Getting a pilots license

[Brian425 0]

Well, last year I made the decision between learning to fly and learning to skydive. I am considering giving flying a try in the fall and winter. Could anyone give me a little advice? I know there are a few pilots out there.

What would I be looking at in $$$$, and time? What is the best way to get experience? Any guidance would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Brian

The only time you should look down on someone is when you are offering them your hand.

[kallend 2,106]

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Well, last year I made the decision between learning to fly and learning to skydive. I am considering giving flying a try in the fall and winter. Could anyone give me a little advice? I know there are a few pilots out there.

What would I be looking at in $$$$, and time? What is the best way to get experience? Any guidance would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Brian

Well, first I bought a plane (Cherokee 140), which helped ensure that I was committed, then I found a freelance CFI. Did it all in 5 weeks from first lesson to check ride.

I strongly recommend against stringing it out over months and months.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[AggieDave 6]

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I strongly recommend against stringing it out over months and months.

Just like any sort of other training along these lines, be it any sort of sport, skydiving, flying, shooting, just about anything I can think of you'll learn more profeciently if you're able to dive right in and go through an intesive program.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[ozthebum 0]

IMHO, I found this to be a good place to start, it's a cheap first lesson. As far as picking a good flight school goes, I'm not sure, I have yet to really start my flight instruction. But hey, a cheap first flight, is still a cheap first flight.

http://www.beapilot.com/indexfl.html

[Brian425 0]

What qualifications would I need to fly a 182 or 205 for jumpers? I think this might be a fun way to get hours and still be at the DZ. (I know it is hard work to fly jumpers and I respect our jump pilots very much).

The only time you should look down on someone is when you are offering them your hand.

[AggieDave 6]

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t: What qualifications would I need to fly a 182 or 205 for jumpers?

From what I've seen, you'll most likely need atleast 25hrs in type and a commercial ticket.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[Brian425 0]

WOW!!! How hard is it to get the commercial license? 25 hours seems ridiculously low!!! God I love the Ranch, we have good pilots.

I would be a little nervous flying jumpers with only 25 hours. I guess I would find out who was truly my friend and who was just crazy.

The only time you should look down on someone is when you are offering them your hand.

[AggieDave 6]

Not quite, that's 25hrs in type, as in that kind of aircraft. A commercial ticket is a bit harder to get, with more ground school and harder maneuvers to perform in the air.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[Jib 0]

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What qualifications would I need to fly a 182 or 205 for jumpers? I think this might be a fun way to get hours and still be at the DZ. (I know it is hard work to fly jumpers and I respect our jump pilots very much).

250 hours or more to take the practical test for your commercial ticket.

--------------------------------------------------
the depth of his depravity sickens me.
-- Jerry Falwell, People v. Larry Flynt

[pilotdave 0]

Insurance companies will typically require 500 hours of total time, plus a commercial rating and 25 hours in type.

Dave

[Brian425 0]

So if I figured about $5,000 to get my basic private pilot license. Then another few thousand to get the hours needed for more advanced stuff. Roughly $10,000 to be up and flying.

So all in the private pilot's license is about the same cost as getting my A and buying gear.

HHHMMM, I think I'm going to have to awfully nice to the wife and hope for a big bonus.

The only time you should look down on someone is when you are offering them your hand.

[CanuckInUSA 0]

Becoming a certified pilot is a great accomplishment. But it is also a very expensive proposition in terms of time, effort and yes $$$. In the spring of 2001 I set out to achieve my life long goal of becoming a pilot and became certified in November of the same year (9/11 delayed things a good 6 weeks if not more). I was on cloud 9 as I built enough experience and got my mountain checkout to fly in the Colorado rockies (I've got about 10 hours of solo mountain flight). But then on July 14th 2002 my life changed. I went skydiving. I continued to fly during my early skydiving days, but I began to notice that skydiving was the cheaper hobby. Well not really cheaper in terms of total money spent. But for the same money I spent for one hour of flight (Hobbs time), I could do 5 skydives (which would take up much of the day). The last time I was at the controls of an airplane as PIC was April of 2003 (I have 170 hours of Hobbs time and over 400 landings) and I have made over 600 skydives since then. Personally I get everything I need from skydiving. I get to check out the scenery on the way to altitude, I get to fly my body in freefall and I get to fly my canopy and have more fun landing my canopy than I did landing airplanes.

Once again, flying airplanes is really cool (I miss interacting with ATC as my home airport was in Class D airspace), but the bottom line is that I just like being in the air. And anyway I can get there is fine by me. I can spend more time in the air through skydiving than I ever did flying airplanes. Of course you're not me, so who knows how you will feel. But flying (and skydiving) and staying current enough where you are safe requires much-o dollars.

Good luck which ever way you choose to go. Being in the air rocks and I know why the birds sing in the morning.

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[CanuckInUSA 0]

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Roughly $10,000 to be up and flying.

It'll cost you a lot more than that if this is what you think you'll spend to be commerically rated and flying jump planes. Remember to get you commercial you'll need the hours, plus you'll need time on a retractable. Plus while you don't need an IFR rating and/or multi-engine time to be commercial, you are going to want to fly more powerful and advanced aircraft. And the insurance companies will like you a whole lot more if/when you are IFR rated.

