[mcsteatlh]

Just finished my 8th hour in a 172. On my 2nd disc in the King, Private Pilot Course. Went and got a medical also. So far so good. Hope the money holds out. $110 per, wet, for the well equipped, 1100hr C172. $40 for the CFI.

Wish me luck.

McStealth

 

[Mike S]

od. Hope the money holds out. $110 per, wet, for the well equipped, 1100hr C172. $40 for the CFI.

Wish me luck.

McStealth

Gook Luck.

 

[RickWoodall]

Good Luck

I laugh when i look back on my training and how long it really took. At the start the club gives you info on how long it takes, how many hours min etc. Funny, i am either the dumbest guy around...or those are a mere fraction of the total cost and they figure the lure of the 40hr ticket will get people hooked and then they will find the funds to keep going. Hopefully you are a good hands and feet guy, pick up some good info from the King kit, do lots of reading and homework and move along quickly. When I look back...something like the king kit would have been well worth the cost.
Hopefuly you have a good CFI, who isnt just trying to build hours (his) on your dime. There are some incredible instructors and lots of dogs....good luck and work hard. Its worth it. I look back at my hours required and would say 10-15 were a complete waste....yes I still flew and learned some...but they werent "productive" in the sense that I really understood the mission that day, paid close attention, preped for it, comprehended the reason and details and nailed it. Good luck, stick with it....however long it takes and earn your wings.

 

[airguy]

I laugh when i look back on my training and how long it really took. At the start the club gives you info on how long it takes, how many hours min etc. Funny, i am either the dumbest guy around...or those are a mere fraction of the total cost and they figure the lure of the 40hr ticket will get people hooked and then they will find the funds to keep going. Hopefully you are a good hands and feet guy, pick up some good info from the King kit, do lots of reading and homework and move along quickly. When I look back...something like the king kit would have been well worth the cost.
Hopefuly you have a good CFI, who isnt just trying to build hours (his) on your dime. There are some incredible instructors and lots of dogs....good luck and work hard. Its worth it. I look back at my hours required and would say 10-15 were a complete waste....yes I still flew and learned some...but they werent "productive" in the sense that I really understood the mission that day, paid close attention, preped for it, comprehended the reason and details and nailed it. Good luck, stick with it....however long it takes and earn your wings.

I think different individuals learn at different speeds - and the instructor's ability to teach (and the students preparation and ability to learn) play a large part in that. When I took off for my checkride (and passed it, by the way) I had 40.4 hours in my logbook total. I actually departed my home base (TRL) short of my cross-country hours requirement and logged them on the way into Sulphur Springs airport to meet my DE for the checkride. I was renting a wet 172 for $50/hr and an instructor for $20/hr, and 100LL fuel was $2.05 self-serve, this was back in March of '98.

 

[gbrasch]

I am old and gray

Took my first lessons in a 150 in Carbondale, Illinois. Because I was a student at SIU and the flight school was part of the university, I got a deal, $17 an hour wet. Currently I am getting an add-on instrument helicopter rating at $295 an hour. My, how times have changed.

 

[gbrasch]

Took my first lessons in a 150 in Carbondale, Illinois. Because I was a student at SIU and the flight school was part of the university, I got a deal, $17 an hour wet. Currently I am getting an add-on instrument helicopter rating at $295 an hour. My, how times have changed.

Oh, I forgot to add, that was 1970.

 

[Mark Burns]

I worked at Cessna for a short while back in 1978.

I rented 152's from the Cessna Flying club for $9.25 an hour WET.
It was amazing then and almost unbelievable now.

I should have flown a lot more then

Mark

 

[johnp]

I worked at Cessna for a short while back in 1978.

I rented 152's from the Cessna Flying club for $9.25 an hour WET.
It was amazing then and almost unbelievable now.

I should have flown a lot more then

Mark

mine was a little more -- 1977 -- c150 for $12 wet, $14 dual. when i got the cert in 1978 i found a friend with a c-172 he used to rent me for $17 wet.

it was still tough to come up with the money as i was in grad school and only working part-time.

 

[Mel]

40 hours?

What's interesting is when the DPE asks you during the oral, "How many hours are required for the private pilot check-ride?" You answer, "40". He then says, "How many hours do you have?" You answer "40?" He then says, "No, your instructor made a mathematical error, and you don't have 40 hrs. Did you log your time coming over here this morning?" You answer "No". He says "How long did it take you?" And you answer with "How much time do I need?" He says ".4 hrs." And you say of course, "It took me .4 hrs to get here." Then your heart starts beating again and you pass the test..
Circa 1967.

 

[n5lp]

What's interesting is when the DPE asks you during the oral, "How many hours are required for the private pilot check-ride?" You answer, "40". He then says, "How many hours do you have?" You answer "40?" He then says, "No, your instructor made a mathematical error...

Something very similar happened to me on my instrument ride. I was right on the number, including a bunch of simulator time. The examiner did a through investigation of my log books and found that I had included some hood time from my initial PP training as instrument training. Trouble was that that instructor did not indicate whether he was an II. Lucky for me the examiner chose to ignore the problem.

In those days I was in a C172 club at $13 hour wet (1977) and about a $15 monthly fee. It was still a struggle but I flew that radio-less airplane all over the west and propped it to start many times. There was a reason it was so cheap.

