Just learn to fly and get your PPL. Fly what's cheap. You can
learn the fancy stuff as you work on your IR.


"Metavalent" wrote in message
.verio.net...
Hi,

I am just finishing solo phase and have a long journey ahead. My training
waypoints are (god willing!) Private, IFR, and perhaps Commercial and even
CFI if I can keep building the skills and financing the habit long enough
to get on the other side of the checkbook.

Bottom line for now is that I am fast realizing the costs of getting
started and I wonder if it might be more efficient to switch from the
C172SP, which I love, but it is a little price; to a PA28-161 or 181. The
wet rates are generally quite a bit lower, at least at my home base, and a
couple of CFI's have mentioned that you can get more bang for your buck in
these airplanes.

For example, I've read:
---
What is your favorite aircraft to instruct in?
Reliable, and forgiving aircraft. Basic trainers a C-152, C172,
PA28-161, PA28-181. Remember the best combination for learning: Newer
aircraft and more experienced instructor. Older aircraft and newer
instructors are both riskier, in general.

What are your aircraft recommendations for a new student?
My own perspective: C-152 -- money saver(if your weigh less than 160lbs);
PA28-161 or 181 -- least hours to get your Private Pilot Certificate;
C-172SP -- pricey, but new and nicely equipped; SR22 --
more expensive, but you get cutting edge technology and performance.
---

I have always had a fascination for low-wing airplanes, but what is the
consensus about a student switching during the post-solo, pre-cross
country stage of training? It is certainly wisest to solo in the plane
that one learns to fly sufficiently well to pass the solo phase checks;
however, I want to maximize the number of hours I am able to fly while
keeping costs reasonable, moving forward. Will I truly get more mileage
for my training dollar by changing now?

It would also be nice to learn the contemporary avionics at the same time,
which is one huge advantage of the 172SP's I have been flying. The
questions are, can these objectives be better (more cost effectively)
achieved in a 161 or 181? What are your thoughts on cross-training or
changing airplanes after solo but prior to that first private certificate?
Of course, if changing now would diminish the development of the most
proficient skills, it would not be worth any cost savings, but I thought I
would ask what others think before moving forward from here.

Thank you in advance for any advice that you might have time to share.