Pulling the trigger and starting training

J

Joshua Swanson

Filing Flight Plan
Joined
Aug 21, 2016
Messages
6
Display Name
Display name:
Jswanson
Hello all,
I have decided to pull the trigger and start training in some capacity. Since a young child, I have been fascinated with aviation (flew r/c for many, many years). Funds are limited (getting married and paying for it myself) so I did some research and have signed up for ground school with Gold Seal. I'd love to do classroom training but it is easily double the price and I do well in online courses (I received my BA online). That being said, I am lost beyond ground school. What steps are necessary? I have heard the best way is to combine classroom education with practical education (flight lessons). That is not an option right now (again, money...). I know that ground school is not a requirement but is pretty much the only way to pass the FAA test. After ground school and the FAA test, what comes next? Flight training? If anyone has a super simple step-by-step list of what to do, I would greatly appreciate it. I live in Santa Rosa, CA which is in the North Bay Area. I know I have seen some forum members that are in my area. Any help is much appreciated. This will be a long road but I'm done sitting around. It's time to get to work in some sort of capacity!
 
DO IT DO IT! Welcome to the forum and good luck on your training. Keep us updated!
 
Unfortunately, you'll have to get the money thing sorted out before starting on the flight training part. If all you can afford right now is ground school, then that's at least a start. Do that and spend your free time reading up on everything, watching youtube videos and junking out on pilot forums. Get your fix however you can until you can afford to start getting up in the air.

Oh, and welcome!
 
Welcome Joshua,

I'm in a similar slow boat (want to fly, limited funds), currently sitting at 19 hrs of training over about 15 months. My advice is simple, find a cfi that isn't going to pressure you into flying more than you can afford, and will be around for the long haul.
When I was looking at cfis I found a lot that insisted I fly on a set schedule.

Also keep in mind that you have 2 years from passing the written test to pass the check ride. So If you think it will take a while to get the flying portion done you should hold off on taking the written.
 
Wow! Thank you all so much for being so welcoming and informative. Generally everyone I have met in the learning domain of aviation is similarly friendly and all about learning and helping. It's nice to have a group of people interested in helping out. I appreciate all the advice. I just took the first two lessons of ground school (the easy, introductory ones) but I already know what I need to accomplish to get the pilot's license: Medical exam, FAA Knowledge test, and FAA practical test (oral and checkride). Ground school will help with the knowledge test and the 40 hours of flight training will help with the oral board and check ride. Now to just make it happen!
 
Joshua Swanson said:
Wow! Thank you all so much for being so welcoming and informative. Generally everyone I have met in the learning domain of aviation is similarly friendly and all about learning and helping. It's nice to have a group of people interested in helping out. I appreciate all the advice. I just took the first two lessons of ground school (the easy, introductory ones) but I already know what I need to accomplish to get the pilot's license: Medical exam, FAA Knowledge test, and FAA practical test (oral and checkride). Ground school will help with the knowledge test and the 40 hours of flight training will help with the oral board and check ride. Now to just make it happen!
Click to expand...

I should say "minimum" of 40 hours flight training with a CFI. Who here has actually only needed 40 hours?
 
Joshua- Welcome. As for ground school, if you have the discipline, you can read and study on your own. You don't absolutely need a course. When you start flying with a CFI, he or she will also probably teach on the ground with you sitting across a table. Depending on how much you had read and studied in the subject, you will have already learned much of the material being taught, and can use that time for additional emphasis, clarification, or questions. That will be your best value cost wise. I did my flying and got my "homework" assignments from my CFI, did not take my written until 7 months of flying (It took me 13 months to finish...today actually!). I used the Gleim Private Pilot test book to prep for the written.
Enjoy the ride!!!
 
