Getting my Pilot's License

[republic]

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?

[Shelldrake]

You lucky dog! Let us know how it goes. :)

[republic]

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.

[DoctorQuest]

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."

[bob48]

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.

[republic]

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.

[Toonces]

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."

[Con]

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

[Ubercat]

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.

[Ubercat]

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.

[Tuna]

Good luck Republic!... I wish I could pursue that dream!.. I should've done it back when my wife suggested 15 years ago!

[republic]

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...

[GDS_Starfury]

great hobbies are rarely cheap ones.

[DoctorQuest]

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.

[DoctorQuest]

great hobbies are rarely cheap ones.

You know that's right.........