Airplane flying

Any of you OOtiots know anything about flying? How long does it take to get a pilot license, approximate cost, eyesight requirements. I have kinda lousy vision so that might be an impediment, but i don't know. Plus this is a decent topic.

polltard

[stabn]

http://faa.gov/licenses_certificates/

Also:

become (http://faa.gov/pilots/become/)

training (http://faa.gov/pilots/training/)

[edfurlong]

I hear you can cut some time out if you aren't interested in learning how to land.

[STLantny]

I hase 2 friends that are pilots, and I know 1 of them has a commercial liscence, it took him 200 hours of air time (which I think is ridiculously low). But commercial doesnt necassarily mean a 747 etc. He is 21 or 22 now, and learned everything from Parks college at St louis U. So it really doenst take that long to get through the program.

[Jamey Saunders]

You may also want to check out http://www.studentpilot.com.

[DasLeben]

I'm a flight instructor, so I can answer your questions from personal experience.

I'm assuming that you're simply going for your Private Pilot certificate, correct?

Length of time: Completely dependent on you. If you can set aside the time to fly 3-4 times per week, you could have your certificate done (realistically) in 3-5 months. 3 months being the low end for sharp students.

Approximate cost: If you do your training at a normal flight school at an airport, expect to pay anywhere from $5000-$7000 for your private certificate.

Eyesight: Is your vision correctable to 20/20? If so, you won't have a problem. I have 20/400 vision uncorrected, and never had a problem passing a medical.

If you have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask.

[2+2 wannabe]

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I hear you can cut some time out if you aren't interested in learning how to land.

[/ QUOTE ]

lol nice

[-Skeme-]

[ QUOTE ]
I hear you can cut some time out if you aren't interested in learning how to land.

[/ QUOTE ]

haha nh

[ QUOTE ]
I'm a flight instructor, so I can answer your questions from personal experience.

I'm assuming that you're simply going for your Private Pilot certificate, correct?

Length of time: Completely dependent on you. If you can set aside the time to fly 3-4 times per week, you could have your certificate done (realistically) in 3-5 months. 3 months being the low end for sharp students.

Approximate cost: If you do your training at a normal flight school at an airport, expect to pay anywhere from $5000-$7000 for your private certificate.

Eyesight: Is your vision correctable to 20/20? If so, you won't have a problem. I have 20/400 vision uncorrected, and never had a problem passing a medical.

If you have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask.

[/ QUOTE ]
Yes, Private Pilot certificate. That's a little more than I thought. I live in Salt Lake and tomorrow I will make some inquiries. I wear glasses but i don't know what my numbers are. Do you like flying ? Doyou own your own plane or rent to fly?

polltard

[otctrader]

[ QUOTE ]
Yes, Private Pilot certificate. That's a little more than I thought. I live in Salt Lake and tomorrow I will make some inquiries. I wear glasses but i don't know what my numbers are. Do you like flying ? Doyou own your own plane or rent to fly?

[/ QUOTE ]

Best $10k I ever spent was getting my private (I'm in NY, maybe you can do it cheaper in Salt Lake); don't sweat the medical, as long as you're not on the verge of dying you'll be fine.

Unless you want to burn money like a madman don't even think about buying a plane; the maintenance and insurance will eat you alive. Renting is the way to go, and it's fine to rent a beater to save a few bucks when you're learning.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Yes, Private Pilot certificate. That's a little more than I thought. I live in Salt Lake and tomorrow I will make some inquiries. I wear glasses but i don't know what my numbers are. Do you like flying ? Doyou own your own plane or rent to fly?

[/ QUOTE ]

Best $10k I ever spent was getting my private (I'm in NY, maybe you can do it cheaper in Salt Lake); don't sweat the medical, as long as you're not on the verge of dying you'll be fine.

