By far the cheapest way to experience flying for the true love of it, is to join a soaring club. Sailplanes require far less maintenance and are cheaper to ope

By far the cheapest way to experience flying for the true love of it, is to join a soaring club. Sailplanes require far less maintenance and are cheaper to operate (try flying 5 hours for the cost of a tow + $20/hr rental) (in the US) Flying them is enormously rewarding as you are 100% concentrated on what you are doing, is quiet, peace full and depending on where you fly, you may be rewarded with spectacular views of the world from way above. Finally, for the inner geek, flying gliders competitively is a highly technical/mental activity, top pilots tend to strongly correlate with engineering and science professionals.