Good info in this thread!
How do you know if you need to fly under the sport pilot rules, flying LSA aircraft (use your drivers license as your medical instead of getting a 3rd class medical)? Are you on any meds? Do you have any medical conditions? If so, join the AOPA. Heck join them anyway, along with the EAA. The AOPA has a program which can tell you what the FAA thinks of your meds and medical conditions and what's required by the FAA for your to be able to get your medical and fly. Find that out BEFORE you go get your medical. If you fail your medical first, you can't just start flying with a driver's license for your medical. It can get ugly...
The LSA RV-12 has a cruise speed that's right around the Cessna 172's. True you can't put as much stuff in it as you can a 172, but you can still do a lot of traveling. All the other RV's will smoke an RV-12 in cruise speed, but they'll smoke the 172 also. Of course they can't do at 4 to 4.5 gallons of auto fuel an hour!
Training -
Fly everyday that you can. As has already been mentioned, the more frequently you fly, the less total hours it will take to get your license, therefore the less dollars it will take our of your pocket. Even if you are able to schedule everyday for flying, you won't be able too because of the weather or even just the wind blowing too hard for where you're at in skill level. Remember the 'Old' saying...'There are Old pilots and there are BOLD pilots (I should add Stupid pilots here as well...), but there are no OLD BOLD pilots!
Hang out at a couple of flight schools if you can. Talk to the other students, find out how often they fly, what they like about their instructor and what they don't like. Ask how many hours they have in training and over what period of time. Like everything else in life, not every personality is a good fit with your personality. It's important to find an instructor that fits you. Remember though, you're not necessarily trying to find the nicest CFI in the room.
While it may not be common, watch out for this...We have a local CFI is that is really a super nice person, but they are also known as the 'milk-er'. They are not really interested in getting you out the door as efficiently as they can. Why, because they make more money training you, than passing you. How can you tell? If you spend a lot of training sessions just going out and flying around with them in right seat. And don't do this to yourself! You may need to do that every now and then, just to enjoy the flight; to have fun and to remember what it is about flying that draws you passionately into looking up into the sky every time an airplane flies over. But every time you fly you need to be training and working on something. Training is hard work, just like training for a sport. You may not really have a lot of fun training until its all starting to click for you; until you start to become a pilot.
Join the EAA and the local chapter or at least go to their meetings. Talk to them find out what they've done, and who they go see for their reviews. Get some pointers, learn the lay of the land when it comes to training in your local area (and maybe even get a ride!).
Besides the
Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge mentioned earlier, there's also available for free:
If you have a tablet you can save them off as a pdf and load them on!
There are DVD's on subjects like taking off, landing or entire courses put out by the likes of King Schools and Sporty's. I also have these converted and installed on my iPad.
The Plane
Consider buying a used plane for your training and beyond. Aircraft can be financed over a longer period of time (10 to 15 years), than a car. This can make a monthly plane payment cheaper than rental. There are down sides to this that you need to be aware of though. The biggie is maintenance. If something goes wrong with your plane, its your wallet it comes out of. Still, many people use this approach quite successfully. Research, research and then do some more research.
You can get into an older (sometimes much older) Cessna 172 or Piper 140-ish, that would make a good trainer for less than $200 - $300 a month. Look at the rental rates and you'll see that you can easily spend that in one week of aircraft rental. As many will tell you, there are a lot of other things to consider when purchasing an older aircraft, but research it and see if its an option for you.
If you do decide to look at buying there are owners groups that can help you. There are owners guides and buyers guides like the
http://www.cessna.org/buyers-guide-172-excerpts.
Don't forget the experimental world when thinking of going this way, but check on insurance. Many times it would be difficult to get insurance on some aircraft with just a student pilots license. That goes for some commercially built aircraft as well.
Insurance
And speaking of insurance, make sure if you rent an aircraft you have renters insurance. There's always a deductible that has to be covered by someone in the event of a accident, even minor ones.
Its just plain/plane fun to fly!
This is a journey, a fun, loveable journey. You will never forget the first time you take off, in control of an aircraft. You will never forget your solo, your first cross-country or becoming a pilot. Enjoy the journey! You will never be the same again.
Bob
Congrats on first step.
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