5 ms·

Flying is fairly expensive, no?

m4rtink 5y ago
Depends - here in Europe you can jojn the local "aeroclub", pay a reasonable yearly fee, perform various work alignments from the club (airport and aircraft maintenance, manning the advisory radio service on the tower, etc.) and then you can fly the clubs gliders at first come first served basis (after appropriate training of course). This way even university students can fly (gliders) without being rich & quite a few of my friends did. Also, not really a problem with leaded fuel in most gliders. ;-) (The towing aircraft or the winch might be a different matter.)
- lutorm 5y ago
  Yeah flying clubs and/or experimental aircraft are the way to go, cost wise. There are some complications for learning to fly that way, but it can be much cheaper. We estimate the hourly cost of operation for our Sonex (https://www.sonexaircraft.com/ https://www.sonexaircraft.com/) is $35/h.
RNCTX 5y ago
tl;dr: private license is gonna run you about $10k. Instrument add-on another $10k (for flying in less than fair weather, it's basically required). You don't have to own an airplane, the above presume renting one ($150 to $200 per hour depending on the particulars).
- verst 5y ago
  Definitely closer to $15k for VFR alone in the Seattle area. Doing this right now at Boeing Field. Cessna 172 with G1000 avionics rental rate is 185/hour wet (with fuel) if you pay for a membership program at the flight school. Otherwise ~200/hour. For rentals you pay for engine time only. There are usually minimums per day if you wanted to rent a plane for a weekend trip or something like that. Flying Seattle to Orcas Island is a fun little trip.
  - RNCTX 5y ago
    G1000 is overkill for PPL, though. Admittedly I did mine in 2011 so it's been awhile, but I was paying $145 an hour then plus $60 for the CFI, so around $200 per hour all in. Considering you can do 10 hours sim time toward the minimums, I don't think $10k is impossible? But ancillary stuff will probably get you to $11k or $12k admittedly. In my case I did the American Flyers weekend ground school for the written test and they gave you a few hours of sim time included with the course cost.
    - GekkePrutser 5y ago
      It's overkill but it's more easy to fly with. No periodic adjustment of the gyros etc. I also find it much easier to view everything in one go. Our non-G1000 has autopilot and the G1000 doesn't (it's an expensive option) but I still prefer the G1000.
      - RNCTX 5y ago
        No doubt safer for IFR purposes. I have a little time in a G1000 but a lot more with aftermarket Aspen panels, I put them in my own airplane back in 2014. I had no problem taking off into a fog with 3D terrain in the panel. On old mechanical gauges with nothing but a beep telling me about the mountain? .... not so much.... Then again, I also live in North-Central Texas. Every black spot on the ground that you can't see at night is a cow pasture devoid of trees, land in whichever one you like with your dead engine and your odds are pretty good.
  - chris_va 5y ago
    Way better than my rate at bfi, which fbo?

Depends - here in Europe you can jojn the local "aeroclub", pay a reasonable yearly fee, perform various work alignments from the club (airport and aircraft maintenance, manning the advisory radio service on the tower, etc.) and then you can fly the clubs gliders at first come first served basis (after appropriate training of course). This way even university students can fly (gliders) without being rich & quite a few of my friends did. Also, not really a problem with leaded fuel in most gliders. ;-) (The towing aircraft or the winch might be a different matter.)

lutorm 5y ago
Yeah flying clubs and/or experimental aircraft are the way to go, cost wise. There are some complications for learning to fly that way, but it can be much cheaper. We estimate the hourly cost of operation for our Sonex (https://www.sonexaircraft.com/ https://www.sonexaircraft.com/) is $35/h.

RNCTX 5y ago

tl;dr: private license is gonna run you about $10k. Instrument add-on another $10k (for flying in less than fair weather, it's basically required). You don't have to own an airplane, the above presume renting one ($150 to $200 per hour depending on the particulars).

verst 5y ago
Definitely closer to $15k for VFR alone in the Seattle area. Doing this right now at Boeing Field. Cessna 172 with G1000 avionics rental rate is 185/hour wet (with fuel) if you pay for a membership program at the flight school. Otherwise ~200/hour. For rentals you pay for engine time only. There are usually minimums per day if you wanted to rent a plane for a weekend trip or something like that. Flying Seattle to Orcas Island is a fun little trip.
- RNCTX 5y ago
  G1000 is overkill for PPL, though. Admittedly I did mine in 2011 so it's been awhile, but I was paying $145 an hour then plus $60 for the CFI, so around $200 per hour all in. Considering you can do 10 hours sim time toward the minimums, I don't think $10k is impossible? But ancillary stuff will probably get you to $11k or $12k admittedly. In my case I did the American Flyers weekend ground school for the written test and they gave you a few hours of sim time included with the course cost.
  - GekkePrutser 5y ago
    It's overkill but it's more easy to fly with. No periodic adjustment of the gyros etc. I also find it much easier to view everything in one go. Our non-G1000 has autopilot and the G1000 doesn't (it's an expensive option) but I still prefer the G1000.
    - RNCTX 5y ago
      No doubt safer for IFR purposes. I have a little time in a G1000 but a lot more with aftermarket Aspen panels, I put them in my own airplane back in 2014. I had no problem taking off into a fog with 3D terrain in the panel. On old mechanical gauges with nothing but a beep telling me about the mountain? .... not so much.... Then again, I also live in North-Central Texas. Every black spot on the ground that you can't see at night is a cow pasture devoid of trees, land in whichever one you like with your dead engine and your odds are pretty good.
- chris_va 5y ago
  Way better than my rate at bfi, which fbo?