Posted: 5/24/2010 7:32:56 PM EDT
| 35 hours logged and once again i find myself with no money for flying. I hate to stop when i am so close. I can afford one hour per month but i would really not get anywhere doing that. Looks like i will be knocking off the rust again in a few months. Please entertain me with your stories of struggle while earning your Private. |
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Know any sympathetic aircraft owners? Maybe you can get one of them to let you use his plane to build time in for a reduced rate, like gas cost plus a few bucks an hour. I find that many pilots and aircraft owners are sympathetic to poor students so long as they're GOOD students. CJ |
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I received my instruction from my Dad, who is a CFII and owned a Bellanca Super Viking as well as a Cessna 150 Commuter at the time. The lessons were free but I had to provide my own airplane (on the theory that you don't sufficiently appreciate anything you don't work for). So I got a job as a "line boy" for $2 per hour; $1 in cash and $1 on the books toward airplane rental. At the FBO a C-150 rented for $12 per hour wet. Instructors were charging $7 per hour. On the C-150s I could get in a good 1.25 hour lesson per week by leaving the electrical master switch off while taxing out until take-off and switching it back off again after landing so I only ran up an hour's charges by the Hobbs meter.
Extra hours were acquired at every opportunity. CAP flying (CAP was not so much chicken-scheisse in those days), washing planes on my own time in trade for 1/2 hour flying, flying the test hops with mechanics after maintenance, and flying the banner towing C-172 for bored tow pilots. I learned a lot, and appreciated every 10th.  <–– Ray-Bans on...check!
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Talk to the FBO owner and see if you can work out either a finance deal or a labor trade deal. I did both when I was working on my Private 20 years ago. Already did, only problem is he wants me to be on call all weekend and i live 50 miles away. I could stay with my parents on the weekends but the woman and kids are not going to go for that. If i could work this out i could make a lot of contacts and i think it would help me out a lot. |
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I too know of your pain, only for me it was weather, and scheduling conflicts with my instructor. Got really close, then went 4+ months where I couldn't catch a break.
It feels stupid to admit to it, but I'd sit at home and "chair fly", watch the Sporty's videos, plan cross countrys, and pour over the ASA oral exam book. Do all you can do to make that down time as meaningful as possible. |
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I too know of your pain, only for me it was weather, and scheduling conflicts with my instructor. Got really close, then went 4+ months where I couldn't catch a break. It feels stupid to admit to it, but I'd sit at home and "chair fly", watch the Sporty's videos, plan cross countrys, and pour over the ASA oral exam book. Do all you can do to make that down time as meaningful as possible. I have the King videos and i have been reading Stick and Rudder. I hate sitting outside looking at clear blue skies and wishing i was up there. |
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35 hours logged and once again i find myself with no money for flying. I hate to stop when i am so close. I can afford one hour per month but i would really not get anywhere doing that. Looks like i will be knocking off the rust again in a few months. Please entertain me with your stories of struggle while earning your Private. Reminds me of my own private training. It took me about two years to get mine. Fly a little. Pay some bills. Re-learn a bit, fly a little. Pay some bills. Rinse, repeat. Finally worked out for me, though. A couple years after getting my private I found a club flying a C182 and a C150 with enough members to keep the monthly fixed expenses low and the flight charges for the C182 lower than other clubs' 172s. |
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Honestly, go to the local airport and find someone that would let you work off some flying in a 150 or 172. I know my 150 sits for weeks or months at a time. I just have no reason to fly it, because I fly for work. If someone was in your position and asked me if they could fly a few times a month in exchange for help with the annual and you would buy gas, I would totally take them up on it, or in your position check them out and allow them to solo for 2 hours each sunday.
Many people want free flight time, and they get none. People love seeing motivated people and we pilots know how expensive it is to get a license. We love making new and better pilots. We need young blood. There is plenty of young CFI's out there, but almost no young aircraft owners or mechanics. When I say young, in aviation terms this is younger than 60. If you were in the buffalo ny area I would hook you up, both me and my GF are CFI-I's that don't do it for a job, but would surely take you up for a free bit of flying just to dust off our instructor tickets. Go to the local field on sunday morning, go talk to guys with open doors. Just chat it up, let em know your doing your PPL training with 35 hours, and your just trying to absorb the whole aviation life. You will talk for hours, and by dinner you probably will have a few offers to go on flights. Old pilots love to chat all day, and then load up the plane and go fly for an hour. It gets you in the air, and you never know which one of the goofy guys has a instructor ticket in his pocket. |
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Oh where do I start......(Learning to fly in my parents airplane, cant afford to rent a plane)
Started in October '08, solo'd November 18, 2008....had another lesson the next month and weather got shitty. Then the plane went in for annual and bad things were found that the fuckhead A&P that had been doing annuals on it for the 5 previous years had missed and probably wouldnt have been a problem if he caught it early but he didnt because he was doing annuals on airplanes he didnt know anything about, but that's another story. Nine months go by (Sept '09) and I restart with at least 5+ hours spent re-learning how to land. The shitty winter weather hits for a month (Nov09.) Then nice weather comes along and I get set to go on my first solo x/c and I have mag problems on run-up. Back to the shop to wait in line for a month, then another month of bad weather (End of Jan '10). Couple more lessons and finally beginning of March '10 I go on first solo x/c. Then I take a college class for a month, followed by a couple weeks of bad weather. Then finally in the last week Ive gotten going again and all I have to do it the long solo x/c and the night x/c before checkride prep. So in 20 months Ive got like 40+ or more hours and Ive still got a fair amount to do. I cant wait till its over and flying can be fun again. 
