Parent of Teen wanting to Fly

[ClimbnSink]

If a 6 year old went door to door selling things around here someone would call child services. My biggest worries when my ten year old free ranges is her getting run over or some **** calling child services. The old ways are dead, nice that it worked for you, but it don't work anymore.

 

[TCABM]

To the OP: soaring and EAA are both excellent ways to transfer your child's dream from virtual to reality.

Forget about the rest, you know your details better than we do.

 

[jcepiano]

Thanks Everyone - I am in shock there are 50 plus replies so quickly.

First off I want to say this isn't a post like many other about how expensive flight training is and how difficult it is to come up with the money. We work hard for what little "extra" money we have and allocate a majority of that to my sons endeavors. We generally spend about $4-5k every year on snowboard coaching and summer camps as a reward for him continuing to have excellent grades and being a standount young man who participates in numerous volunteer opportunities. My son really wants to learn to fly and we are considering paying for it using the already allocated funds. He will not need to find a job to pay for it at this point. We want him to be the first college graduate in our immediate family and these "rewards" have been part of our incentive plan to encourage him to continue to do well in school.

Great advice on several of the websites. I probably should have stated that I have found every school in Northern Califonria and am familiar with every airport in Northern California. We have already called or emailed several schools to discuss possible training. Only 2 showed much interest in a teen. Several didn't even return an email or return a call. Ideally we would like for him to train in Sacramento or Davis but if the right situation comes up we might be willing to go a little farther.

We had not looked in to civil air patrol. I showed my son the website today and he is interested in it. We emailed for more info and well see how it goes. The only issue might be the time commitment as he is already quite busy at this point.

We also had not considered glider lessons. I will look in to it further as it sounds great. However, with money not growing on trees I am not sure I would spend money on something that wouldn't help him to ultimately achieve his ppl. If I understand correctly glider lessons would not counts as hours towards what he ultimately needs for a ppl and he would essentially be starting from scratch if we went that route.

We did reach out to the local EAA a couple of weeks ago. It looks like our chapter in Sacramento might have got shut down. http://www.eaa52.org/ There info is 2 plus years out fo date at this point and emails have been ignored.

I will continue to monitor the forums and post about his journey.

Thanks for the help

Although it might be a little bit of a drive, I can personally vouch for Pacific States Aviation at Concord's Buchanan Field. Amazing team of instructors and a great fleet of well-maintained aircraft. I can't recommend them highly enough and could get you in touch with my own CFI that I used if that would be of any help. Feel free to PM me. Aside from that, I'm sure there must be plenty of flight training available closer to you in Sacramento. What I'd personally look for is a school that has a large instructor roster and a large fleet of aircraft. If there's an international training program in place for Private Pilot to Multi-Engine Commercial, you'll probably have a well setup machine that should serve your needs fine. Remember to shop around and make sure your son is happy with the instructor he chooses.

 

[Mason]

He will not need to find a job to pay for it at this point. We want him to be the first college graduate in our immediate family and these "rewards" have been part of our incentive plan to encourage him to continue to do well in school.

That's great.

I worked at the airport in trade for flight instruction. Sunup to sundown got me an hour of dual in the Champ.

On a cash basis, an hour in the Champ was $10 and the instructor was $5. So, I was earning the equivalent of $15 a day for pretty close to 12 hours of fueling, washing, cleaning, and doing whatever the boss wanted, to airplanes.

So I got a second job at Burger King, building Whoppers, for $1.25 an hour.

 

[WhiskeyPapa]

Welcome Matt.



My opinion is to find the oldest, crankiest, curmudgeon with access to a plane, and have him give your son a intro ride for a fee. Another opinion is that after the intro ride, maybe wait another year or so before starting actual lesson. Plenty of time for him to get in the mix of things.

Agree with the advice except for the last sentence…. why not let him fly once a week? Why torture him with an intro lesson and make him wait a year? The lessons could be every two weeks, or even once a month until closer to solo age, to keep him involved, if money is an issue.

BTW gliding is a truly excellent idea.

 

[jspilot]

It's a good thing the local kid at our airport didn't get that advice. He's been working there a couple of years, working on his ppl and getting stick time in about every plane on the field. The local pilots group just awarded him their annual scholarship.

Exactly! The teacher in me hates when kids get an out because it "may be dificult." Please don't discourage hard work because the work may be hard to obtain. Best lesson my Dad ever taught me was to go out and get a job and work hard. Been working since I was 13 and don't regret a second of it.

To the OP, support your son's dream of flying. Take the money you are spending to send him to summer camp and enroll him in flight lessons. Take it slow and keep it fun.

You may also be able to get him into a ground school at the local community college. Some offer them for very little money.

 

[RJM62]

BTW, just because gliders don't have an engine doesn't mean they are cheap to rent and learn in. Subject to others observations, I'd say you can expect to pay almost as much per hour (maybe not total) for glider training as you can for learning to fly in an old C-150.

Another observation that is purely personal. I trained two of my daughters to fly while they were juniors in high school. When they applied for college, they were able to put "private pilot" on their application. In a day when competitive college entrance boards are trying to find those qualities that will indicate a student will be successful, surely it can't hurt to document that the student has passed this test. In any event, it may cause the student's app to stand out to the admissions committee. If the kid wants to fly, it seems to me it can't hurt to get it documented that they were successful in attaining this level of accomplishment. One graduated from Wellesly, one from Carnegie Mellon. Yep, I'm proud as punch of them. Did being a pilot help them get in? Maybe. I like to think it may have.