I ran into the guy who runs the FBO I trained at yesterday while at lunch and explained to him why he hasn't seen me in over a year and we got to talking about how the FBO has expanded. They're added two Seminoles and when I asked how much those puppies cost to fly he told me over $200/hr (not including the instructors time to get checked out in them). And a Seminole isn't even a turbine aircraft if I'm not mistaken.

Now I'm not sure about what DZ you may be thinking of working at, but when I first started skydiving, I talked to the DZO about his basic pilot's requirements and he told me at a bare minimum he wanted 500 hours, but that he had plenty of other guys with many more hours than that and that I would likely need to whole sche-bang 1000+ hours, commercial rating and multi-engine (turbine).

I don't want to discourage you from becoming a pilot (being a pilot rocks). I'm just want you to know that it'll likely cost way more $$$ than you are currently thinking.

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[Jib 0]

Check into just what the plane costs an hour. Last I checked an older 172 was $75/hour. $18,750.
Plus instructor costs, examiner, gear...
Also, some places charge you 2 hours ground school for every hour you fly and hand feed you what you can read for yourself. Others are less formal and cheaper and expect you to learn the book stuff on your own and assist you as needed.

--------------------------------------------------
the depth of his depravity sickens me.
-- Jerry Falwell, People v. Larry Flynt

[Brian425 0]

Canuck, you are not discouraging me. You're helping me. What you wrote is your experience and seems very realistic. I would rather know now as opposed to finding myself having spent $5,000 and not having what I want.

I may have to re-think what I want out of a pilots license. Or research what I want and see if I can attain that goal with the amount of time I can devote to it.

The only time you should look down on someone is when you are offering them your hand.

[CanuckInUSA 0]

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Check into just what the plane costs an hour. Last I checked an older 172 was $75/hour.

Hey Jib ... I'm not sure what the prices are in Joisey, but here in CO at McAir Aviation (Jeffco's largest FBO) a 160hp 172 will run you about $80/hr, a 180hp 172 will be about $90/hr to $110/hr (they have some modern SP models). The 182s I was checked out to fly ranged from $90/hr to $120/hr (it all depended on the avionics package in each aircraft) and the 206s (I never got checked out in these because they wanted 500 hours and an IFR rating which I didn't have) were over $160/hr. One of my favorite aircraft was a low wing 230hp Piper Dakota (because hardly anyone rented it and I could get it virtually whenever I wanted it) and it ran at about $110/hr if memory serves me correct. And you've got to remember that if you want to fly above the rocks (mountains) here in CO you needed a high performance aircraft (200+ hp).

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[FrogNog 1]

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I may have to re-think what I want out of a pilots license.

Exactly what I thought about. I have decided that if I'm going to fly, it's going to be for my reasons alone and I'll have to be able to afford it. And I sure can't afford it right now!

-=-=-=-=-
Pull.

[rickjump1 0]

Flying will make you a more coordinated and disciplined person. Save your money first, get the written out of the way through ground school and/or home study, and then fly without interruption. Enjoy. Fly first for fun. Then evaluate your own situation. Subscribe to" Trade-A-Plane" and dream.

Do your part for global warming: ban beans and hold all popcorn farts.

[pilotdave 0]

If you really wanna build time (and have fun doing it), you could buy a cheap plane. I was so tempted when I met a guy selling an ercoupe for $15,000. Used like 5 gallons per hour of gas, and he told me he paid almost nothing for insurance... less than my car insurance. Also flies so slow, you'll build hours very quickly trying to go anywhere in it.

Dave

[Sinkster 0]

I tried flying but if ur looking for fun i recommend using the money on skydiving it is a lot more fun!
Edit: I have soloed cross country and have around 20-25 hours flight time so thats my take. btw, anyone wanna buy a new garmin gps map 196 and a lightspeed xl15 anr headset for 70% of the cost before i ebay them?

[skipro101 0]

Its costs anywhere from 2,000 to 18,000 to get your private depending on where you go. Embry riddle being the latter, and skypark (www.flyskypark, a club) being the cheaper one. There are all kinds of prices in between.

It will cost you anywhere from 3 weeks to years to get it done. Id say 3 months is a good timetable for parttime.


There are a bazillion gazlion options for training. I would not begin to try and explain them all here...., however...i love sharing info and if you want to know info from a pilot who recently completed his prviate and is almost done with his IFR, has been through both part 61, and part 141 flight training...then give me a call. PM me and ill give you my numer.

You do get what you pay for, but when you get towards the top end of the pay scale, you really dont need to be paying that much.

embry riddle and other ridicusly priced (usually 141) schools have practicly brand new aircraft every few years. as a private pilot trainee you dont need a NDB or GPS or cd players in some brand new 172, you need a good condition (read safe) plane that isnt IFR rated.

