Who is a pilot?

[Aunt Kelly]

I know, Ilene. You use a different term, but you're still in the club. :)
At a GNO, a while back, we were surprised to learn that most of our small group were pilots. I recall hearing somewhere that there was statistically significant number is in the TG community.
So let's here it...

[Katherine L.]

Private pilot, single engine land, since 1975.

[jayme357]

Cfii. 1973.

[IleneD]

Here!
Military. Jets. Type rated in many.
FAA license but not current right now.

[Zoeytgtx]

CFII, and ATP. Typed in jets too. Can even repair them!!

[Beverley Sims]

I am a glider pilot, does that count?

[Rachelakld]

Legally trained for ground runs only, engine tests, compass swings etc but flown private and multi engines (with the pilot somewhere onboard) a few times.

[Jill_cd]

CFI (Certified Flight Instructor) Here's the next question: How many have gone flying while dressed?
I have not, ever. But if I owned my own plane, I would.

[Charona]

Private pilot, single engine land. Had started instrument training, but the local airport lost its FBO.

[DIANEF]

Don't know if it counts but I took the controls of a microlight aircraft over my uncle's farm in Australia many years ago, and I love aviation in general.

[Jackiefl]

Single & multi with instrument, type rated in many different aircraft

[Laura912]

Private, single engine land, multi engine land, instrument flight rules, rotor, several hours in glider but never got rating, six hours in left seat of a CJ3+ (one for bucket list), but never dressed and really want to.

[Michal82]

I am an aerospace engineer.
Flown several airplanes in various simulators.
Always wanted to become a pilot but never had enough money to learn.

[barbie lanai]

Single engine land -- instrument rating. Owned a Piper Cherokee 180 and have flown dressed. Out of medical now.

[joanne51]

Single engine, fixed wing private pilot (not current).

[char GG]

Private pilot since 1982. Trained in Cherokee 140, later Cessna 152. Currently have a light sport.

[susie evans]

ATP with float plane single and multi have actively flown since 1969 current in to types of jets citation 560 w/ single pilot endorsement and G550
Keep you nose up in the turn
And yes I have flown dressed
Susie

[kimdl93]

Student ‘pilot’. I’ve got a long ways to go!

Might I add that, thus far, I have an equal number of takeoffs and landings!

[vplshowoff]

Retired aerospace engineer.

[LRoberts]

Started flying as a freshman in High School.
Single Engine Land.
Jet time. Owned 2 each L-29's, Cessna. Now looking for another aircraft. Never flew pretty though. Next time I will!

[Aunt Kelly]

Started flying as a freshman in High School.
Single Engine Land.
Jet time. Owned 2 each L-29's, Cessna. Now looking for another aircraft. Never flew pretty though. Next time I will!

Now that is what I call an outlier - SEL license, jet owner (with time in type), ...who cross dresses. :)

[Melanie Moxon]

Started training in 2015, qualified PPL since 2016. Part owner in a Slingsby Firefly :)

[Rachael Leigh]

Flight sim 10 pilot lol, does that count? I did train for my license way back but never completed my training so now I just
talk to a lot of them as a weight and balance load planner for a major airline. So can I be in your club?

[biancabellelover]

Airline pilot. Multi-Engine Instrument rating.

Recently retired from Dash-8 flying.

Michelle

[Jeri Ann]

I had a friend that teaches simulator at Laughlin AFB in Del Rio, Texas. Twice he has gotten me into the base to fly the simulator. I have clocked four hours. At his suggestion, I even tried to land on the USS Lexington at Corpus Christi, Texas. I didn't make it. Good thing it was a simulator.

I wore clothes both times.

[suzy1]

Learned to fly in a Piper Cherokee. Money ran out, now grounded. :(

[alwayshave]

Private pilot since 1981.

[JeanTG]

Private pilot, SE land, since 1981. Night and VFR on top rated (Canadian license). No longer current, sold my plane last year (medical).

[Charlotte7]

I had enough lessons to go solo in a Cessna but wasn't able to take it any further - it got too expensive for me.

[Pat]

I was a private pilot back in the late 60's. I was also an Army helicopter pilot for a couple of months in the early 70's until Viet Nam ended and they had too many pilots on the rolls. I ended up in aircraft maintenance until the end of my hitch. I never continued flying after that. It's in the family though -- my brother flew C-130's doing famine relief in Africa and cargo 747's commercially, and my Mom was a ferry pilot during WWII.

[marti]

I have a Part 107 drone license. I don't have a manned aircraft license but I have been at the controls of helicopters and a blimp.

