Sarcastic (realistic) take on flight school ?
 

My wife bought me a few hours of instruction + ground school for Xmas... Been talking of getting my pilots license (I soloed at 16 but ran out of money before I got my ticket, haven't flown since - 25 years). I was chatting with a friend and that was his reply/rant as an ex-pilot and fellow Porsche guy)... My thoughts was that a) he's probably right b) I don't care. What do you think ? ;-) (keep in mind this is a friend's humorous rant)

[...]
If you can afford to fly, you need to stop *****ing about money. Figure that it has got to cost close to $100 an hour now to rent a 152 wet (it was $45 when I last flew and gas was $1.50). So within 2 to 2.5 hours you have already spent the same as D.E. Unless you go all the way and get instrument rated, you most likely will never fly any place significant because there is always a good chance you will get trapped there. And if you decide to still try, you can become another statistic for VFR people trying to beat weather. So now you do fly someplace. Where? Any place with in 2 hours is faster by car with all the pre-flight etc... So you are going to fly 3-4 hours minimum one way. Ok now that is $400. You land at this quaint little airport because even dumb ass know snot to land a 152 at a major International airport. Now what? Oh, you need a freaking rental car. Probably none on sight. So you call Enterprise and they bring one out for you. $100 for two days. So now you get a hotel. No big deal for you, so lets ignore that. Ok you are enjoying your little trip, but the plane is still costing you money even know the meter is not rolling. Because the owner can’t rent it while you have it. So add more $$ for the plane. You enjoy dinner and a night of knookie and get up ready to fly back. ****, where the hell did that weather front come from. How long will it be there? Now you start rationalizing. If we rush we can still make it home before it gets us. So you rush to the airport and Enterprise picks up your rental. You start packing the plane and notice all the “old time” pilots checking the tie down on their air craft and shaking their head when they look at you. Your wife is saying that she has to get to work tomorrow, and so do you. The pressure builds! Finally you look up, then you look at her (knowing you are not just risking your life anymore), and then it finally sinks in. You’re ****ed! You are not going anywhere until the weather clears. So you call the plane owner, he says no problem, but you still owe more $$ for the extra unplanned time (another day rental). You call Enterprise and the hotel, the next morning you call work to tell them you can’t make it in. The weather clears, you take off and have a nice $400 flight back home. You have spent well over $1K on just the plane alone. And not just any plane either. But the Kia of aircraft. After a few trips, you will realize how impractical VFR flight is. So now the question is do you move onto IFR? Remember, you are talking to a Lic. pilot. It’s great, but unless you have unlimited funds, unlimited time, and your own air craft (which alone in maintenance, annuals, and storage will be a king’s ransom) VFR is just not practical for anything beyond little afternoon hops. So get your lic. and we can go to the airport together and talk about how great it was when we “used” to fly. And if you don’t believe me, the go out side and stare out at the sky for 3 hours and count how many civilian aircraft you see. I bet you could go days now without seeing one. It didn’t used to be like that. You should buy a boat with four giant 250hp out boards, it would be much cheaper!

He is more right than wrong, but I own my own plane, do all my own repairs/inspections and own my own hangar/runway. Flying my airplane basically costs me the price of fuel. Several years ago I could still get "car gas" delivered without ethanol to run in my STC'd plane. So a couple bucks per gallon was cheap flying. Now I have to bend over and pay the $6/gallon for AvGas.

I can remember 'way back when' in flight training school, the old axoim was - "If you have time to spare, go by air"

Cheers
JB

Getting ready to go:

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View out the window:

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View a little later:

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Home again:

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The ability to come and go as I please... No airline security.... Stop at little "Mom & Pop" airports for gas... In-flight snacks much better than what is served in seat 37B.... Never any lost luggage.... Changing destinations mid-flight "just because"... Breakfast at the little airport diner on the coast every Saturday morning with the gang....

What's not to like?

Thanks, I needed that... ;-) I'm gonna do it regardless, but I know he's right. just something I want to do...

