Todays Cost of getting a PPL

Or
better yet let me choose to spend 1900 dollars in 2006.

I'll let you do that with me. They have to be silver though.

Jose
--
"Never trust anything that can think for itself, if you can't see where
it keeps its brain." (chapter 10 of book 3 - Harry Potter).
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

Jay Honeck writes:

The money part is a given -- there's nothing you can do to change that.

Well, the money part is the most overwhelming obstacle. If you could
learn to fly in 60 hours of training for $300, people would be lining
up to do so.

Same with golfing, boating, RV'ing, or any other leisure activity --
you gotta pay to play.

Yes, but some hobbies are more expensive than others. Painting and
writing are quite inexpensive, especially writing, and thus accessible
to all. Golf, yachting, sailing, and flying are very expensive
hobbies, reserved to the wealthy. Hobbies that require a certain
minimum time investment (including flying) up front and/or on a
regular basis are even more impractical. One must then be rich and
idle at the same time.

Which is why I encourage every young person I meet to learn to fly NOW,
damn the expense. Money is replaceable -- time is not.

I agree ... but just finding the money up front is difficult. And
young people are far less likely to have spare money than older
people.

I now feel
that my first 35 years on this earth were wasted, wanting to fly but
not being able to find my way aloft. I've done my best to make up for
lost time in the interceding 12 years, but I can never, EVER buy those
35 years (well, okay, 18, after the minimum PPL age of 17) back.

At least you eventually did it.

I don't know how old you are, Manic, but if you want to fly don't wait.
The papers are full of young people in the obituaries every day.

I have no money, and no time.

--
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Jay Honeck writes:

I know, but please make sure everyone knows that your experience is NOT
optimal, nor even typical. That's my only point in posting.

It may not be optimal, but I'm pretty certain it is typical. People
who like to fly are capable of great amounts of rationalization and
wishful thinking, and manage to write off a lot of the expense of
flying by trying to post it to other accounts. The total amount,
though, remains the same, no matter how it is hidden.

I did it. Anyone can do it. It just takes commitment.

No, it takes money.

You don't get an annual check up? Every other year?

Most people don't. And it doesn't necessarily cost $100.

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

"Jose" wrote in message
...
Or better yet let me choose to spend 1900 dollars in 2006.

I'll let you do that with me. They have to be silver though.

You got me!! I would take that deal too.

Love the Harry Potter quote! The wait for the last book is killing me!

John


Jose
--
"Never trust anything that can think for itself, if you can't see where it
keeps its brain." (chapter 10 of book 3 - Harry Potter).
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

Recently, Jay Honeck posted:

After reading John's (BucFan) posting and the revelation that he
spent $12,500 to get his PPL, I have to wonder how representative
this is? It certainly is daunting, to say the least.

No offense to John (whom I applaud for his persistence -- something
few student pilots show), but he was fleeced. There is no way a PPL
has to cost that much, and it does GA an injustice to publicize his
unusual experience.

Perhaps it isn't unusual in his region? Our flying club is the most
economical way to go around here, unless I want to drive an hour to an
airport a couple of counties over. Our 172s and Warriors are about $90/hr.
and up depending on how they're equipped, and instructors are $35/hr. So,
figure $130/hr. + club dues and initial fee + materials + ground school +
tests + check ride, and you're looking at more than 2x what you paid,
minimum. I'd put my cost at around $5500 all things considered, but I did
most of my primary training in a Tomahawk that was about $45/hr.

Mary and I both obtained our PPLs while working full-time, and with
little kids underfoot -- so it CAN be done. You've just got to want
it badly enough.

This is the key; if you want it badly enough, who cares what it costs? To
paraphrase another poster, learning *is* flying.

Neil

john smith wrote:
After reading John's (BucFan) posting and the revelation that he spent
$12,500 to get his PPL, I have to wonder how representative this is?
It certainly is daunting, to say the least.
Is this is true, it is certainly a factor in the decline in pilot starts
and completions.
Where you live:
What are the going rates for dual instruction?

What are the rates and aircraft being used for training?

Actual cost is relative. A slightly better method is to benchmark
against an average professional middle-class salary. Although I do not
have any data to support this, I suspect the cost of a PP certificate
would be around 2 month's worth of earnings, and it probably remained
that way for several decades.

Judah wrote:

For me, the cost would still be justifiable, because I fly myself to many
customer meetings and installation jobs. But if I were just going to get my
pilot's license for recreational flying, it might be much tougher to justify
unless I had that kinda cash to drop on a recreational activity.

I consider it a necessity for me. The fact that I may make a few bucks part
time as a CFI and forestry pilot not withstanding, I absolutely HATE driving.
I also despise the treatment aggravation factor trying to take an ordinary
commercial airline flight somewhere. Therefore, I have no choice (in order
to maintain my sanity) but to fly places I want to go.

My family lives all over the place, and places I want to visit are all over
the map so we would either have to drive or fly. For me its a no brainer.

Personally, I feel safer flying pretty much anywhere than driving. But that's
just me. (I lived in Atlanta for 25 years so maybe that explains it.)

Mxsmanic wrote:

Well, the money part is the most overwhelming obstacle. If you could
learn to fly in 60 hours of training for $300, people would be lining
up to do so.

Things obtained for little or no money or effort are likewise valued little.

John:
Don't be scared off by the heretics (?).
I fully appreciate your posting and discussion of the total costs.
I think it gives all of us who got our PPL's awhile ago a reasonable
idea why we don't see as many people getting into aviation nowadays.
It truely does take a personal and financial commitment to get a PPl now.

In article .com,
"Jay Honeck" wrote:

I was not "fleeced" as you say. My flight school is very reasonably priced,
my instructor was an honest man, who as far as I can tell really did not
need the $22 an hour or whatever portion of that he gets from the school.

You were not intentionally fleeced -- but you *were* fleeced. You spent
at least 100% more than average, and 150% more than necessary. I
don't know a better definition of "fleeced" than that.

Jay, please stop saying he was fleeced. As others have posted, he was
paying the going market rate. It just took him longer than it did you.
Some people can do it in 40 hours, some 100 hours, others anywhere
inbetween.