I've decided I want to throw some money away and achieve a lifelong dream... I'm currently shopping around at flight schools to get started on my Private Pilot License. Any tips from the community?
You lucky dog! Let us know how it goes. :)
Its going to take awhile...this definitely not the best time financially...but I figure if I wait until I can easily afford it, I'll never do it.
Check out the FAA websites. Lot's of good info on the written test. I assume you have your med certificate?
I would not worry about too much about flight schools until you get past your medical and the written test. Quick advice: Look for a small airport with training facilities. You may save a few dollars there.
and always remember: "If God had meant Man to fly, He would have given him more money."
Good luck with that.
I have a buddy who took lessons (in a Piper Warrior) and I went up as a back-seat passenger a couple of times. He did manage to log a couple of solo hours but then had to give it up because of the cost.
The flying club is attached to the local airport, so every landing and take off costs extra, and that's expensive when you're doing 'circuits and bumps'.
He had one nasty moment on one of his solo flights when he hit some turbulence caused by a recently landed airliner and had to do an MA. I think he needed a change of underwear after that one.
See its those nickel and dime costs I don't know about that I'm worried about. Landing/Takeoff fees, etc.
I'm lucky because there seems to be quite a few training facilities, though all of them are a 2 hour drive away... I'm currently shopping around. Some offer a blanket fee of say $8000 that cover up to 50 hours of flight time, and all associated training. Others offer 'clubs' you pay monthly into that then give you discounted rental rates.
Some rentals are 'wet' some are 'dry'....
I'm going to collect all of the info and then plug it all into Excel to figure out what will work best. Ugh.
I think I've read that $10000 is a nice round approximation of what it costs to get your PPL. You may need to adjust up or down based on location- up in the northeast, down in Florida/Arizona.
The only real advice I have is, "Trim is your friend."
I got my glider pilot license back about 15 years ago. I did it through a local club where you paid dues as well as having to do a certian number of hours of volunteer work (runway FOD, holding gliders for takeoffs, towing the planes etc).
You were able to use the club planes (but they were all beat to crap as one would expect since they were given to student pilots...built rugged though but glided like a shit brickhouse compared to the sleek aerodynamic modern planes).
All in all it was good fun and if I had the time I would love to take it up again. Its a very visceral type of flying sort of like the difference between motoring across an ocean or sailing it.
One great thing for me was that glider pilots dont need to pass a physical. so lots of older pilots who start failing their med physicals transition to gliders. Scary I know but back when I was training we must have had a dozen WWII and Korean war vets as club members. Sitting around the table between flights listening to these guys discuss the best way to attack a FW190 or how much damage a bomber could take was great. Only to hear a voice with a German accent then chime in with a different take.
I wish I had recorded those bull sessions with those old buzzards
Con
Quote from: Toonces on May 05, 2014, 09:28:47 PM
I think I've read that $10000 is a nice round approximation of what it costs to get your PPL. You may need to adjust up or down based on location- up in the northeast, down in Florida/Arizona.
The only real advice I have is, "Trim is your friend."
It cost me $6,300 and change in '98.
Quote from: DoctorQuest on May 05, 2014, 11:44:13 AM
Check out the FAA websites. Lot's of good info on the written test. I assume you have your med certificate?
I would not worry about too much about flight schools until you get past your medical and the written test. Quick advice: Look for a small airport with training facilities. You may save a few dollars there.
and always remember: "If God had meant Man to fly, He would have given him more money."
I didn't take the written until I had a good 30+ hours of flying and plenty of ground school. I'd say there's no set order. Both are required to get your license. The medical should be a piece of cake, especially if you aren't planning on going commercial.
You'll probably still have to pay for a certain amount of "ground" school. At Hortman Aviation where I learned, the cost for groundschool was about $25 an hour. The instructor got paid $10 of that and the school got the rest. I was very lucky. My best friend was working on his CFI and practiced groundschool lessons on his gf and I. We got that part of it for free! The plane cost at least twice as much as class time did.
Edit: As long as you aren't soloing, you shouldn't need the medical just to fly. It's really nothing to worry about unless you think you might have a health issue.
The planes we learned in were Grumman trainers; none have been built since 1977! They're tougher to handle than Cessna 152's which most ppl learn to fly in. The reasoning was that if students learn in a plane like that, others should be easier. I've never even been in a small Cessna.
Good luck Republic!... I wish I could pursue that dream!.. I should've done it back when my wife suggested 15 years ago!
