Dash01

We did the 16 year old son thing with my 944 Turbo. Worked out great right up to the point of impact with the guard rail... OTOH, the deputy wrote no ticket since the guard rail was not damaged. Made for interesting conversations vis who pays what for repairs, vs. making insurance claim which would have increased premiums for a decade.

Moral of the story: Spoil the rod and spare the kid.

OTOH, things turned out OK, and now he's a USMC pilot, looking for 'cheap' Porsches to fix up.

lowpue

Thank your son for his service....sounds like we are following in your footstpes…

And Froog….he drives the 410HP 996 and I drive the 993. He is not allowed to pass me.

TonyTwoBags

Is the 3.8 broken in yet? Cars look great.

lowpue

Not quite, though my first track day the car was spectacular. More power than I know what to do with and will need to grow into it. R&T GT3 suspension is real nice...better than the JRZs I had before. Shifting with 997 tranny is much more crisp. THe sound is out of this world. Two things I need to still look into is oil consumption is a bit high compared to before and I need to have Dundon still tune the ECU for smoother variocam transitions at 2500-3000RPM. I still owe a post on what I did to the car. Thanks for asking.

docmirror

Good times. My son drove the 928GT to high school for a year or so. Some kids handle responsibility well, some do not. Sounds like your son is worthy of the joy driving a nice Porsche.

As for the Air Farce, well the future is drone pilots on the ground driving the fast movers with the star on the side. If he wants to actually FLY a plane, recommend the Navy or Marines. They will not be doing night-carrier ops for fighter jets from the comfort of a Barcalounger for a while. HS curriculum heavy in math, science, and he might just go get his pilot license in the mean time. Have his eyes, teeth, hearing, and balance checked well before committing.

good luck

lowpue

Yep...thanks...he is exploring Navy as well for the very reason you state....he has flown already with an instructor and has taken ground school when he was 14 (I took it with him) but they would not let him take the test....currently studying to take it this summer.

docmirror

People think I'm crazy(well, I am) but here's my recommendation for anyone trying to fly for a living. Buy the oldest, rattiest tailwheel low power plane you can find. Learn to fly that. It's all about energy management, and a low power tailwheel plane will make a great pilot for the Navy/Marines. Tailwheel landing requires skills that can't be taught any other way. Short field work, energy control, and with limited power, the desire to go around when things get bad is a very real test of decision-making. Pilotage is like blue water sailing. It is not inherently a difficult thing, but the plane in the air, like a small ship at sea is not forgiving of mistakes. One becomes a master,,, or one gives up and learns carpentry instead. (apologies to any carpenters in advance)

hauspwr

OP- Those pictures are AMAZING!

One of the reasons I bought my 996 is because I wanted my kids to have that experience and responsibility when they were ready for it. My almost 17 year old gets to drive the 996 every once in a while, and he's incredibly appreciative, and completely addicted to the 996! He understands responsibility way more than I did at that age and I'm glad he can have this experience every once in a while!