Is flying expensive?
Flying isn’t cheap. Anyone who tries to convince you otherwise is either pulling your leg, or is richer than you and I together. That being said, most people who really want to fly can find a way without breaking the bank. Sometimes that means spreading training over a longer period of time, joining a flight club, looking for friends to fly with, or flying for charities.
When you begin flight training, you will need to decide where to learn to fly. The two big categories are flight schools and independent instructors. A school is almost always more expensive because they have overhead to pay for. Schools offer some advantages over individual instructors. For example, if you are not learning well with one instructor, you can easily switch to a different one with less interruption of your training (the school should be keeping a record of your progress, including strengths and weaknesses, and the two instructors should coordinate the handover).
If you learn from a school, you will usually need to use their airplanes – you generally can’t shop around (though some will train you in your personal airplane, if you have one, for an extra fee). If you select an independent instructor, on the other hand, you will have to provide the airplane. The options (if you don’t own your own) are to rent from a company or join a flight club. By the way, a company that rents out airplanes is called an FBO (eff-bee-oh) in pilot speak, which is short for Fixed Base Operator. Joining a flight club will usually prove less expensive. Flight clubs are generally organized as non-profit organizations that rent out aircraft that belong to certain members. They usually have minimal staff, thus keeping costs down. Aircraft reservations are often done over the Internet. When you join a club, you usually pay monthly or annual dues. Be sure and factor that into the total cost, but if you fly enough (which you usually do when getting your license), you will usually come out ahead with a club.
If you elect for a school, they will throw two terms at you: Part 61 or Part 141. They are talking about the fact that there are actually two ways to become certified as a pilot. The “Parts” refer to parts of the Federal Aviation Regulations that cover flight training. Part 61 instruction has a higher number of minimum hours before you can get your license, but does offer more flexibility. Part 141 specifies a fairly rigid curriculum – essentially requiring that skills be taught in a certain order. If something prevents you from working on what you are “supposed” to be working on (like bad weather), you can’t always “skip ahead” to something else. In exchange for following that detailed program, the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) allows the student to take their test with fewer hours flown. But, there is a gotcha! The vast majority of pilots are not ready to take their test right at the minimum number of hours. There is no “one size fits all” answer to which Part to study under. You will need to look at your individual circumstances. Remember, if you use an individual instructor, you will have to go Part 61.
Once you have your private pilot’s license, there are several ways to make enjoying it less expensive. One way is to fly with friends. Many pilots enjoy finding another pilot to fly with. If you hang out a bit at the airport, chances are great that you will find another pilot you enjoy flying with. You can also take friends and family out on flying adventures and ask them to share in the cost. Remember, though, as a private pilot you must pay an equal share of the cost or more.
Once you get at least 200 hours of Pilot In Command time, you can volunteer to fly for charitable organizations such as Angel Flight (www.angelflight.org). You are donating both your time and the cost of the flight (often shared with a second pilot), but the cost is generally tax deductible.
If you want to give back to the community and fly with some great pilots, you may wish to consider joining Civil Air Patrol. There, you can get some flight time at a reduced cost or even for free (paid for by the Air Force or other agencies). However, there really is no such thing as a free lunch. In order to get that flight time, you will need to spend a good deal of time on the ground helping with various CAP missions such as guiding cadets, working in aerospace education, planning training missions, or one of many other areas. CAP can be a very rewarding experience.
Flying isn’t cheap. Anyone who tries to convince you otherwise is either pulling your leg, or is richer than you and I together. That being said, most people who really want to fly can find a way without breaking the bank. Sometimes that means spreading training over a longer period of time, joining a flight club, looking for friends to fly with, or flying for charities.
When you begin flight training, you will need to decide where to learn to fly. The two big categories are flight schools and independent instructors. A school is almost always more expensive because they have overhead to pay for. Schools offer some advantages over individual instructors. For example, if you are not learning well with one instructor, you can easily switch to a different one with less interruption of your training (the school should be keeping a record of your progress, including strengths and weaknesses, and the two instructors should coordinate the handover).
If you learn from a school, you will usually need to use their airplanes – you generally can’t shop around (though some will train you in your personal airplane, if you have one, for an extra fee). If you select an independent instructor, on the other hand, you will have to provide the airplane. The options (if you don’t own your own) are to rent from a company or join a flight club. By the way, a company that rents out airplanes is called an FBO (eff-bee-oh) in pilot speak, which is short for Fixed Base Operator. Joining a flight club will usually prove less expensive. Flight clubs are generally organized as non-profit organizations that rent out aircraft that belong to certain members. They usually have minimal staff, thus keeping costs down. Aircraft reservations are often done over the Internet. When you join a club, you usually pay monthly or annual dues. Be sure and factor that into the total cost, but if you fly enough (which you usually do when getting your license), you will usually come out ahead with a club.
If you elect for a school, they will throw two terms at you: Part 61 or Part 141. They are talking about the fact that there are actually two ways to become certified as a pilot. The “Parts” refer to parts of the Federal Aviation Regulations that cover flight training. Part 61 instruction has a higher number of minimum hours before you can get your license, but does offer more flexibility. Part 141 specifies a fairly rigid curriculum – essentially requiring that skills be taught in a certain order. If something prevents you from working on what you are “supposed” to be working on (like bad weather), you can’t always “skip ahead” to something else. In exchange for following that detailed program, the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) allows the student to take their test with fewer hours flown. But, there is a gotcha! The vast majority of pilots are not ready to take their test right at the minimum number of hours. There is no “one size fits all” answer to which Part to study under. You will need to look at your individual circumstances. Remember, if you use an individual instructor, you will have to go Part 61.
Once you have your private pilot’s license, there are several ways to make enjoying it less expensive. One way is to fly with friends. Many pilots enjoy finding another pilot to fly with. If you hang out a bit at the airport, chances are great that you will find another pilot you enjoy flying with. You can also take friends and family out on flying adventures and ask them to share in the cost. Remember, though, as a private pilot you must pay an equal share of the cost or more.
Once you get at least 200 hours of Pilot In Command time, you can volunteer to fly for charitable organizations such as Angel Flight (www.angelflight.org). You are donating both your time and the cost of the flight (often shared with a second pilot), but the cost is generally tax deductible.
If you want to give back to the community and fly with some great pilots, you may wish to consider joining Civil Air Patrol. There, you can get some flight time at a reduced cost or even for free (paid for by the Air Force or other agencies). However, there really is no such thing as a free lunch. In order to get that flight time, you will need to spend a good deal of time on the ground helping with various CAP missions such as guiding cadets, working in aerospace education, planning training missions, or one of many other areas. CAP can be a very rewarding experience.
posted by Eric J. at 5:56 PM
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