SonicFlyer

It is obvious to me that it has been many many years since either of you have looked at the actual cost of flight training these days.

rickair7777

Fuel should be coming down.

kettlechips

I have a student taking a checkride on friday for his private. He has about 55 hours, spent about $10k. We are in one of the most expensive parts of the country.

Quick math:
152 rental: 115/hr
Cfi: 50/hr

250 hours of 152: about $29k
100 hours of CFI time: $5k
multi add on + timebuilding to 25 hours: 10k
Cfi: 10k

Total: $55,000

Not to mention most people don't spend 20k for their CFI and multi time, nor does this include any safety piloting, which would reduce the costs by quite a bit

AviationDude96

As an aspiring professional aviator who has till present self-funded their training I can honestly say it is much easier said then done. I don't come from the most financially secure background, as my mother was/is a single parent all throughout my childhood and did the best she could to put money away for my education. Then 2008 came, and as we all know many people lost their jobs (my mother being one of them). The money my mother saved for my education since my birth had to be used for other purposes such as paying the mortgage, etc. I started my flight training at my local airport back in January of 2017 and just over three years later I just now have 40.5 hours of flight time towards my ppl. I have worked as a truck driver since early 2018 to help towards my training which has helped some, but when you are out on the road weeks on end it is next to impossible to remain consistent with your training. If you don't make at least 80k or more a year flight training is out of your league financially unless you are able to fund it otherwise.

Douglas89

Most people at my school spend about $14k-$16k on PPL. I probably spent around $15k and was one of the fastest students my instructor had for private pilot. Probably had around 58-62 hours at checkride (granted I probably had an extra 10-13 hours from waiting for prog checks and maintaining proficiency while I prepped for my written). Without the extra waiting I had to do, I probably would of finished between 48-50 hours. I also flew the cheapest plane the school had. Can't remember the wet rate though.

I go to a 141 school so I know there is higher cost, but $10k seems pretty cheap. I am assuming that is a part 61?

I think my instructor spent around $55k-$65k for PPl thru CFII. He did multi and complex after he became an instructor.

kevbo

This is very much a rich mans sport. If you are not in the club, find something else to do! Life will be extremely difficult for anyone who did not start young and well funded.

rickair7777

You can start very young and unfunded and still get there.

You can start older and better funded and still get there, this is often practical... get a degree in something useful, use that to get a decent job, use that to fund flight training. Hint: you can take out a loan against your own 401k after you build it up (read your employer's fine print though).

Or take the advice of the Village People:

https://youtu.be/nmGuy0jievs?t=30

Excargodog

or the Muppets...


https://youtu.be/jC61zbu0ZLk

rickair7777

haha, I still remember that episode, no idea why I was watching the muppets though.

kettlechips

I started saving when I got my first job at age 16. Took me almost 12 years to save up the necessary funds. You don't have to be well funded, but starting young definitely helps