This Is Why You Should Get Your Pilot's License - A Year In The Life

That's what I'm talking about. That should be the poster vid for today's potential pilots. Hey, I just noticed we're from Columbus!
 
Cool! Thanks! Just shared it on FB. Maybe it will get someone else started.
 
iflyvfr said:
That's what I'm talking about. That should be the poster vid for today's potential pilots. Hey, I just noticed we're from Columbus!
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Uh-oh. LOL

I am currently living in Ashville, but close enough.

David
 
Very cool video, thanks for sharing! There sure is nothing else that compares to flying.
 
iflyvfr said:
That's what I'm talking about. That should be the poster vid for today's potential pilots. Hey, I just noticed we're from Columbus!
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Except it just will create disappointment without full disclosure. They should have given a total cost of the year at the end. You can advertise it all you want, 75,000 of the best paying oilfield jobs have been lost in the last couple of months, and more of the middle class and middle aged population is making minumum wage. Aviation is a sport of affluence, and every class below the Jet class is losing affluence. For 3/4rs + of America, this is an impossible dream.
 
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Nice video there. I was able to get my private when I was only making 32,000 a year. I may not have flown much afterwards but it was doable. Now I make more and all that good stuff so now I can fly more, but am still not wealthy....I would hardly say it is unattainable for 3/4ths of people.
 
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Henning said:
Except it just will create disappointment without full disclosure. They should have given a total cost of the year at the end. You can advertise it all you want, 75,000 of the best paying oilfield jobs have been lost in the last couple of months, and more of the middle class and middle aged population is making minumum wage. Aviation is a sport of affluence, and every class below the Jet class is losing affluence. For 3/4rs + of America, this is an impossible dream.
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Disagree, I am solidly middle class. I don't hunt, fish, don't have a camper/motorhome, or motorcycle. My family and I go on vacation, go to ball games here and there and visit family that live out of town. I still got my certificate and fly when I can. You can't be house poor, drive a new truck every two years and have piles of debt, but middle class is fine for flying. And as for the social rant in your post, let's just say I disagree with that too.
 
Agree. There are a lot of very cool planes in this video, but you don't need a new Husky or Cirrus to fly. My friends and I fly Cessna 140s and similar planes. My plane is beautiful, flies at 100 mph, burns less than 5 gph, and cost me less than $30K. I drive a 2004 pickup, but my truck and plane cost less than most peoples new cars! The only costs I can't avoid are $265/month in hangar and $700/year insurance. We go to fly-ins, meet up for food and fly because we enjoy it! Join us, you won't regret it! The only bad thing about my plane is, I'd better not be in a hurry after I land... to many people want to check it out!

Oh, and BTW, very cool video!

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mikeinbama said:
Disagree, I am solidly middle class. I don't hunt, fish, don't have a camper/motorhome, or motorcycle. My family and I go on vacation, go to ball games here and there and visit family that live out of town. I still got my certificate and fly when I can. You can't be house poor, drive a new truck every two years and have piles of debt, but middle class is fine for flying. And as for the social rant in your post, let's just say I disagree with that too.
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Very cool video!

I agree with other poster about affordability. I'm pretty sure I am not in the "jet class", but I managed to get my private and instrument rating along with achieving the dream of ownership. It's all about priorities.

Thanks for sharing the video.
 
Very cool video. Yes everyone should get their pilots license. It opens up a world of possibilities.
 
mikeinbama said:
Disagree, I am solidly middle class. I don't hunt, fish, don't have a camper/motorhome, or motorcycle. My family and I go on vacation, go to ball games here and there and visit family that live out of town. I still got my certificate and fly when I can. You can't be house poor, drive a new truck every two years and have piles of debt, but middle class is fine for flying. And as for the social rant in your post, let's just say I disagree with that too.
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Yes, but the video does not portray any of that sacrifice, does it? Like I said, it's a set up for disappointment because most people are not prepared to make, or inflict, those sacrifices on them and their families. Already 2/3rds of all interested starts never complete. How many people do you think walk in and hear $9000 to get started and turn right around? Until something is done to either increase the utility of GA, or seriously reduce the cost of GA, all these pieces and even programs like AOPA used to try will fail. While the video is a nice puff piece for pilots to watch and feel good about, no amount of them will change the amount of pilots to any degree of statistical significance. The economic realities of GA trumps desire to fly for the vast majority of people, especially when they can get on an airliner cheaper, or get door to door faster, and way cheaper, in their car, with no transportation hassle and cost at the other end.
 