 

[mike109g6]

I laugh when i look back on my training and how long it really took. At the start the club gives you info on how long it takes, how many hours min etc. Funny, i am either the dumbest guy around...or those are a mere fraction of the total cost and they figure the lure of the 40hr ticket will get people hooked and then they will find the funds to keep going. Hopefully you are a good hands and feet guy, pick up some good info from the King kit, do lots of reading and homework and move along quickly. When I look back...something like the king kit would have been well worth the cost.
Hopefuly you have a good CFI, who isnt just trying to build hours (his) on your dime. There are some incredible instructors and lots of dogs....good luck and work hard. Its worth it. I look back at my hours required and would say 10-15 were a complete waste....yes I still flew and learned some...but they werent "productive" in the sense that I really understood the mission that day, paid close attention, preped for it, comprehended the reason and details and nailed it. Good luck, stick with it....however long it takes and earn your wings.

Rick is right, stick with it no matter how long it takes to earn you wings. It only took me 29 years to get mine. Started when I returned from Vietnam July 1974 - passed my check ride 19 Feb 2004. Heck my student pilot training spanned 2 different centuries. Life got in the way. I have them now, and holding on with a death grip. I'm sure that I set some kind of record as the LONGEST student pilot.
Mike H 9A/8A

 

[L.Adamson]

It only took me 29 years to get mine. Started when I returned from Vietnam July 1974 - passed my check ride 19 Feb 2004. Heck my student pilot training spanned 2 different centuries. Life got in the way. I have them now, and holding on with a death grip. I'm sure that I set some kind of record as the LONGEST student pilot.

Yep,..... you beat me. 1968-1994 (only 26 years). Marriage & five kids in between.

L.Adamson -- RV6A

 

[Jaypratt]

licence PPL

My brother Jim, Bought a C150 in 1984 for $9500 found a retired guy to give him lessons for almost free. Used car gas. Did one 'owner assist' 'Annual Inspection, had to replace one cylinder. He got his licence for right at $1000 total in 1984 $. After selling the Cessna for $9500.
I know lack of money is not an excuse for putting off your PPL, RV build, ect. It is the WILL to get it done. If you let things get in your way they must be more important.
Good luck to you. I hope the money dosen't run out. If it does, I hope you will find a way.

Cheers

 

[rvbuilder2002]

My brother Jim, Bought a C150 in 1984 for $9500 found a retired guy to give him lessons for almost free. Used car gas. Did one 'owner assist' 'Annual Inspection, had to replace one cylinder. He got his licence for right at $1000 total in 1984 $. After selling the Cessna for $9500.
I know lack of money is not an excuse for putting off your PPL, RV build, ect. It is the WILL to get it done. If you let things get in your way they must be more important.
Good luck to you. I hope the money dosen't run out. If it does, I hope you will find a way.

Cheers

I believe the way Jay just described for getting a license is bar none the best way possible now adays.

As long as you buy an airplane at a price it is really worth, you will not loose money on it (and often you will sell it for more than you paid when your training is finished).
I know of many instances were a couple, three, (one time even four guys) pooled there money, and bought an inexpensive (read that as not very pretty), but airworthy Champ, etc. to use for flight training. They then find a retired age flight instructor who has experience in the type of airplane they own, and who teaches for the love of teaching (and to make a few exra bucks of course). This is a perfect instructor choice. He is not using you to build his own flight hours or to fill out the balance on his biweekly paycheck.

All the students fly the airplane for little cost other than fuel and a little for maint., plus what ever the instructor charges them for dual.
When everyone is done, sell the airplane, everyone gets their orig. investment back, and sometimes a couple of the partners have gone on to develope a partnership in a different airplane.

 

[rzbill]

You got me by a couple of months

It only took me 29 years to get mine. Started when I returned from Vietnam July 1974 - passed my check ride 19 Feb 2004

29 years for me too. 1975 to 2004. You have the honors by a few months over me. Never let my EAA membership slide though. I always had that mag in the living room to feed my habit.

The "life change" happened during a traffic jamb from **LL just south of DC on the way to NC. My wife said "why don't you finish your license". I was at the local FBO the following Saturday.

 

[grantcarruthers]

I went for my check ride with 40.1 after flying the previous day for .7 and no reason other than to get that .7. Money was an issue and I remember hitting my last TnG right on the clock and parking to get that .7 hrs.

How did I do it, easy. I wanted to fly for 10 years before I found the time and money at the SAME time. I watched my Sporty's videos, read "Complete Private Pilot" by Gardner???, and flew the heck out of MS Flight Sim all the way to instrument and commercial ratings on the sim. I did that mostly for fun as I waited for the right time to come. By the time I started flight training for real there was VERY little the CFI had to TEACH me. He just kept me from killing myself as I translated all my book and sim training to real life.

I don't say this to brag one little bit, I say it because I think most people start training with WAY too little prep before hand. If you want to spend a lot of money and time to get a PPL just show up expecting the CFI to teach you how to fly. If you want to do it in minimal time and money just read a decent book 3-5 times and watch the videos 3-5 times. That'll knock 20 hours off the national average of ~60 for most people.

I got my PPL in 2001 for around 3k with a 152 @42 and CFI @20 at Meachum in Ft Worth. DFW seems to still have the cheapest rates in the country if you shop around a bit.

Congrats on starting your training and welcome to the club almost. Keep at it and keep reading, you'll be done before you know it.

As far as money goes, it might be worth a week of vacation and a road trip to some place with cheaper planes. They won't be pretty but paint isn't what makes'em fly anyway. Even if you don't finish you can knock out most of it and save some $$.

 

[mcsteatlh]

Thanks

Thanks for the kind words and encouragment. I am a life long student also, letting life get in the way!!! NOT this time it wont. grrrrr. Get out of the way!!!!!!!!!! grrrrrr!


McStealth