Generally, i would reccomend you find a club that offers part 61 flight training. be VERY carefull in choosing your instructor and I would reccomend that you find one that was trained via part 141. They will probably have a better inclination to a structured program rather than just getting your the hours/basic skills enough to pass the checkride....make sure they know you plan on going career if you do. The instructor is the most important part here.

alot of times, the 141 students at local universities teach after they get their CFI at local part 61 schools. those CFI's are a better bet than the strange CFI thats been flying for 40 years and learned in a piper cub....definately not universily true, but in my experiance those people are slow to change and are outdated...im sure there are alot of older CFIs who are awesome teachers, I just htink that if you get someone thats taught for a year or two after graduating from a 141 school, you would be better off. alot of 141 schools hire their own CFI's that they taught, so you can get the same instruction for a part 61 price. Thats what I did.

Anyway, just do a lot of research and search around. if you have ANY questions, please PM me and we can talk.

I have a lot of info to give as I just went through this process and am currently living with the benefits/negatives of my descisions.

good luck and dun be a stranger.

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[skipro101 0]

btw, a cessna 150 at skypark is 33 dollars per hour. Flight instruction is 15 dollars an hour.


A 172 is 52 dollars per hour.



The catch? The aircraft are about as $hitty as you can find and are about to fall apart.
...the 172s are so bad that I would never go into actual IMC in one....thats part of the reason why I swtiched flight schools for my IFR rating.


Again, Dont pay top dollar for a brand new rental plane.

Find someplace that has well kept planes and good CFIs. And personally I would reccomend a part 141 school...not a universtiy for sure, just some local FBOs part 141 school....check out www.teachmetofly.com for an example, thats where im getting my IFR... very cool people...and IFR certified 150s! ...and because its 141 you can get your ratings in less time....even cheaper than skypark:}

[peacefuljeffrey 0]

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Flying will make you a more coordinated and disciplined person. Save your money first, get the written out of the way through ground school and/or home study, and then fly without interruption. Enjoy. Fly first for fun. Then evaluate your own situation.

I agree.
First, join AOPA. If you want to be a pilot, they are a great resource. Also, if you want to be a pilot, you owe it to other pilots to help support them in the adversity they face from government on down to bitchy whiners who move near an airport and then want restrictions to cut down on airplane noise. AOPA is instrumental in fighting for pilots' rights.

Second, buy a red book by a guy named Gleim (pronounced like "slime"). Get the one for studying for the FAA Private Pilot written exam. It is the BEST. It has all the questions in the bank of questions you could possibly be asked, and lessons on the correct answers and how they are found.

Third, buy the DVD set of the "King" course. John and Martha King are renowned in the industry for putting out a very high-quality series of videos that take you through passing the written. They even have them for Instrument and other ratings. I read that Martha King holds every FAA pilot qualification there is. Wow!
AOPA has pamphlets on "How to Choose a Flight Instructor." Believe it or not, there can be issues of incompatibility between instructor and student, and you need to know what your expectations should be, and what your "rights" are. I think that if you call them and tell them you are a skydiver who really wants to become a pilot, they will bend over backwards to get you help.

It is said that a student pilot should have a mountain of cash from which to pay for his lessons. The reason is that it can harm your progress if you are going paycheck-to-paycheck. If a few weeks are pretty lean and you cannot get to fly, you will spend extra time at your next lesson just going over stuff you've already done. It's a two-steps forward, one step back thing at that point. Best to be fully prepared to pay for it right from the outset. If that means delaying starting, it might be a good idea to delay starting. You should try to fly 3 or more times a week until you take your practical test.

You also need to get your medical exam. The local FBO should have a list of local doctors who are FAA authorized medical examiners. It's a simple physical, vision and hearing check. Non-invasive. No blood work. Depending on your age, and on the type of medical you get, they last from 1 year on through what, 3 or 4 for a class III? If you pass a class I medical, after the class I validity wears off in a year, you are still qualified for class II and III... Then when II expires, you are still good for III. Some people opt to pass the more rigorous class I just for the heck of it.

Be open to whatever speed you might happen to learn and progress at. Everyone is different, and you don't have to be some hotshot impressive top-gun in order to love and enjoy flying.

Good luck,
Blue skies,
-

-Jeffrey
"With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

[flyboy62000 0]

Lol, I used to rent out of Skypark a few years ago. I agree about the airplanes, they're cheap to rent but not the best I've ever flown. I did get to do a lot of flying, though. Then the tornado came through and broke a bunch of the aircraft. Ahh, the good old days.

Blue Skies,
Adam
I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things . . . — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

[CanuckInUSA 0]

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Depending on your age, and on the type of medical you get, they last from 1 year on through what, 3 or 4 for a class III? If you pass a class I medical, after the class I validity wears off in a year, you are still qualified for class II and III... Then when II expires, you are still good for III.

Class I medicals (for ATPs) are only good for six months. Class IIIs (for private pilots) are good for 3 years if you were under 40 when the medical was issued and only 2 years if over 40 on the date the medical was issued.

But you are correct in that the medical is still valid for a lower level once the higher level expires. I'm a little rusty on my class II (for commecial pilots) expiration times. It's 1 year if I'm not mistaken, but I'm sure someone like pilotdave or diverdriver will correct me if I am wrong.

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over