Originally Posted by
SchellhammerIBY
I feel that just because the economy is bad,that all of the sudden it seems like flying is now-ultra expensive. Truth is this has never been a poor mans hobby. It has always taken a huge investment of time and money.
It's always been expensive, but in the last 10 years the costs have risen exponentially. In 1998 I could rent a plane for $40/hour wet. Now the average seems to be $130/wet.
When you have Cessna charging $270,000 for a 172, high fuel prices, and out of control insurance premiums it's hard to keep a reasonable rental rate. I don't know how anyone in the flight training business makes money anymore.