Matthew Stibbe's Homepage Pilot

Pilot

Flying With Me

I have written some guidance notes for friends and family who might go flying with me.   I keep an email mailing list of people of people who have expressed an interest in going on a trip and whenever I have spare seats I send out an email to them all - first come, first flown.  If you would like to go flying with me some time, contact me and I will add you to my list (friends and family only please). 

Places I Have Flown To

See Happy Landings, a guide to top restaurants by airfields, which I have written with a friend.

Book and Software

I use Microsoft Flight Sim 2004 at home for fun and to rehearse some instrument procedures.  I also have X-Plane which has a better flight model but is harder to get into.  Transair are a good online supplier for maps and aviation related equipment.  There are two different sets of books about learning to fly.  I used Trevor Trevor Thom's book for my IMC course but Jeremy Pratt's for the rest of my PPL course.  Both sets of books are good and widely used.

FAA Instrument Rating

I passed my FAA instrument rating in 2004 and I have written some notes, with tips and advice, for other people who are taking this rating.

Planes I have flown

Up to 2004, I mainly flew Piper PA-28s.  In March 2004, I converted to the Cirrus SR-20 and SR-22 and I mainly fly them now.  I have also flown: Diamond Katana, Diamond DA-42 Twin Star, Pilatus PC-12, Cessna 172 and NASA's Space Shuttle simulator.

Learning to Fly

I learned with Cabair at Denham, near London and took my test with Orlando Flight Training in Kissimmee, Florida. 

I practiced for my FAA instrument rating with John Page of TAA UK and took the test at Air Orlando, Florida.

Different schools and different instructors suit different people and you should definitely look around and make sure you find an instructor that suits you. 

Aviation Humour

"I was on frequency with New York Centre.  There was a long, long silence.  I called 'Mooney ZZZ, just checking you're there,' the reply came back 'yeah, we're still here, but don't tell anyone.'" Thanks to Lou Betti for that true story.  An old favourite is the saying "if God had meant man to fly, he would have given him more money."  You need to do over 100 hours a year with Cabair to truly appreciate this joke.