Nice video,enjoyed it thanks.
 
Thanks for the post David.
Great Video.
Looks like that young man is having the time of his life.
Oh to be young again!!!
 
That's what I'm talking about....ONLY in America baby!!!!!

GOD BLESS THE USA !!!!!!

PS: Nice looking kids BTW...hope more of them would get into aviation instead of wasting away in front of computer games and clouds of pot smoke. ("Not that there's anything wrong with that" Jerry Seinfeld)
 
Had the same thought as Henning. Now I ain't complaining my dad paid for my ppl while I was in high school. But yeah there was a good chunk of coin dropped on that kid's first year of flying. Is a nice video, just a bit unrealistic for most kids.
 
Henning said:
it's a set up for disappointment because most people are not prepared to make, or inflict, those sacrifices on them and their families. ... The economic realities of GA trumps desire to fly for the vast majority of people ...
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Henning, you're wrong.

If the vast majority of people knew how amazing it is to fly, they'd be more willing to pay the $9,000 entry fee. Videos like this barely scratch the surface of the deep satisfaction that comes with controlling a machine in the sky.

That kind of woe-is-me attitude is the reason more folks don't take the plunge. Because seriously, anybody — anybody — can scrape up $9k by working nights and weekends to deliver pizzas and mow lawns. That's the "economic reality" of America. Heck, I know middle-class people who spend twice that much buying a stupid used car.

Some folks might take longer than others to scrape up the money. Some folks might be at the wrong stage of their lives to do it right this moment. But every able-bodied American has the capacity to do general aviation if they set their mind to it, as long as that woe-is-me attitude doesn't discourage them.

On a related note, the public has developed the incorrect perception that GA is a bunch of rich people flying around in monocles and top hats. Sure, it attracts people with money BECAUSE IT'S AWESOME TO FLY EXPENSIVE PLANES!!!! But plenty of middle-class and even some lower-middle-class folks find a way to make it work BECAUSE IT'S AWESOME TO FLY CHEAP PLANES, TOO!!!!

We need more videos, movies and newspaper articles that talk about that positive side because it's the truth. We've all experienced it as pilots when we soloed and, for most of us, lots of breathtaking times after that.

There's enough of a perception that GA is financially out of reach already, but that's factually incorrect. Ordinary, middle-class people will spend more than $9k on things like used cars and kitchen remodels. Flying is way cooler than those things, and we as pilots need to spread the word about that truth.

The kid who made this video gets it. :)
 
As in the video flying low along the beach in a taildragger is fun, but that isn't what you get when you go to the airport to learn to fly. I dare say if just the clip going past the buoys low and along the beach was posted without the nice edit job folks would be calling it illegal and reckless. Legal, safe(ish), vanilla GA is boring, really boring. That is why so many pilots quit.
 
TexasAviation said:
There's enough of a perception that GA is financially out of reach already, but that's factually incorrect. Ordinary, middle-class people will spend more than $9k on things like used cars and kitchen remodels. Flying is way cooler than those things, and we as pilots need to spread the word about that truth.

The kid who made this video gets it. :)
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And at the end of the day, they have something of substance for their 9K. I just finished my PPL, and I've got about that in it. . .and I've got a piece of paper that says "you can spend more money to fly now."

Anybody who says flying is cheap, or even "inexpensive" need only look at the "rent vs. buy" threads on here. Break even point is 100 yearly hours. In my area, that's 100 hours at $135/hour. . .or slightly less per month than my "40 acres and a house" mortgage payment.

