Meeting My Son by Airplane | Zero to ATP in a $27K Plane

Garmin G3X Touch + GTN 750Xi + GFC 500 in a V-tail Bonanza—real-world IFR usage, setup, and mistakes to avoid Welcome back to The Rusty Pilot. Today I’m flying the Bonanza out of Addison (KADS) up to Ardmore, Oklahoma (KADM) to grab lunch with my oldest boy, Joshua. He’s going zero to ATP, sitting around 500 hours, and grinding six to eight hours a day in a little $27,000 VFR time builder that I swear looks like Luke Skywalker’s speeder. This one isn’t just a quick $100 hamburger run — it’s a look at two different journeys: Mine: coming back after time away and learning to be confident again His: starting from scratch, betting on himself, and building a flying career the hard way We’ll talk headwinds, stabilized approaches, why the Bonanza feels so steady in crosswinds, and why good instructors are worth their weight in gold. If you’re a parent watching your kid chase a dream, you’ll understand this one. 👉 Join the Rusty Pilot Deal Desk community: https://www.skool.com/rusty-pilot-dea... 00:00 Flying to Ardmore to meet Joshua 00:55 Departing Addison (KADS) 02:10 Climb out + settling in 05:00 Leaning + cruise talk 05:56 Two story arcs: redemption & discovery 06:30 Arrival setup into Ardmore (KADM) 07:52 Crosswind confidence in the Bonanza 09:12 First look at the FBO / line shack 10:10 Plain Crazy Cantina / airport restaurant 10:58 Joshua arrives in the AA-1B time builder 12:00 “Amateur hour” GPS routing + flight following talk 14:40 Food review + why this airport is worth the stop 15:45 The realities of a small trainer (no ADS-B, radios, density altitude) 17:35 “Buy a cheap airplane and go fly” 18:50 Proud dad moment + networking advice 20:25 Fuel talk + ramp banter 22:55 Filing IFR / heading back 23:47 The helicopter ride that changed everything 24:09 Family trauma, resolve, and the journey