Hang out at the airport enough, and you may snag a ride in something like this:

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If flying is just a means of transportation, your money may be better used elsewhere.

If one falls in love with the romance of flying, there is no substitute.
Nothing I've found is so challenging, yet so relaxing, as flying the airplane. One hour in the air, just buzzing around locally, will completely recharge the mental batteries, and give me a more positive outlook on everything.

Sure beats hitting little white balls around on grass with expensive sticks. :eek:

Oshkosh in a few hours flying vs 8+ hours in a car = a good time. Time spent getting to a destination in a car is incredibly boring to me.... Trips in my private airplane are always an adventure (I took up flying for the fun/adventure not necessarily the utility of it). But yeah I have had to wait out weather on several occasions sitting in a pilot lounge of an empty county airport.

Heading up the Chicago VFR corridor en-route to Oshkosh on a nice summer morning.
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I once spent a couple days in "Podunkville" Montana waiting for thunderstorms in the Rockys to clear.

"See that grey Oldsmobile? Keys are above the visor if you want to go into town".

Forget Enterprise. Lotsa small airports have loaner cars. The general rule is to just stick a couple bucks of gas back in it to replace what you used. Another rule (according to my experience) is that the car must be an old beater, with blown-out shocks, its last maintenance being performed during the Carter administration.

I got an inexpensive hotel room, and wandered around the countryside, and had an absolute ball!

Went to the airport to check their weather station, and while there, a National Guard helicopter came in, low under the scuzzy clouds. Started chatting with the guardsmen, a couple really nice guys. When they learned I was on the way back to the Seattle area, and was waiting for the weather, they encouraged me to just go for it:

"It will give us something to do- To come find your wreckage" .

Aviation offers an entire warehouse full of different adventures.....

Posted by: Dantilla Couldn't agree more - Flying is one of 2 things that are the most fun one can have with their clothes on.

Cheers
JB

I don't care what you say about flying and the cost, most aviation people are the nicest folks you will ever meet. I had dinner with a bunch last night.

What do they say about life, it's not the destination, it's the journey along the way.

Do what makes you happy not what other people think.

They weren't kidding. I took a drive over the independence pass, Aspen to Denver, the summer of '76. Near the top, I stopped & chatted with a crew that was removing airplane wreckage...their full time summer job. Seems pilots, usually from the midwest in a single engine craft, leaving Aspen, wouldn't gain enough altitude to cross the rockies. Very slow climb rate in those altitudes, especially in a no turbo single. So. they'd find themselves trapped in a canyon with no way out...and down they'd go. According to the guy I talked to, this is an all too common happening.

It is not cheap at all, The yearly annual $600 $1000 is very reasonable,BFR, Medical, Hanger. I burn 10 Gallons per hour in a C170 @ $4.65. I instruct and some months I am in the hole. Best part is my wife loves it.

Add user fees in as well because if they pass it for turbine aircraft it's just a matter of time before they hit general aviation across the board.

