Private Pilot license on the cheap....

[eUrNiCc 0]

I've been wanting to get my private pilots license for quite a while. I started flying when I was 16 and I have about 10 hours (8 years ago). I really wanted to go to Embry Riddle, but couldn't afford it. Shortly after I started college we had 911 and the flight schools in the area started dropping like flys or raising prices through the roof.

I graduated from a state college last year and I've been working as a videographer and TI ever since. I live on the DZ, so my cost of living is very low but I still don't have a pile of extra income. I eventually want to work as a pilot, but I want to get there on a low budget. The only flight schools in the area charge at least $75/hr wet for a 150 and $30 for instruction. I'm also open to the idea of buying my own airplane, but these days an average 150 goes for over $15,000.

I know there are alot of pilots on the forums. What do you think is the best & cheapest way to get a license and work towards a commercial these days?

Egad, A BASE life defiles a bad age.

[ryoder 1,590]

If it were me I would work on getting into an accredited school and borrow the money. Better to be working as a pilot, logging hours, paying off the debt, rather than spend that part of your life working odd jobs and only accumulating a fraction of the hours.

You might PM Flygurl. About a year ago she chucked it all to go to flight school fulltime.

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[JSBIRD 1]

You might consider going to one of the Part 141 schools in Florida.
10 days- two weeks, and a couple of grand will net you a PPL, and at least get you started.
Find a copy of Trade A Plane, or do a net search for more info.

359

"Now I've settled down,
in a quiet little town,
and forgot about everything"

[ExAFO 0]

www.ocs.usmc.mil/

Illinois needs a CCW Law. NOW.

[Beerlight 0]

What ryoder said is prolly your best bet.

Otherwise, you'll be slogging away trying to build hours for mucho long time. Find a Part 141 school, take out a loan and do it.

Go fer it.

[cloudseeker2001 0]

Quote

If it were me I would work on getting into an accredited school and borrow the money. Better to be working as a pilot, logging hours, paying off the debt, rather than spend that part of your life working odd jobs and only accumulating a fraction of the hours.

You might PM Flygurl. About a year ago she chucked it all to go to flight school fulltime.

I have been working on financing pilot school for the last four months and I have talked to few people who are in debt 50K with only 200 hours after a full time school.......I have no idea if this is the normal experience, but it is not for me. I think I can get a PPL for about 6K including all training and gear. Logging hours after that is different........I also looked at 2 150's that were in great shape and one was even instrument ready. Both planes were in the 25K range and would be great time builders, but damn, if a starter goes out, its 500$.....not to mention with a full tank of gas I will have enough useful load to take only one of my dogs for a ride! But, as for now, just get the license......I should start in about a month or so......

"Some call it heavenly in it's brilliance,
others mean and rueful of the western dream"

[eUrNiCc 0]

^ I share your pain I've looked into the part 141 school thing, and I'm not really a fan of borrowing money, especially up to $200K. Everything that I have right now I own outright and I'd prefer to keep it that way. I'm also not a big fan of the military. No offense to anyone, but I don't think it's the career path for me. I don't want to fight, I want to fly.

Egad, A BASE life defiles a bad age.

[ffejdraga 0]

I hear you man, a school loan is a hard pill to swallow.
Save your money go slow, build up time when you can.

Or, get a school loan, go through a pilot mill, walk out of there with 250 hours and every rating: Commercial, single, multi, instrument, CFI, CFII, MEI.
That is exactly what I did. It cost me exactly 5k for my private then a little flying, then the rest of school was 50k.

