Hello!

I’ve had this as a goal for years, and I believe this year I’ll follow through on it. Course is offered at the local junior college. I have friends who own a plane together, thus defraying costs. They schedule use of it and this arrangement seems to work for them quite well. My goal is to fly with myself and my wife for recreation and travel to unique places on our own terms.

I am seeking input from anyone who has gone through this process. Open to any suggestions!

Thank you,

Jim

I'm sure V-Tail will be along shortly. He is an Instructor, and a very good one.

Where y'at? Location?

What junior college?

Is the course that is offered just ground school, to prep for the written exam, or does it include flying?

What is the cost?

All of the above information would be useful in order to provide meaningful information to you.

I received my instructor certificate a bit more than 50 years ago. I have done this a few times so I can probably help you with information.

I say go for it. A course at the local community college sounds like a great place to start.

So you would use the friend’s plane, if so what type? Where about are you, State?

If able, come visit Oshkosh towards the end of July, overload of aviation, great fun.

There are some free downloads on the FAA site, Airplane Flying Handbook is the logical start point.

Not that involved to get a pilot medical, nothing in your closet to prevent that, hopefully.

All the best.

Congratulations for looking to tackle a goal of yours. V-Tail is likely the best reference for how to go about this - there is some significant expenses for the flying and training but if you are prepared for that it's just a matter of putting in the time and having some innate spatial awareness, dexterity, and most importantly decision making.

And always remember this, regardless of how much "Get there-isus" there is from you and anyone you fly with because there is no where to pull over once you go wheels off the ground.

My goal too. Have been flying right seat and of/on instruction since 15. Best Friend’s dad was F4 IP out of Homestead and flew A36 and V35 bonanza out of Tamiami growing up. Buddy now owns a Cherokee 180 and has offered it for my training.

quote:

most importantly decision making.

#1 and beaten into my head since a kid. I fly in private aircraft with 3 people who make smart decisions, plan a flight and fly the plan. It is fun but serious business.

Think will work on moving ahead with ground school while I work to find a good instructor. Fly8ma.com comes recommended for ground school. I’ve put this off for so long will make time too this year. Good luck!

I attempted this back in late 99. I joined a local club that owned 6 or 7 aircraft, 2 of which were Cessna 172s. They had an automated phone system that you could call to reserve whichever plane you wanted.

The club had a few members that were flight instructors and I took lessons from one of those gentlemen. I was basically at the point of just needing to schedule a flight test with the FAA to get my license but I was badly injured in a car accident. I didn't fly for a year after the accident so I gave it up.

I would strongly consider joining a local club.

As I look through a couple of log books, I think of all the money pissed away on aviation. However, I would do it all over again as the satisfaction of accomplishment is one of the greatest ever. Once you get your Private SEL and build some time you will know if buying your own plane is right for you. Partnerships and rentals suck. I bought my own and equipped it for Instrument training and use. If you want to travel as you indicated, you'll need both your own plane and an Instrument rate. FBO's will not let you keep their plane for days at a time and it is comforting to know your own plane is well maintained and some goof ball didn't just return it late and failed to mention some problem encountered along the way.

A few random thoughts:
All it takes is time and money.
If you are able to make learning to fly your full time job for a month or so, the progress is much faster and easier than if you are flying once a week while juggling a “real job” and life.
Likely one of the more rewarding things you’ll do.

I did this in the '80's to check it off the list and have some fun.
While a great learning experience, it's not what most would consider inexpensive, done correctly and safely. I wouldn't cut any corners on the classroom training and especially on competent instruction. A friend with a pilots license, even an instructor rating isn't always a guarantee of good training.
I stopped when it became too time consuming to keep my competency/practice time at a level where I felt safe. Meeting the minimum requirements and being competent are not necessarily the same thing. I was always amazed to see how few accidents there are compared to some of the less wise things I witnessed regularly.
I have a few friends with planes that are good pilots that I can fly with when the urge strikes me.

quote:

Originally posted by nosticks:

Once you get your Private SEL and build some time you will know if buying your own plane is right for you. Partnerships and rentals suck. I bought my own and equipped it for Instrument training and use. If you want to travel as you indicated, you'll need both your own plane and an Instrument rate. FBO's will not let you keep their plane for days at a time and it is comforting to know your own plane is well maintained and some goof ball didn't just return it late and failed to mention some problem encountered along the way.

Back a few decades ago, when $50,000.00 would actually buy a pretty good (used) airplane, a friend of mine found the one that he wanted. He figured that if he ate rice and beans, he could make the mortgage payments for a while, so he formed a non-profit corp and bought the airplane. In a short time, he sold seven shares of stock in the corp, for $7,000.00 / share, so he wound up with 1/8 of an airplane for $1,000.00.

