least well 00:27:22.992 --> 00:27:24.450 enough to get back out of the cloud 00:27:24.450 --> 00:27:28.470 that you inadvertently flew into. 00:27:28.470 --> 00:27:31.380 So as I noted, you need 20 hours of training 00:27:31.380 --> 00:27:34.302 from a CFI minimum, 10 hours solo minimum. 00:27:34.302 --> 00:27:36.010 The other 10 hours is at your discretion. 00:27:36.010 --> 00:27:38.653 Almost all people would choose to do that with an instructor, 00:27:38.653 --> 00:27:41.070 because it's not a big added cost compared to the airplane 00:27:41.070 --> 00:27:43.850 rental. 00:27:43.850 --> 00:27:48.560 The training from the CFI will include one long cross-country. 00:27:48.560 --> 00:27:50.690 That's kind of the interesting part. 00:27:50.690 --> 00:27:52.850 100 nautical mile cross-country. 00:27:52.850 --> 00:27:55.840 I think it has to stop at three different airports. 00:27:55.840 --> 00:27:58.100 So the one you took off from and two more, 00:27:58.100 --> 00:27:59.120 like a triangle flight. 00:28:02.110 --> 00:28:05.860 And those three hours of instrument training I 00:28:05.860 --> 00:28:08.170 told you about and the three hours of test prep 00:28:08.170 --> 00:28:09.400 within two calendar months. 00:28:12.230 --> 00:28:12.860 Oh, yeah. 00:28:12.860 --> 00:28:17.520 So actually-- sorry, I was mistaken about this one. 00:28:17.520 --> 00:28:19.870 100 nautical mile cross-country flight at night 00:28:19.870 --> 00:28:23.860 does not require three legs. 00:28:23.860 --> 00:28:27.130 But your solo-- you have to do one solo 150 nautical mile 00:28:27.130 --> 00:28:32.290 trip, three legs of about 50 nautical miles each-- 00:28:32.290 --> 00:28:34.150 one at least 50 nautical. 00:28:34.150 --> 00:28:37.240 So that's the one where the FAA thinks, 00:28:37.240 --> 00:28:39.700 OK, this person is really good to go and start 00:28:39.700 --> 00:28:40.930 taking his or her friends. 00:28:40.930 --> 00:28:44.680 Which, as I said earlier, you might think that that might not 00:28:44.680 --> 00:28:46.240 be what the friends want. 00:28:46.240 --> 00:28:50.260 You might say, no, I'd rather be in a five-seat Cirrus with you 00:28:50.260 --> 00:28:52.390 and the more experienced pilot in the front. 00:28:52.390 --> 00:28:56.230 And we'll sit in the back and party. 00:28:56.230 --> 00:29:03.140 All right, so this is a little bit tricky. 00:29:03.140 --> 00:29:06.960 But basically, you can fly if it's part of your business. 00:29:06.960 --> 00:29:09.560 So if your company requires you to get to a meeting, 00:29:09.560 --> 00:29:12.650 you can do that with a private pilot certificate. 00:29:12.650 --> 00:29:16.350 Generally, though, you have to be paying for most of the stuff 00:29:16.350 --> 00:29:16.850 that you do. 00:29:16.850 --> 00:29:20.120 You can't let your friends pay the full cost of renting 00:29:20.120 --> 00:29:22.140 the airplane, for example. 00:29:22.140 --> 00:29:23.510 You can tow a glider. 00:29:23.510 --> 00:29:27.500 There's kind of elaborate rules that have gotten more complex 00:29:27.500 --> 00:29:30.590 every year about how to do charity flights. 00:29:30.590 --> 00:29:32.570 But it can be done. 00:29:32.570 --> 00:29:34.580 Regulation versus insurance. 00:29:34.580 --> 00:29:36.360 So here's a question for you. 00:29:36.360 --> 00:29:39.870 What if, hypothetically speaking, somebody shut down 00:29:39.870 --> 00:29:42.390 the government and there was no FAA? 00:29:42.390 --> 00:29:45.290 [LAUGHTER] 00:29:45.290 --> 00:29:47.120 Could this work? 00:29:47.120 --> 00:29:49.310 And I think actually it could. 00:29:49.310 --> 00:29:53.150 You would just say, it's illegal to fly without insurance. 00:29:53.150 --> 00:29:54.470 Because let's think about it. 00:29:54.470 --> 00:29:58.250 The FAA says that you can go to East Coast Aero Club, 00:29:58.250 --> 00:30:02.560 fly around in a Piper Warrior, get your certificate, 00:30:02.560 --> 00:30:05.020 and then just get a couple of sign-offs from an instructor 00:30:05.020 --> 00:30:08.590 for complex, high performance-- actually, I guess it's three-- 00:30:08.590 --> 00:30:10.180 high altitude. 