I'm sure this has been covered, but I searched and couldn't find anything so...

I'm 22, in school, and have a part time job. I am interested in getting my private pilot certificate because i've always wanted to fly, and I plan on being an engineer in the aerospace industry once I get out of school.

I would really like to go ahead and start flying, but money is an issue. My question is, what is the minimum amount of flying I would have to do per month to make progress, and what would be an estimate of the expense (plane rental, fuel, instructor, ect).

Please base your answer on the best case scenario because I do well in school, and I like to think I have good "feel" for this type of thing.

Again, sorry if this has been covered already, and thanks in advance for any responses.

 

I would say if you can't pay for 6-8 lessons a month you are at risk of wasting money having to cover material multiple times. At current rates of about $100 an hour for an airplane and $35 for an instructor, you need about $1500 a month. Flight training is not cheap, and you are smart for planning it ahead of time. If you can't afford 6-8 lessons a month, you may wish to put it off until you can.

 

I would say to go ahead and get your feet wet, even if you can't afford to continue. Perhaps you won't like it. Perhaps you will decide to change careers. If nothing else, it will be something to talk about at the interview.

Joe

 

It depends on how much time you devote to reading and studying. I have a few students that fly once a week and as long as you can keep up with the reading, procedures, checklist, etc. you'll be fine BUT it will cost you more in the long run. Obviously, if you can fly twice or 3 times a week you'll finish your training faster and it'll be cheaper.

 

When I learned to fly, the advice given to me back then was to take your training flights on the same schedule that you will fly when you have your license.

If you are going to fly 4 times a month then you should train 4 times a month. If you are going to fly 6 times a month then you should train 6 times a month.

It's been 20+ years since I got my license, but I believe that is still pretty good advice. Yes it will often be slower and yes it will probably be more expensive, but you will learn the information and it will more likely be embedded into your brain under this type of schedule rather than try to "cram" everything as fast as possible.

My experience has been that students that "cram" the information often forget that information within a pretty short time frame if they don't keep flying under a "cram" type schedule.

So with that being said, there are some folks that believe you should fly at least 2 times a week. I can't disagree with that either.

What you have to do is what works for you based upon your time and economic circumstances.

The one piece of advice that I will give you is to get started. A turtle never moves until he sticks his neck out.

 

First off you need to look for a school that has a schedule that fits your needs. the ones that have allot of instructors is good because if you are busy and only have a few days to fly, then having available instructors for that day is very important. You can always reserve a spot, but CFIs are humans too and they get sick (including other things like weather etc), so you would be days without flying. I also recommend you look for a part 141 school rather than a 61 because part 141 can get you your license faster and that means less money from your wallet. Part 141 schools usually have better planes (maintenance wise at least) because the FAA is much more strict with them.

First off, do your research, if you wan't to fly for "fun" then I suggest you wait till you get out of college and start winning some money because that would mean that while you take your classes, you would not be constantly worrying if whether or not the flight will get back on time etc due to money issues. Schools tend to nickel and dime you so be ready to spend extra money even if getting back late was not your fault.

I am looking to do the same thing you are doing, Get a degree in Aerospace Engineering and earn my licenses on the side, unlike you however, I plan to make flying my life and have the AE degree as a plan B.

 

I agree that 2-3 lessons each week will ensure that you make continuous progress. Less than that, and you will likely waste flight time re-learning or polishing skills you had already mastered...two steps forward, one step back.

Also it has been demonstrated scientifically that a large amount of experience (flight hours) in a short period of time causes the skills to become more second nature for you. A lot of practice in a short period really reinforces flying skills. Everything else being equal, A 500 hour pilot who built his time over ten years will not be as a good a stick as a 500 hour pilot who did it all in one year. We are talking about skills, not knowledge and judgment...the guy who has been around aviation for ten years will have more of that.

Airlines actually require that you get a 100 flight hours within four months after training on a new airplane for this reason.

 

It is possible... if you have some buds that have a license.... maybe go up as much as possible with them (even though you won't be able to log it)... soak up what you can. Try to fly a min. of 10-15 hours per month towards logged training... if you're not - it may not be worth it. If you get with a good 61 school, an instructor that knows what they're doing and doesn't B.S. you.... you'll do it for a reasonable price.

If you can get a "dry rental" - sometimes this helps costs

low average around my area (FL) is around $70-75 dry/hr for a 172, $30 instructor, and around $25 for fuel/hr - so figure about $130/hr dual for 25hrs and $100/hr solo for about 25hrs

checkrides are a killer though... some of those DPEs have become REALLY greedy... some charge up to $500 for a checkride and if you're going for a CFI/II/MEI around $650-800.

 

The students I had coming in 2-3 times per week got their ratings with less time than a student coming in 2-3 times per month. A higher frequency will mean less time spent reviewing and more time learning new topics while keeping everything fresh. The result is less flight time required which will equal less money spent. The downside is that you need more cash upfront to accomplish this.

 

Thanks to everyone for the responses. Based on your posts, and some other things i've read, I have decided to put it off for now. I just don't have enough time or money right now. Plus I just flew up to the National Air and Space museum yesterday, and I'm really excited about getting my engineering degree. I don't think i've ever seen anything that was so inspiring to me.