Private Pilot License advice and info

[WPFY543]

Lots of good advice in here. Don't let the comments about cost scare you off too much before you have given it some exploration. While a high cost certainly represents the vast majority of situations, if you are willing to be patient and creative, you might find something that works out for you. I found a great CFI with rates (both instruction and plane rental) well below the average for my area. We have a fun group of mostly non-commercial pilots at our field. Except for the one guy with the teal Lambo, the rest of us drive 10 year old trucks and most have families at home. Finding this setup took persistence - visiting local airports, getting random names and numbers from people at the field, and deciding what was most important to me. I'm lucky, but those scenarios exist.

I've found it helps to think about the expense in larger chunks (specific rating, a block of time, a season/year). Even with good rates, the hourly expense feels painful. However, I didn't realize how much my out of state hunting trips cost until I really accounted for everything. It was easier for me to decide to hunt closer to home and reallocate that expense to my PPL this year.

What I can say, without hesitation, is that it's an absolute blast. It's mentally stimulating, very mechanical, and a nice break from my time behind a screen. For now, I'm wrapping up my PPL and then I'll be on to an instrument rating. Good luck!

 

[yfarm]

Interesting comments, have 2 neighbors retired colonels, one af, one marine. The marine was a fighter pilot, last flight in the military was his last flight, hasn’t flown since and had no desire to fly again.The af retired went to work for NW flying Minneapolis to Tokyo at the end. Had bypass surgery and was required by the faa to have cardiac cath every 6 months to verify stability of disease, turned 60 and was out the door.

 

[chaser_2332]

Interesting read, i recently started lessons for my
private pilot and really enjoying the experience. Even ground school as bad as it sounds is very interesting and I’ve learned a lot.