00:30:10.180 --> 00:30:14.440 And then at 43 hours of flight time, 00:30:14.440 --> 00:30:18.760 you get yourself into this $5 million Pilatus PC-12. 00:30:18.760 --> 00:30:20.590 You've got the entire family. 00:30:20.590 --> 00:30:22.480 You pitch your tent at Oshkosh. 00:30:22.480 --> 00:30:23.710 Everybody's happy. 00:30:23.710 --> 00:30:26.410 Well, that's legal from the FAA's point of view. 00:30:26.410 --> 00:30:28.300 But the insurance company says, you know, 00:30:28.300 --> 00:30:30.760 we don't really want to buy you a new Pilatus 00:30:30.760 --> 00:30:33.817 after you go sideways off the runway at Oshkosh. 00:30:33.817 --> 00:30:35.400 So we're not going to let you do that. 00:30:35.400 --> 00:30:36.775 You don't have enough experience. 00:30:36.775 --> 00:30:39.190 You're going to need specific training for the airplane. 00:30:39.190 --> 00:30:42.100 Again, this is the single engine land airplane. 00:30:42.100 --> 00:30:46.420 It's not over 12,500 pounds, so you don't need a type rating. 00:30:46.420 --> 00:30:48.568 And therefore, you could just get in there. 00:30:48.568 --> 00:30:50.110 And most people don't lock the doors. 00:30:50.110 --> 00:30:53.200 So just jump in, push the start button, and go. 00:30:53.200 --> 00:30:54.063 FAA is happy. 00:30:54.063 --> 00:30:55.480 Well, again, the insurance company 00:30:55.480 --> 00:30:57.770 wouldn't have let you do that to begin with. 00:30:57.770 --> 00:30:59.950 So if this complex regulatory environment 00:30:59.950 --> 00:31:02.752 didn't exist but insurance were required, 00:31:02.752 --> 00:31:04.210 I think you'd end up with something 00:31:04.210 --> 00:31:09.010 that was substantially similar and basically the same. 00:31:09.010 --> 00:31:11.710 The FAA system, I will say in favor of it, 00:31:11.710 --> 00:31:13.010 it's kind of motivational. 00:31:13.010 --> 00:31:16.055 It's sort of like the bad system that the Boy Scouts-- 00:31:16.055 --> 00:31:17.680 I guess they're not Boy Scouts anymore. 00:31:17.680 --> 00:31:19.570 The Scouts and the Girl Scouts-- 00:31:19.570 --> 00:31:21.260 they're still the Girl Scouts-- 00:31:21.260 --> 00:31:24.440 that the Scouts run. 00:31:24.440 --> 00:31:28.760 And it motivates people to get the next one. 00:31:28.760 --> 00:31:31.400 Everything except the drones is hanging off either the pilot 00:31:31.400 --> 00:31:33.860 or the CFI certificate. 00:31:33.860 --> 00:31:36.560 And just remember that you're going to stay FAA current 00:31:36.560 --> 00:31:39.197 by flying every quarter and with an instructor every two years. 00:31:39.197 --> 00:31:41.030 A lot of people in New England, though, they 00:31:41.030 --> 00:31:42.405 don't fly much during the winter. 00:31:42.405 --> 00:31:45.470 So they go up and do a currency flight in the springtime 00:31:45.470 --> 00:31:47.820 before the flying season starts. 00:31:47.820 --> 00:31:51.350 So while you're thinking about your questions, 00:31:51.350 --> 00:31:54.080 about the regulatory framework or learning to fly, 00:31:54.080 --> 00:31:55.580 I'll just show you a flight that you 00:31:55.580 --> 00:31:57.290 could do with just a private. 00:31:57.290 --> 00:31:59.810 There is an entangled whale in New York Harbor 00:31:59.810 --> 00:32:01.910 with fishing gear all over him. 00:32:01.910 --> 00:32:05.320 And the people that could untangle him 00:32:05.320 --> 00:32:06.620 were in Provincetown. 00:32:06.620 --> 00:32:11.570 So Noah asked me to volunteer, because they had my email 00:32:11.570 --> 00:32:13.730 from the sea turtle flights. 00:32:13.730 --> 00:32:16.370 They said, hey, would you mind flying over Boston, 00:32:16.370 --> 00:32:18.710 picking these guys up in Provincetown, 00:32:18.710 --> 00:32:24.170 going over New York Harbor in the area just outside of it 00:32:24.170 --> 00:32:28.700 to look for the whale, land them on the New Jersey Shore, 00:32:28.700 --> 00:32:30.710 so they can get into a zodiac boat 00:32:30.710 --> 00:32:32.947 and chase after the whales? 