The costs of flying

[bordman]

I'm new to flying and only a mere 2 hours, going on 3 into the training. I anticipated higher costs initially then i'm paying, but the school i found had much cheaper rates then the others in the area. I pay 35 an hour for the instructor and 106 for the cessna 152. I'm upgrading to a slightly larger plane from here on out and will be paying 120 for the plane. I generally do a little less than an hour of ground schooling before we go. He doesn't charge me to the the preflight checklists either so i have been paying about 155 - 165 a lesson. It'll jump up to around 190 on average for an hour of flight and groundschool per lesson, but the ground schooling preflight may or may not be normal but i prefer it, as it keeps me motivated to study and learn more about what im going to be doing before i do it. At this rate assuming I do well, stay focused and regular and can finish under 50 hours, i'm looking about 9500. Not including the testing fees medical checkride etc etc. Though the ground school I'm assuming won't be as common down the line once we finish all the material so eventually that extra 20 - 35 for that will widdle down the price a bit.

 

[eman1200]

I'm new to flying and only a mere 2 hours, going on 3 into the training. I anticipated higher costs initially then i'm paying, but the school i found had much cheaper rates then the others in the area. I pay 35 an hour for the instructor and 106 for the cessna 152. I'm upgrading to a slightly larger plane from here on out and will be paying 120 for the plane. I generally do a little less than an hour of ground schooling before we go. He doesn't charge me to the the preflight checklists either so i have been paying about 155 - 165 a lesson. It'll jump up to around 190 on average for an hour of flight and groundschool per lesson, but the ground schooling preflight may or may not be normal but i prefer it, as it keeps me motivated to study and learn more about what im going to be doing before i do it. At this rate assuming I do well, stay focused and regular and can finish under 50 hours, i'm looking about 9500. Not including the testing fees and eventually checkride. Though the ground school I'm assuming won't be as common down the line once we finish all the material so eventually that extra 20 - 35 for that will widdle down the price a bit.

I'm trying to crunch some #'s as well and I just can't seem to find where you can cut costs, other than somehow finishing in 40hrs. I asked one school about booking bulk rentals (like 10 hours at a time) or weekday flying and they said there's no cheaper rate. anyways, I booked my discovery flight for Monday! We discussed it being more of a first lesson than a 'fly around for shts and giggles' kind of thing. CAN'T WAIT!

 

[bordman]

I'm trying to crunch some #'s as well and I just can't seem to find where you can cut costs, other than somehow finishing in 40hrs. I asked one school about booking bulk rentals (like 10 hours at a time) or weekday flying and they said there's no cheaper rate. anyways, I booked my discovery flight for Monday! We discussed it being more of a first lesson than a 'fly around for shts and giggles' kind of thing. CAN'T WAIT!

Yeah I actually said the same. They offer an accelerated program where i'm going for what would amount to about 2000 less, but I don't have the time to do it on a schedule like that nor do I have all the cash up front. I put away one of my paychecks a month to go out twice a week. Thanks budgeting software!

And I mean the cuts will be insignificant in the end but at some point ill have read all the material and have hopefully will have an idea of what im doing. I pay his cfi rate for the ground school so that would be the only cut to costs and who knows maybe I wont want to stop doing that part of it. Maybe cut isn't the right word. Lets go for an analogy. Its like having a 10lb block of cheese and taking that block over a cheese grater one time.

You will love it though. The views are gorgeous and the experience is like no other especially those darn rudder peddles. They make me feel like this:

 

[Z06_Mir]

I'm trying to crunch some #'s as well and I just can't seem to find where you can cut costs, other than somehow finishing in 40hrs. I asked one school about booking bulk rentals (like 10 hours at a time) or weekday flying and they said there's no cheaper rate. anyways, I booked my discovery flight for Monday! We discussed it being more of a first lesson than a 'fly around for shts and giggles' kind of thing. CAN'T WAIT!