Each pilot put in $35.00 / month to cover fixed costs like tie-down, insurance, etc., and they paid $35.00 / tach hour into a maintenance fund. This was a "dry" rate, meaning that they each paid for their own "wet" stuff -- fuel. The rule was, they took the airplane out with full tanks, and re-fueled it on return, so it would be full for the next guy.

The whole thing worked out very well for them; the key was that they were all responsible adults and acted responsibly.

Does having a pilot's license affect your ability to obtain life insurance? I remember when I was filling out the questionnaire prior to getting life insurance, there were at least three questions asking if I was, or intended to become a pilot.

quote:

Originally posted by Suppressed:
Does having a pilot's license affect your ability to obtain life insurance? I remember when I was filling out the questionnaire prior to getting life insurance, there were at least three questions asking if I was, or intended to become a pilot.

I ended up with a policy rider that said my life insurance was void when traveling in a light plane I was piloting.

quote:

Originally posted by pessimist:

...I was basically at the point of just needing to schedule a flight test with the FAA to get my license but I was badly injured in a car accident. I didn't fly for a year after the accident so I gave it up...

AOPA has a Rusty Pilot program that is just right for you. I got back into the left seat after 34 years.

https://www.aopa.org/training-...safety/lapsed-pilots

It's a fantastic way to turn $ into noise...

If the junior college program is just a ground school program, that's fine, but the knowledge piece of the private pilot certificate isn't that difficult. The video series from John and Martha King would be perfectly adequate. If you have access to other funding sources that require an accredited school, that's a different game.

Flying isn't hard. Learning to fly accurately with a very small margin for error is a challenge very satisfying to achieve. It's a ton of fun... and the world gets smaller when you have your own wings. Do it!!!

Disclaimer- I'm not an instructor. Just an instrument rated private pilot.

I've entertained the idea of getting a pilot's license, but it take more than time and money. More than once I've launched small boat only to be ankle deep in water a few minutes later because I forgot to put the drain plug in.

Congrats have fun.

Couple of first steps. Do the medical early to ensure you can get one before spending any real money. Join AOPA. Get renters insurance..

In addition to what everyone else said. Most flight schools have an introductory flight with a plane and instructor for a pretty nominal fee to see if you like it. I would do that first, see how well you enjoy it, before proceeding further.

I've toyed with getting my license and a plane.....from time to time. But, most of my flights that I'd actually fly the plane to, are one way flights and I bring a yacht back, so that wouldn't work......and I like flying, but don't love it enough to be willing to incur the costs. Everyone is different.

quote:

Originally posted by RHINOWSO:
and most importantly decision making.

You can teach just about anybody the mechanics of flying an airplane. I found the hardest thing to teach someone is judgement (decision making). They will only learn that to the extent that they are willing to change their thoughts and perceptions. There were always certain pilots that made me sweat when putting my CFI signature in their logbook.

Okay, Jimmy123’s post about the intro flight brought up another thought. You are far better off to do the groundschool first (or at least before many lessons), then go fly with an instructor. That is the every airline in the world does it and the way every military in the world does it. That is NOT how the typical flight school does it. The typical flight school knows that they are competing for your discretionary dollars with lots of other fun hobbies so they try to keep it fun. Telling you that you have to go do a bunch of book work before you can fly would chase many folks off before they start.

However, there is a reason that the pros do the “book work” first (several in fact). The airplane is a sucky classroom. It is noisy, it is moving, and it requires that you devote at least a portion of your attention to keeping it doing what you want it to do. Contrast that to watching a video of a John or Martha that you can stop, backup, repeat, maybe even play slow if needed to help you figure it out.

Trust me, sitting in the airplane thinking “Yeah, Martha talked about that, I get it.” is orders of magnitude better than sitting in the peace and quiet of your living room looking for the fast forward button because, “Come on Martha, I already learned that one thing in a noisy, expensive classroom in a session or sessions that may have cost me more than this whole class.”

If you watch enough King videos (Private, instrument, Commercial, whatever else you choose), you may get to the point that some of the quirky mannerisms drive you nuts, but they absolutely get the material across.

A lot of flight schools will keep you flying and learning (and having fun) until you are getting close to having fulfilled all your requirements and then say, “Hey, before you can take the checkride, you gotta pass the written test. The local ground schools take many weeks, you should do an online one like King or Gleim or ... you really can’t blame them, they are running a business and that is likely the best way for their business, but it is not the least expensive or most efficient way for you.