Is learning to fly hard?

[aabreu]

I learned to fly in through an airplane club in Toledo Ohio. We have a Pietenpol Aircamper. The club charges me $10 per our plus I supply the 87 octane car gas. Conventional landing gear amplifies any bad flying techniques, so you are forced to learn how to fly correctly. Took my check ride with Martha Lunken in fall of 2009 in southern Ohio. Is flying hard? I wouldn't call it hard. I would call it challenging. I still fly the Piet. In fact, I flew it today. Check it out. Are you jelly?
http://cloudahoy.com/cgi-bin/fltShar...VnhBvUCo2ER1HB

Later,
Andy

[Frank Giger]

Learning to fly isn't horribly difficult - it's akin to learning to drive (I'm teaching my son to drive right now and I think I was a better student pilot than he is a student driver).

One does have to be prepared for every lesson and take it seriously, though.

What all the noise about money is about is that in order to really learn, one must be trained regularly and consistently. One lesson a month is a huge waste of time and effort.

How I did it was to sit down, research, and come up with a financial plan to pay for my training BEFORE I began, always estimating high.

As a Sport Pilot, 20 hours is the minimum. Ha! Fat chance, since I wasn't raised around aircraft and had no observational experience (like most do with driving a car), I bumped it up to 30 hours. Plane and instructor was $180 an hour, so that went into the spreadsheet.

And books.

And gas to and from the airport.

And "other," which I randomly threw $500 at, as I knew there would be some weird hidden costs I wouldn't know about (like a headset, EAA/AOPA memberships, sectionals, etc.).

I figured $6,000 for my little piece of plastic, which is a lot of money for a guy like me. But when one really wants something, one can find a way.

Well, two days a week (with a break for maintenance issues) and 26 hours of flight/instruction time later and I passed the check ride, four hours and three hundred dollars less than budgeted.

And then budgeted actual flying on my own and endorsements - tailwheel, for example.

It's not hard, actually; just put optional expenses in terms of flight time. Pizza delivery for the family is twenty minutes in the air. Sometimes the pizza just has to be ordered for quality of life, but I find that I've cut down on a lot of BS spending by putting into flight time equivalents.

I also don't worry too much about drop-out rates, though I'm suprised how long it takes people to do so. I figured that about hour three either the bug has bitten or it hasn't; if it has, nothing will stop one from wanting more.

For me it bit about the time I revved the engine and turned the switch from "BOTH" to "RIGHT;" YMMV.

[rosiejerryrosie]

For me it bit about the time I revved the engine and turned the switch from "BOTH" to "RIGHT;" YMMV.

For me, it was the first time I got to holler "Clear".....

[David Pavlich]

I just joined and the first thread to read is this one. Very interesting replies. What keeps people away from learning to fly initially is first cost, then time which is my case. I'm at a point now where I just may jump in and get my ticket. I'm 61 and just put my business up for sale. Upon that sale, if and when it happens and after the transition helping the new owner, I just may do it. My thought process is since I'll be "unemployed for the first time since I got out of high school, I can accelerate the process since I'll have time. I've read ads about the "2 week private license". That seems a bit much on the surface. However, there is something to be said for total immersion. My hope is that I can do a sort of hybrid of the traditional path and the 2 week super duper acquisition.

I'd like to do something like getting 3 or 4 flights a week in. Prior to that, have my studies already completed for the written portion. One of the posts mentioned getting the written work done early in the process which makes sense. I've already been reading several FAA books and looking at a few video tutorials. Does something like this make sense or am I really missing something?

My Dad got his ticket after WWII, he was a flight engineer on a B17G. We all have regrets and one of mine is that I never pursued my license. My hobby is astrononmy and when I think of the money I've spent on it, i could have been flying a 747 now. :-) Well, I would have at least been instrument rated. I've even thought about selling some of my astrophotography equipment to finance this effort, but even though i have the money, finding the time was the real hangup. But if the business sells (I say if because of the economic conditions), I'm going to do it. Any thoughts that you veteran pilots have concerning my idea as to how to get to that point would really be appreciated!

David

[rosiejerryrosie]

Hi David,
You have the right idea. I too think the crash two week courses are just a bit too accelerated, but if you can fly 2 to 4 times a week, it should be about right. I started training at about the same age as you - after I retired and only planned on flying once a week. With weather interruptions, etc. once a week actually turned out to average every other week, which is too drawn out. In the process, the flight school went out of business and I had a long dry period until I discovered Ultralights. To shorten a long story, I finally got my ticket at age 72 and love it. Go for it my man, go for it! I was told by a very good CFI that younger kids learn faster but us older guys learn better. An 18 year old may be able to solo with less time than a 60 year old, but, in his opinion, the 60 year old will end up a better pilot becaause of the better judgement earned over the years of making mistakes and learning from them. The prime directive is "Have Fun"!

[Bill Greenwood]

David, if you have the money and the time go do it. I would probably do one of the 2 week courses. You don't say where you are or where they are. They seem serious about getting your rating.
By the way , nothing wrong with a sport/LSA rating, but if you know and can afford to be a pilot, why not go for the private from the first.
You can certainly learn to fly at 61.
Good luck

[David Pavlich]

David, if you have the money and the time go do it. I would probably do one of the 2 week courses. You don't say where you are or where they are. They seem serious about getting your rating.
By the way , nothing wrong with a sport/LSA rating, but if you know and can afford to be a pilot, why not go for the private from the first.
You can certainly learn to fly at 61.
Good luck

Thanks for the replies! I have two flight schools within a 45 minute drive. One is a Cessna school and the other is a private school. Cessna advantage: newer equipment with G1000 equipped 172s plus a simulator. The other has older planes, no simulator but a good reputation with the locals. I met a couple of the instructors at the Cessna school, but other than meeting them and having a short discussion, I don't know much about them. The Cessna school actually offers an accelerated course. When the time comes, I'll have to do more research. Having newer equipment in and of itself is only one selling point. I'd rather be comfortable with the instructors even if the equipment isn't the latest and greatest.

I have every intention of getting a private license. Why stop half way? Down the road, perhaps an instrument rating as well. Time will tell!

David

[Bill Greenwood]

David, if you want to fly airplanes find the best instructor around. If you want to play with a computer on the panel of an airplane, go to the Cessna place.
Just a guesstamate, but I'll bet the Cessna place has some nice young men, maybe in coats and ties, that have very little real flying experience in something more exciting than a 172 and much past the home airport.
Go ask the students who have just learned at each school how much fun they had and how many hours it took them to get the rating, and thus how much money.

[David Pavlich]

Truth be known, I'm leaning toward the school with the older equipment based on their reputation. Funny that you mentioned "young" in reference to the Cessna school as one was a very attractive young lady about 25 years of age and the guy wasn't much older. Heck, my son is older than they are. :-) Also, the airspace at the "older" school isn't as crowded. It's at a non-towered field and the FBO is owned by one of my customers. There are ongoing discussions with the town about a tower being built to attract more business. But that's down the road.

At any rate, I'm hoping that I'll be posting here at some point in the very near future that I've started on a path that I should have taken a long time ago.

David

[Baz]

Agreed money is the biggest obstacle and numerous budding pilots are put off from the start. Suggest accessing the link below which is a ready reckoner styled 37 page free download document: www.barrierecommends.info