Let the paperwork begin.

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choppernut
Silver Wings
Silver Wings
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Joined: Feb 2008

Let the paperwork begin.

Postby choppernut » Thu Apr 17 2008, 07:55

Ok, so I picked the school to train at, it's time to fill out some of the paperwork before I get into lessons...

Here's the ASIC form, licence form...go and get your medical done...organise your theory...have you got your insurance worked out yet? :o ...but I want to go for a flight :( ... I was told a long time ago that patience is a virtue, I'm one of those "lucky" people who go can to any line in a store or event and it's guaranteed to be the slowest moving one - so I've gotten a fair amount of experience from that point of view - I'm sure that as I go through my training and into the future this will still be tested.

I was given the heads up by someone in late February that CASA were about to change the process for the ASIC application, so I raced around got some photo's, filled in the form and got it witnessed so I could send my first form and fee off to CASA in a long time. I rang last week and they said they'd processed my payment at the beginning of March but couldn't tell me anything else, suffice to say the new shiny red card turned up this week! (step 1 out of the road, several hundred to go). I know I shouldn't get too excited about that, it's just a card, if I'm not careful I'll burst after I go solo.

I was quite fortunate that since I'd done some "plank" flying about 16 years ago the ARN was still valid so there was no need to apply for an SPL (woohoo $50 up!). I knew that eventually (or was it more hopeful) I would use it again and it wasn't just going to stay a memento in a box up in the cupboard.

Now the medical has been a bit of a challenge - while I never thought I'd just breeze through it, it has been a bit harder than I first expected. Since I'm a late bloomer my initial Class 1 has been a bit of jumping through the hoops (ecg, eye tests, hearing testing, blood tests etc etc). There have been some comments on forums I've read before about checking the DAME you are thinking about using in for so far as are they going to be around for years to come etc because of the relationship and the frequency you'll probably be returning to them. IT'S A GOOD IDEA. It was something I didn't ask the staff when booking at the time and while I was in the waiting room prior to the appointment this little old man walked past me (who could only be described as yoda without the ears) and I thought oh man... now I'd already paid my fee and they'd taken data and started tests so I thought I couldn't change from the Jedi master at that stage. The communication has been mostly from my side and felt there was an expectation I should have known exactly what was required and how I had to do it. Paperwork has been "lost in transit" between specialists and the DAME so there has been a bit of chasing around and hopefully in the next day or two I can sit down with him and get all the forms off to CASA. It has been a funny experience as well, after I got my eye's tested, I thought I would kill some time and get the blood tests out of the road as well. The solution in my eyes had not worn off at all and I couldn't see my phone properly to see the time let alone call my wife to tell her how I'd gone - so that was an interesting drive back to work - no chance of a speeding ticket that day. I suppose when you look at your health from a work point of view (I haven't really had to do that before) you see it's very important from the longevity of your flying career. I take the point (and have more respect for) from what I've read in some of the forums about making sure you go and have your medical early regardless of age, there's no use going through and a whole bunch of lessons, study etc to get told your medically unfit (for one reason or another). I believe you can train up to a point without having done it but the older you get the more you risk something knocking you out and/or restricting/killing your aspirations - GET IT DONE EARLY.

Someone had also dropped me a line in relation to insurance. My dad has been on my back for the last couple of years now (since having rug rats) and it's probably a very important point to bring up with prospectives. Sort you cover out prior to getting into serious flying (thanks HS), I have up'd my voluntary cover and while I had already been on a TIF prior to it's acceptance, I'm not sure if they could eventually get me (or not me as the case may be) on a technicality but there's not much I can do about that now. Policies vary greatly and some will cover you regardless of your occupation and others will not touch you once you've touched the control column of any aircraft. It's funny how we don't have a second thought when we insure our car, but when it comes to our life or health, we can argue it away with "it's too expensive" - tell me about it I know, but it depends on what price you put on those aspects and you want or can afford to have it or whether it's just a case of not in the budget (moreso in the normal world with friends and work collegues- maybe coming from the aviation world you guys think more about the body than the car!).

I've had enough typing for now, I've got to order some text books and must book that first lesson...cyclic goes forward cyclic goes back...

Until next time...

choppernut :D

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