MY PPL COST BREAKDOWN

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Ropin4gold

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Ropin4gold
Well I have seen a few posts on here concerning the costs of obtaining a private pilot license. I though I would share my costs for anyone that is interested. I began my PPL training on 6/25/15 at KSYI (Shelbyville, TN). I flew 4.5 hrs from 6/25-7/9 and then KSYI sold thier airplane. Costs were as follows:

4.5 Hrs in a C-150 at $85/hr wet $382.50
4.5 Hrs instructor at $30/hr $135.00

I got my class 3 medical and student pilot license on 7/6 for $100.00.

I waited from 7/9 to 8/25 for KSYI to obtain another airplane. They did not so I enrolled in a flight school at KMBT (Murfreesboro, TN). I flew 33.8 hrs from 8/25 to 11/14 in a C-152. 20.6 hrs dual and 13.2 hrs solo. I soloed at 18.4 hrs. Then the 152 went down for engine rebuild. Costs were as follows:

33.8 Hrs in a C-152 at $92/hr wet $3,109.60
20.6 Hrs instructor at $51/hr $1,050.60

I switched over to a C-172 and started my checkride prep. I flew 15.8 hrs from 12/3 to 12/17. 13.3 hrs dual and 2.5 hrs solo. Costs were as follows:

15.8 Hrs in a C-172 at $121/hr wet $1,911.80
13.3 Hrs instructor at $51/hr $678.30

I had my checkride on 12/17. During the checkride I flew the C-172 1.8 hrs and paid the checkride fee. Costs were as follows:

1.8 Hrs in a C-172 at $121/hr wet $217.80
Checkride Fee $450.00

I did not pass on my first try (busted a steep turn and short field landing). So I had 1.7 hrs of dual remedial training in the C-172. Costs were as follows:

1.7 Hrs in a C-172 at $121/hr wet $205.70
1.7 Hrs instructor at $51/hr $86.70

I took my second checkride on 12/19 and passed. Costs were as follows:

1.0 Hrs in a C-172 at $121/hr wet $121.00
Retest Fee $225.00

I also incurred the following additional costs while obtaining my license:

I joined the flying club so I could rent the planes at a discounted rate and have access to the online shceduler. This cost me $75 to join and $30/ month for a total of $195.00

I took the Aviation Seminars weekend test prep for $379.00 (do not recommend)

It cost me $150 to sit for the written test.

Finally I spent $438.91 on books, supplies, and a used handheld radio (do recommend, helped a lot to monitor when I wasn't flying).


MY GRAND TOTAL WAS $9,836.91


Looking back on it, I sure would have liked to finished up in that C-150 at KSYI for $85/30 hr dual. It would have saved me a ton of money!

Total in the log.........

Airplane SEL 61.6
T-PROP 3.0 CFII buddy hooked me up with a trip in a C-208B!
Dual Recieved 43.1
PIC 18.5
Day 57.2
Night 4.4
XC 20.4
Actual Inst. 0.8
Simulated Inst. 3.0
Day Landings 179
Night Landings 11
 
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Thanks for the info. How many hours did you have, solo and dual, when you took your first check ride?
 
Congratulations. It does goes to show that it is possible to do this in 2016. It does require commitment. The C-172 rental rates killed your math, as you noted. You would have been close to 5K if you had passed the first time (water under the bridge at this point) and not had the elevated expense of the 172. For reference in 2000, I rounded up the PPL around 40ish hours for a bit above 4AMU. So inflation adjusted not all that bad for ya, aside from the airplane change mid-training. Thank you for sharing your current reference point for those interested in pursuing a private pilot certificate.
 
I had 41.4 Dual and 15.8 solo when I took the first checkride. (57.2)
 
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Why did you have to switch over to the 172?
 
The 152 went down for MX (rebuilding motor). It is still down....
 
your checkride was 450?? where at? i need to go there. haha. Mine have all been 700 each.
 
Fatpat3 said:
your checkride was 450?? where at? i need to go there. haha. Mine have all been 700 each.
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$450 is the norm here in South Florida. Of course, I paid $1,000 for my A&P oral / practical but that took three days and a lot of capital outlay for the examiner.
 
N801BH said:
WOW.......
10 Grand......:hairraise::eek:.......:sad::sad:
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I don't think thats even a particularly unusual number. Plenty of folks are paying almost $150 an hour for a 172 and another $50 for the instructor. Go 60 hours total and you're there. More by the time you add a headset, ground school, examiner fee, etc.
 
alfadog said:
I don't think thats even a particularly unusual number. Plenty of folks are paying almost $150 an hour for a 172 and another $50 for the instructor. Go 60 hours total and you're there. More by the time you add a headset, ground school, examiner fee, etc.
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Yeah....
I know... But still a LONG way from $1,700 PPL's....

