I took lessons in the early 90s, didn't finish, then took lessons again in the early 2000s and again quit. The second time I took lessons at Hanscom field.
In both cases things had not really progressed much at all beyond his experience 50 years ago. I learned the slide rules and the paper plotting and all that stuff just like him. I did have an electronic flight computer that was like a handheld calculator, but learning it all by hand was required. It is not hard to understand at all for anyone who was headed towards engineering. The radios were super primitive and didn't even have electronic displays, they had rotating dials inside the radio that just spun to the number.
By the time I took lessons at Hanscom it was a Big Airport (TM) and it kind of stunk. The quaint taxiway names were not in use. I'd sit there and wait 20 minutes in line to take off behind traffic and pay for the whole thing.
If I somehow got the bug to go back and do it again and actually finish I would want to go to a smaller airport. But I'd probably end up back at Hanscom field cause at this point I live like a mile away and it would actually be convenient, even if I did have to sit there and hemorrhage money sitting in line to take off.
I did not really get the old man yelling at clouds vibe from him about glass cockpits. More like he finds the complication challenging.
In both cases things had not really progressed much at all beyond his experience 50 years ago. I learned the slide rules and the paper plotting and all that stuff just like him. I did have an electronic flight computer that was like a handheld calculator, but learning it all by hand was required. It is not hard to understand at all for anyone who was headed towards engineering. The radios were super primitive and didn't even have electronic displays, they had rotating dials inside the radio that just spun to the number.
By the time I took lessons at Hanscom it was a Big Airport (TM) and it kind of stunk. The quaint taxiway names were not in use. I'd sit there and wait 20 minutes in line to take off behind traffic and pay for the whole thing.
If I somehow got the bug to go back and do it again and actually finish I would want to go to a smaller airport. But I'd probably end up back at Hanscom field cause at this point I live like a mile away and it would actually be convenient, even if I did have to sit there and hemorrhage money sitting in line to take off.
I did not really get the old man yelling at clouds vibe from him about glass cockpits. More like he finds the complication challenging.