[Teresa]

Kim,
I had to smile at your reply ! What goes up must come down , it's good to hear you have an equal number !

I had enough qualifications to get a short service commission in the Royal Navy to fly helicopters, my job at that time was maintaining a large radar station for the R.A.F. so I read all the journals and safety records , helicopters didn't have a great safety record and recovering from an incident was not good so I took ther safe option and became a self employed photographer instead , the rest is history as they say !

[JulesLynne]

Military and commercial, ATP, private, couple type ratings and flying Boeings for a living now.

[Patricia_Campi]

Private Pilot since 2012!!

Dying to fly again!!

Kisses

Patricia

[April Rose]

I never got a license, but years ago I owned a share of a Piper Tri-pacer, and would fly it with the other owner in the next seat.

[Sheren Kelly]

Soloed at age 16, PPL at 17.
Former Navy Flight Officer
Commercial Pilot, Multi-engine & Instrument rated
Currently fly a TB20 Trinidad out of KFME

I Fly appropriately dressed for the occasion: https://www.crossdressers.com/forums/showthread.php?257017-Natl-Gay-Pilots-Assn-(NGPA)-outting&highlight=

[susie evans]

Pat
I met a lady ferry pilot many tears ago that had a little over 47000. Hours as PIC she had several milk crates of log books with notes from every flight they took she flew C47S out of Long Beach to England after that she flew mail in DC 3 S for the next 25 years she was a remarkable person
Susie

[Aunt Kelly]

I know that this entirely unscientific, but still, I am amazed at how many of us have our wings. BTW, IMO, if you've solo'd, in an honest to goodness aircraft (hang glider, balloon, P-51, whatever), you are a pilot.

[Connie.Marie]

Single engine, fixed wing private pilot (not current).
Flew the small Grumman American, Paid for by the US Army.
Haven't been in the left seat since 1977.

[Ineke Vashon]

About 4,000 hours, mostly commercial. Also rotorcraft and glider ratings, and 250 tows logged flying SuperCubs in a soaring club.

I, too, am amazed how many pilots there are on this forum. And we all dress pretty:c9:

Ineke

[Rachael Leigh]

I did solo and as I said many many years ago

[Janie Jane]

Two older brothers flew, one still flies left seat in a 777. Family ran out of money then. Does flying R/C count? Even had a couple of designs published. Nothing like flying a sailplane off a slope where you can reach out and tap it with your fingertips as it floats by!

[Nicole90]

Airline here! ATP, CFI and all that fun.

[Zoeytgtx]

We has this conversation during our weekend in Austin. Amazing how this very unscientific poll is backing this up. The topic centered around how many Cd and TG people seem to be associated in the aviation industry whether they be pilots, mechanics, or dispatchers. We tried to figure out what the corollation was. Why does one seem to attract the other??

[Debs]

jumped of babadag mountain in turkey, just over a mile high, glided down took 3/4 of an hour , wasn't going back down in that truck !!!!!, lol, Do I qualify ?

[Valentina_Rossi]

Hi!!!

That is peculiar. I am an aerospace and mechanical engineer😊

Love love
Val💋

[MiniRock]

Private pilot with about 900 hours, almost exclusively in my MCR01 homebuilt.

[Mandy T]

Not a pilot. Structural Maintenance and aircraft battle damage repairs USAF till 96.

[Kellitgdet]

Use to fly a Cessna, loved it. Priorities changed.

[Julie MA]

Former private pilot. Air Force crew. My father was a fighter pilot and commercial pilot. Doubt, very seriously, if he ever CDed

[kayegirl]

Use to fly a Cessna, loved it. Priorities changed.

Wow so many pilots, I'm a bit jealous now, so do we have any bus/coach drivers. I started after taking an early retirement from my long time career. Great fun most of the time,but those Hen parties were the worst.

[helicd]

Helicopter Pilot (Commercial, though haven't made a dime at it yet!)

[Charona]

Wow so many pilots, I'm a bit jealous now, so do we have any bus/coach drivers. I started after taking an early retirement from my long time career. Great fun most of the time,but those Hen parties were the worst.

Does a school bus count? I drove those for a few years.

[suzy1]

it depends on how fast you drove it Charona? The speed at which you attain lift in a school bus is.........errr, help me out here girls? :/

[kimdl93]

7.8 km/s (28,080 km/h) will get a bus into low earth orbit.

[MarciaMarsha]

I was in the Air Force, but not a pilot. And I drive for Uber now. Close enough? Lol

[sugababe]

i have an A&P certificate and have flow an f18 fighter plane/Apache helicopter military simulator

[BrendaAlexandra]

I soloed in a Cessna 150 and did some solo cross country time in a Grumman American TR2 when I was 18. Money ran short, then it was off to the navy and I never got back to it.