Geez,, Times have sure changed...:redface:
 
N801BH said:
Yeah....
I know... But still a LONG way from $1,700 PPL's....

Geez,, Times have sure changed...:redface:
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Theoretically you could do a PPL in my club for well under 5 grand. That's a Cessna 172 at $80 per hour wet and $40 per hour for the instructor.
 
I added my costs to date.

Books and supplies (kneeboard, e6b, sectional, etc) // 19 hrs dual instruction in one of 2 C172's

Just over $4000

Last invoice was for 2.4 hrs dual instruction w/ a few minutes of ground school, I think it was $468

I will solo after the next lesson so I expect the solo flying will be at a lower rate.
 
alfadog said:
Theoretically you could do a PPL in my club for well under 5 grand. That's a Cessna 172 at $80 per hour wet and $40 per hour for the instructor.
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Not WELL UNDER :no:

Without having friends or family in aviation I highly doubt the average Joe off the street is going to even be able to get their PPL for 5k.

Realistic is more like 7-9, especially if you don't fit in a 2 seater, or live in a big city.
 
James331 said:
Not WELL UNDER :no:

Without having friends or family in aviation I highly doubt the average Joe off the street is going to even be able to get their PPL for 5k.

Realistic is more like 7-9, especially if you don't fit in a 2 seater, or live in a big city.
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20 hours dual and 20 hours solo equal $4,000. Examiner fee $450 and $150 written. Add a cheap used headset (like I did) or borrow one and you are well under $5k. I'm not saying that people are doing that, I'm saying it can theoretically be done.

Edit: and just to clarify, I'm putting the $5k as the rock bottom. As I mentioned in my previous post, I think $10k is not an unusual number.
 
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alfadog said:
20 hours dual and 20 hours solo equal $4,000. Examiner fee $450 and $150 written. Add a cheap used headset (like I did) or borrow one and you are well under $5k. I'm not saying that people are doing that, I'm saying it can theoretically be done.
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What's the buy in for the club and monthly dues?
 
NHWannabe said:
What's the buy in for the club and monthly dues?
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$450 buy-in and $25 per month dues. I did not add that in because the monthly dues are negligible and I figured the new pilot would want to keep flying with the club so I did not count the buy-in either.
 
Ropin4gold said:
Checkride Fee $450.00

I did not pass on my first try (busted a steep turn and short field landing).
Retest Fee $225.
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Wow. I've known a few DPEs who don't charge for the retest if you did the original ride with them. Just getting back in the CFI game so guess I'm in for a few surprises! :yesnod:
 
I think I was making $3.75/hr when I started working on my PPL.
 
alfadog said:
$450 buy-in and $25 per month dues. I did not add that in because the monthly dues are negligible and I figured the new pilot would want to keep flying with the club so I did not count the buy-in either.
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Damn I need to move to Florida!!!
 
I think I spent around ~$10K when I got my PPL back in 2001. Trained in a Cherokee. ~60 hrs dual, ~15 hrs solo. Google seems to agree (search for private pilot cost) that ~$10K is about right. It's also interesting that rates haven't grown much in 15 years (instructors were ~$70/hr and PA28 was ~$130/hr).
 
Oh my God! I'm not reading any posts in this thread!!

I suggest putting your calculator away and erasing your spreadsheets. I keep up with hours flown, airports and states visited, and "firsts" (first flight, checkrides, first complex, first HP, first passenger, first overwater, first grass strip) and other landmarks (500 hours; coming up on 1000 hours and 1000 landings). NEVER add up the cost, just pay the bills and keep on keeping on . . . .

To compute the total cost implies a desire to justify the expense. Good luck with that! Maybe you can write it off as a business expense? Or want to make sure to not blow too far past your flight training scholarship? Other than that, you're asking for problems.
 
nj-pilot said:
I think I spent around ~$10K when I got my PPL back in 2001. Trained in a Cherokee. ~60 hrs dual, ~15 hrs solo. Google seems to agree (search for private pilot cost) that ~$10K is about right. It's also interesting that rates haven't grown much in 15 years (instructors were ~$70/hr and PA28 was ~$130/hr).
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A straight leg PA28 130/hr in 2001? That's not accurate for the median price for that time frame. More like half that. My PPL in KPDK in 2000 was $4Kish. Things were cheaper back then, inflation adjusted.
 
Hank S said:
Oh my God! I'm not reading any posts in this thread!!

