Question for those with private pilots license

[Kindo]

I’m looking at fulfilling a major life goal for myself in the next year or so and pursue my private license. I’ve been doing plenty of research but I’d like some opinions from those who have done it.

What is the best approach for this? Club? Rent? “plane share”?

Find what you like and then purchase part-way through the process? This is probably the least likely due to cost but if I could find a great deal on a cub or similar setup

Best source for ground skill development prior to air time?

 

[Grumman]

I highly recommend the Sporty’s online training courses. Completing those in advance will help you a ton and ultimately save time and costs with an instructor.

I see you are in Wisconsin, have you ever been to Airventure in Oshkosh? Joining EAA and attending that show is a blast.

I started renting and got 30 hours in when another student crashed the plane. I had to swap instructors and plane type to finish up. The new rental plane had horrible maintenance. I found something on every preflight it seemed. I finally bought my own for peace of mind of maintenance etc. They are expensive though, cost to buy can be cheap compared to ongoing maintenance, hangar fees, etc.

As far as which way to go it is highly dependent on your area. If there was a great club to join that can be a great route. Those don’t exist where I live and airplane rentals are few and far between.

Good luck and have fun!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[MULEPACKHUNTER]

This has been a goal of mine also, iv been lucky to fly a few times over the years buying fuel for a buddy. He set me on a path that works for a working mans money. I plan to go to a glider school for most of my ground stuff and ill get to fly quite a bit sans engine. I then plan to find a plane share to buy into on a tail dragger. We will se where i end up at that point.
The trick for me will be figuring out where to live to be close to good plane options, AZ has a few options but i really want to end up in northern AZ which narrows the field a bunch.

 

[Mike Islander]

Club, 100%. Visit your local clubs for a few weeks. Meet the folks. Meet the instructors. Learn the costs, planes, and programs that they offer. Take a familiarization ride and just enjoy everything. Make sure you find a club with plenty of planes to rent, ready to go when you are. I started at Golden State Flying Club on Gillespie Field in San Diego. They had plenty of instructors and plenty of airplanes. Spent the rest of my time flying military Aero clubs, which also generally had plenty of planes ready to go. That really is a game-changer, having a plane when you are ready to go flying. That way you can go at the spur of the moment and a plane is ready for you when you are ready to go.

Then join the club you like and fly as often as you can, every week minimum if at all possible.

I took my training over a two month period when I was 19, flying up to three times a day. That was a lot of learning in a short time. 4 months would have been perfect, but I was on leave, preparing for submarine duty.

Enjoy your freedom! Live your dream! I pushed so hard to complete my training because my father always was saddened that he never learned. I was determined that that would not happen to me. Coincidentally, my father and I were roommates at the time, as I was going to Navy schools in my home town of San Diego. So I had a dedicated cheerleader the entire time.

 

[Kindo]

I highly recommend the Sporty’s online training courses. Completing those in advance will help you a ton and ultimately save time and costs with an instructor.

I see you are in Wisconsin, have you ever been to Airventure in Oshkosh? Joining EAA and attending that show is a blast.

I started renting and got 30 hours in when another student crashed the plane. I had to swap instructors and plane type to finish up. The new rental plane had horrible maintenance. I found something on every preflight it seemed. I finally bought my own for peace of mind of maintenance etc. They are expensive though, cost to buy can be cheap compared to ongoing maintenance, hangar fees, etc.

As far as which way to go it is highly dependent on your area. If there was a great club to join that can be a great route. Those don’t exist where I live and airplane rentals are few and far between.

Good luck and have fun!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Thanks for the tips, some of your points are things I’ve considered.

My dads side is from Oshkosh, so I’ve been taking my family since my kids were tiny! Love the AirVenture! I plan on going next year and attending some seminars.

I currently live outside Minneapolis/St. Paul so there seems to be plenty of options here but with the city proximity, the price goes up.

Thanks for the info!

 

[Mike Islander]

+1000 on joining EAA and AOPA. Subscribe to "Flying" and "Kitplanes" magazines. Being immersed in a world of people who love Aviation will keep you working on your ticket.

Remember, once you earn your license you are always a pilot. You can go years without flying and then after a few hours of refresher training be back in the air. The master of your domain.