Reality is beginning to sink in as I try and finagle a way to do this... The best option I've found so far is a nearby "flying club" where I pay $60 a month and then get to rent a plane for $100 an hour (with free fuel). However...Dammit Jim (as some of you may remember him) has put a temporary additional burden on my finances. As soon as he can eat people food and doesn't sh*t himself I can probably easily cover the monthly club frees and be able to fly a couple of hours every other month.
Though at that pace it'll probably take forever to get my license...but that's ok. The idea of being able to fly even a couple times a year (even if it is next to an instructor) is VERY appealing.
I also might luck into befriending someone who owns their own plane and would let me use it.
It would probably be a lot cheaper if I was addicted to crack instead of aviation...
great hobbies are rarely cheap ones.
Quote from: Ubercat on May 05, 2014, 10:50:16 PM
Quote from: DoctorQuest on May 05, 2014, 11:44:13 AM
Check out the FAA websites. Lot's of good info on the written test. I assume you have your med certificate?
I would not worry about too much about flight schools until you get past your medical and the written test. Quick advice: Look for a small airport with training facilities. You may save a few dollars there.
and always remember: "If God had meant Man to fly, He would have given him more money."
I didn't take the written until I had a good 30+ hours of flying and plenty of ground school. I'd say there's no set order. Both are required to get your license. The medical should be a piece of cake, especially if you aren't planning on going commercial.
You'll probably still have to pay for a certain amount of "ground" school. At Hortman Aviation where I learned, the cost for groundschool was about $25 an hour. The instructor got paid $10 of that and the school got the rest. I was very lucky. My best friend was working on his CFI and practiced groundschool lessons on his gf and I. We got that part of it for free! The plane cost at least twice as much as class time did.
Edit: As long as you aren't soloing, you shouldn't need the medical just to fly. It's really nothing to worry about unless you think you might have a health issue.
The planes we learned in were Grumman trainers; none have been built since 1977! They're tougher to handle than Cessna 152's which most ppl learn to fly in. The reasoning was that if students learn in a plane like that, others should be easier. I've never even been in a small Cessna.
I can't argue with Ubercat's advice. I just happened to want to get my medical out of the way. I feel the same way about the written test. It will be awhile before I can plunk down any money for flight lessons. Why not get the cheap stuff out of the way first?
Good luck. Keep us aprised of your progress.
Quote from: GDS_Starfury on May 07, 2014, 07:42:35 PM
great hobbies are rarely cheap ones.
You know that's right.........
I can't help wonder if the cost/benefit is there for a PPL. Let's say you drop the 10k to get your license. That's an awful lot of money and then what? You have the privilege of spending $100/hour to fly?
A smarter move might be to find a friend that has his PPL and co-pilot on some flights. Split the gas money. That way you get some stick time and see what flying is all about without dropping a buttload of cash on it.
I dunno, this has always been sort of hard for me to get. As part of my Navy flight training I got all of my civilian ratings, but I have a whole 1 hour of civilian time. I just have never thought flying was cool enough to spend that kind of money on. But, I don't have buckets of money either.
how much have you spent on surf boards Toonces?
between pc's, games, models, model supplies and all the other shit I do I've spent way more money then a PPL with a few years of flight time thrown in. JH could outright buy a second home with his collection.
what ya want to do is what ya want to do.
For me the ultimate goal is to eventually own my own (quite used) airplane and fly whenever I'd like. Though I am poor and starving now...I don't intend to stay that way forever.
Good luck with all if it!
Quote from: republic on May 08, 2014, 02:58:59 PM
For me the ultimate goal is to eventually own my own (quite used) airplane and fly whenever I'd like. Though I am poor and starving now...I don't intend to stay that way forever.
I have actually heard that is the best way to do it.
I've found a newly created flying club nearby (1.5 hrs away...) and they are having a fly in next month. I figure that would be a great place to get to know some people and maybe mooch a ride. I told the owner of the airport I'd volunteer my IT services or manual labor this summer.
I'd gladly work my tail off all day for just 30 minutes in the air lol
Sounds promising, especially if you can trade off some skills to get a few free flights. Go for it!
Quote from: republic on May 10, 2014, 07:19:54 AM
I've found a newly created flying club nearby (1.5 hrs away...) and they are having a fly in next month. I figure that would be a great place to get to know some people and maybe mooch a ride. I told the owner of the airport I'd volunteer my IT services or manual labor this summer.
I'd gladly work my tail off all day for just 30 minutes in the air lol
In the early days of flight a lot of folks did it this way......