O/T - anyone fly

[Got Juice]

i have been thinking about this for a while and was debating on taking some flying lessons.. i think it would be something fun to do, i have always been into flying since my mom dated a guy for about 10 years who had his own plane and we used to fly every weekend to the lake house..

just seeing if anyone knows an average going rate for lessons, im sure it isnt cheap..

thanks,

got juice, flying high.. lol

 

[flexmaster]

i have been thinking about this for a while and was debating on taking some flying lessons.. i think it would be something fun to do, i have always been into flying since my mom dated a guy for about 10 years who had his own plane and we used to fly every weekend to the lake house..

just seeing if anyone knows an average going rate for lessons, im sure it isnt cheap..

thanks,

got juice, flying high.. lol

its actually not too bad i dont think, my girlfriend works at the local airport (its very small and mostly just for lessons and private planes...no commercial flights) and i remember her telling me it was something like 60$/hour for the plane and the pilot, but you also need to buy gas for the plane. i cant remember off the top of my head the exact figures but i'll ask for you and get back to you.

 

[Got Juice]

yeah if you dont mind that would be cool.. im also going to call the local airport by me and see what they have to say..

i told my GF today.. lol.. she didn't seem to excited about getting in a plane with me anytime soon.. haha... i dont think the yankees player just getting in a plane crash was such good timing on my part to tell her i was thinking about taking lessons...

 

[littlemack]

I don't fly, but know several people who have pilots licenses. Its not cheap, but you could probably spread the cost out over several years. I think it runs about $20k-25k for lessons, instructor, fuel, etc... This would get you your license. This is why a lot of guys go military. I have one or two friends who have built planes. One guy does stunt aerobatics. Crazy stuff! I've got another friend over in the UK who has one of those glider things. The kind that look like a plane but don't have an engine. They can cruise for pretty long distances. Like 100 miles. I don't know how popular they are here though. Pretty popular around mountain ranges. They get pretty high altitudes around those mountains. Have to have fresh O2 and everything.
I'd say go for it. The key is finding a really good instructor. A lot of MD's get their pilots license once they start making a little money. Those are also the guys who tend to have accidents from what I've been told. Tend to be overconfident. Let us know how it goes.

 

[rubdub]

Hey Juice,

I got my private license in August of last year. I started taking lessons in March of that same year twice a week in the mornings before work for two hours. I rented in So Cal at a class D airport (lowest level controlled airport) with some minor commerical traffic and a lot of lessons. My plane was a brand new 172 which ran $129/hour including fuel. My instructor was $35/hour. I did all the ground training at home on a computer based system and did all my lessons in the air with the instructor. It cost me about 10k for the whole thing. I took my checkride at 45 hours and passed the first time.

My wife thought it was a bit pricey but I've always wanted to get my license. She loves flying with me, I've taken her on a night flight into Orange County. That was a cool trip.

I would say do it if you can. It is extremely challenging and a ton of fun. Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[K1]

i have been thinking about this for a while and was debating on taking some flying lessons.. i think it would be something fun to do, i have always been into flying since my mom dated a guy for about 10 years who had his own plane and we used to fly every weekend to the lake house..

just seeing if anyone knows an average going rate for lessons, im sure it isnt cheap..

thanks,

got juice, flying high.. lol

I don't know anything about rates, but I would sure love to be able to fly.....

 

[Got Juice]

Hey Juice,

I got my private license in August of last year. I started taking lessons in March of that same year twice a week in the mornings before work for two hours. I rented in So Cal at a class D airport (lowest level controlled airport) with some minor commerical traffic and a lot of lessons. My plane was a brand new 172 which ran $129/hour including fuel. My instructor was $35/hour. I did all the ground training at home on a computer based system and did all my lessons in the air with the instructor. It cost me about 10k for the whole thing. I took my checkride at 45 hours and passed the first time.

My wife thought it was a bit pricey but I've always wanted to get my license. She loves flying with me, I've taken her on a night flight into Orange County. That was a cool trip.

I would say do it if you can. It is extremely challenging and a ton of fun. Let me know if you have any other questions.

that sounds pretty sweet man.. thats exactly the two reason i want to get it.. i love to challenge myself and always try new things to prove to myself i can accomplish it,,, also, i think it would be cool to take a friend our my GF(if she will fly with me, lol) on a flight somewhere semi-local that you typically couldnt just go to in a car for the day..

as soon as i crawl my lazy ass outta bed here, im going to call over there and see what their prices are and availability.

thanks for the replies..

 

[littlemack]

Hey Juice,

I got my private license in August of last year. I started taking lessons in March of that same year twice a week in the mornings before work for two hours. I rented in So Cal at a class D airport (lowest level controlled airport) with some minor commerical traffic and a lot of lessons. My plane was a brand new 172 which ran $129/hour including fuel. My instructor was $35/hour. I did all the ground training at home on a computer based system and did all my lessons in the air with the instructor. It cost me about 10k for the whole thing. I took my checkride at 45 hours and passed the first time.

