Originally Posted by
minimwage4
Honestly sounds like you're a smart kid. You probably should be designing airplanes rather than driving them. Fly for fun on the side.
I thought we were supposed to pursue careers we love and not care about the money though
. I was always planning on becoming an architect but ever since I got to control an airplane for the first time...well most of you probably know the feeling.
Originally Posted by
Outlaw2097
Most loan companies want 10% down on a plane.
A 40K note @ 6% for 15 years is ~ $350 a month.
Factor in operating costs (gas, insurance, cost of an instructor, etc) and you may find it cheaper than continuing at an FBO. There are plenty of web sites out there that will help you find the right plane for you.
And just to clarify...Im talking about a used plane. Tradeaplane and Controller have nice and easy sites to navigate on. No sense in droping $250k on a brand new one when youre looking to train and get your time.
Haha, yes I caught on about a used plane, no need to clarify. I've checked out some relatively cheap Cessna's and Piper's on Controller. I'll take a look at Tradeaplane and start figuring out costs.
Originally Posted by
Engineer Pilot
I'd say get your PPL if you can afford it now. After that I would say concentrate on learning engineering b/c it really takes time and dedication if you want that degree. Fly for currency and take your college buddies on some spring break trips. Have them split costs to make it cheap for you while building hours towards the commercial license.
Go out and make some money as an engineer as a college intern and do a little more work after school. Get some experience so when that one day comes where you are looking job when the economy goes south you can put that degree to use again. Meanwhile, work towards the CFI and then make a career change.
Might as well get paid well for working hard, right? You won't find that immediately in an aviation career.
If money is not an issue then no need to follow this, just jump into aviation. If it is an issue then don't be like the rest of America and take huge debts... Just my $.02
Money is probably going to be an issue depending on how much I can work while staying focused on school, so this seems like a good way to go. Thanks for the advice!