The school I went to was ATP. Three good things separate them from other flight schools:
1. The amount you pay is fixed, and doesn't go up.
2. The program is geared to give you the most multi-engine time (140 hours) where all that training is done in a piper seminole.
3. It lasts 3 months, and all you do is fly fly fly for those three months.
I gathered from another post that youa re down in NC someplace. There is an ATP location in Raleigh Durham, or there is one in Richmond VA.
But, housing is included at each location in local apartments. So, if you go, pick the location where you want to fly...you are only going to be there for 3 months anyway.
91 schools are the way to go.
ATP FLIGHT SCHOOL
ATP and other schools are setup up to plug you into the airlines, starting off with the regionals. I cannot handle making less money than I doflying jumpers, so I decided not to go that way.

So I got out, and got my first flying job with MINIMAL hours, with fresh ink on my commercial certificate flying jumpers at a small cessna dz, where I was also doing AFF and Video. After a while, when the primary pilot had enough, they would let me fly a couple of loads at the end of the day. Then I worked my way into to flying there fulltime.

Since I had my CFI ratings, I started doing that to subsidize the crappy pay I got from flying jumpers, but the cool thing about being a CFI is you can charge between $35-$50 to guys who own their own planes and are happy to pay. I became sought after because I had a bunch of time in a 182, and there weren't a lot of instructors who did, so I was the man for a bit with 3 guys who owned their own 182s. $50 an hour adds up, and my little niche is getting people their instrument ratings in their 182s. In the meantime, i have been flying with the dz, and building as much time as I quickly could.

Just yesterday I hit 1000 hours total time. Now I am looking for a more "real flying job" that pays a little more than flying jumpers. I have 1000 TT, 250 hours multi, 110 hours turbine. And, I should be able to continue with the freelance flight instruction.

Those are the numbers that matter. Total Time, Multi, and turbine. That is, of course if you want to pursue a career in flying.

Now is a good time to be a pilot, and especially to be a pilot with a decent number of hours. Lots of jobs are opening up.

However, the road to a good flying job (aka you are making 50k plus a year) is long and filled with a definite period of dues paying and rung climbing.

I finished my schoolling at ATP in April of 2005, and just now have crossed into the realm of "marketable pilot" So 2 years of basically slave labor (flying jumpers) and not a lot of money, plus a 50k loan I have to pay monthly. And I am not done, still a long road.

But I am happy, and I have found my career path.
Now, anyone have a need for a pilot in the PHX area?

The key or you is what you want to do with flying. If you just want a private license to be able to fly freely, then go at it, and go slow, enjoy every second.
If you want a career, start now, and in five years, you should be making some good money and flying some nice aircraft. Five years is going to pass anyway, get on board and be a pilot, if that is what you want.

PM me if you want more info or have questions for me.


jeff D-16906

[azdiver 0]

just bite the bullet and get the student loan. i have had a student loan and its not all bad the payments you make versus the money u lose doing it over a long period of time makes it worth it.

light travels faster than sound, that's why some people appear to be bright until you hear them speak

[Beerlight 0]

ATP was 50G?! I've heard good things on those guys. Great equipment, airline style training etc...etc.....

[ryoder 1,590]

Quote

ATP was 50G?! I've heard good things on those guys. Great equipment, airline style training etc...etc.....

ATP is where Flygurl is, (last I heard from her in December).

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[ffejdraga 0]

Well, at the time I went it was 39k and I took out 10k more for expenses and such things.

Yeah, I have nothing but good things to say.
I do believe they are unique in that the price is the price, no messing around.
PanAM and Riddle end up charging more initially, then you run out of training dollars, you need to take more loans.

The way ATP works is when you are done, you come back and be an instructor for them, and 6 months or so later you have enough time for the regionals, and all of it is multi. But that was not for me, I had the house and wife thing, so it wouldnt work out.

ATP is great, get it all done, and start a flying career.
In the end, it doesnt matter what school you go to, just what ratings you have, and how much TT and multi you have.

jeff D-16906

[ltdiver 3]

Quote

In the end, it doesnt matter what school you go to, just what ratings you have, and how much TT and multi you have.

Wouldn't it just be 'cheaper' to join the military. I mean, they train you for free, right?

ltdiver

Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon