What is the cost to get into flying today. It has been so long ago that I have no idea what the real costs are in today's dollars. I hope some of you new pilots can shed some light on this for me.

I ask because my middle daughter wants to start flying after college and may not be able to start the lessons until she gets a few bucks saved up.

I think a lot of the cost depends on how you go about doing it...whether you have your own plane or rent one, how busy the airport is, etc.. I took my primary training at a very busy airport and it wasn't unusual to spend 20 minutes of tach time before I was airborn. I've found that flight schools universally give you a quote based on the cost of the airplane and instructor for the MINIMUM legal requirements...an impossibility for anyone who doesn't already know how to fly. Take what any flight school quotes you and multiply it by 2.5 and you won't be too far off.

For an average student renting a 152 and flying regularly I'd say $10,000 would be a pretty good place to start. Add about another three thousand if you want to train in a 172

N18NV, I got my private 13 months ago. I did it in a rental 172. I had 36 hours from 1979. I was at 94 hours when I passed the check ride. 65 of these hours were dual which cost me $100.00 per hr. 29 hr solo $70.00 = $2030.00+ $6500.00=$8530.00....Rob

..wow, you made me reminisce a bit. I got mine back in 1971 at Ohio State University. Ground school and everything it took for a private, was a whopping $500.

This was a total of two classes that also added up credits for graduation! I had about 20-25 other kids in my class, and as far as I know, we all got licenses and we all did it in 38 hours total!!

I'd like to see a school teach all their students in minimal time now days. John

Like ravi said it depends on how you do it. I took ground school though a university then found a CFI at the FBO for my dual. I used my plane and total it cost me about $2000. 8 hrs to solo, 43 hours total, including the check ride. That was almost two years ago.

Jon

$10,000 is completely wrong ( unless you live in CA. ) Here we rent a 152 at $75 the cfi is $30 40 hrs. at $75 = $3,000 20 hrs w/inst =$600 Check ride $250 Physical $75 Supplies $200

Total $4150.00

The point has been made that few, if any student pilots complete their private pilot training in 40 hours.

I strongly recommend an FAR 141 school for the PPL. It will still take more than 40 hours, most likely, but it will probably take less time than an FAR 61 operation.

We figure about $8600 is "average". That's in Warriors.

MTV

The latest issue of Air & Space Magazine ( Smithsonian ) suggests something in the $10,000 range depending on how fast you complete the course and what type of airplane you are training in.

Chaining together hours is more efficient and less costly.

I am really glad I did my training in the early 70's I think fuel costs now would be more than my total.

TD

I believe motivation and lesson preparation are key to being able to get the license in the minimum amount of time. Showing up without reading and understanding what you are going to be doing in the air equals lots of wasted flight time.
I received my PPL in 1999. Took 3 months to complete. Books, exam and all totaled $2850. Flying Cessna 150 @ $45-50/hr wet (rates went up during training). Instructor $25/hr. It was a part 61 school, but we used a Jeppeson lesson book. My father took almost double the requirement in a part 61 school. His persistent complaint was that there wasn't structure. He didn't feel like he was using flight time as efficiently because there wasn't a preplanned plan for the next lesson when he left for home from the current one. In other words, it's not just the student who needs to be prepared and organized!
In 2001, I knocked off the instrument rating. Took me two years, but I still finished with 37 hours instrument. Given the increased time spread, it was a lot harder to maintain the flow from one lesson to the next, but again, preflight prep paid off as did practicing procedures with the microsoft flight sim to maintain any proficiency I had attained.
I'm nothing special as far as capabilities, so I have to say that plenty of people could finish in the minimum time if they set their mind to it. My motivation was lack of cash and not wanting to "waste" what I had. At the time of my PPL, I had $3000 saved up. If I went over, I wouldn't have been able to finish, end of story.
Along the same line, look at the military training regimen. These guys are solo in turbine aerobatic aircraft with less than 50 hours in their logs - and that includes the 30-40 hours they got in a Cessna 172!

Good luck to your daughter!
Matt

I forgot, fly as much as you can every week. No long lay offs. That way you don't loose what you just learned. Rob

I got my ticket in 3-1/2 months, 12 years ago, flying a rented 152. Had 34 hours dual and 20 hours solo when I took my checkride. Do the math with the appropriate rates for your local airports plugged in, add some more for instructional materials and checkride. The longer it takes, calendar-wise, the more time & money required.

Eric

Thank's everyone. I am a firm believer that the more compact the lessons are the quicker and less expensive the package will be. With the right instructor (one that's not afraid to have a few students fail once in a while that affects his pocket book and renewal) a license should be attainable in under 50 hrs.

The hardest thing is finding the right match of student and instructor and airplane. It seems that the aircraft they instruct in take longer to learn how to use the glass panel than to fly.

Do they even teach needle, ball and airspeed along with pilotage today?

Thank's for all the input.

