l'avion

I've been reading Sullenberger's book and it has really gotten me interested in flying. Also I got a ride in a biplane last summer around Martha's Vineyard and the pilot did some stunts and that really got me hooked. Now I'm thinking I really do want to get my private pilot license. I'm in school now but would really like to start taking lessons within the next few years, maybe during a study abroad semester in Sydney? It would be nice to be able to roll up some of the costs in my student loans somehow...

Anyway does anyone else here fly recreationally? How long did it take you? Where did you learn and how was the experience?

N965VJ

There's nothing like flying a taildragger out of a grass strip on a summer evening! ^

pinworm

I hold a PPL, but it's an expensive hobby. I generally pool with other pilots and share the costs to keep hours up, but I am not sure I can hack the costs even then. I already sunk several grand into getting it.

I do enjoy it immensely though. It took me a year and a half to get it but that's because I have a 9 to 5 job which left only evenings and weekends...when I was not on the road. I paid per module.

tuapekastar

Obviously not an option for everybody, and the right opportunity has to present itself, but I used to work with a guy who had a PPL, and he flew on weekends for a parachuting club. They supplied the plane and fuel and he supplied the pilot (i.e. himself).

The parachuting club got a pilot for nix, and he was able to accrue flying hours also for nix (except his time, of course).

LarryJ

That's not allowed.

A private pilot can not fly for compensation or hire. The FAA considers receiving free flight time as compensation and requires that the pilot pay at least his pro-rata share of the operating expenses of flight. Additionally, the sky divers would have been paying the company for the jump which makes it a for-hire flight and requires the pilot to have at least a commercial pilot certificate even if the pilot is not getting paid.

peteftlaud

except for flying a helicopter.
Still, learn to fly, you'll love it. @:-)

JerryFF

Flying to places that are long drives or inconvenient by commercial air has been the best part of my license. When I lived in Albany, NY, I flew to Martha's Vineyard and Princeton, where I had friends. Now that I live in California, trips to Lake Tahoe or Santa Barbara from our closest airport (Watsonville) are a little over an hour.

There are numerous "fly-in" destinations with runways along a lake or campground.

I'm not much for stunt flying but these kinds of trips are great. And no TSA!!

bankops

Given your french name, I assume you are in Europe. I have a US IFR and a JAR VFR for Europe. While expensive, in part, if you have a family and you enjoy getting off the beaten path, even the economics can work out. PM me if you want information regarding getting your license in Europe or America.

tuapekastar

Fair enough, not an option where the FAA has jurisdiction.

My example was in Australia, so either the rules are different or my colleague was doing something he shouldn't have.

Mwenenzi

Being in Aust could have been a club (not for profit).
There are many PPL's on FT.

TA

a long thread on a related topic -- "Helicopter flying lessons"
and see some of my advice in reply #12

Aviatrix

Flying parachute planes on a PPL is allowed in the UK. As is glider towing. That's how several of my friends did their hour-building. I think the only rule is that the pilot must be a member of the parachuting/gliding club.

JSteele

There is nothing like pulling your plane out of it hanger, next to your car. Loading the bags from the car to the plane, and parking the car in the hanger, and leaving, all without taking your shoes off.

When you arrive, at a small field near your destination, a rental car is waiting for you. First class is nothing compared to the front seat.

On the other hand, going commercial always gets you there quicker once you go across the country, especially if a non-stop is available.

These days, I am a lowly CFI teaching people in the pattern.

If you are in Denver, PM me and we can go flying.

Zarf4

I've held my PPL for about 15 years now & do the occasional recreational flight both in the US and in Oz. Back to the OP's list of questions...

It took me about 8 months from signing up for lessons to passing checkride. I had about 70 hours of flight time, 25 solo when I received my license. It could have taken a lot less time, but like pinworm I was working an 8-5 job at the time. My instruction was at Orange County, CA (SNA) and I was fortunate to have an exceptional flight instructor which made things so much easier. That said I'd like to pass along a few suggestions...

1) Check with different flight schools to get an estimate of cost. I'd try and accumulate most of the money before starting. You should try and fly at least twice a week if you're serious. You lose a lot and it will take *much* longer if you go intermittently.

2) Others may disagree, but I'm very glad to have learned at an airport in Class C airspace (Class Cs are areas around pretty busy airports.) You get good at interacting with larger traffic and develop better situational awareness and radio procedures. I have friends who have received their licenses at little airstrips in the middle of nowhere who are afraid to fly in the Los Angeles basin due to the heavy radio chatter.

3) If you don't 'click' with your flight instructor get another one pronto. If he/she doesn't explain things quickly, clearly, concisely you're wasting money and time and even worse having gaps in your safety knowledge.

4) While training, treat yourself to a 'fun flight' once a month or so where the mission is just to enjoy the view, maybe go somewhere fun for lunch, etc. to remind yourself why you're doing this. Although to my non-pilot friends flying seems like 'being free like a bird' but it can be tiring and stressful, especially when you're practicing stalls and spins and worrying about holding altitude and course.

5) I've flown in Australia and it has been absolutely gorgeous. It's a bit more expensive to learn there than in the states. You'll join an aero club and some can be rather structured. I visited one where the students were required to attend formal classes & wear pilot shirts complete with epaulets, ugh. I'm also not so keen on learning there since you are not subject to difficult airspaces, navigation exercises, and unpredictable weather as you get here.

Just my 2c...after all that the bottom line is getting your pilot's license is more fun than getting an opup on a transpacific Y.

Jazzop

If you decide to do it, then DO IT!

Make the necessary commitment of time and money in order to get your certificate. Too many people take a few lessons and then let other things get in the way; before they know it, their last time in the air was months ago and they've lost all their new skills and knowledge. When you pay > $100/hr to relearn those things, your budget gets depleted pretty quickly.

Also, be careful of the kind of instructor you select. Most instructors are young guys trying to build time in oder to get into the airline industry. They will drop you in a heartbeat if they get a better job. My Commercial/Instrument instructor did just that when he got called up to a regional airline. He didn't even tell the flight school he was leaving! He just disappeared one day-- no returned calls, no emails.

Those kinds of instructors are okay if you are enrolled in a large Part 141 flight school, where you can just plug in a different CFI. But the best kind of instruction will come from an old-timer. Find a CFI who has retired from the airlines, military, or whatever, who just flies for the love of it. Chances are, he has a ton of great lessons and stories to share. This kind of instructor is even better when they teach in an old taildragger or if you start off in gliders before moving to airplanes.

If you have a lot of money and think you will eventually own an airplane, I suggest buying the airplane first and taking all your instruction in it. Airplane ownership is only good when you utilize the aircraft a lot, and this is a great way to keep the prop turning. It also makes you intimately familiar with your own airplane, which increases safety.