My wife thought it was a bit pricey but I've always wanted to get my license. She loves flying with me, I've taken her on a night flight into Orange County. That was a cool trip.

I would say do it if you can. It is extremely challenging and a ton of fun. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Wow. That is a lot cheaper than I've always been told!

 

[MoreCowbell]

that sounds pretty sweet man.. thats exactly the two reason i want to get it.. i love to challenge myself and always try new things to prove to myself i can accomplish it,,, also, i think it would be cool to take a friend our my GF(if she will fly with me, lol) on a flight somewhere semi-local that you typically couldnt just go to in a car for the day..

as soon as i crawl my lazy ass outta bed here, im going to call over there and see what their prices are and availability.

thanks for the replies..

Think I might be able to answer some questions. I am a lurker, read but never post. I am also a flight instructor and am familiar with all the BS in the aviation business. Here are the basics if you want to learn how to fly.

- The first certificate you will get to work on is your private pilot certificate. Depending on the cost of aircraft and instructor you can pencil in about 4-5k for that certificate. Most people can pass the exam (flight and oral exam) in about 60 hours. Once you get your PP, you can carry passengers and fly during good weather conditions almost anywhere you want.

- Actual flying is not like it is in the movies. There is a lot of book work to get through and basic maneuvers include flying around points on the ground and learning how to land so you dont wreck the airplane. I might be somewhat jaded to the allure of flying now as it is a job for me rather than a hobby so take that it for what it is.

What you should do: Call around to a few airports for prices types of airplanes then go visit ones you think might work. Get an intro ride/lesson or two to make sure you want to really do this. The intro ride is usually not too expensive and fun. Finally, get to know the instructors out there as the success of your training will greatly depend on the relationship you have.

Good luck.

 

[flexmaster]

thats good info from morecowbell...here's some more stuff my girl said about the airport she specifically works at:

38$/hr for the instructor
about 50$/hr for the plane(depending on which kind you get, i think)
she said the fuel is a built in cost.

also, she said to try and look into getting into some kind of flying club. since i live in a college town, the airport give better deals for the students. i think it's called the aviation club. you might be able to find some kind of club in or around your area that you'd be able to join and maybe get a better deal. good luck

 

[MoreCowbell]

thats good info from morecowbell...here's some more stuff my girl said about the airport she specifically works at:

38$/hr for the instructor
about 50$/hr for the plane(depending on which kind you get, i think)
she said the fuel is a built in cost.

also, she said to try and look into getting into some kind of flying club. since i live in a college town, the airport give better deals for the students. i think it's called the aviation club. you might be able to find some kind of club in or around your area that you'd be able to join and maybe get a better deal. good luck

The $38 an hour for the instructor is pretty standard. The $50 an hour for the plane is a little suprising to me. With fuel costs, insurance for a training aircraft, and maintenance on a training aircraft, I would think the plane would cost much more to rent. Cessna 152s are the most popular and smallest training aircraft around. At my place we rented them for about 80 bucks an hour. If you dont know what a 152 is, it is a 2 seat aircraft that you need to use a shorhorn to squeeze yourself into. Flying in them is like sitting in an aluminum coke can with a lawn mower engine. Since this is a bodybuilding board, im assuming you are a bigger guy so you probably need a bigger aircraft or you and the instructor will have to sit in each other's laps.

Almost forgot - FLYING CLUBS
Flying clubs are used to defray costs of using an aircraft. Typically, a bunch of people (or just one) will go in together and buy an aircraft and rent it out to others. This is a good idea because new airplanes can run in excess of 255,000 bucks. Most flying clubs require an initiation fee of in the neighborhood of 3-5 thousand bucks. After that, the renting is very cheap and you just pay for fuel. When maintenance comes due, the members of the club split it equally (more members = less maintenance costs).

 

[rubdub]

Cessna 152s are the most popular and smallest training aircraft around. If you dont know what a 152 is, it is a 2 seat aircraft that you need to use a shoehorn to squeeze yourself into. Flying in them is like sitting in an aluminum coke can with a lawn mower engine. Since this is a bodybuilding board, im assuming you are a bigger guy so you probably need a bigger aircraft or you and the instructor will have to sit in each other's laps.

I would suggest spending the extra dough and getting a 172. They are much better to train in because if you plan on taking more than one person up with you at a time after getting your license you'll be plenty familar with the plane.

I never flew a 152 because the flight instuctor asked me if I was going to take multiple passengers up and if so I'd be better off learning the bigger plane. Plus, those 152's are a bit scary looking to me.