Unless you want to burn money like a madman don't even think about buying a plane; the maintenance and insurance will eat you alive. Renting is the way to go, and it's fine to rent a beater to save a few bucks when you're learning.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, the only way I could fly would be to rent. I couldn't afford to buy a plane. I think flying would be cool.

polltard

[DasLeben]

[ QUOTE ]
Yes, Private Pilot certificate. That's a little more than I thought. I live in Salt Lake and tomorrow I will make some inquiries. I wear glasses but i don't know what my numbers are. Do you like flying ? Doyou own your own plane or rent to fly?

polltard

[/ QUOTE ]

Well actually, $5000 is pretty cheap for a Private certificate. I personally spent ~$9000, but I went through a college flight program (read: $$$).

I do enjoy flying, but I've recently begun another career path in aviation. I'm going back to school in January to become an Air Traffic Controller. That's simply because the industry for professional pilots is such crap right now, it's almost not worth it. For you flying around for personal reasons, you should enjoy yourself immensely.

As for rent vs. own, I rent.

[tek]

How much for a chopper license?

[stigmata]

[ QUOTE ]
Eyesight: Is your vision correctable to 20/20? If so, you won't have a problem. I have 20/400 vision uncorrected, and never had a problem passing a medical.


[/ QUOTE ]

What about us spectacle-wearers? I wanna fly one day....

[DasLeben]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Eyesight: Is your vision correctable to 20/20? If so, you won't have a problem. I have 20/400 vision uncorrected, and never had a problem passing a medical.


[/ QUOTE ]

What about us spectacle-wearers? I wanna fly one day....

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, that's what I meant. I wear glasses, and have 20/400 vision without them. My eyesight is corrected to 20/20 with them on, so I pass a medical without a problem.

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How much for a chopper license?

[/ QUOTE ]

Not exactly sure. I've heard estimates of up around $10,000 for a private certificate in helicopters, but I'm not sure how accurate that is. I'm only certificated in airplanes.

[theredbaron]

[ QUOTE ]
Any of you OOtiots know anything about flying? How long does it take to get a pilot license, approximate cost, eyesight requirements. I have kinda lousy vision so that might be an impediment, but i don't know. Plus this is a decent topic.

polltard

[/ QUOTE ]

Hi. I acquired my private pilot rating in 2000. I paid way too much for it, but I was made of money at the time.

Costs: $75 for a third class medical
Books and materials: $125 (or so)
FAA Exam cost: ((I forget))
Plane for instruction: $106/hour (yep you read that right)
Instructor: : $45/hour (yep, you read that right too)

All in all I took exactly 90 days and approximatly $10k to get my license.

NOW FOR THE ZINGER:

At the same airport, there was a flight club that had three planes and dozens of instructors. I joined them AFTER I had my license because:

Rental: Cessna 172 $35/hour !!!!!!!!
Rental: Cessna 182 $45/hour !!!!!!!!
Instructors $25/hour TOPS

So, shop around for a flying club.

Oh yeah, you can now go for a 'sport pilot' license which allows you to fly the smaller aircraft at much less training expense. Might be the way to get your feet wet.

Hope this helps,
The Baron

[DasLeben]

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Plane for instruction: $106/hour (yep you read that right)
Instructor: : $45/hour (yep, you read that right too)

[/ QUOTE ]

This is becoming the norm these days. I'm seeing C172s for $110+/hr now.

What was REALLY bad is when I was flying a multiengine during training. Through ERAU, that was $233/hour. I did one IFR flight from AZ to Socal and back, and I wrote a check for $1600 that night.

If you don't mind me asking, how many hours did you finish your private with, and what kind of aircraft did you fly? $10,000 is a bit steep for that certificate.

[Jezebel]

I got my private cert. back in 98. Since then they have just approved a Sport Pilot Certification that may or may not be more what you are looking for. The Sport Pilot is much cheaper to obtain and allows you to fly small 2 seat aircraft. There are some restrictions but if your main thing is to just sight see and go for the occassional $100 hamburger, then this might be more for you.

An even cheaper alternative is ultralights. I owned a phantom ultralight for years and it was some of the most enjoyable flying I've ever done. Most private pilots shoot their nose up at ultralights but I can say that they are cheap to own, cheap to operate, and if well maintained very safe. http://www.phantomaeronautics.com/

http://www.phantomaeronautics.com/pictures/020_17.JPG

[Nick-Zack]

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Eyesight: Is your vision correctable to 20/20? If so, you won't have a problem. I have 20/400 vision uncorrected, and never had a problem passing a medical.