But, on topic, that's a fun vid.
 
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A good video. Enjoyed watching it. What could be more fun to a highschool kid than taking his (I assume) girlfriend flying, and it appears that she's having a blast.
 
I think the vid is a great introduction to aviation for younger pilots. My first thought too was dang...this kid gets to fly a lot of planes!

I then looked at some of his other videos. Get the impression that he surrounds himself with a lot of people in aviation which gets him the access and flying time.

So yes...if would be cost prohibitive for many if you had to pay rack rate for all that flying time...but if you are smart and put yourself out there to get to know people that will help you...anything is possible if you want it bad enough.

What those videos don't show is that he is probably the type of kid that is sweeping the hangar floors for free just to be around planes which is a skill many today are not willing to do...so they pay rack rate!

...or he is just a rich kid that has a great time!
 
Lowflynjack said:
Agree. There are a lot of very cool planes in this video, but you don't need a new Husky or Cirrus to fly. My friends and I fly Cessna 140s and similar planes. My plane is beautiful, flies at 100 mph, burns less than 5 gph, and cost me less than $30K. I drive a 2004 pickup, but my truck and plane cost less than most peoples new cars! The only costs I can't avoid are $265/month in hangar and $700/year insurance. We go to fly-ins, meet up for food and fly because we enjoy it! Join us, you won't regret it! The only bad thing about my plane is, I'd better not be in a hurry after I land... to many people want to check it out!

Oh, and BTW, very cool video!

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Beautiful C-140's. When I am ready to go back to simple, that is where I am going. Have always felt something special for the 140.
 
Ive talked with Swayne before, he is a very fortunate guy who has also created some of his own luck. He works with boldmethod.com which is a great resource and kinda fun to read. Wish I had some of his opportunities.
 
Anyone can afford to fly and own an airplane who has a job. Anyone. It's just how bad you want it. A Cessna 120 will cost less to own than a new sub-compact car per year.
 
stratobee said:
Anyone can afford to fly and own an airplane who has a job. Anyone. It's just how bad you want it. A Cessna 120 will cost less to own than a new sub-compact car per year.
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Agree 100%. You wanna fly, you'll find a way. If you feel its too expense find another hobby. All this whining about "fully disclosing" the cost is BS. If you can't make a few phone calls and do a little math in your head to figure out what a PPL will cost maybe you ain't Pilot material.

Nice video, looks like the kid is really enjoying himself without wondering why big brother at the FAA didn't warn him that it might be kinda expensive.
 
Nice video.

I'm not wealthy, either, but like a lot of the people here, I fly anyway. I would hate to think I had lived and missed out on what an adventure flying is. I think some of the things AOPA is doing will eventually help increase interest in flying. We will have to just wait and see. :)
 
That guy in the video needs his license revoked!!!!

There is no place for fun in Aviation.....hope someone gets those tailnumbers!!;)

As for debbiedowner henning....cmon.:nono:
 
I can come close to fully disclosing the price! I had a spreadsheet where I kept all of my expenses down to the penny, but I've now lost it due to a computer crash.

  • The plane cost around $26K, but I could get all of that back and more at any time by selling it.

  • Hangars are $265/month in Taylor, or $3180/year.

  • Insurance is around $700/year.

  • I bought two cases of oil and 6 filters, around $49 for a case of oil, $120 for the filters. I change the oil every 25 hours and I fly 150+ hours a year so I'll use all six in a year.

  • Annual was around $600, but I've seen others with 140s spend $1500 so I will use the higher number.

  • I'll estimate high and say $5/gallon on fuel at 150 hours, or $750.

At my 150 hours a year, I have $32,348 in the first year of owning the plane. This means if I want to go high saying I'm paying for the whole plane in one year, I spent $216/hour. The next year my plane would be paid off and I would spend $42.43 per hour. If I paid the plane off over 4 years, $85.65 per hour.

If you bought an average 140 right now at $20K and maybe had a partner you could get a very cheap way to get in the sky... join us!
 
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