Originally Posted by Knot Head

Ok, here it goes. I decided in December that I wanted to become a pilot and I’ve been trying to learn what I can, and work towards that goal. I already took an introductory flight and I’m hooked. I’m 32, just sold my house to make this happen, moved back in with Mom and Dad, have no kids, no wife or current girlfriend. So basically my monthly bills will be almost nothing and I’m free to do whatever is best for the career. I consider myself to be lucky with the situation especially since my home sale ended up being far more lucrative than I expected. As the title states, after the dust has settled, taxes and bills are paid, I will be left with 90k in the savings account free and clear.

This leads me to APC forums. After doing some research, I know I’m not interested in going to ATP. I have many options for small flight schools in my area, I live in Southern California. About 10 miles north of John Wayne Airport, SNA. I am interested in using a smaller school but I’ve been toying with the idea of buying a small plane and possibly having instructors teach me on that instead of paying the full hourly rate. At the very least, use it for any of the hours that I would not need dual instruction. From what I can gather I would not be the first person to do this and it is not completely crazy, but feels crazy and was not received well when I pitched it to my family. Which I anticipated. I’m not dead set on the idea just brainstorming different ways to go about flight school given the situation I am in. I understand that purchasing an airplane carries a lot of risk, but the way I see it, done right and barring any major mechanical issues, it could be highly rewarding.

So I guess here are some of my questions:

If I were to get a plane how early on in training would be a reasonable time to purchase it? My thoughts being the earlier the better so that the savings help pay for the plane.

Would a small plane like a Cessna 150 or a larger plane like a Cessna 172 be a better choice? Not necessarily those exact airplanes but something in a similar class of size and power. Piper variants etc. The idea of the larger plane being able to possibly to freelance CFI with it. The smaller plane I was thinking I could just time build with my own money saved from the cheaper initial purchase price and cheaper cost to run and maintain.

Right now I’m leaning towards completing my private pilots license first. Then picking up a small 150 or piper and as someone else put it, “burn VFR holes in the sky all day”. But I can’t escape the idea of having something with a little more power and IFR capabilities. Or even something like a Taildragger.

I apologize for the long post but I thought the more information the better. My final question, some of the local schools have options for training in a Cessna with G1000 avionics. Is that something that would actually be useful to have experience with before going to a regional? If so how much time would be needed to become proficient?20 to 30 hours? 100 to 200 hours? Not necessary? Thank you for even reading this, if you can answer even one question thank you.