My school did a 10% "bonus" if you put money on account and it was in the form of cash/check. You can withdraw it anytime if you want, but you'll lose that 10% then. So if I gave them a $1,000 check they put $1,100 on account. That account is for dual (and was for rental) and I have another account for airplane which gives me a good fuel discount ($.30/gal I think?). Not nearly as good as the 10%, but I know 100LL profit margins are nill.

 

[denverpilot]

My school did a 10% "bonus" if you put money on account and it was in the form of cash/check. You can withdraw it anytime if you want, but you'll lose that 10% then. So if I gave them a $1,000 check they put $1,100 on account. That account is for dual (and was for rental) and I have another account for airplane which gives me a good fuel discount ($.30/gal I think?). Not nearly as good as the 10%, but I know 100LL profit margins are nill.

Be very careful with this. Ask yourself hard money questions about these things:

What do they stand to gain from having your $1000 in their pocket for X amount of time?

At today's interest rates it certainly isn't making them money.

Do they have a large number of students who don't have the discipline to keep showing up, if they don't give them a mechanism to find an account ahead of time?

Are the majority of their students young and relatively broke?

Do they dangle the carrot that they'll hire these same students they didn't trust with their own money, as instructors?

Do they value penalizing students who show up regularly, sign checks every week, and fly like clockwork? (This is the message they're sending, to me. Adults pay for services rendered at the completion of service. Pre-pay discounts send the wrong message. Students who don't fly enough will pay plenty when they need more hours to retain what they've learned and forgotten.)

Are there maintenance or other bills they were falling behind on that required a mass infusion of cash, and they spent it already? Any new engines hanging on any of the fleet? New hangar door? Signs that they needed fast cash and you were their payday loan shark?

Ask questions. Hard ones.

Numerous people have and will again, wake up to find the flight school doors locked, with a sign on the door that they're closed permanently, and their "account" is gone. Get in line at the bankruptcy Court.

Pre-pay discounts in aviation are almost always a sign of being on the ragged edge of insolvency.

When they're not, it's an insulting business practice to folks who normally pay upon receipt of services or goods, since we've all seen the bankrupt flight school drama play out before, locally, and the bigger ones in the national aviation press.

The other question to ask yourself is...

Is it worth risking $1000 of your liquid cash in an investment that can return zero, for less than an hour of flight time?

 

[denverpilot]

P.S. You can ask that last question of the school owner.

"Why would you want me to risk $1000 on this place?"

Or if you're more into negotiation, versus being direct...

"How about if I spend $1000 in X amount of time, you give me the $100 credit then -- that way I don't make any deposits anywhere except at my Bank? Is my money insured against all losses up to $250,000 in your account? May I see the insurance paperwork?"

See what they say. It will probably be enlightening.

 

[Warrior]

One suggestion to decrease the cost of flying is to buy time in 10 hour blocks, which my local renter did for me a few years ago when I trained. I certainly thought of what the above poster said, that many flight schools and FBOs have closed their doors and left their creditors holding the bag. But for me a 10 hour block worked out and saved me maybe 15 bucks an hour on plane rental.

 

[MAKG1]

Nate, it's certainly worth asking, but I've seen at least one outfit that offers discounts on a plane-by-plane basis.

Your questions might apply to the individual aircraft owners, though. I saw it as an attempt by some owners to increase traffic to their aircraft at the expense of others. 10 hours locks someone in, whereas otherwise, they could take a different aircraft every time. That latter part is kinda convenient for scheduling, which is why I didn't go that route. 100-hours (and flat-spotted tires) always seem to come up at the most inconvenient times....

 

[Shepherd]

Whatever the flight school told you, they lied.
Whatever you have saved, it isn't enough.
Whatever plane they have for you, it isn't available.
Whatever the weatherman reported, it's already wrong.

The wind is always blowing too hard and from the wrong direction.
The ceiling and visibility are always too low.
It's either too hot or too cold.

The real cost of flying is measured in F3Us*, not money or time.

But, if you don't give up, it's the greatest fun there is.








*Frustration Cubed Units.