Finally did it! :D

[Joe Crecente]

Those silly people at the FAA actually licensed me as of the 27th of March to be a Private Pilot. Hope to get endorsed in the Maule within the month of April, then I can fly to the Maule annual flyin instead of driving. Looking forward to buzzing around Florida and Georgia.

[Chris in Milwaukee]

Congratulations to you!

[gbarrier]

Congrats. Flying the Maule as a fresh private pilot is quite an accomplishment as compared to what many private pilots manage to do.

[BamaMaule]

Congrats, Joe! Way to go!

[MizzouMaule]

Atta Boy, Joe!

Start checking calendars for possible fly-ins. Don't forget TheRAF.org has quite a few. As I see others, I'll let you know!

Congratulations!!!!

[Victor Gennaro]

Buy a big map and put it on the wall, then mark all the places you have landed.
You will smile every time you look at it. Put a star for all the grass and unimproved strips because that is what your plane is made for. Have fun!

[AndrewK]

Congrats and enjoy!

[mx180a]

Great job!!!

[Flyhound]

Woo Hoo! Let the serious learning begin. Work on incremental and steady expansion of your flying skills and experience. Your goal should be to get too the point where you can safely and comfortably enjoy all of the Maule's capabilities. It will be a long and interesting journey.

[superd58]

Joe, you rock!------Enjoy!

[mauledrvr]

WoooWhooo!
The adventure begins, Best to Ya

[chazdevil]

Well Done.

[captnkirk]

Congrats I just came back from sun n fun and am flying a trip for work. Now the adventure begins have fun and never stop learning.

[Joe Crecente]

Thanks to all for the congrats. Hope to see y'all at the flyins.
On another note, I just checked with AOPA about seeing if I could get my premiums reduced now that i have my PPL, They had previously told me I could do that mid-term but now they say not. Hopefully the next year's will be greatly reduced.

[MizzouMaule]

Thanks to all for the congrats. Hope to see y'all at the flyins.
On another note, I just checked with AOPA about seeing if I could get my premiums reduced now that i have my PPL, They had previously told me I could do that mid-term but now they say not. Hopefully the next year's will be greatly reduced.

Joe, I was in the same place as you when I bought mine 1 1/2 years ago.

$3,800 since I only had 120 hours total pilot time and about 15 in tailwheel which was basically my tailwheel endorsement flying. They also wanted me to get an additional 10 hours with instructor before flying it by myself.

So, I was determined to get 100 hours on my plane to see how it affected my insurance. When I renewed, I then had 238 total pilot time, 105 tailwheel and 90 in model. They don't ask how many landings you do, so just fly around in circles if you have to and get to 100 hours.

When I renewed, it reduced $800 - still pretty high in total so we'll see what happens this fall when I renew again.

But... They also gave me "Policy Extension" for that price which now covers Canada and Mexico, if I ever use it, but good to know.

Also for an additional $25 this year I qualified for and was allowed to get - -- - Bahamas & Carribean - No Cuba or Haiti (as IF)!
- Spare parts coverage if they're damaged in hangar
- Emergency Landing coverage
- Portable avionics coverage
- Hurricane protection
- Aircraft Value Appreciation (I appreciate it EVERY day)
- Search & Rescue espenses
- Non-owned hull coverage.

So, it did come down and I got much more expanded cverage.

Bottom line......Keep flying!!!!