[/ QUOTE ]

I am color blind - would that be a problem?

[swede123]

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it's fine to rent a beater to save a few bucks when you're learning.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't know much about planes but I would think twice before renting a "beater" airplane. Somehow it seems a little more important to have a reliable vehicle when you're up a few thousand feet. Maybe I'm a big pussy, you tell me.

Swede

[stabn]

[ QUOTE ]

Unless you want to burn money like a madman don't even think about buying a plane; the maintenance and insurance will eat you alive. Renting is the way to go, and it's fine to rent a beater to save a few bucks when you're learning.


[/ QUOTE ]

This really depends on how often you fly.

[Jezebel]

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This really depends on how often you fly.


[/ QUOTE ]

I've always heard that you need to fly about 100 hours a year to break even vs. renting. For most people 100 hours is ALOT of flying.

[DasLeben]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

Eyesight: Is your vision correctable to 20/20? If so, you won't have a problem. I have 20/400 vision uncorrected, and never had a problem passing a medical.

[/ QUOTE ]

I am color blind - would that be a problem?

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you fully color blind, or just color deficient? I'd definitely talk to an aviation medical examiner about that. Also, you could try: http://www.aviationmedicine.com/index.html

[stabn]

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[ QUOTE ]
This really depends on how often you fly.


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I've always heard that you need to fly about 100 hours a year to break even vs. renting. For most people 100 hours is ALOT of flying.

[/ QUOTE ]

True. But you can't get up at 7 and decide you want to fly somewhere and get breakfast on a whim if you don't own one /images/graemlins/smile.gif.

[stabn]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
it's fine to rent a beater to save a few bucks when you're learning.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't know much about planes but I would think twice before renting a "beater" airplane. Somehow it seems a little more important to have a reliable vehicle when you're up a few thousand feet. Maybe I'm a big pussy, you tell me.

Swede

[/ QUOTE ]

A beater can simply be a mid 60's cesna 150 that will only top 100 if you have a serious problem but is a great plane to learn in.

[DasLeben]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
it's fine to rent a beater to save a few bucks when you're learning.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't know much about planes but I would think twice before renting a "beater" airplane. Somehow it seems a little more important to have a reliable vehicle when you're up a few thousand feet. Maybe I'm a big pussy, you tell me.

Swede

[/ QUOTE ]

A beater can simply be a mid 60's cesna 150 that will only top 100 if you have a serious problem but is a great plane to learn in.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yep. Plenty of 60s-70s planes are still flying around in airworthy condition. Learning in these is great, and builds character. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

Anyone ever flown a plane with duct tape on the wing? I have. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[stabn]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
it's fine to rent a beater to save a few bucks when you're learning.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't know much about planes but I would think twice before renting a "beater" airplane. Somehow it seems a little more important to have a reliable vehicle when you're up a few thousand feet. Maybe I'm a big pussy, you tell me.

Swede

[/ QUOTE ]

A beater can simply be a mid 60's cesna 150 that will only top 100 if you have a serious problem but is a great plane to learn in.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yep. Plenty of 60s-70s planes are still flying around in airworthy condition. Learning in these is great, and builds character. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

Anyone ever flown a plane with duct tape on the wing? I have. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Does a glider count for this one :P?

[Jezebel]

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Yep. Plenty of 60s-70s planes are still flying around in airworthy condition. Learning in these is great, and builds character.

[/ QUOTE ]

I learned in a '65 Piper 140. I thought for a long time that the brand name was INOP due to all of the stickers on the panel. The first time I rented a new plane my first question to the instructor was "DO ALL OF THESE GAGUES ACTUALLY WORK?"

[LAGmaniac]

I've got 13.5 hours as of Friday and I love it. I'm in the Bay area and the best deal I've found is at Hayward airport. The plane is $45/hr dry
AVgas is about $20/hr
Instructor is $35/hr and only charges when the plane engine is running (hobbs time)
So it's about $100/hr total
My flying club also has a deal where you get 50 hrs dual instruction including plane and fuel plus 10 hrs ground instruction for $4799
Also your vision only needs to be correctable to 20/40 in order to qualify for a third-class medical. You should definitely look into it, you won't regret it.