I have to agree with Matt 7GCBC, attitude is everything. I LIVED flying and studying, only flying on weekends for 7 months. My Part 61 program had only 1 instructor, who charged $40/hr, but he was key to the equation. He was totally cool with me studying everything on my own, then doing a short review prior to our flying sessions. I buried myself in the books in all my free time, studying the Gleim practice CD the entire time prior to the written.

'79 152 @ $62 wet x 40.4 hrs going into checkride = $2504.80
~20 hrs dual = $800

So, altogether $3,300 approx.

My instructor also had a great spreadsheet that we used to cross reference 61.109 items. Some exercises killed 2 birds with one stone, minimizing time and money. It can be done fairly cheaply, although using a ~100 hp airplane in the Washoe Valley could be pretty marginal on performance.

To tell someone interested in becoming a pilot that it will cost 8 to 10,000 bucks will only help kill aviation. Keep flying to the basics. Getting a ticket is only a small step in learning to fly. Keep it fun and simple. Learn to fly stick and ball. Learn to feel and become apart of the airplane. Glass panels are not flying the plane the pilot is or atleast should be. Learn in a 7AC or J-3 or something similar and then you can experience flying. Leave the video games on the ground.

RobBurson wrote:I forgot, fly as much as you can every week. No long lay offs. That way you don't loose what you just learned. Rob

This is in my mind the most important. Military training was referenced. We flew everyday, weather permitting. We did ground school in the morning and flight line in the afternoon. I soloed a helicopter in 25 or 30 hours, I forget which.
I watch a lot of this civilian training, a lot of it seems like the student really just wants to be entertained. Some seem to show up with the attitude that the instructor is supposed to do the work I think you could teach a monkey to fly, it's the knowledge base that makes one a pilot in my opinion.

Every comment on this forum so far is right on the mark. Motivated students who take their training as THEIR responsibility (as opposed to their instructor's problem) can complete the PPL in a fairly short period of time.

But, there are pitfalls, as mentioned: Students who don't prepare themselves for the next lesson, repeating lessons, over and over again, sometimes due to the student, sometimes due to the instructor, switching instructors in mid training cause the last (250 hour total time) flight instructor just got a "real" job, lack of structured training, and on and on, all of which can extend the training far beyond 40 hours minimum.

I have also flown with students who have a brand new PPL, and now want to work on their instrument rating. Many of these folks simply CAN'T fly for squat. Point being, you may finish your license in 40 hours, but the more important issue is: Can you actually fly or are you dangerous at that point? I've had one "student" who spent another 30 hours of dual instruction before he ACTUALLY met the Practical Test Standards for the PPL. This was a newly minted PPL, which tells me neither his instructor nor his examiner (and I have no idea who they were) did their job well at all.

If all you want is a piece of plastic that says you're a "pilot", you can do that in 40 hours, maybe. If you actually want to learn to fly, it will probably take just a little longer, but the difference will be in where you train and your attitude toward your training.

MTV

One thing that I think helped is that I consciously did not consider the overall cost of the certificate. I nickel and dimed my way to the checkride, not caring how much it ended up costing in the end. If you'd asked me to fork over $3,000-4,000 in the beginning I would have wavered.

I would have to agree with Jr.cub.builder, Get a little trainer, Cessna 150, Piper 140, or such. Buy it, fly it, and when you're done you have something besides a piece of paper. Then sell it if you must.

In 1989, my PPL was 45 per hour block time for a C 172, and $10.00 per hour for the instructor. Soloed in 4.5 hours, had to change instructors in the middle of the program, as the guy I started with was trying to instruct full time and was starving. So he went to work in the woods, logging. Next insructor had a full time job and could only instruct weekends and evenings. Worked for me. Took my check ride with 54 hours in the book.

Was a little less than $3000. Check ride was $100.

I look at the price now and just about sh It's hard to see how some young kids who want to get into aviation can afford too. I was a "DINK" when I did my training. Now with 2 teenagers, I have trouble affording gas now

Good luck, Bub

I started my PPL in January of 2004 and completed my checkride in May of 2004. To that point I spent about $4500. I used the instructor and plane at Albany, OR for training.

Later I learned that the OSU flying club had approximately 20% better rates, so anyone contemplating lessons should definitely shop around. The school club was only open to alumni and students, though.

I'm an old fart to be starting in aviation, (fifty eight) (had to spell it out 'cause this retard editor wants eight and ) to be a smiley) and would definitely recommend saving up to be able to attack your training in a concentrated manner. I found that a few weeks away required more time to go over stuff I already though I learned.

As long as we're talking costs, my choice for a plane was to go the homebuilt route. For $35K and five months of construction I've got a new airplane that fills my needs very well. I can put different stuff on it myself, make modifications, and do my own inspections. I've got over 300 hours on it now and have visited many of the back country places I've been thinking about for years. My expenses for fuel, insurance, maintenance, hanger, and all else related to flying has been running about $25 per hour based on usage of 125 hours per year.

your mileage may vary,
tom

Tom, check the checkbox that says "Disable smilies" below the editor window. You can then combine all the 8's and )'s that you please. (58)