00:32:32.947 --> 00:32:35.030 They didn't tell me to go visit my parents in D.C. 00:32:35.030 --> 00:32:37.030 but I did while they were out chasing the whale. 00:32:37.030 --> 00:32:39.590 [LAUGHTER] 00:32:39.590 --> 00:32:41.030 And then come back. 00:32:41.030 --> 00:32:44.910 And I dropped them off, I think, right-- just 00:32:44.910 --> 00:32:48.420 after sunset I landed at Provincetown after sunset. 00:32:48.420 --> 00:32:50.900 And then I did a night flight over water 00:32:50.900 --> 00:32:53.400 in a single engine plane that's about to-- 00:32:53.400 --> 00:32:57.500 it's just reached its 2,000 hour overhaul for the engine. 00:32:57.500 --> 00:32:59.430 So maybe that wasn't the wisest thing to do. 00:32:59.430 --> 00:33:03.600 But I do have a life jacket and a raft. 00:33:03.600 --> 00:33:06.060 So that was an entire day of flying from about 7:00 AM 00:33:06.060 --> 00:33:06.900 to about-- 00:33:06.900 --> 00:33:09.120 I don't know-- 9:00 PM when I landed back in Hanscom. 00:33:09.120 --> 00:33:10.770 And I think that didn't require more 00:33:10.770 --> 00:33:13.680 than a private certificate, because it's all volunteer. 00:33:13.680 --> 00:33:15.690 People say, have you ever been scared? 00:33:15.690 --> 00:33:17.670 Philip, you've flown 4,000 hours. 00:33:17.670 --> 00:33:19.920 What's the scariest thing that's ever happened to you? 00:33:19.920 --> 00:33:23.320 And I think actually it was on this flight. 00:33:23.320 --> 00:33:26.440 Because if you see, there's that IFR. 00:33:26.440 --> 00:33:33.170 That's an IFR intersection that the FAA came up with. 00:33:33.170 --> 00:33:37.095 So for those of you who are familiar with Judaism, 00:33:37.095 --> 00:33:39.470 you will know that is not something you ever want to see. 00:33:39.470 --> 00:33:41.690 [LAUGHTER] 00:33:41.690 --> 00:33:44.120 All right, so who has a question about that material? 00:33:44.120 --> 00:33:45.410 Or should we zip into systems? 00:33:47.370 --> 00:33:49.120 AUDIENCE: Are there any medical conditions 00:33:49.120 --> 00:33:51.593 that would prohibit you from flying altogether? 00:33:51.593 --> 00:33:53.010 PHILIP GREENSPUN: The question is, 00:33:53.010 --> 00:33:56.090 are there any medical conditions that really preclude 00:33:56.090 --> 00:33:58.010 a person from getting a pilot's certificate 00:33:58.010 --> 00:34:00.260 or getting the medical to go with a pilot certificate? 00:34:00.260 --> 00:34:01.885 I guess you need the medical to get it, 00:34:01.885 --> 00:34:03.140 because you need to solo. 00:34:03.140 --> 00:34:07.413 The FAA-- they have an exemption process. 00:34:07.413 --> 00:34:08.830 And they have their own physicians 00:34:08.830 --> 00:34:10.389 in Oklahoma City that review. 00:34:10.389 --> 00:34:13.810 So usually you can work with an aviation medical examiner 00:34:13.810 --> 00:34:15.810 and get some kind of exception. 00:34:15.810 --> 00:34:18.409 Diabetics, they're kind of concerned about. 00:34:18.409 --> 00:34:21.400 But if the person has a long history of controlling it well, 00:34:21.400 --> 00:34:23.080 they'll usually give an exemption. 00:34:23.080 --> 00:34:24.790 People have heart bypasses. 00:34:24.790 --> 00:34:27.940 And then they have to go through some rehabilitation process 00:34:27.940 --> 00:34:29.980 that makes the FAA happy. 00:34:29.980 --> 00:34:30.880 So it's all laid out. 00:34:30.880 --> 00:34:33.130 There's a lot of stuff online about the standards 00:34:33.130 --> 00:34:33.739 that they use. 00:34:33.739 --> 00:34:34.614 And it's complicated. 00:34:34.614 --> 00:34:37.040 But the doctors-- there's a lot of good local aviation 00:34:37.040 --> 00:34:37.540 examiners. 00:34:37.540 --> 00:34:40.280 One of them works right at Cambridge hospital. 00:34:40.280 --> 00:34:44.789 So that's a fairly easy question to get answered.