Learning to Fly
Having been interested in airplanes even as a child, I finally got my Private Pilot Certificate on May 29th, 2000. I finished my Instrument rating on April 10th, 2002. For those who might be interested in learning to fly there are many resources available on the web to help you find a place near you.
Isn't learning to fly expensive?
Like most other things in life, you can spend as much money as you want, but for most mere mortals cost is an issue.
The amount of money required to get your Private Pilot Certficate varies depending on the airport you fly from, your level of commitment, your availability to fly, the type of airplane you fly and the type of flight school you choose.
The average is probably between $3500 and $5000.
Big schools, little school and all in between
Larger airports charge higher hangar and office rent, so the bigger and more complex the airport, the more your training will cost. Not only that, but the rent on the airplane is based on the amount of time the engine is running, so at busy airports, you might have to wait your turn behind other airplanes that are taking off or landing.
If you are an unusually large specimen, you will need a bigger airplane. Bigger airplanes cost more and use more fuel, so they also cost more to rent. Count on $50-80 and hour for a two-seater and $75-125 for a four seater. Oh yeah, faster costs more, too.
Finally, the type school you choose will also be a factor. Individual instruction is by the hour. You rent the airplane and pay an instructor an hourly fee to fly. The longer it takes you to learn, the more it costs. if you are a fast learner and have plenty of free time, this may be the cheapest route. Professional flight schools are essentially flight colleges and have tuition fees. The advantage is that the instructor is usually paid by the school. The only problem with these schools is that their training is operated like a college course, so it will be a fast paced, high workload environment. Most of the instructors at these schools are working to build hours for a professional flying career, so you may go through several in a very short period of time. This can cost you more because evey instructor does things differently, so you often have to "unlearn" what someone else has taught you and then learn a new way.
Little Big School
I found a local community college that offered flight training and enrolled there. This way I get the benefits of the professional school, like standardized high quality training and reduced training time requirements, but the scheduling requirements are not so tough and none of the instructors are job hunting. This is the real bargain in learning to fly, if you can find a school like this.
How can I minimize my training cost?
One of the greatest tools for learning to fly is the Microsoft Flight Simulator series. Some of the latest versions are too complex for older computers to run smoothly, but the older versions like 95 and 98 fly very realistically and feature most airports and navaids in the USA with a high degree of accuracy. Local scenery areas can also be downloaded from various internet sites to make you feel right at home. Cross country flights are a breeze if you have already flown over the area, used the navaids(navigation radios) and actually landed at and taxied on the airport.
Practice on the sim is a lot cheaper than in the rented airplane!
Nothing will save you more money than hard work. Learn all you can on the ground, before you get in the airplane. Know what you are going to do on a lesson before you take off. Ask any questions you have on the ground before the flight begins and jot down any questions that come to mind while flying for review after landing. Remember, rent on the plane is charged anytime the prop is turning.
Try to stay with one instructor. Jumping from one instructor to another will invariably cause conflicts as noted above.
Also, the more you can get out and fly, the less time it will take you. Plan to fly at least twice a week. That way if the weather goes sour, you can get in at least one flight a week. This flying stuff is not like riding a bicycle... you will get rusty!
Seems like a lot of money
It's just a matter of priorities. I don't own a new car or new motorcycle, I don't own a fishing boat, and I don't own a personal watercraft. I can see these things on the ground as I fly over them, however, which is something that very few people can do!
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