[Loomis]

I soloed, but never got a PPL. The problem isn't so much the initial cost, it's the cost in time and dollars of making the long term commitment to being a proficient pilot. Flying is nothing to screw around with - you need to be competent and improve your skills constantly.

So, instead of going to the cars 'n coffee or kids soccer games or whatever on a beautiful Saturday morning, you really should be flying around the patch for an hour or two. Miss a few saturdays, maybe have a close call the last time that has you rethinking things? Don't put it off, you MUST do a lot more than the bare minimum in order to keep your skills up.

I have been a scuba diver since I was a teenager. As we started having kids, I did it less and less. Finally, I made a commitment to be a good diver, and keep my skills up. Drives me nuts now to see "vacation divers" screwing with no skills. Anyway, flying and diving have something in common - only a small fraction of the people who learn to do it are still doing it a year later.

I found flying fun sometimes, but not fun enough relative to the cost, risk, and level of commitment required.