Last edited:
Ryanb said:
If you're only planning to do lessons every so often due to limited funds, plan for much more than 40 hours.
Click to expand...
^^^^^ This. I went for my check ride at around 44 hours. I did the studying on my own and would re-read topics for a given lesson based on what my CFI was planning to cover the next lesson. Even with a year-long deployment half way through my training, I was able to finish in a relatively short number of hours, in part because I didn't start flying until I had saved up enough money to ensure I could progress as fast as my personal schedule would allow me. If my schedule allowed me to fly three times a week, I did it. The longer the period between lessons, the more time you will waste during a lesson to get back to your previous best. Your mileage may vary, but this approach worked for me. Though it does suck dreaming about being up in the air during the money saving phrase.
 
Welcome, Joshua.

You may want to investigate the Sport Pilot's certificate. You can by-pass an expensive medical exam. It really kind of depends on what you want to do after you get your certificate. Maybe you could get a part-time job at a local FBO to work on weekends, etc., as a line person. You can be around airplanes, and hanging out at the airport can often allow you to make connections with pilots who may be willing to help you out. I know a person who keeps an owner's airplane clean, changes the oil, etc., in exchange for flying time.
 
Welcome!

National average is 70 hours of flying for a PPL. If you can do it in one go, that's the way. Spreading it over a longer period is way spendier.

Have you found an airport near you and spent time there? Doors open more easily when you're knocking, standing in front of them. Get to know the folks at the field where you'll be flying, see what happens...
 
It took me almost 60 hours and exactly one year. Of course, I changed instructors a couple times in the beginning and fly out of a busy towered airport, but still... I think 55-65 hours is the average. So do your money math accordingly.
 
Welcome, all the best. It may not mean that much, but if you haven't I'd sign up for the 'free' student membership at the AOPA site. Yes, they may bug you later for a paid membership. You should get a few helpful tips along the way, plus 'Flight Training' magazine.
 
I would suggest that even though you don't have funds to start training, if you haven't yet, cough up $100 or so to go on a discovery flight or better yet a 'first hour' of training flight to make sure you enjoy it. Most likely it'll give you motivation to make it happen. I say get the first hour because a lot of 'discovery flights' are just sight seeing rides where they don't let you on the controls much. Once you do that I think you'll enjoy the book work more as well.

Good luck.
 
whereisrandall said:
Welcome!

National average is 70 hours of flying for a PPL. If you can do it in one go, that's the way. Spreading it over a longer period is way spendier.

Have you found an airport near you and spent time there? Doors open more easily when you're knocking, standing in front of them. Get to know the folks at the field where you'll be flying, see what happens...
Click to expand...
There is a very good airport right there in Santa Rosa. Much more flight training seems to go on down the road at Petaluma. Not sure why; STS is towered, but it's not nearly as busy on a nice weekend, and there are plenty of good practice areas around there, and even a seldom used cross runway. Petaluma can be a zoo. Both airports have good restaurants. :)

The problem with the slow approach is that you end up repeating everything much more. Flying skills have an expiration, which is why pilots need to practice from time to time. That expiration is really short when you're new at it, and that's why most instructors want a schedule, often at least once a week. It's a lot like learning a musical instrument, except practice is rather expensive.

I went up for some landing practice yesterday in San Jose, and took along one of the CAP cadet parents, a student pilot wanting to practice steep turns in the local practice area. She's an older student, taking her time learning in her own loaded 182. It's gonna be a while. She couldn't execute normal level turns without losing 500 feet, was chasing the VSI needle rather than the horizon, and was lazy on the trim. Obvious rust, plus a couple of bad habits, though I think she learned something. She was rather surprised to see how much I messed with the trim on approach and landing.
 
Last edited:
Reading is almost always free for this stuff, because of the official FAA books. You can get PDFs of them for free on the FAA website. So start diving into the Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (PHAK) and the Airplane Flying Handbook.

https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/

Set a schedule for yourself, an hour or two of study each night, or a chapter a week, or something along those lines. I didn't take any sort of official ground school, I just studied my ass off with those books, and also read as many blogs and websites as I could, and I passed the written test no sweat. Caveat: if you an afford some ground school, and you are the type of person who learns better in person or in a group, definitely do that also. Having someone to bounce questions off of is really useful. Just know that is isn't TECHNICALLY necessary.

