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Old 03-06-2019, 01:09 PM
  #23  
Cheese7
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Joined APC: Nov 2016
Posts: 55
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Originally Posted by TiredSoul View Post
It absolutely is.
It can be argued that part time training gives you more time to think about and digest what you are learning.
Fly more often in the beginning though like 3-4 times a week and after you solo 2-3 times a week.
Other than that I completely agree with previous info.
Good luck and let us know what you decide.
Couldn't agree more. I'm 29, make $85k in a non aviation job and have been flight training part time for the last 2 years. By keeping my day job, I've been able to not only cash flow all my ratings, but also save up money on the side to tide me over in the low income pilot time-building period. I'm about 2 months away from quitting my current job and going to work full time as a flight instructor.

I agree that part time flight training allows it to sink in better. Some would say you have to "re-learn" some things, and I have found this to be true about a few things in aviation, but I have also seen that if I learn something twice, it hits the long term memory banks better, so there are pro's to "re-learning" things.



To the OP: You are in an almost identical situation to what I was in 2 years ago. With your current income and earning potential, I wouldn't quit your job and go into a bunch of debt for your ratings. I would cash flow every penny of them. I don't know the time commitment of your job, but what I found is that with a 40-50 hour/week job, no spouse, and no kids that I have enough time to work on my ratings on the side. I even took little breaks between each rating which was nice. Yes, you will have to give up nights and weekends, but its very do-able depending on how much you want it.

If you're in Georgia, you should have plenty of local part 61 schools. Are you out in the boonies or close to a city? Being that you work for a Fortune 500 company, I would imagine close to a city. I would go fly with a few different instructors and find the best instructor you can within driving distance from you. When you're local part 61, a good instructor makes all the difference in the world.

Also, I'm 6'-5". You'll fit just fine in a 172 (this was my favorite trainer plane partly because of my size and the more upright cockpit/seating of the 172). The piper products will be a little tight (Cherokee or Archer), but you should fit okay in an Arrow or Cherokee 180. I would look for a 172. Don't even think about a 150/152. I sat in one one time and couldn't move the flight controls without opening the door. My knees and thighs were all wrapped up in the yoke.

Good luck to you and feel free to come back with questions along the way. There are a few negative personalities on this forum, but most of the people here are helpful, remember what it's like to be where you are, and are willing to help people like us out.

You should check out Carl Valeri's Aviation Careers Podcast. That podcast was instrumental in my decision to make a career change. I'm pretty sure I went back to the beginning and listened to every episode since 2012.
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