PPL Flight Training

[shotgunneeley]

We had a flight school open up about a year ago in my town (unfortunately it came in after I married and had a now 2yr girl). While I always have thought having a private pilot license would be enjoyable and handy, I never gave it much of a thought since the nearest school was hours away and I could not see the need to justify the cost. Now that there is a local school, that makes things much more convenient to train. They have two four-seater Cherokee 140s/one four-seater Cherokee 180 to rent. Being able to rent a small plane without having to own or maintain one sounds interesting now.

The way I see it this could cut down on travel time compared to being a passenger on a commercial plane. Probably won’t save any cash particularly if I’m flying solo, but would definitely help flying other friends/family. Another pro ought to be able to fly more direct to places at the spur of the moment versus commercial; on the other hand commercial jets ought to handle rougher weather better. Again with the wife and kid on top of dealing with life problems I doubt I ever get to to be able to do this, but it is good to keep in mind the possibilities.

Does anyone here have a PPL for general aviation to hop around the country? How is the experience and do you think it is worth while compared to being a commercial passenger or driving a car?

[Rocco]

I have a cpl and used to do a lot of trips around my part of Canada. Not as much now but I still try to go up once in a while.

My old instructor used to tell me flying is great as long as you're not in a rush, and he was right. It's not like hopping into your car and just hitting the road. There's the preflight planning (route, fuel, weight and balance, weather, alt airports, etc), refuelling, checking the aircraft, filing flight plans just to get to where you can start up. Nowadays there are apps that makes the planning much faster but it still takes time. Personally I still make hard copies and bring my maps with the route plotted just in case. One less thing to worry about if things start going sideways. I'm always prepared to spend the night somewhere in case the weather goes bad or I run into a maintenance issue. And it has happened. I try to never put myself in a position where I feel I absolutely have to get somewhere.

So don't expect it to be faster or cheaper than buying a plane ticket, taking into account the pre/post flight work and slower flight speeds it won't be either, but man is it so much more fun. The freedom to fly pretty much wherever you want is great. See something interesting off to the left? Go take a closer look! The sights you'll see you won't get anywhere else. Being part of the GA community and going to events like fly ins or airshows is a blast. You'll meet a lot of like minded people and have a lot of fun.

If you have the means and desire I highly recommend it. Just keep in mind not to be in a rush.

[Wolfala]

We had a flight school open up about a year ago in my town (unfortunately it came in after I married and had a now 2yr girl). While I always have thought having a private pilot license would be enjoyable and handy, I never gave it much of a thought since the nearest school was hours away and I could not see the need to justify the cost. Now that there is a local school, that makes things much more convenient to train. They have two four-seater Cherokee 140s/one four-seater Cherokee 180 to rent. Being able to rent a small plane without having to own or maintain one sounds interesting now.

The way I see it this could cut down on travel time compared to being a passenger on a commercial plane. Probably won’t save any cash particularly if I’m flying solo, but would definitely help flying other friends/family. Another pro ought to be able to fly more direct to places at the spur of the moment versus commercial; on the other hand commercial jets ought to handle rougher weather better. Again with the wife and kid on top of dealing with life problems I doubt I ever get to to be able to do this, but it is good to keep in mind the possibilities.

Does anyone here have a PPL for general aviation to hop around the country? How is the experience and do you think it is worth while compared to being a commercial passenger or driving a car?

I’m a CFI and aircraft owner. I’ve trained multiple folks from AH to their PPL and beyond. I’ll write more on it later.

[Dadtallica]

I’m a CFI and aircraft owner. I’ve trained multiple folks from AH to their PPL and beyond. I’ll write more on it later.

Ok I’m all in on this Wolf… Popcorn at the ready! 

[Maverick]

I have a PPL as well as an A&P that I got years later. I started out renting at first but happened to locate a great deal on an aircraft, a Piper Comanche 180.

Renting vs owning is a big deal. Owning is going to cost you money up front for the plane then you have to budget for insurance as well as the annual inspection and any misc. expenses that might come up. Back in the late 90's it cost me about $2000 to $2500 a year to insure and store the bird. AV gas was $5 a gallon + -. Maintenance was rather inexpensive as I worked on the plane under the supervision of an IA. Later I went to work for him and also got my A&P.

A rental is far far cheaper than owning. There is a consideration for doing a cross country in one. Does the agency even allow cross country rentals. Keep in mind they need x amount of hours of income from the plane outside of instructor hours. If it is a small training place they may not have enough planes to allow you to take one for a weekend or a week trip. If they do they will charge you a certain number of hours per day at full cost to keep the plane on your trip. That will add up very quickly compared to airline tickets. They may require you have pilot insurance to cover them. (Is that still a thing today guys? I've been out of the game for almost 20 years now) You'll still need a rental car at your destination as well.

You will also be subject to weather issues. As a low time VFR pilot you can get stuck at your destination waiting for weather, even on a weekend flight depending on where you go. I was trained in the SW (AZ) so weather was not much of a limitation, but if I flew to California it becomes a big deal.

I learned that the justification for flying myself vs driving was a trip of over 250 miles. Less than that and the time for preflight and postflight as well as weather considerations overrode the plane. My plane cruised at 150 to 160 MPH.