[Victoria_Winters]

Not a pilot but aircraft mechanic.

[Alice B]

My father in law had a hanger with 3 planes. Two were collector planes with cloth wings. The 3rd was a Censa 152, which he taught me to fly I could take off, land and plot routs. Had a lot of fun and as he got older I would fly him to an air ranch for breakfast. When he passed I wanted to keep the Censa, which had just been re-certified. My wife said no even thlough I wanted to take formalized lessions and get an official license. She said a boat is enough. Solf everything and had a lRGE AND FUN hanger sale.

[Aunt Kelly]

Does a school bus count? I drove those for a few years.

If you've done three touch and go's and a full stop, solo, and walked away, it counts. Personally, I'm skeptical. They don't fly worth a damn. I saw one given a head start (dropped from a Sikorsky Sky Crane at about 1200 ft AGL, as an air show gag). Their glide ratio is somewhat better than a grand piano, but they are unstable as all get-out, oscillating madly in pitch approaching v-ref. I don't think Bob Hoover himself could have made a decent landing in that thing.

[Susan Thomas]

Military and airline pilot here. On many occasions, I would wear panties under my flight suit. Not exactly like "Top Gun"! I think my passengers would be surprised to know that their male captain was wearing panties and nylons under his pilot uniform!

[Genni]

Great timing on this question! I just got current again with my pilot license after 30 years away from aviation. Now i am shopping for a plane to work on my instrument rating. It’s likely I’ll be looking for a CFII (ideally, or a CFI) to help me transition to complex and to ferry a Mooney from Florida to Colorado in the next few weeks. It never occurred to me that I might find help here!

[AllyCDTV]

FAA Part 107 UAS remote pilot. Would love to learn how to fly manned aircraft but it's probably too late for me now.

[Sashauk]

I'm truly amazed as to how many of you all are pilots. Personally I have flown lots but only ever in the rear seats.

I have a friend who was a training captain with KLM and his favourite saying was that every successful landing was a controlled crash - made me feel so much better about flying. :)

[helicd]

FAA Part 107 UAS remote pilot. Would love to learn how to fly manned aircraft but it's probably too late for me now.

They've made it pretty easy to fly nowadays (minus the money part of course!) Most schools have an intro flight offer that acts as kind of a first lesson and lets you play with the controls - go take one!


--Lisa--

[Kelli Jo-ann]

I'm an R/C pilot does that count? I fly a 1/5 scale P-51 Mustang and a 1/5 scale ov-10 Bronco. I tried flying full-scale once but didn't really care for it.

[Laura912]

Will take my hat off to the RC flyers. I would rather shoot an approach in 200 over, with RVR of three quarters. Every time I fly a RC, balsa gets bent.

[Michala]

Private pilot for many years. Loved flying but due to stents in my heart the FAA physicians decided I was unfit to fly. Hell, I'm in way better shape with the stents and losing 40# than when they let me fly all the time. got tired of the paperwork required to receive the flight medical. Miss it every time I see an airplane in the sky. Did most of my flying in a Cessna 172B.

[Aunt Kelly]

Yes, Laura. R/C flying is a different set of skills. The "control reversal" problem doesn't exist for pilots actually aboard their craft.��
Sashauk, the way I learned it was, "Any landing you can walk away from is a good one."

[Janie Jane]

If you've done three touch and go's and a full stop, solo, and walked away, it counts. Personally, I'm skeptical. They don't fly worth a damn. I saw one given a head start (dropped from a Sikorsky Sky Crane at about 1200 ft AGL, as an air show gag). Their glide ratio is somewhat better than a grand piano, but they are unstable as all get-out, oscillating madly in pitch approaching v-ref. I don't think Bob Hoover himself could have made a decent landing in that thing.

It was 40 years ago that I had the privilege of watching Bob Hoover, starting at about the altitude of that bus, kill the engines on his Shrike, do three loops, one barrel roll, over the runway, and a 180 at the end, and coast to a stop in front of the stands. I'm glad he is still remembered so fondly. He was a pilot's pilot.
Come to think of it, there was a guy in a dress pretending to be someone's widow who wanted one last ride, take off alone in a J3 Cub to do an aerobatics routine...….

