Airplane flying

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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?

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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.

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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]

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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

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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]

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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.


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

[DasLeben]

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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.


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

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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?

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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]

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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

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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)

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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/

[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.

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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.

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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