I am in the process of buying an RV8 and have been debating for weeks what I wanted to do for ?transition training?. I had friends suggest going up in a -6 or -7 tailwheel. Then had a couple suggest local instructors who could ?ride along? for my required insurance hours. Others said that some instructors have you sit in the back of the plane for your hours (what does that teach me right now since I won?t be flying it from the back?!?!). After reading other member?s reviews of flying with Bruce Bohannon, I decided to make the trip to Houston (where I?m originally from and still have family) and go spend a few days down in Angleton. Hands down this was the BEST decision I?ve ever made in flight training! I can?t speak highly enough of flying with Bruce. He?s a stick and rudder guy who will teach you how to be safe and also show you where the limits are. I came in with a tailwheel rating and not a lot of tailwheel time. I am far from ?good? at 3pt landings but I am not worried about them in the -8.
As others stated, there are some things that will probably rub you wrong if you have thin skin. He smokes (which he admits is horrible). He is opinionated about everything so don?t go in trying to ?prove? your point or your views. He has no politically correct or sensitivity filter. If you do a sh*t job or bounce one in, he?ll flat out tell you without sugar coating. If you go in thinking you?re just trying to check a box, you?ve wasted a GOLDEN opportunity to learn and better yourself as a pilot.
I went to Bruce with ZERO expectations or preconceived ideas. I wanted to soak up as much as I could. At one point we were on downwind during landing practice and he says ?I?m talking to you as if you are some student pilot? to which I replied ?Bruce I AM a student pilot! I may have Thousands of hours in my logbook but I?ve only got a small amount of tailwheel time so I AM a student!? If you approach it from that mentality and you are open to learning, you?ll take away 10x more in knowledge than what you paid for! How do you not learn from someone who?s set several world records and had 25 (that he can account for) engine failures in flight and dead sticked to a safe landing most of those. Once he was comfortable with my crappy (but safe) landings, we did some ?upset recovery? training. Again, how does anyone NOT find value in that since you?re purchasing (or building) a plane you?ll likely want or need that skill set. Most people can jump in a plane and throw the stick around, but I wanted to know how to do things 1) safely 2) correctly and 3) comfortably.
This isn?t to say you can?t find good instructors out there who can or will provide training but I wanted to share my experience to help others who might be facing the same decision I was. Safe flying to all!
As others stated, there are some things that will probably rub you wrong if you have thin skin. He smokes (which he admits is horrible). He is opinionated about everything so don?t go in trying to ?prove? your point or your views. He has no politically correct or sensitivity filter. If you do a sh*t job or bounce one in, he?ll flat out tell you without sugar coating. If you go in thinking you?re just trying to check a box, you?ve wasted a GOLDEN opportunity to learn and better yourself as a pilot.
I went to Bruce with ZERO expectations or preconceived ideas. I wanted to soak up as much as I could. At one point we were on downwind during landing practice and he says ?I?m talking to you as if you are some student pilot? to which I replied ?Bruce I AM a student pilot! I may have Thousands of hours in my logbook but I?ve only got a small amount of tailwheel time so I AM a student!? If you approach it from that mentality and you are open to learning, you?ll take away 10x more in knowledge than what you paid for! How do you not learn from someone who?s set several world records and had 25 (that he can account for) engine failures in flight and dead sticked to a safe landing most of those. Once he was comfortable with my crappy (but safe) landings, we did some ?upset recovery? training. Again, how does anyone NOT find value in that since you?re purchasing (or building) a plane you?ll likely want or need that skill set. Most people can jump in a plane and throw the stick around, but I wanted to know how to do things 1) safely 2) correctly and 3) comfortably.
This isn?t to say you can?t find good instructors out there who can or will provide training but I wanted to share my experience to help others who might be facing the same decision I was. Safe flying to all!