[Aunt Kelly]

It was 40 years ago that I had the privilege of watching Bob Hoover, starting at about the altitude of that bus, kill the engines on his Shrike, do three loops, one barrel roll, over the runway, and a 180 at the end, and coast to a stop in front of the stands. I'm glad he is still remembered so fondly. He was a pilot's pilot.
Come to think of it, there was a guy in a dress pretending to be someone's widow who wanted one last ride, take off alone in a J3 Cub to do an aerobatics routine...….

Mr. Hoover was, for years, the safety pilot for the Reno National Championship Air Races. "Gentlemen, you have a race," is a phrase that I will always remember. It was the signal to field that the race was on, as he'd pull "Ol' Yeller", that familiar yellow P-51 up out of the formation to fly around over the race course, watching his "flock" as those Unlimited racers tore around the course. Over the years, I saw him literally save many, many lives and aircraft with his calm advice to pilots of stricken aircraft. And of course, yes, his airshow acts showed airmanship that was rarely equaled.

That "guy in the dress" was almost certainly Kent Peach, whose comedy acts in that J3 are also legendary. I'd forgotten that particular act. I guess we can include him in our club too. :)

[JennB]

Gotta say I am equally intrigued by the number of responses on this thread! Professional pilot for the full time living here also.

[KatrinaK]

Am I the only person on this forum who isn't a pilot? LOL

[Heidi Stevens]

I hold an out of compliance private pilot license. The cost to rent even Tomahawks and 150’s is too high. As well as the cost of a new physical and recertification. Therefore I remain earthbound.

[traciethetg]

I am not a pilot but I am a airplane mechanic.

[SusanLCD]

Private pilot 1975; Instrument rating 1994; about 850 hours, total. All private flying paid out of my pocket.

Because the cost is higher than my retirement income will allow, I'm no longer current amd it's likely I won't ever be, again. But, it has been fun.

Never flew dressed.

[Robinsinclair]

Private, SEL, Instrument, 4500 hours plus. Currently flying 150-200 hours a year.

Interesting thread, 590K pilots in USA, another 200K to 300K in the rest of the world.... .19% of population in USA, less elsewhere. No idea how the number in this thread relates to the number of forum users....

[Marissa_M]

I am not a pilot but I am a airplane mechanic.
Same here! They bend 'em, we mend 'em! :heehee:

[JennB]

I have never left the house as "Jenn", but this threat has strangely got me thinking the first outside aventure in persona may be to fly. I am thinking a night flight, in the plane my wife and I own, at our home airport that is rural, and unlikely to see anyone else. But for some reason the love of flying and the thought of flying in my "Jenn" persona feels like it may be the ideal first out of the house experience (other than a Halloween trip I made a couple years ago that I think only marginally counts).....maybe it's time to let two loves come together.

[Katya@]

Private Pilot, Single Engine Land. VFR only. Didn't fly for 9 years. The thought of flying fully dressed came number of times to me. Always thought about this as a total and ultimate freedom. Electrolysis is sucking all the extra cash I have. Maybe in few years when electrolysis will be completed, I will consider again to fly occasionally.

[Brenda456]

Single engine land with complex and high performance endorsements.

[Kat42]

*raises hand* CP, AZSMEL, IA* here. first certificated +30 yrs ago. Now +2800 hrs and paid for every one of 'em. Never flew pretty but thought about it a lot.. I mean the idea of cutting across the desert in a short skirt/bra/panties & top seems awesome. But never figured out how to cover the few feet to embark/debark said wings... without undue disclosure.

Interesting correlation though!

* (Commercial rated, Zero, Single, Multi engine land. Zero engine == glider) Instrument airplane.

[JeanTG]

got tired of the paperwork required to receive the flight medical. Miss it every time I see an airplane in the sky. Did most of my flying in a Cessna 172B.

Basically the same reason I quit. With me it's hereditary type II diabetes. I can ride my bike 160 km (100 miles); three weeks ago I rode my bike 5 km (53 miles) without stopping or unclipping from the pedals, including a category 3 climb of 3 km. But Transport Canada wanted me to jump through so many hoops to renew my medical, and our medical system is so overloaded that I would have to go to the private sector (yet more $$$), I just gave up and sold my aerobatic Beech Sundowner last year. Over the years, besides the Sundowner, I owned a C150, Cherokee 140 and Beech Skipper. All in my past now. Now my passion is riding carbon-fiber road bikes.

I miss the flying, but not the expenses. But roaring down steep grades at 80 km/h (50 mph) on skinny road bike tires has it's own kind of thrill :D

[NjJamie]

USAF pilot, followed by years flying for an agency to not be named here. I also flew hang gliders, ultra-lights, some stick time in helo's, just missing the Balloon and Gyroplane. Never thought about combining the two "hobbies" but that might just be because it didn't come up.