 

[Kindo]

Club, 100%. Visit your local clubs for a few weeks. Meet the folks. Meet the instructors. Learn the costs, planes, and programs that they offer. Take a familiarization ride and just enjoy everything. Make sure you find a club with plenty of planes to rent, ready to go when you are. I started at Golden State Flying Club on Gillespie Field in San Diego. They had plenty of instructors and plenty of airplanes. Spent the rest of my time flying military Aero clubs, which also generally had plenty of planes ready to go. That really is a game-changer, having a plane when you are ready to go flying. That way you can go at the spur of the moment and a plane is ready for you when you are ready to go.

Then join the club you like and fly as often as you can, every week minimum if at all possible.

I took my training over a two month period when I was 19, flying up to three times a day. That was a lot of learning in a short time. 4 months would have been perfect, but I was on leave, preparing for submarine duty.

Enjoy your freedom! Live your dream! I pushed so hard to complete my training because my father always was saddened that he never learned. I was determined that that would not happen to me. Coincidentally, my father and I were roommates at the time, as I was going to Navy schools in my home town of San Diego. So I had a dedicated cheerleader the entire time.

I hear ya. My dad had his for a brief stint but ultimately gave it up when he and my mom decided to start a family.

Plenty of clubs around my area and then I have a couple small airfields close to my home. Convenience is decent compared to some I’ve spoken to. Hangar space may be the tricky part.

 

[Whaledriver]

Former CFII here. I don't instruct anymore but do fly airplanes for a living. I am a little on the old school here and recommend finding some good books for studying ground. That way you can take notes, mark it up and become better familiar with the material. We have all our manuals on an IPad now and it sucks for studying. One last piece of advice is, there is a difference between going cheap and saving money in aviation. Going cheap can get you hurt. I would say have the money saved to go though flight training in 6 months or less. That way there is less slippage between lessons, saving you money. Always look over airplanes that are rentals really good. If they are cheaper, there is usually a reason. If a local FBO, get to know the mechanics that work on them. One, you will learn something, and two you will know if they like to cut corners or are meticulous. Finally, if it were me a small partnership or club would be the best option, as you know the maintenance history on the aircraft you are flying. Once you have the ticket, stay proficient and stay in the books. When instructing I saw some guys that though the amount of money they had or the cost of their airplane would naturally keep them out of trouble. That never works out. Develop personal limitations and stick with then no matter how much incovience or cost. Have fun!

 

[cornfedkiller]

Best source for ground skill development prior to air time?

I can't say how it compares to the others since I have never tried them, but I went through the King's program and thought it was pretty decent.

 

[qwerksc]

I did the Kings and joined a club. I haven’t flown in a while, kids are way more expensive than flying.

 

[ShootOkHuntWorse]

A club would be good for more consistency and having the plane for when you get your license. The biggest thing I have to say is don’t be afraid to switch instructors. There are so many stories of people who stuck with an instructor they didn’t like because they didn’t know how easy and important it was to switch to one that meshes with you. Personally I had multiple students who swapped to me or away from me for how they learned vs how I or the other instructors taught. I have a more mechanical and operators history where my counterpart had a more language and book understanding of principles. Students that left me for him and vice versa are still good friends to me and there was no animosity. I urged them to try other instructors if they weren’t getting a subject. Current Cfii/mei but operate a whiny bird for a regional. Sometimes visit Minneapolis as well for 40 minutes at a time. Good luck and show up to every lesson with a plan, being ready to switch to plan b when something needs cleaned up. Studying at home saves you money. Oral exam guide(little blue book by asa) is worth its weight in gold for asking the easily glossed over subjects.

 

[jb1842]

Make sure you can get a 3rd class medical first. I used Gleim for ground school. Good but dry. I've heard good things about Sporty's.

 

[Bryant S. Campbell]

Find a club and rent one of their planes. Although I had a Cessna 175 that was originally bought by my grandfather in '59, I couldn't get on the insurance till I build hours. A club rental 150 and later a 172 was a life saver. Plus the more experienced pilots in the club are truly a wealth of information. I lost my medical several years ago due to declining health, but I still get to go up in 88M every now and then.

 

[Fatcamp]

My wife is very understanding, but established early on I would not learn to fly or become a flight nurse.

Makes me a little sad. And very jealous of you folks. Tempted to build a 120hp Harley out of spite.

 

[Kindo]

Thanks for the input so far everyone. Currently in the process to set up a “discovery flight” with a CFI to see how we mesh. The only problem now is hunting season (and work I suppose) will get in the way of more frequent flying.

To answer the one question of my purpose for this is well….It’s always been a dream of mine since I was about 12 on my first fly-in trip in a piper. I’d like to develop of the skill and just enjoy flying. My family has some properties conducive to flying in, so it would be downright awesome if I could make that work one day!