I was in the exact same boat as you, and paying for my own wedding meant I ran out of money right when I was about to take my checkride. Now I don't have money to fly again (yet), but I have those books, and I study whenever I can, just to stay fresh.
 
So the next question I have is cost. On average, how much did you pay per hour with your CFI and how much was the total cost? I have heard it can easily cost $15k. Is that even close?
 
Depends on geography, but $10k is about right if you go at it. I suggest you save $5k. However long that takes is roughly the time it will take you to save the other $5k. So, if you have half the money cash in hand and you know it took X months to generate it, you can schedule your lessons so that you should have earned the rest by the time you're done.

If you wait to save it all up, you might never start training. If you start without half or more of it in the bank, you might never stop spending on it.
 
Joshua Swanson said:
So the next question I have is cost. On average, how much did you pay per hour with your CFI and how much was the total cost? I have heard it can easily cost $15k. Is that even close?
Click to expand...

I never did the final tally, but mine was somewhere between $12-13K. My CFI was $70/hr and the plane (PA28) $135/hr. Some schools, like mine, offer discounts if you make bulk payments.
 
@Joshua Swanson , where in the country are you? $6-10K is normal most places. Cessna 152 is cheapest plane to fly, about $100/hr, instructor about 40.

Twice-weekly (or more) lessons, same plane same instructor is cheapest route.
 
whereisrandall said:
KBED?
Click to expand...

yup. They had cheaper planes @ $99, but I didn't want to be sandwiched in a Tomahawk. They also have CFIs a little cheaper @ $60/hr, but, again, I picked my poison... I really liked my CFI. Could have probably done it a couple thousand cheaper if I wanted to.
 
Joshua Swanson said:
So the next question I have is cost. On average, how much did you pay per hour with your CFI and how much was the total cost? I have heard it can easily cost $15k. Is that even close?
Click to expand...

I tracked all my expenses in a Google Spreadsheet, including transportation costs, as I live in NYC and had to take a train an hour out to the airport, and then a cab to the airport (ugh). I was THIS close to finishing, at 57.2 hours, and I was up to just over $13K. My rental (Cessna 152) was $119/hr wet (gas included), and instructor time was $50/hr. There's some extra goodies in there that weren't exactly necessary, like an iPad and Foreflight subscription, and a GoPro setup to record my flights, so that padded the total a bit.
 
onezuludelta said:
I tracked all my expenses in a Google Spreadsheet, including transportation costs, as I live in NYC and had to take a train an hour out to the airport, and then a cab to the airport (ugh). I was THIS close to finishing, at 57.2 hours, and I was up to just over $13K. My rental (Cessna 152) was $119/hr wet (gas included), and instructor time was $50/hr. There's some extra goodies in there that weren't exactly necessary, like an iPad and Foreflight subscription, and a GoPro setup to record my flights, so that padded the total a bit.
Click to expand...

Yeah, if I were to calculate in my commute expenses and a few other things (examiner fee of $400, written exam, study materials, etc), I'd probably end up closer to $14K.
 
Cajun_Flyer said:
I didn't want to be sandwiched in a Tomahawk.
Click to expand...

My leg was pretty much always pressed against my CFI's leg in that little 152, and then once it got cold and we started wearing more layers, our shoulders rubbed together.We got to be pretty close.
 
whereisrandall said:
@Joshua Swanson , where in the country are you? $6-10K is normal most places. Cessna 152 is cheapest plane to fly, about $100/hr, instructor about 40.

Twice-weekly (or more) lessons, same plane same instructor is cheapest route.
Click to expand...

I am in Santa Rosa, CA. It's in the North Bay Area (1hr from San Fran).
 
onezuludelta said:
I tracked all my expenses in a Google Spreadsheet, including transportation costs, as I live in NYC and had to take a train an hour out to the airport, and then a cab to the airport (ugh). I was THIS close to finishing, at 57.2 hours, and I was up to just over $13K. My rental (Cessna 152) was $119/hr wet (gas included), and instructor time was $50/hr. There's some extra goodies in there that weren't exactly necessary, like an iPad and Foreflight subscription, and a GoPro setup to record my flights, so that padded the total a bit.
Click to expand...