If you want to learn to fly I fully understand that. I loved flying and miss it today. I don't miss the expense of owning however. I would go into the training with the idea that you will be another of those pilots just turning fuel into noise buzzing "around the pea patch". If you have the cash and can justify it, knock yourself out.

[AKIron]

Plan to have the money and time allocated when you start. I spread about 45 hours of flight training over several years and had to "review" every time I moved and started with a new instructor. Never did get my PPL as a result.

[TyFoo]

AKIron makes a good point. If you dont have the money & time to dedicate 2-3 days a week to training, it will take you a lot longer (more money) to finish.

Although the FAA only requires 40 hours to get your PPL, the average time to get your PPL in the U.S. is around 70-75 hours. Life tends to intervene. Every time you miss or put off a lesson, you will usually need to spend time practicing the prior lesson before moving on and progressing to the next lesson.

Under rare circumstances is the cost to get a Private Pilot License ever financially justifiable, but nobody can ever take the accomplishment from you.

[save]

Weather could be a killer in a plane: better to be at the airfield wishing you where up flying than flying wishing you where at the ground.

Never ever set a time when you should be at a place when you are flying.

Since I flew VLA, early mornings and an hour before the sun set where prime time for UL/VLA  and same rules apply for  inexperienced pilots in GA. Low wind and good weather are imperative for enjoying flying when you're new.

[Busher]

AKIron makes a good point. If you dont have the money & time to dedicate 2-3 days a week to training, it will take you a lot longer (more money) to finish.

Although the FAA only requires 40 hours to get your PPL, the average time to get your PPL in the U.S. is around 70-75 hours. Life tends to intervene. Every time you miss or put off a lesson, you will usually need to spend time practicing the prior lesson before moving on and progressing to the next lesson.

Under rare circumstances is the cost to get a Private Pilot License ever financially justifiable, but nobody can ever take the accomplishment from you.

If I could add my two cents.... once you have that PPL, it's in your interest and the interest of those that might fly with you, that you fly regularly and train as well. It is a perishing skill. Even Airline pilots go through rigorous recurrent training and check rides twice a year.

Conclusion, private flying is a very expensive hobby.

[Dadtallica]

If I could add my two cents.... once you have that PPL, it's in your interest and the interest of those that might fly with you, that you fly regularly and train as well. It is a perishing skill. Even Airline pilots go through rigorous recurrent training and check rides twice a year.

Conclusion, private flying is a very expensive hobby.

And then one day you reach Cruise and Travolta level PPL 

[jigsaw]

If you're on the fence or just curious, before you jump in, ask the flight school if they offer discovery flights. With those, they'll take you up for ~45 minutes or so, you get to fly a bit, and it usually costs less than a regular lesson.  Plus if you decide to go forward you can count it toward you're dual received time.

Here's some rough numbers $ wise for you to figure. (flight school should have some kind of flyer for you with a similar breakout)

Medical - $200 - ?  Varies by location/Medical Examiner (You'll need at least a 3rd Class. Do this before starting)
Training costs:(based on national average of 60 hours to PPL Checkride)
Aircraft rental - Multiply their hourly rental rate by 60 (go with the 180hp.  you'll thank me later)
Instructor fees - Multiply their hourly instructor rate by 60
Checkride costs - $400 - $800. Varies greatly by location and examiner
Headsets - Ask if they provide them during training. If so use the loaners until you finish training to save some $ until you know what you really want. Otherwise shop around. Bose, Lightspeed, and David Clark are the top brands.
Books / Ground school - Ground School is a good option if they offer it as a class with other folks. Otherwise you're just 1:1 with the instructor. Ask if they have a specific program (lots of places use the Jeppesen kits).  I highly recommend getting the "Rod Machado's Private Pilot Handbook". 

Once you're "legal", you'll need to figure in costs of staying current. To carry passengers you have to have 3 takeoff/landings within the preceding 90 days. (If you do them at night, it also keeps you night current).
Every 24 calendar months you also have to do a flight review, which is like a mini checkride.
Your medical will need to be renewed at differing dates depending on your age.
Renters Insurance (not the same as house/apartment) should be a consideration. That covers you if something happens to the aircraft that would cause the school to lose $ while it's being fixed.

Flight schools sometimes offer discounts if you buy "Blocks" of time. 

For "$100 Hamburger" trips (yeh I know $100 trips don't exist anymore)...   you have to figure if it's cheaper to drive or fly. Cost vs time thing. When I was still doing "fun" trips, I worked out that for me if it was about a 3-4 hour drive that was the beak point. That worked out to about a 1 hour flight each direction (about 3 hours rental time). Any longer and it was cheaper to drive/fly commercial.  If you go strictly by time, you have to figure in your flight planning, pre/post flight, loading unloading, pax briefing, etc.

Is flying for "fun" fun? Yes
Is it expensive? Very. Especially if you don't stay current or stop flying completely. Then you just wasted the $.
Is it safe? It's a high risk area, but the risks can be managed. I like how Goodspeed said it in The Rock... "The second you don't respect this, it kills you."

There's a lot of real world pilots on here. We all love to hanger talk. Feel free to ask questions and you'll get a lot of answers.

[shotgunneeley]

Sounds like it is a good hobby for recreational flying around the home field, but as an alternative form of cross-country travel… not so much.