PRIVATE JET TAXES AND USER FEES PROPOSED BY OBAMA
(September 20, 2011) Jet Linx – This past week President Barack Obama has proposed raising taxes and fees for private jet travelers as part of an effort to resolve the budget deficit. Jet Linx Aviation has joined other industry organizations in the fight to oppose such taxes and fees.
The Obama administration’s plan for reducing the deficit includes charging a $100 per-flight fee on turbine-powered aircraft, including private jets, that use the country’s air-traffic-control system. Obama’s recommendations show that the fee would raise about $11 billion over the next decade – a drop in the bucket for resolving the budget deficit and an unwarranted additional fee when current per-gallon fuel charges for private jets are considered.
“We already pay more than our fair share of taxes – more than the alcohol and tobacco industries, whose products are taxed at levels to discourage their use,” said Nicholas Calio, President of the Air Transport Association.
The National Business Aviation Association, the Aircraft Electronics Association, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, the Experimental Aircraft Association, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, Helicopter Association International, the International Council of Air Shows, the National Association of State Aviation Officials, and the National Air Transportation Association jointly issued the following statement:
“As primary representatives of the general aviation community, we are expressing our unified opposition to the new $100 per flight tax in your proposal. We believe this per-flight tax not only imposes a significant new administrative burden on general aviation operators who currently pay through an efficient per-gallon fuel charge at the pump, but it will also necessitate the creation of a costly new federal collection bureaucracy.
As you know, the issue of how general aviation can best contribute revenue to the federal government has been the subject of significant study and debate as part of the FAA reauthorization process. After careful consideration, both chambers of Congress have passed bills that endorse the per-gallon fuel charges rather than adopt a per-flight tax similar to the one you propose. In fact, Democrats and Republicans in the House of Representatives felt so strongly about this issue that 116 members of that body sent you a letter earlier this year saying new aviation charges like the one you are now proposing would be ‘dead on arrival.
Mr. President, many foreign countries have imposed per-flight charges on general aviation and the results have been devastating. Please do not go down the dangerous path and cost jobs in our community.
Per-gallon fuel charges work. Per-flight taxes destroy.”
Please join the fight to oppose President Obama’s tax and user fees for private jet travelers.

This sums it up ^^^.

Your friend is correct that flying is expensive, and can be impractical for transportation. If that's all he's worried about, he has completely missed the point and it's no wonder he's an ex pilot.

I think another point that slipped under the radar is that DE's cost a hell of a lot more than $250 if you're doing it right. That would be like talking about renting a plane while neglecting all the other cost factors. Tires, brakes, travel, hotel, wear / tear, $$$$$$$$$$$$$. Sure you could probably run one local DE with the green group for not much money, but it will catch up to you on the maintenance one way or another.

I would say that aviation, motorsport, and boating are about on par for expense. Offshore powerboating seems to be another order of magnitude of increased expense, just like private jet ownership.

The old addage holds true: if it flies fu*ks or floats, it's cheaper to rent it

Stop worrying about the $$$. Until you do its never going to work out.

We do this because its fun and its something that not many others can do. If I started counting the $$$ that it costs me (and I do it for a living and am also an A&P so do most of my own work as well) I would have stopped 38 years ago.

Do it for the fun and enjoy it for that.

Well why do anything fun? I could go on the same kind of rant about Porsche ownership, going on vacations, having kids, etc.....

Enjoying ones life is about attitude, not numbers.

.......There is us prime pilots who get all the hot rides and all you pud-knockers who dream about the hot rides. So when are you pud-knocker going to just start flying?

The things I have seen and done from the air can't be bought.

For the OP (and any others who might be interested), there are a slew of podcasts on general aviation that will certainly help to remind us of why we desire to fly around in tiny airplanes.
I strongly recommend "Airspeed," "The Uncontrolled Airpsace Podcast," "Pilotcast," and many others are out there. Great motivation and information are available for free. Search iTunes in the sports and recreation section (I think), aviation.
I have 30-ish hours towards my sport pilot license, but I'm on an indefinite hold. When the time and money stars realign, I hope to at least finish the sport pilot license, and maybe move on from there. I agree that flying MAY not be the most practical way to travel, but maybe that's not the point.
Good luck!

Jason

I'm surprised a Cessna is only $100/hour to rent. I would've guessed much more.

Your friend's post about traveling etc. seems right. Using a rental plane as a substitute for cheap commercial airline travel probably doesn't make sense.

But, it'd be nice to have a license, if you could get 2 hours of rental plane flying around for you and a friend for only $200, that'd be a fun, relatively inexpensive thing to do every now and then.

