timwinters
Ejection Handle Pulled
James,
I agree with almost everything you said but maybe one...
...I bought a beautiful old '57 C172, scratched my nuts, and then mumbled to myself "gee, guess I ought to learn how to fly, huh?"
Owning my own plane allowed and encouraged me to fly far more during my training than I would have if I had rented a plane. Once I soloed, there were a couple of airports within the 24NM distance and I was signed off by my instructor for repeat XC flights to them. I flew short "round robin" cross country flights to these fields often. I could also go flying on a moment's notice when the mood struck me...no scheduling issues to worry about.
It was also far cheaper (mentally) to fly my own plane because the only expense I saw that day was gas...at that time about $20/hr...which is a far cry from $100+/hr. Yeah, I know, that's not the real cost, but I played that mental game with myself...most of the remainder of the cost would be there whether I flew or not...so that was the only add'l cost for flying.
I had 108.4 hours in my book when I took my PP check ride. Of that 47.6 hours was just boon-tooling around and playing (learning) because I could!
If you plan to buy a plane anyway and if you know what you want, then I don't see any reason why you shouldn't find your plane and learning to fly in it. It worked out well for me and I had a blast during the process.
I was great to get done mowing the grass, go grab a beer, sit down on the back patio, look at the sky, feel the cool evening air, forgo the beer, and go flying instead! And I did that often since the airport was only 5 minutes from my house at the time.
I agree with almost everything you said but maybe one...
...I bought a beautiful old '57 C172, scratched my nuts, and then mumbled to myself "gee, guess I ought to learn how to fly, huh?"
Owning my own plane allowed and encouraged me to fly far more during my training than I would have if I had rented a plane. Once I soloed, there were a couple of airports within the 24NM distance and I was signed off by my instructor for repeat XC flights to them. I flew short "round robin" cross country flights to these fields often. I could also go flying on a moment's notice when the mood struck me...no scheduling issues to worry about.
It was also far cheaper (mentally) to fly my own plane because the only expense I saw that day was gas...at that time about $20/hr...which is a far cry from $100+/hr. Yeah, I know, that's not the real cost, but I played that mental game with myself...most of the remainder of the cost would be there whether I flew or not...so that was the only add'l cost for flying.
I had 108.4 hours in my book when I took my PP check ride. Of that 47.6 hours was just boon-tooling around and playing (learning) because I could!
If you plan to buy a plane anyway and if you know what you want, then I don't see any reason why you shouldn't find your plane and learning to fly in it. It worked out well for me and I had a blast during the process.
I was great to get done mowing the grass, go grab a beer, sit down on the back patio, look at the sky, feel the cool evening air, forgo the beer, and go flying instead! And I did that often since the airport was only 5 minutes from my house at the time.