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Oh where do I start......(Learning to fly in my parents airplane, cant afford to rent a plane) Started in October '08, solo'd November 18, 2008....had another lesson the next month and weather got shitty. Then the plane went in for annual and bad things were found that the fuckhead A&P that had been doing annuals on it for the 5 previous years had missed and probably wouldnt have been a problem if he caught it early but he didnt because he was doing annuals on airplanes he didnt know anything about, but that's another story. Nine months go by (Sept '09) and I restart with at least 5+ hours spent re-learning how to land. The shitty winter weather hits for a month (Nov09.) Then nice weather comes along and I get set to go on my first solo x/c and I have mag problems on run-up. Back to the shop to wait in line for a month, then another month of bad weather (End of Jan '10). Couple more lessons and finally beginning of March '10 I go on first solo x/c. Then I take a college class for a month, followed by a couple weeks of bad weather. Then finally in the last week Ive gotten going again and all I have to do it the long solo x/c and the night x/c before checkride prep. So in 20 months Ive got like 40+ or more hours and Ive still got a fair amount to do. I cant wait till its over and flying can be fun again. I need one more hour of solo x-country and the night x-country. And just like you the check-ride preps start. I could be done in a few weeks if i had the cash. That 120.00 an hour is eating me up and with the instructor it is 155.00. My instructor had been good to me and cut me deals on his time so i am thankful for that. |
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That 120.00 an hour is eating me up and with the instructor it is 155.00. My instructor had been good to me and cut me deals on his time so i am thankful for that. 120 an hour for an airplane? Holy shit, no wonder you're broke. My CFI has a 152 that he rents for $75/hr wet. |
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That 120.00 an hour is eating me up and with the instructor it is 155.00. My instructor had been good to me and cut me deals on his time so i am thankful for that. 120 an hour for an airplane? Holy shit, no wonder you're broke. My CFI has a 152 that he rents for $75/hr wet. Thats for a Cherokee 140 wet, 75 would be a dream for me. Nothing cheaper to be found around here. |
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That 120.00 an hour is eating me up and with the instructor it is 155.00. My instructor had been good to me and cut me deals on his time so i am thankful for that. 120 an hour for an airplane? Holy shit, no wonder you're broke. My CFI has a 152 that he rents for $75/hr wet. Thats for a Cherokee 140 wet, 75 would be a dream for me. Nothing cheaper to be found around here. Don't know where in ND you are located, but UND has a quality aviation program. I know a few pilots who got their start there. |
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That 120.00 an hour is eating me up and with the instructor it is 155.00. My instructor had been good to me and cut me deals on his time so i am thankful for that. 120 an hour for an airplane? Holy shit, no wonder you're broke. My CFI has a 152 that he rents for $75/hr wet. Thats for a Cherokee 140 wet, 75 would be a dream for me. Nothing cheaper to be found around here. Don't know where in ND you are located, but UND has a quality aviation program. I know a few pilots who got their start there. Not looking to fly for a living, that would take all the fun out of it. Its my thing and makes me happy, i do not want to ruin that. |
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Know any sympathetic aircraft owners? Maybe you can get one of them to let you use his plane to build time in for a reduced rate, like gas cost plus a few bucks an hour. Unlikely. Insurance policies would generally prohibit such a situation via multiple clauses: non-named pilot, no instruction, etc. |
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Had to get a 2nd job.
A&P school for 15 months, then a part time job fixin them. Used every penny plus to pay for the flying. PPL 1 year later with around 75 hrs of TT. The MX thing got me contacts and opportunities that would not have been there for a student pilot alone. How about a different airport or maybe several airports for opportunities. I have driven100 miles roundtrip and another field was 110 rt but most were 60 plus or so. The question is do you want it or not? Maybe it has to be elevated to the commercial level to see it through. It is not a bad 2nd job. |
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[span style='font-weight: bold;']On the C-150s I could get in a good 1.25 hour lesson per week by leaving the electrical master switch off while taxing out until take-off and switching it back off again after landing so I only ran up an hour's charges by the Hobbs meter.
quote] Not any more. For a long time now, the Hobbs power is through the clock fuse, which is on the hot side of the master solenoid. The power then goes through the oil pressure switch and on to the hourmeter. Turning off the master switch will not shut off the Hobbs hourmeter or the clock. |
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You can get a "student loan" for flight training if you are going to an actual school. Fannie Mae used to have low interest student loans for folks working on their license. I used them for my private and most of my instrument. I don't know if they still do, but they used to. Mike F
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I flew once a week as weather permitted. In the summer I was a nonstop puke machine. 
I thought I'd never get over being sick. I have my own bird now and still get sick in rough air. "Here, hold the controls while I puke..."  Last time i flew it was a rough day. I had been flying all winter and forgot what those warm summer days felt like. Without even looking down i could tell when i was going over a plowed field. That black dirt is evil. |
