Pulling the trigger and starting training

I'm working on my multi instrument/commercial next. I have an Aztec or a Baron available to me at $450+ hourly here in Maine. Or a Seneca or Apache in Texas at $200 hourly. I'll plan a week in Texas to do it.

And, @Joshua Swanson, I did the bulk of my private in a borrowed plane from a local guy who traded me hours. There are ways to do this without paying sticker price.
 
Welcome.

Something else to think about... aside from training costs which are going to be $10-15k, this is a pretty expensive hobby. After training, you will be renting at $140-150/hr. Anywhere you go with family/friends is minimum 2 hours to really go out and have a nice flight, that's $300+ per flight.

Being a newly married couple, you will have lots of more important expenses than flying. As hard as it is to hear, I would suggest putting it off a few years until you are a little more stable financially. I'm not trying to throw cold water on your dream but really trying to put things in perspective for you. If you are struggling to even begin training, it sounds like you need to wait. Don't get yourself in a ton of doubt that you will cripple your finances for a long time and take away from more important things that you will need to provide.
 
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I'm at about $8000 (and mere hours away from a checkride) and that's with starting over 12 years after accumulating 30 initial hours. Of course the rates back in 2003 were much lower. But I currently live in a fairly inexpensive area so the training is much cheaper than a lot of people on here. And now I'm finishing in my own plane so there's no more rental per se. ;)
 
Really try to stay out of the 150/152 class. A 172 won't be more expensive if at all. Our club used to have one and found that it took 20-25% longer to get a license in a 152 vs a 172. Climb time and travel to from the practice area is the primary reason for that.
I have heard good rumors about both Petaluma and Novato for training. I don't know what the Novato situation is plane wise but heard there are a couple good instructors that way, + you'll be really good at crosswinds!
 
TheGolfPilot said:
Really try to stay out of the 150/152 class. A 172 won't be more expensive if at all. Our club used to have one and found that it took 20-25% longer to get a license in a 152 vs a 172. Climb time and travel to from the practice area is the primary reason for that.
I have heard good rumors about both Petaluma and Novato for training. I don't know what the Novato situation is plane wise but heard there are a couple good instructors that way, + you'll be really good at crosswinds!
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I don't go to Novato much, but I have yet to experience the weird winds everyone talks about. Or maybe they just aren't any weirder than Palo Alto or San Carlos.

It's also possible to play with loading in a 172; you'll probably have at least 300 lb excess capacity with an instructor. A 152 is just loaded to (or above!) max all the time.
 
mscard88 said:
Wow! :eek:

Maybe I should rethink getting back to instructing. ;)
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His take home pay isn't even half that and the weather up here tends to cancel half the flights, so you might want to reconsider.

They have cheaper instructors @ $60/hr. He's one of the "senior" CFIs.
 
Joshua Swanson said:
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!
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I started out in gliders - Williams Soaring Center is reasonably close to you, that would be the most cost-effective way to get aloft, and definitely one of the most fun.

http://www.williamssoaring.com/training-newpilot.html
 
Hey Josh, I was in your exact same situation. I kept putting off learning to fly as every time I saved up a few bucks, life would show up and pull rank. The solution was to forget saving for it. All you need is enough cash for one lesson. And then when you have the cash, the weather's right, the instructor's available, the plane's available, and you have the time, do another lesson. Either you'll be hooked and will finish in a year or so... or you'll never finish in which case you'll be glad you didn't spend the $10 or $15K to do it quickly.
If you really want to fly, each lesson is a thrill and you'll be in no hurry to finish. Imagine for a moment, it's a nice Saturday, you've got nothing going on, and you've got $200 in your pocket... would you like to go flying? If you had a CFI on retainer, you could.
Don't do a discovery flight. Rather, go interview CFI's. Find a good independent CFI who will let you learn on your schedule, and your plan. After all, it's your time and money to waste as you see fit ;-) Go interview several CFI's and pick two or three finalists and fly with them. Offer to pay for an hour of their time in the airplane. Then pick one, but do it on your schedule, as you have time, money, interest, etc.

It took me just over a year... 10 years later I have an Instrument rating, I own and fly a Mooney, and am closing in on 800 hours. We can all afford what we want to do.
 
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