private pilots license

[youngflyer]

haha a good airline job?!?! i heard like comuter jet pilots only make 30000 a year?!?!

[DKjens]

Committing to obtaining a PPL IMO really takes something extra, if you are young and make less than $50,000 a year, it takes an undying love for flying. Think not only of the expense of getting the PPL, think ahead and consider the expense of keeping it. If you don’t keep it, it’s just hours of expensive fun. I am not up on what’s required to keep a PPL, but there is a minimum number of airtime per year, medical and possibly more. Think about what you are going to use your PPL for once obtained. Does your family have friends and family within a 500 mile radius, where maybe it makes better sense to rent a plane and fly to visit, than to drive, or other scenarios where you would put your license to good use, but not have to flip the entire bill.

Ask yourself a bunch of questions like these before plunking down blocks of $1,000 after block, to get the PPL. Getting a PPL also is a short jump towards being able to get into aerobatic planes, both money wise and hour wise. As Matt said, sell a 40%er to pay for your PPL, but being able to fly a 40% becomes an extremely good deal compared to being able to fly a real aerobatic airplane.

I took lessons in 2000, 13 of them, soloed two local airports, got my medical, took the ground school, then quit. I couldn’t see what I was going to do with a PPL, fossil fuel prices going up, only able to fly utility planes, no family or friends to fly to and visit, in stead of maintaining the PPL, maybe I could get a new 40% every year.

You have to ask yourself a lot of questions before you start this. If you love flying, the thrill factor etc., maybe you’re better off spending money going on a tandem aerobatic ride, or a WW2 fighter kind of ride, where if you have the basic skills of flying, you can fly till you puke, and have fun that way.

I’m not writing this to sound negative in any way, I’d just rather see anybody spend their hard earned money on something that makes them happy, than feel like they wasted it.

DKjens

[why_fly_high]

I have to agree with DK. I got my private and it was fun. Then you don't fly for a month or 2 and then you are nervous. I decided that if I couldn't fly at least twice a month it wasn't fun. I would just get too nervous. I got to the point where I would have more fun spending the afternoon out flying models than an hour piddling around the patch in a 150. That said, If I ever hit the lottery the second purchase I make will be a cross country airplane. The first purchase would be a big chunk of land to fly my plane and models off of.

Dan

[youngflyer]

i was hoping to become an airline pilot as engineering and air force are out of the question. getting my ppl would be the first step in my goal however seeing as how airline pilot careers are slimming down and the pay is horrible i have to consider, is it worth it to drop 20000 to become an airline pilot?!?!

[jack01]

I thought something simmilar. Answer my twio questions, and they should answer yours:

1. Will flying for a living allow me to live comfortably?

2. Will flying for a living be something that I love, or will it be something that is just neat?


I asked a good friend of mine something along the lines of your question, and he told me what I just told you. He said that if I really loved flying, then that's where I belonged.

[Shaker]

I got my pilot's license when I was 17 (21 years ago) and I've loved every aspect of the challenge involved with it.. I was fortunate enough that my father paid for all of my flying back then..

I was then fortunate enough to get involved with my local aerobatic club and lucked into a sweet deal on flying a Sukhoi Su-29 for several years.. but there's something that most people don't understand about flying aerobatics.. You have to do it a lot just to be safe, let alone becoming good at it.. It's not something you can do once a month safely IMO.

The short version of all this is.. if it's something you want.. then do it. Once you have the license.. they never take it away. You may not be current.. but you still have the certification.

[krashmaster81]

I'd like to second everything that's been said so far. One thing I'd like to add, you might consider looking into a Sport Pilot's Certificate. I'm not terribly familiar with the entire concept, but I do know that it would be a bit cheaper than a full blown PPL and it would be a good stepping stone. Another thing to look at is flying gliders. go to http://www.ssa.org/ and see if there are any clubs in your area. You can get your glider certificate at age 16. I think you can even solo at 14? And the cost of flying a glider is going to me MUCH less than a typical powered plane! Just my $0.02.

-Matt

[youngflyer]

thank you everyone for the comments. i have some serious thinking to do before i drop this much money!

[SBR_RV]

im ready to go solo, but am waiting on a few certificates from CASA (australian mob). luckly i dont pay for my lessons, as my dad is an instructor.
what id like be doing after school would be aircraft maintenance enginering. the reason id rather do this is because of the pay rate compared to pilots get payed. plus i also love the enginering side of things, iv taken work placment in this area.
my dad was once offered a place as a maintenance engineer when he was around 19. he didnt take it, but now realises the better pay opportunites he may have had.

just to let some of you know, some of the maintenance engineers who are working for quntas link here in my home town are earning around $100,000 a year.
thats more than what the pilots who fly the same plane for the same airline are earning.

[jack01]

I didn't even think about the sport pilots certificate, or a glider rating. Both of those certificates would be less expensive to earn, but would still allow you to fly. Plus, those types planes are cheaper to fly per hour anyway.

[budgetdude]

PM sent!

[Huckeneer]

Yes, I was barely 15 when I took lessons. You will love it.