To think of a small aircraft as a substitute for a scheduled carrier is foolish. As mentioned above you can be stuck for days waiting for the weather to improve. Even if you have an IFR rating, your aircraft may not be equipped to handle heavy or even any kind of icing. Single pilot ifr can be challenging. If you buy a small aircraft for the fun of it, you have to pick good weather. Pushing weather is the worst thing you can do. If in doubt rent. There are so many privately owned aircraft sitting and not being used. If you dont have many flying hours, take along a pilot friend who can give u a few tips. Hope this helps.

My neighbor flys a lot!
 

My neighbor flys his own plane (Cessna) and a Robinson R22 helicopter. He owns them and he owns his own business, so he's always flying around. He has a family home on the water (Grosse Ile, MI) and he lands his plane with pontoons on the water and taxis it to the house, pretty nice! He has a nice hangar on Grosse Ile,too. Here he is and my old 911 is in the picture...

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My crummy little VFR rating is worth every penny. Wouldn't trade it for the world. Every moment in the air reminds me that it was a great investment.

From my time in Pipers, Cessna's, singles or twins, even a great 1 hr flight in a T-6

I Wish I had more $ to spend "up there"


Karl
88 Targa

Ive just started taking lessons also. You can rent a 172 here for around $100 an hour, a 152 would be cheaper. I started last month and I'm scheduled for 3 times a week, weather permitting. I also hope to buy a plane this summer as I'm not fond of the idea of renting. Also, at this time, I plan to continuing to get IFR rated, but we will see. One thing at a time. I'm not doing this to save money, I just enjoy it.

This is just a hobby, I'd hate to see what Ive spent on boat's, golf, and hunting in the past, but I enjoyed them also. None of them made sense financially. But I do hope to make more trips to visit some of my relatives that I don't do as often now, as I hate the long drives. If the weather turns bad, I'll just stay a little longer. I have no place I have to be.

Just to clarify...

This was my friend's somewhat funny rant on why it's financially silly these days to get your license... And he's trying to get me to join him in historics racing instead ;-) I'm not "worried" about the validity of his arguments. I know he's mostly right, but I don't care... I just posted that to see you guy pick at it, and enjoyed that too... Be nice to him now ;-)

I learned to fly at the same time I learned to drive, in Europe (used to take an hour driving lesson to get to the airport, then an hour flight instruction along with my driving instructor, then another driving lesson to get home). By the time I got home on those days, I was a brain dead wet sponge... Being 17, I miscalculated on costs / income, and never finished navigations required to get my ticket.... I did solo at 7hrs and got engine trouble on my first solo, on a military controlled airfield, if you can believe that (the paperwork!!)... good fun !

So yeah, I'm gonna do this...regardless. I have unfinished business with aviation. I used to love hangoing out at FBOs, I like plane people (often got rides etc..), my wife is excited about the $100 burgers, my older kid (4) is fascinated by airplanes (more than normal), I'm kinda bored with where I live -BDDT- so this could expland my horizons a little... what's not to like ? As a bonus, on my bucket list is to fly either a Spitfire/FW190/Mustang... The spit is doable in the UK but $$$, the mustang is cheaper and near my house (the FW is never gonna happen). It'll be more fun if I have a license than if I go do it as a pedestrian ;-)

PS: I kinda like the new aircraft parachute systems, as I age, I am more aweare of my own mortality ;-) I know they're on the Cirrus, but a Cessana rep I was talking to at the flight school told me you can add them on Cessna's... just that he's only ever sold 2 in all of FL. Said cirrus needs them because they can't recover from some unusual attitudes... Is that true ? just curious... I know 90% + of accidents are weather related, I just like the idea my wife could pull a rip cord (figuratively) if I get a heart attack in the air ;-)

Not true. However, Cirrus has a surprisingly poor (comparatively) fatality record. Not much worse than the Cessna 350/400 series, but it is measurably worse. Some hypothesize that the presence of the parachute in the Cirrus encourages some pilots to fly beyond their ability, knowing they can "just" activate the parachute to save the day if necessary (which would destroy the airframe, by the way). I don't know if the data support this. There is a good article on this subject on Avweb. Not to knock Cirrus, as I think they are remarkable aircraft, but there's more to it than the chute. A better solution for the wife might be to get her to take a "pinch-hitter" course, which would give her the required knowledge and skill to land the plane should you become incapacitated. Not to mention Cirrus' are very, very expensive.

