wanttaja@ssc-vax.UUCP (Ronald J Wanttaja) (04/22/85)
> What's the most inexpensive (Non-military) way to get your private > pilots licence? And what's the best way to get cheep flight hours? > There are, of course, two things that one must pay for... an instructor and the use of an aircraft. Ways to get aircraft use cheap: 1. Block time rental. Offer an FBO "X" dollars for "Y" hours of guaranteed use of his aircraft. 2. Flying clubs. Many offer reasonable rates. Beware, they may only allow the use of their own instructors, though 3. Joint ownership. Actually, a form of a flying club, except you and some (trusted!) friends go together and buy a plane. If you read my recent masterful :-) treatise of ownership, you can see that dividing the cost among, say, four people would give very low cost flying. BE VERY careful, though; do research, and get everything done nice and official. 4. Civil Air Patrol (CAP- but sometimes known as the Completely Ridiculous Air Patrol). CAP quite often has some of the advantages of Flying Clubs with just minor inconveniences. Back ten years ago when I was learning, they rented a Citabria for $10/hr (wet) when the 150's at the FBO were $18/hr. Bird Dogs were $13/hr (sigh). CAP can be a good deal sometimes, as units are required to keep a certain utilization rate and many have trouble making it, therefore rental rates are held down. The cheapest way to get an instructor is to find one who will teach you for nothing. NOTE: NO ":-)"! I have had three CFIs offer to give me free instruction, just pay for the plane. Two of them were glider types (actually, I think the Boeing Soaring Club gives free instruction to power types trying for the additional rating), and the third was an old buddy of mine in a different state (rats!). Actually, my old buddy has three students... none of which he charges. He likes to fly, he likes to instruct, he can't *live* off instructing, so he has a "real" job and teaches people to fly for the fun of it. Check around with flying friends; someone may know a similar fellow. CAP might be a good source for this sort of instructor. It is not *impossible* to learn to fly cheap... I earned 40 free hours of time in a Citabria by doing janitorial work for CAP. A local A&P/CFI charges $30/hour for dual in his Champ. A last word of advice... for cheap flying, stay away from the larger airports- go to the municipal and grass strips. Ron Wanttaja (ssc-vax!wanttaja) Glory, Flying Regulations, Have them read at all the stations, Burn the hide of those who break one, THE FORCE IS SHOT TO HELL!
cfiaime@ihnp4.UUCP (Jeff Williams) (04/23/85)
> > 4. Civil Air Patrol (CAP- but sometimes known as the Completely Ridiculous > Air Patrol). CAP quite often has some of the advantages of Flying Clubs > with just minor inconveniences. Back ten years ago when I was learning, > they rented a Citabria for $10/hr (wet) when the 150's at the FBO were > $18/hr. Bird Dogs were $13/hr (sigh). CAP can be a good deal sometimes, > as units are required to keep a certain utilization rate and many have > trouble making it, therefore rental rates are held down. Just a note on Civil Air Patrol flying. 1. CAP regulations state that only CAP members can fly in CAP airplanes, and only on CAP business. 2. Learning to fly is CAP business, but going to Aunt Zelda's in Smalltown, Nextstateover is not considered CAP business, especially if non-member spouse and kids go with. 3. Not all CAP units have airplanes. In Illinois, there are (I think) six CAP corporate airplanes. The rest are member owned. (Kansas, at last count, had 4.) I have been trying to obtain an airplane for our squadron, and have had no luck whatsoever. 4. You will need an annual checkride with a CAP check pilot. Depending on the check pilot, you may not have to pay for the check ride. 5. Every CAP member should plan on working on a non-flying job in CAP. (As an example, my prime job is Group Chief Check Pilot, but I also am deputy commander of a composite squadron. In Kansas, I was Wing Chief Check Pilot, as well as operations officer.) CAP is a worth while organization. If you are lucky, it can be cheap flying, if you can hack the B.S. factor of some wings. Jeff Williams AT&T Bell Laboratories ihnp4!cfiaime
boris@mit-athena.UUCP (Boris N Goldowsky) (04/25/85)
I think it's cheaper to get your licence in sailplanes than in powered
aircraft. Soaring clubs often have very cheap rates and will let you
help them out with maintenance etc, in return for flying time. For instance,
the MIT soaring society asks you to pay only for the tow: flight time and
intruction are free (And no charge for gas! :-). Of course the
flights can be quite short...
I think soaring also teaches you some things about safety and aerodynamics
that are obscured somewhat by the "cheat factor" of power. The view is
nicer too.
boris
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Boris Goldowsky decvax!mit-athena!boris
boris@mit-athena.arpa
Goldowsky@mit-multics.{arpa,bitnet,mailnet}mlf@druxv.UUCP (FontenotM) (04/26/85)
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Flying gliders does indeed have some advantages over power flying. But
if you want to fly both, it's cheaper to get the power ticket first.
Mike Fontenot
Denver, Colo
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