"Mike (Remove X's to reply)" wrote in message
...
| Hi there,
|
| After seeing a commercial on TV for pilot's lessons, my childhood interest
| in flying was renewed and I want to make the jump into flying. How much
are
| lessons typically and the license fees? Once your done with the
| certification, how do you access a plane? Do you rent, lease, buy?
What's
| the price range for all of these things. Would it ever be feasable to fly
| yourself somewhere else for a vacation for a week, or would it be too
| expensive? How noisy are planes? Will I need earplugs?
|

Glad to see that those TV commercials are working.

It typically costs between $5,000 and $7,000 to get a private pilot
certificate in the United States. It can cost more if you decide to learn in
newer airplanes. You pay as you go.

Most pilots rent airplanes. You can buy reasonable used airplanes for well
under $50,000, train in them, and sell them after you are through with
them -- possibly making a profit on the whole deal. Some aircraft
manufacturers are offering discounts on their new planes. A new Cessna 172
costs about $180,000, but Cessna will give you a $4,000 discount if you buy
a new plane within a year of purchasing their Cessna Pilot Center ground
school kit, for example. There are some important income tax incentives to
buying an airplane, too.

It is entirely feasible to use an airplane for a week. It is more difficult
if you are renting the plane, easier if you belong to a club, and easiest of
all if you own the plane either by yourself or as part of a partnership. It
costs more per seat than an airline ticket, but for trips under 1000 miles
it is generally faster and much more convenient.

Most small airplanes are noisy, so the pilots wear headsets, and some pilots
wear earplugs with their headsets. You can also buy noise canceling headsets
which actively cancel out sound waves reaching your ears. Most people who
try these think they are wonderful.

Your eyesight does not sound like much of a problem. If you wear glasses,
try on your next prescription to get your vision corrected to 20/15 instead
of just 20/20. I have found that my students who do this actually learn to
fly more quickly and have a much easier time spotting other airplanes. It
certainly produced an immediate improvement in my landings, most of which
are now survivable. :-)

Once you learn to fly you will find that flying as a hobby is about as
expensive as golf.