Hey guys, just an FYI, I passed my practical flight exam yesterday. So, that is a big load off my shoulders as I don't need to spend every day at the airport from now on... sorry for not being around on the forum too much the past few weeks while I got it done. I'm back!

For those interested, the flight test itself went well. We did a combination of takeoffs and landings, navigation, aircraft control exercises, emergency procedures and instrument flying. Now I only need to study and write the written exam to get my license. Should be another month or so for that, but not as time-consuming as the flight test prep.

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"Look, when I was a kid, I inhaled frequently. That was the point." - Barack Obama

Congratulations!!

I'll let you take a few practice runs to Monticello then race you there in the Porsche.

Congrats Ramon,
What airport are you flying out of ?

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If your exhaust tip is larger than your cylinder bore, then you are a ricer.

Thanks, guys!

I did all of my training out of City Centre (CYTZ). The designated practice are for the region is around Claremont, which means a 15 min flight from the island (East to Pickering, then North to Claremont). Usually, I'd head towards Port Perry / Lake Scugog to find some room to practice. It can get pretty crowded, though!

During my training, I've also landed at Peterborough, Lindsay, Muskoka, Markham, Buttonville and Holland Landing. While City Centre has the Porter planes to contend with, Buttonville is by far the busiest airport of that bunch.

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"Look, when I was a kid, I inhaled frequently. That was the point." - Barack Obama

And they want to close buttonville down. I wonder where all that excess traffic will go.

Congrats on passing your test. Is this your first rating?

Thanks, Mark!! I did fly directly over Mosport on my first solo cross-country flight during training. I was at about 5500 ft, though, so couldn't see much detail. Still, neat to see the track from up there.

On a side note, one of the other student pilots accidentally buzzed a funeral while practicing forced landings a few weeks ago. He felt pretty bad!!

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"Look, when I was a kid, I inhaled frequently. That was the point." - Barack Obama

Thanks, and yes, private pilot license is my first rating. Before the end of the season, I would like to get my night rating as well as get type rated for the Cirrus SR22 aircraft: CIRRUS | SR22. It is significantly faster than the Cessna 172 I have been using for training and more suitable for cross-country trips due to its glass cockpit and advanced avionics.

Beyond that, I'd like to get my instrument rating and multi-engine rating. No plans, at this point anyway, to get a commercial license.

I hadn't heard anything about Buttonville closing. If that happened, yeah, it could get pretty messy!

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"Look, when I was a kid, I inhaled frequently. That was the point." - Barack Obama

Congrats Ramon. You should do a fly-by during the ALMS race

Been rumours and speculation for a few years. Seems they are hanging by as thread. Here's an article from The Star back in Feb 2009
TheStar.com | GTA | Buttonville airport risks closing

And another article from Apr 2009
http://www.yorkregion.com/News/Regio.../article/56929

Here's an article from 2007 from York Region news.
York region - Uncertain times for Buttonville Airport

I'll be sad to see it go. I did my flight training 20+ years ago when the airport was in Maple on Major Mack (just before they built Wonderland). I never did finish due to a motorcycle accident I was in.