I suggest putting your calculator away and erasing your spreadsheets. I keep up with hours flown, airports and states visited, and "firsts" (first flight, checkrides, first complex, first HP, first passenger, first overwater, first grass strip) and other landmarks (500 hours; coming up on 1000 hours and 1000 landings). NEVER add up the cost, just pay the bills and keep on keeping on . . . .

To compute the total cost implies a desire to justify the expense. Good luck with that! Maybe you can write it off as a business expense? Or want to make sure to not blow too far past your flight training scholarship? Other than that, you're asking for problems.
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This.

For me, it takes what it takes. I'm enjoying the journey.

Edit: it is interesting to see the costs though, especially instructor and rental rates in other parts of the country.
 
Hank S said:
To compute the total cost implies a desire to justify the expense. Good luck with that! Maybe you can write it off as a business expense? Or want to make sure to not blow too far past your flight training scholarship? Other than that, you're asking for problems.
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Not having a clue on what your spending your money on is asking for problems.

I generally tell people it costs 10k to get your PPL, cost me just under $9k and did most of it in 172 finishing at 47 hours.
 
Thank you for sharing this.

I usually tell people in this area that a realistic total is in the 7500-10000 range. That is renting a 172.
It's possible to do it for slightly less and of course it could take more, but I think most people in the area fall in that range.
 
I'm doing my training in a $235/hr (wet) Cirrus. I'll be lucky to stay under $15k :hairraise:

To me the hours in the type I'll be buying are more important than the cost.
 
It cost me just under 9k at THE Ohio State University's flight school. Much less than it costs college students in the program. It also helped that I trained in the 152 which was $115 plus 40 for instructor. If I had done it at my current club I could've saved some money since a 172 at the club is less than a 152 at OSU. However I had a GREAT instructor at OSU which makes the added cost worth it IMO.
 
\__[Ô]__/;1997984 said:
Thank you for sharing this.

I usually tell people in this area that a realistic total is in the 7500-10000 range. That is renting a 172.
It's possible to do it for slightly less and of course it could take more, but I think most people in the area fall in that range.
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Yep I always give a range. Beware of schools that advertise a PPL that costs $8457.79 or any other specific value. Could cost more, could cost less.
 
Started feb 2015 and finished aug 2015. Diamond da20 and some da40. 62 hours and two check rides due to weather. $450 for check ride 1 and $90 for second. My total was $9273.86 after all costs including books/charts/etc, King schools ground school DVDs, aircraft ~$99/hour wet, instructor ~$50/hour, and various odds and ends.


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I don't know about the total, looks like it all went well. But, are you crazy :D why would you add up what you spent on aviation? :rofl::hairraise:
 
Paid $5300 flat rate in Yuma AZ this year. That's good for up to 60 hrs in a 172. Medical, written, and checkride not included. Of course, I made it to 37.1hrs before the plane took a dump for the second time a week before my checkride. I quit after having paid in full, came home, bought the Tampico and spent another 18 hours at my own cost.

Then the prick is suing me for $1800 for breach of contract which is an entirely different subject.


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Tampico Trauma said:
Paid $5300 flat rate in Yuma AZ this year. That's good for up to 60 hrs in a 172. Medical, written, and checkride not included. Of course, I made it to 37.1hrs before the plane took a dump for the second time a week before my checkride. I quit after having paid in full, came home, bought the Tampico and spent another 18 hours at my own cost.

Then the prick is suing me for $1800 for breach of contract which is an entirely different subject.


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Oh.... Do tell....;)
 
Well, at the last lesson (5/20/15) we returned from dual maneuvers and my post flight inspection brought up a considerable amount of oil on the right side of the aircraft.

We popped the cowling and the magneto (single shaft dual mag) was LOOSE in the socket.

Side note: last time this happened was on March 20, 2015. My fourth solo and my first trip out of the pattern solo. The mag slipped and the timing jumped 30 degrees rendering the C-172 into a somewhat inefficient powered glider with a somewhat inexperienced pilot who was subsequently trying to land on a remote 2400' strip with no services or even a road to it while consequently not crapping himself.... But that's another story.

Well, he retimed and tightened the mag again and I was slated to fly again solo the following day. I told him that I wanted him to go with me, at which point he told me he's not going to go fly with me every time a tire goes flat or something isn't perfect with the plane.

I cancelled the next lesson and never returned.

He's now suing me for cancelling / missing lessons and the fact that my contract (signed 11/15/14) for six months ran out.... (He verbally extended the term due to many mechanical failures and a three-week hiatus while he was out for surgery)





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For your personal sanity, dont EVER do that again! Its better to just enjoy flying, realize it is costing a lot, but you dont *really* want to know how much..
 
I spent way more than 10k getting my ppl. Hopefully my instrument rating won't cost as much.
 
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