True, training at a towered aerodrome will take more student time. However, when you get your license, you will be able to confidently fly any airport, any airspace, even Chicago, or Atlanta with graceful communication skills. Good choice. Good luck.

Welcome.

1. Buy you last airplane first.

2. Don't train at a towered field unless they'll let you do touch and goes for hours on end. Training at PDK for example leaves you having to fly to other airports to train.

Again, thanks for all of the comments and input. Any thoughts are welcome at this time.

As an added "bonus" to where I am training out of - about 10 minutes or so west of here is a non-towered regional field. Long, wide runway. This is where a lot of the practicing for toucn & go, etc is often done. This is just off of the "practice" area we use. Again, all in all, seems to be a good fit for my training.

i wish I knew what my last plane would be. But at the age I am starting my training (53) - I may not be doing this for 40 years. I have a bunch of questions / thoughts on that subject, but now is not the time (tempting as is is..)

Happy new year to all.

Gary

Hi Gary,

Welcome to BeechTalk. You can get a lot of great information from the people on this board. Lots of experience beyond just Bonanzas.

I learned at KSNA (Orange County, CA), a Class C airport. I never waited for more than one plane for takeoff. Sometimes the pattern can get busy (5 or 6 planes in orbit) and that can be challenging, but it is also great practice for slow flight and precision turns. It also removed the fear of controlled airspace from me. I was talking to the tower after a few lessons and never looked back. The way I learned, that was normal.

As for buying: yeah, if you can swing it, a C172, Warrior or a Sundowner would be my choice. Simple machines to learn on. Get it down pat, then move up the ladder. There are some screamin' deals out there right now. On the other hand, I waited a few years after I got my PPL and then I bought my Debonair. I bought my second plane first and rented up until that time.

Renting is a great eye-opener. You get a good cross section of crappy planes so you can see what the reality of ownership would hold. My wife and I preferred the Warrior when we were renting, but that never stopped me from grabbing one of the 172's when I needed to make a trip.

Keep flying as regularly as you can while learning. At least twice each week, 3 times would be better. The more you fly, the faster you will get that PPL.

Keep us posted and feel free to ask lots of questions.

Good luck