That's interesting and very true, when you think about it. With all the self-serving nonsense college admissions committees get to read on candidates' applications, the words "Private Pilot" stand out as easily verifiable evidence of the student's confidence, maturity, and ability to work toward and achieve a rather impressive goal. It's an excellent point.

I also suggest starting with gliders for the same reasons others have mentioned.

Rich

 

[petrolero]

Welcome Matt.

Let me get the bad news out of the way first. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_Dubroff

Please note that although the story is about the young Jessica, the flight instructor was the pilot on this fateful day and made a series of horrible decisions that cost three lives.

Apples, meet oranges. Jessica was 7 years old and was not really ever the pilot. Her parents and/or instructor were seeking glory on her behalf and at her expense.

For the OP, I think it is a great idea to get your son some training. I knew a guy who soloed an airplane before getting his driver's license. He had been training well before turning 16.

As an example, the Civil Air Patrol regularly puts its cadets up in small aircraft as part of its orientation flights (O-rides) and the kid in the front usually gets a little stick time. Those kids are in the 12 to 14 yo range typically. It isn't loggable nor is it intended to be any kind of training program, I'm just using it as an example that 13 isn't too young, especially if he is as gung ho as it sounds.

It will be good for him to learn that flying isn't all about flying. Flying the airplane is a big part of it, but far more time goes into learning the other aspects of airmanship... weather, general knowledge, flight planning, navigation and, especially, flight rules. Someone who is serious and excited about aviation, as your son seems to be, learns all those things with a big grin on his face the whole time.

Good luck!

 

[Barettaj]

To the OP: I too was like your son in the not to distant past. I soloed on my 16th birthday, got my private on my 17th birthday and my instrument 2 days later (would have been the same day if not for the weather.) I have all of the hours for my commercial right and am just waiting on my 18th birthday.

Obviously as others have posted flying is not without its risks. And you must fully understand these risks before allowing your son to learn to fly. But with proper risk management I believe GA can be just as safe as Commercial. For example, my biggest piece of risk management is the aircraft I fly. A cirrus. Which is equipped with a parachute. Not every aircraft is equipped with a parachute and aircraft without one aren't unsafe. Your son will be tasked with making decisions that will affect his life and others. The first few years will be under the direction of a CFI but at 16 it is a daunting task to make well educated decisions while in a plane. Only you know that maturity level of your son, but it is something to consider.

With that being said, flying changed my life. I would not be the person I am today without it. It develops maturity and teaches a lot of life lessons. Aviation is a community and it is wonderful to be part of such a small community at my age. I have found it to be a very welcoming community.

Feel free to Pm me if you would like to talk in more detail. If I weren't on the opposite side of the country, I could be of more help.

Take care,
Jules

 

[N801BH]

To the OP: I too was like your son in the not to distant past. I soloed on my 16th birthday, got my private on my 17th birthday and my instrument 2 days later (would have been the same day if not for the weather.) I have all of the hours for my commercial right and am just waiting on my 18th birthday.

Obviously as others have posted flying is not without its risks. And you must fully understand these risks before allowing your son to learn to fly. But with proper risk management I believe GA can be just as safe as Commercial. For example, my biggest piece of risk management is the aircraft I fly. A cirrus. Which is equipped with a parachute. Not every aircraft is equipped with a parachute and aircraft without one aren't unsafe. Your son will be tasked with making decisions that will affect his life and others. The first few years will be under the direction of a CFI but at 16 it is a daunting task to make well educated decisions while in a plane. Only you know that maturity level of your son, but it is something to consider.

With that being said, flying changed my life. I would not be the person I am today without it. It develops maturity and teaches a lot of life lessons. Aviation is a community and it is wonderful to be part of such a small community at my age. I have found it to be a very welcoming community.

Feel free to Pm me if you would like to talk in more detail. If I weren't on the opposite side of the country, I could be of more help.

Take care,
Jules

Congrats on your maturity and drive.. It is a lost talent in the younger generation...

 

[brcase]

Another +1 for getting him into gliders/sailplanes
Note that the Air Force Acadamy Cadets get familized with gliders.
Look into the Northern California Soaring Association.
If you can get him into a club enviroment that will keep the cost down and let him work in the club which will help him get to know the pilots, and work with and around the airplanes. They also usually do most of there operations on the weekends. The down side is that often you spend a fair amount of time at the airport assisting for only a few flights in the glider, So it can take a while to build up enough time to get your certificate.

Also to be clear if he gets his glider certificate this is a Private Pilot Certifcate and some of the time can be used toward adding a Power rating. But as already stated the big advantage is that he will already have 80% of the skills needed to fly a power airplane.

There are also commerical glider operations these typically cater more to people with limited amounts of time. They have people to help move and launch the gliders as opposed to a club where the members do this. As a result they are more expensive, but you get a lot more flying in a short amount of time. But you don't get to know the other pilots as well or spend as much time around the airport, unless you specifically try to do this. As with many businesses the cost and level of service can vary a lot.

Brian
CFIIG/ASEL

 

[MAKG1]

Look into the Northern California Soaring Association.

These are the guys I took the Palo Alto CAP cadets to on Sunday, at Byron. I was quite impressed with their operation. Four gliders were operating at once, sharing a single Cherokee-235 tow plane. Most of the other tows were pattern tows, so the tow plane came back real fast. Kept the cadets real busy wing running. They each got two flights up to 3000 over Discovery Bay.

As a powered pilot, I sure enjoyed watching that 235 come to a stop at the touchdown zone markers (which is where we were hooking up tows). Nice short field work.