You should try flying in UK then you'll know about high cost of gas, rental(or purchase and then hangarage and insurance and maintenance). Most pilots here have part ownership of a plane, from one twelth to a quarter share is common due to the huge expenses including purchase price of even a well-used plane. I only fly in the US now as its cheaper to rent there than to have a one sixth share in a Cherokee 140 here.And you get to fly planes there that you hardly ver even see here. We do have the equivalent of your EAA aircraft here with lower costs in fuelo burn and maintenance but somehow a big lazy Lycoming or Continental gives me more assurance against dead-stick landings than a geared down high-revving small capacity motor.

This "parachute will save my azz" crap is just that. My copilot is the guy who is in charge of the SAR (search and rescue) for the state of Arizona. When an aircraft goes down, he is the one who gets the first call. We have had several accidents recently there the airplane had one of these recovery chutes installed.

Not ONE of the accidents had the chute deployed and every one that he was working with was a fatal accident. These are not installed on 99.99% of the airplanes as they are not needed. Do not get in over your head, do not over-stress the airplane and so on and you will usually land safely.

As DS about mentions, get the wife in a "pinch hitter" course and that will help her feel better and be able to help in the event its needed.

The OP reflects my experience. I saw some incredible views from the cockpit, but once I got my certificate I found myself flying a lot less. It was fun while it lasted, but not that fun. I couldn't find any practical reason to fly and I never renewed, and that was back when you could rent a PA-28 for $25 an hour.

You have nailed it perfectly. If you buy an entry level aircraft ie. Cessna 150, Piper Cherokee 140 it can get pretty mundane, tedious. You may find if you get one of these a/c they are good for time building say if you want to be a prof. pilot but simple av. recreation, you may be lusting for something sleeker, faster after a while. Once you get a few thousand feet in the air, the earth seems to be going rather slowly. If I have a spare 100k $ then I would look at another Porsche, not an aircraft.:)Mind u ownership is important to some people and I can understand if you live on an airpark it can make some sense.

Not everyone has to go fast to have fun!!!

Buy an old taildragger, an Aeronca, Piper Cub, Stinson or the like and go "low and slow" and you will have just as much if not more fun that trying to go 400 mph.

Okay Joe, so I flipflop here. I agree that the old taildraggers are fun. You sit directly behind the propeller and you have a stick to control the a/c. The most fun t dragger I have flown is a 150 hp SuperCub, followed by a J3 cub. Almost makes u think of Tom Cruise in Top Gun the movie. The problem with these a/c is they usually dont have a transponder or too much in the way of radios so you are limited to uncontrolled airspace. So if u live out in the country where u dont encounter other a/c traffic, then u have more freedom to fly lower and make like a barnstormer. Depends on how deep your pockets are I suppose and how desperate u r to own an a/c. If u rent , you usually can only rent Cessna, Piper etc. etc.

Most small airplanes have transponders by now.

Another alternative is to join a club. At my local airport a 1/12 share of a nice Bonanza is for sale for only $2500. I've seen the airplane, and it is very well equipped, and looks to be very well maintained.

It is hard to walk into a local FBO and rent a serious cross-country machine like a Bonanza or Mooney, but there are ways to fly less expensively than buying a Cirrus.

Low and slow in my Minimax is a blast.... especially in winter on skis where the world becomes a runway.

Cheap too.... I originally built it from plans for under 3 grand and later put a better new engine on it..... I probably have 5-6 grand in it total since building it in '93-'94. While not a traveling machine, I have flown it from NW Ohio to Oshkosh Wisconsin in 6 hours which was funner than driving 8 hours through the craphole AKA Chicago. :)


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A 'friends' site:
Http://www.jetpylot.com/flying.html