New to aviation or want to start? Read this!
01-20-2010 | 08:30 AM
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Gets Weekends Off
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New to aviation or want to start? Read this!
Ladies & Gentlemen,
I am passing this on since I wish I had this advice when I started flying. If you want to get through your ratings cost effectively and with the lowest costs - consider a local flying club. Let's look at what I did to get through a Private ASEL & AMEL for about $7,000 (aside from my $5,700 buy-in).
1. Do your research. I poured over the internet and met with contacts at the local airport for hours looking at flight clubs and flight schools. It took me a few weeks but I found a club, toured it, met with the President and test flew their airplane. I ended up buying into a club with an Archer, an Arrow, and a Six - all with Garmin 430's and one-piece windshields with low hours and fresh overhauls & annuals.
2. Take initiative. I did some thorough research, and found that if I enrolled in a master's program I could qualify for financial aid. I am using my student loans to fund my flying AND my education. In the end, I will have a master's, my ratings, and loans at gov't rates (6.8% vs 13-20% at Wells Fargo, etc). Also, read the text books and do most of the ground instruction on your own. It saves time & effort on the ground, and you minimize the ground time you have to pay the instructor.
3. Do the math. I pay based on tach time at my club. However, I can log the hobbs time. That means that I am essentially not paying for taxi time, slow flight, etc. I am logging 2 hours, but paying for 1.7. This ADDS up! Not to mention, that at a WET rate of $80/ hour it realistically comes out to about $69/hour on average. If you factor in the $5,700 spread over 250 hours, it adds up to another $22 an hour - so I am flying for $91/hr if you factor that. However, I get that $5,700 back when I leave the club - which isn't something a flight school can offer you.
4. Network/Kill two birds with one stone. I made connections and got a guy in a neighboring hangar to instruct me in his Multi Engine plane for $100/hr dry plus fuel and obviously his instructing time. That worked out to $130/hr wet, plus instruction. That is half the cost of most ME time, plus I got my 15 hours of complex out of the way for my comm rating.
Basically, you gotta think smart about how to do your instruction and flying. I have a couple instructors - one is an examiner and I also have an A320 captain - each of whom offer valuable insight and great experience. By the time I am done through my CFII & MEI, I will have about $22,000 invested in my ratings and will be about $30,000 ahead of the game compared to UND grads and other pilots looking for the same low-paying jobs. Remember, at the airlines, they don't care WHERE you got your ratings - they care about hours and experience. Make yourself a lean and mean flying machine and spend WISELY!
I am passing this on since I wish I had this advice when I started flying. If you want to get through your ratings cost effectively and with the lowest costs - consider a local flying club. Let's look at what I did to get through a Private ASEL & AMEL for about $7,000 (aside from my $5,700 buy-in).
1. Do your research. I poured over the internet and met with contacts at the local airport for hours looking at flight clubs and flight schools. It took me a few weeks but I found a club, toured it, met with the President and test flew their airplane. I ended up buying into a club with an Archer, an Arrow, and a Six - all with Garmin 430's and one-piece windshields with low hours and fresh overhauls & annuals.
2. Take initiative. I did some thorough research, and found that if I enrolled in a master's program I could qualify for financial aid. I am using my student loans to fund my flying AND my education. In the end, I will have a master's, my ratings, and loans at gov't rates (6.8% vs 13-20% at Wells Fargo, etc). Also, read the text books and do most of the ground instruction on your own. It saves time & effort on the ground, and you minimize the ground time you have to pay the instructor.
3. Do the math. I pay based on tach time at my club. However, I can log the hobbs time. That means that I am essentially not paying for taxi time, slow flight, etc. I am logging 2 hours, but paying for 1.7. This ADDS up! Not to mention, that at a WET rate of $80/ hour it realistically comes out to about $69/hour on average. If you factor in the $5,700 spread over 250 hours, it adds up to another $22 an hour - so I am flying for $91/hr if you factor that. However, I get that $5,700 back when I leave the club - which isn't something a flight school can offer you.
4. Network/Kill two birds with one stone. I made connections and got a guy in a neighboring hangar to instruct me in his Multi Engine plane for $100/hr dry plus fuel and obviously his instructing time. That worked out to $130/hr wet, plus instruction. That is half the cost of most ME time, plus I got my 15 hours of complex out of the way for my comm rating.
Basically, you gotta think smart about how to do your instruction and flying. I have a couple instructors - one is an examiner and I also have an A320 captain - each of whom offer valuable insight and great experience. By the time I am done through my CFII & MEI, I will have about $22,000 invested in my ratings and will be about $30,000 ahead of the game compared to UND grads and other pilots looking for the same low-paying jobs. Remember, at the airlines, they don't care WHERE you got your ratings - they care about hours and experience. Make yourself a lean and mean flying machine and spend WISELY!
01-20-2010 | 11:01 AM
#3
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