Wow, my local school is $144/hr for a Cessna 152 and $50/hr for the CFI.
 
I figure I paid about $11K total back in 2006, at Sunrise Aviation at John Wayne airport. Veeeerrrry thorough program that included spin entry/recovery in a Citabria. Learned in a Diamond DA-20 that rented for $140/hr wet, and instruction was $48/hr. It didn't help that I was paying Hobbs time for a 1-mile taxi from the school's parking to the runway!
 
Joshua Swanson said:
Wow, my local school is $144/hr for a Cessna 152 and $50/hr for the CFI.
Click to expand...
Well there, you just answered your own question. Multiply that by 40-70 hours. Everything else is a small fraction of that cost.
 
exncsurfer said:
Well there, you just answered your own question. Multiply that by 40-70 hours. Everything else is a small fraction of that cost.
Click to expand...

I also went out of my way to find tach time vs hobbs time. That is going to be a huge money saver, especially with a long taxi. Starting mid Sept. Will post back with how the tach time works out when taxiing.
 
1) sounds like money is a top concern (as it is for most of us). I'd recommend skipping the ground school and learn for free or on the cheap (free FAA publications, maybe some used study manuals/dvd's from a recent 'graduate' etc...)
2) you say you're getting married. is flying (and the cost of flying) something your lil lady is OK with? now and down the road? cause it would kinda suck if you spent the time and money only to have her give you a hard time about it once you're married. I'm not saying this has ever happened before in the history of marriages, but it could happen.
 
Joshua Swanson said:
Wow, my local school is $144/hr for a Cessna 152 and $50/hr for the CFI.
Click to expand...
Look somewhere else. That's the highest price for a 152 I've ever seen. Even at notoriously expensive places like Oakland or Palo Alto. The instructor price is pretty good, but that rental price is high even for a 172. Maybe with a glass panel (but that's not necessary).

Maybe that's why no one trains at Santa Rosa.

And before you price 152s, make sure you'll fit in one. Most of us would like to, but two fat American adults are not going to work. I can't even sit up straight in one.

Doing some searching for you, North Coast Air at STS has a 152 on the line for $99/hour wet. That's not bad. But their website seems to have a lot of inconsistent information on it, like LSA prices that are either $125 or $122 (for the same tail numbers) depending on where you look.
 
Last edited:
eman1200 said:
1) sounds like money is a top concern (as it is for most of us). I'd recommend skipping the ground school and learn for free or on the cheap (free FAA publications, maybe some used study manuals/dvd's from a recent 'graduate' etc...)
2) you say you're getting married. is flying (and the cost of flying) something your lil lady is OK with? now and down the road? cause it would kinda suck if you spent the time and money only to have her give you a hard time about it once you're married. I'm not saying this has ever happened before in the history of marriages, but it could happen.
Click to expand...

I second Emans post.

1. I did not pay for ground school... Just read everything I could, watched a lot of YouTube videos, asked a lot of questions to other pilots, etc. Got a 95 on my written.
2. Happened in the history of my marriage. Thankfully, my husband came around... but not without putting up a strong fight. It wasn't pretty.
 
Cajun_Flyer said:
I second Emans post.

1. I did not pay for ground school... Just read everything I could, watched a lot of YouTube videos, asked a lot of questions to other pilots, etc. Got a 95 on my written.
2. Happened in the history of my marriage. Thankfully, my husband came around... but not without putting up a strong fight. It wasn't pretty.
Click to expand...

He did? I must have missed that. That's good news.

My own wife is pretty indifferent about it. That's pretty common.
 
My vote is for Petaluma. Very good instructors and planes on that field from what I could tell. It's a short drive but you shouldn't be paying more than $120-130 for a 172 or Cherokee equivalent and no more than $50 for a CFI, even with inflated Bay Area pricing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top