[ QUOTE ]
I've got 13.5 hours as of Friday and I love it. I'm in the Bay area and the best deal I've found is at Hayward airport. The plane is $45/hr dry
AVgas is about $20/hr
Instructor is $35/hr and only charges when the plane engine is running (hobbs time)
So it's about $100/hr total
My flying club also has a deal where you get 50 hrs dual instruction including plane and fuel plus 10 hrs ground instruction for $4799
Also your vision only needs to be correctable to 20/40 in order to qualify for a third-class medical. You should definitely look into it, you won't regret it.

[/ QUOTE ]

That sounds a little better price-wise. I havn't called anybody yet here in Salt Lake, but I will next week. Yeah, I think it would be cool to rent a plane once in a while and go for a ride.

polltard

[Edge34]

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[ QUOTE ]
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This really depends on how often you fly.


[/ QUOTE ]

I've always heard that you need to fly about 100 hours a year to break even vs. renting. For most people 100 hours is ALOT of flying.

[/ QUOTE ]

True. But you can't get up at 7 and decide you want to fly to Vegas on a whim if you don't own one /images/graemlins/smile.gif.

[/ QUOTE ]

I do believe, my only FYP.

[DasLeben]

[ QUOTE ]
True. But you can't get up at 7 and decide you want to fly to Vegas on a whim if you don't own one /images/graemlins/smile.gif.
I do believe, my only FYP.

[/ QUOTE ]

I've done this. Flying yourself to Vegas owns. Bwahaha.

Oh, and I flew with my bud to Aspen, CO once too. Flying is the [censored].

[LAGmaniac]

You might want to also check near Ogden and other surronding airports. I'm in San Francisco but SFO is way too expensive to learn to fly at (they have a $75 landing fee among other things). Oakland was cheaper but it's still a busy airport which generally makes things expensive, not to mention that learning at a slower paced municipal airport is much more relaxing. Hayward (which is about 27 miles from San Francisco) is perfect for me because it is just busy enough to have a Control Tower so I get good practice at radio work but not so busy that I get overwhelmed. Also the rates for everything there are a lot cheaper.

I found this club in Ogden that seems to be a really good deal. Hill Flying Club (http://timesheet.sesincusa.com/hfc/index.asp) It's $1500 to buy a share in the planes they have and then only $25 to $30/hr to rent their 172's and 182's respectively. My club has the best rates in the my area and $60-$85/hr is the range they rent those planes for. Of course you need to look into how well they maintain their planes first but it may be worth the drive to join a club up there.

[Barry]

Being color blind IS a problem.

[Barry]

FWIW -

I got my license way back in 1992. I soloed in 15 and got my private in about 65 hours. I understand that the averages are a bit higher now.

Also unless you live in an area where the weather is beautiful most of the time, you will eventually want to get an instrument rating so you can legally fly through the clouds.

I own a Piper Saratoga and fly between 125 and 150 hours a year. I am very glad that I did it. Plus when you wear your leather flight jacket you can tell the babes that, yes you really are a pilot.

[claimsguy]

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I'm going back to school in January to become an Air Traffic Controller.

[/ QUOTE ]

What are the requirements for Air Traffic Controller. Is a pilots license needed?

[ QUOTE ]
FWIW -

I got my license way back in 1992. I soloed in 15 and got my private in about 65 hours. I understand that the averages are a bit higher now.

Also unless you live in an area where the weather is beautiful most of the time, you will eventually want to get an instrument rating so you can legally fly through the clouds.

I own a Piper Saratoga and fly between 125 and 150 hours a year. I am very glad that I did it. Plus when you wear your leather flight jacket you can tell the babes that, yes you really are a pilot.

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh good, i need all the help i can get....especially with a nickname like POLLTARD.

polltard

[Sponger15SB]

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Plus when you wear your leather flight jacket you can tell the babes that, yes you really are a pilot.

[/ QUOTE ]

http://www.cg-32.com/cg-32/tcruise4.jpg