If I paid for grad school, it would work out to be $70/hr.

$100/hr for flying lessons doesn't seem too outrageous compared to that.

8/18/2007 1:07:30 AM

I spent around $4000 to get my PPL. One of the big advantages from learning from Empire Aviaition with Paul. I dont mind sharing the cost of the plane. The 1/4 partnership was $20k. Now, trust me when I say the 20k to get is is probably the smallest cost of all the costs to own. Last year alone, on maintenance, my share was close to $4000 [it was an expensive annual]. I flew it around 100 hours ($55 an hour is an average), so that was $5500. So that is around 10k in just the maintenance and flying expenses for one year. Thats not counting a loan if you need one for the 20k. A few of the things I am not looking forward to is spending $30,000 on a new engine in 1-2 years, and 15k in panel upgrades. So keeping an airplane, even a 1/4 share, is damned expensive. There are cheaper planes than mine, however, as well as 'optional' costs that my partnership avails itself to in order to keep the plane fresh.

8/18/2007 10:04:10 AM

Thanks for the info. That is somewhere reasonably close to what I was expecting to hear on the costs. I'm going to start reading some books to get an idea on the basics then begin persuing this for real

8/18/2007 10:24:56 AM

I found a flight school up here charging $60/hr solo and $113/hr with instructor...not bad at all. I'm going to budget 8K, and try to fly twice a week till I can get my PPL.

8/18/2007 10:43:43 AM

How you been Joshua?

8/18/2007 11:25:01 AM

I work at Marshall Space Flight Center on Redstone Arsenal (NASA shares the arsenal with the Army) in Huntsville, AL.

http://www.flyingactivity.com/

Looking at the prices on there, instructor rates are $22/hr, and the cheapest aircraft (Cessna 152) is $65/hr.

8/18/2007 1:32:08 PM

^ Thats cheap as hell Sounds like to place to go in your area!

8/18/2007 1:34:05 PM

I've been good. Living and working in the mountians of VA. I'll be starting flight school after the first of the year. You?

8/18/2007 4:14:28 PM

Living at Myrtle Beach on the weekends, working in Spartanburg during the week.. and trying to find some time to learn to fly

8/18/2007 9:05:44 PM

Quote :

"Lastly, Until you know what you're doing stay the fuck away from military fields. If one more of you fucking cessna guys cuts me off in the VFR pattern or doesn't know he's flying strait through a final approach course for the approach in use for a 130,000lb airplane and makes me go missed I'm gonna fucking scream!!! "

Wizzkidd, the simplest thing to do if someone cuts you off is go to hoverstop and switch to guns.

8/19/2007 11:36:22 AM

Recieved this e-mail from a friend


WAKE TECH PVT PILOT GND SCH


Cost is $60.00 plus books which run about $100. You will
also need a E6B and Plotter. The class will run 12 weeks beginning
AUGUST THE 27th at WAKE TECH room 217. That is above the library on the
back side of the building.

It is a good class to take even if you are NOT planning on getting your
license. To register you can call WAKE TECH AT 919-866-5801 / 5802 this is the
main switchboard for continuing education. They can direct you on how
to get registered.

8/28/2007 8:40:49 PM

Ground school is cheap. Empire Aviation does the same thing. Paul charges less than $60 for the ground school. But ground school is ground school, so if you get it anywhere, its better than nothing.

8/29/2007 9:45:50 AM

Quote :

"Wizzkidd, the simplest thing to do if someone cuts you off is go to hoverstop and switch to guns. "

yea.. b/c prop guys can do that at 150KIAS. Have fun on the boat, my coffee is getting cold and i have a NFO who's making me a hot pocket.

8/30/2007 1:03:04 AM

ttt

9/17/2007 1:43:41 PM

New Cessna 162 may help fuel some private pilots

9/19/2007 9:54:05 AM

Like my grandfather always said, "You can do anything you want, just not everything".

My wife and I talked over our finances, and we decided even if I did get my PPL, I wouldn't be able to afford to fly as much as I wanted to without cutting into our savings, so.....
....I'm going to hold off on the PPL, and get a gliding licesnse instead. It'll still allow me to fly at a fraction of the cost, and we'll be able to build some wealth in the meantime. I'll go back in for my PPL in a few years. So the question is, any of you guys have your gliding license? Thoughts, suggestions?

9/24/2007 10:57:32 PM

is a sailplane flying really any cheaper, by the time you factor in paying for tows and stuff?

9/24/2007 11:36:57 PM

Yeah, I think so. When I went for my glider ride, I asked about getting a license, and it turned out that it would cost like 2K, and once you're a member (like $200/yr + $30/mo), you get tows for like $10, $15, $20 for 5, 10, and 15 thousand ft. Sure beats $100+/hr flying cost of a cessna....and in reality, by not spending all that dough on PPL so soon (but getting my GL) it will enable the wife and I to own a plane a lot sooner than if I straight up got my PPL.

(Although, i think it would be fun to be a tow plane....take off, release, and land all day long.)

9/24/2007 11:45:24 PM

Being in a tow plane would be crappy as hell.. all you're doing is pattern work and if some guy doesn't know to stay close to the ground on take-off then you're fucked (I'm not sure how often the latter happens.)


Also... how are you getting towed to 15K... isn't hypoxia a factor up there.. .or is that only if you're up there for an hour or two? (I know at FL290 it hits in about 2min, thank you US Navy!)

[Edited on September 25, 2007 at 12:40 AM. Reason : .]

9/25/2007 12:40:19 AM

i think the FARs would require you to have either O2 or cabin px, but it would take you a while to get hypoxic at 15k.

9/25/2007 1:47:20 AM

some gliders have O2 systems, so they can get up to 20,000+ on a good day.

9/25/2007 7:11:38 AM

then you'd be in Class-A airspace, which would require you and the glider to be instrument rated/certified.

i find it hard to believe that there are IFR equipped sailplanes.


but yeah, throwing a bottle of O2 into a glider shouldn't be a big deal.

9/26/2007 4:28:31 PM

I'd like to get this. Any updates to recommendation? I'm like 10min from RDU

3/20/2022 6:58:24 PM

^^ I'd like to amend my last post. Since then, I got my glider license and have done some soaring.

In fact, it is fairly routine for gliders to be equipped with oxygen systems, and in the right places with the right conditions, they absolutely surpass 20,000' and even 30,000' (and there are records way above that). Places with active soaring clubs in areas where they get these sorts of conditions work with the FAA to establish "wave windows", which are areas within the Class-A airspace carved out that can be activated through ARTCC to allow gliders to reach those altitudes without needing to be IFR. They just route the airliners and biz jets elsewhere.)

but tows cost way more than $10-20. More like $35-60+. Gliders are not much cheaper to fly, by the time you pay for a tow, pay for the rental, and in many cases, pay for a club membership.


[Edited on March 20, 2022 at 7:30 PM. Reason : ]

3/20/2022 7:24:09 PM

Thoughts on Flightgest?

3/27/2022 3:06:00 PM

^

I did one lesson at RDU in like 2008. Iirc it was expensive relative to a Louisburg and Sanford. If you can afford it RDU is probably better. I solo'd at about 8 hours in Louisburg and it took me almost 30 in Los Angeles. Radios were hard, getting that down is helpful, so probably the only place in triangle would be RDU to practice ground and tower work.

Approaches (IFR) are easy as fuck here--2000 feet, fall asleep and bounce off the runway. You're home.

7/2/2022 12:41:04 AM