Cost of getting a private license. (Air Force, commercial, mechanic, training)

[MustangEater82]

I am an a&p mechanic and have my fcc, I work with large commercial aircraft but I worked in an engine repair station and know lycomings pretty well(few continentals)

Question is what seems to be the cost of getting VFR and eventually IFR rated?

Obviously fuel/plane are the big costs. But what are the flight hour requirements.

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2

[Chava61]

I know that to get a private pilot's license one needs at least 40 hours (and this is for VFR only).
I suggest you check out the FAA website for more information:
Become a Pilot

I also suggest you consider joining CAP (Civil Air Patrol - United States Air Force Auxiliary) as they have largest fleet of Cessna 172s in the country and the rate per hour usage of their planes for members only is cheaper than commercial operations.

[nopantsdan]

Where are you located, where would you train out of? I would say best place to look is your FBO. You can get a better idea of prices from them.

[sunsprit]

Very few pilot check rides are given for students with only the minimum required number of hours in their logbooks.

IIRC, the averages are somewhere in the 60 hours total range before a student gets signed off to take the checkride.

The FBO's in my area suggest it will take somewhere around $7-8,000 to get to that point.

Don't forget misc pilot supplies will add to the cost, books, DVD's, headset, charts, etc.

There are several well advertised flight schools that specialize in intense training routines and simulator time to minimize the flying time and real time that it takes to get your ticket, but best to ask what they project the costs will be. Or contact your local FBO's and see what they estimate it will take for instructor hours and plane rental to get signed off for a checkride.

IFR is potentially the most difficult skill set to acquire in your flight training. How long it takes to be competent to get to a checkride will depend upon your learning abilities and quality of instruction; again, few people make it to the checkride in the minimum number of required hours of time. It's a good rating to have even if you don't plan on using it, and it will help you with your insurance costs. Best estimates of dollars and time to reach the rating checkride will come from the flight schools or your local FBO.

[WyoNewk]

I *think* if you enroll in an FAA approved school with a highly regimented curriculum, you can get your private license at 35 hours. I also agree with Sunsprit that few students are ready for their check ride at 40. Part of the reason is that many students have lapses in their training. As an example, I got about 10 hours of training, just enough to solo a few times, and my wife needed major surgery. Then I was transferred. I didn't get back to flying for a couple years. Then I switched schools when I had 35 hours of time to one of those FAA approved schools, so the GI Bill would pay most of it. I had a little over 50 hours of flying time when I got my private.

To test for an instrument rating, in addition to holding at least a Private Pilot Rating, one must have at least 50 hours of cross country time as pilot in command plus at least 40 hours of instrument time, of which at least 15 hours must be from an instrument instructor. Again, I switched instructors/schools and had a little time interval between them, but I tested (successfully) with right at 20 hours of instrument instructor time. I also had several hundred hours of flight time by then -- 600 or so.

Federal Aviation Regulation Sec. 61.65 - Instrument rating requirements.

[Thepreacherswife]

Originally Posted by WyoNewk

I *think* if you enroll in an FAA approved school with a highly regimented curriculum, you can get your private license at 35 hours. I also agree with Sunsprit that few students are ready for their check ride at 40. Part of the reason is that many students have lapses in their training. As an example, I got about 10 hours of training, just enough to solo a few times, and my wife needed major surgery. Then I was transferred. I didn't get back to flying for a couple years. Then I switched schools when I had 35 hours of time to one of those FAA approved schools, so the GI Bill would pay most of it. I had a little over 50 hours of flying time when I got my private.

To test for an instrument rating, in addition to holding at least a Private Pilot Rating, one must have at least 50 hours of cross country time as pilot in command plus at least 40 hours of instrument time, of which at least 15 hours must be from an instrument instructor. Again, I switched instructors/schools and had a little time interval between them, but I tested (successfully) with right at 20 hours of instrument instructor time. I also had several hundred hours of flight time by then -- 600 or so.

Federal Aviation Regulation Sec. 61.65 - Instrument rating requirements.

I think you're referring to part 141 schools vs. part 61 training. If you're only going for your PP-ASEL certificate (even with the IA addition), I'm not sure the extra expense of a part 141 school will save you that much (if anything at all) even if the flight hour requirements are less.

I think this article and accompanying chart are still accurate regarding the 61/141 differences:
Part 61 vs. Part 141 | Flying Magazine

The $7-8K for the PP-ASEL ticket sounds fairly accurate. It cost me less (I think $5K or so) but that was when 100LL was in the $2.50 / gal range. The cost may differ based on location and the age of the plane you use for training.

[hindsight2020]

I got mine in 2000 for 4K and I did it in one swift sitting. I cannot believe it's double that in less than 15 years. Insane. The sector is dead.

[sunsprit]

Originally Posted by hindsight2020

I got mine in 2000 for 4K and I did it in one swift sitting. I cannot believe it's double that in less than 15 years. Insane. The sector is dead.

Only $4K in 2000? It cost me that much many years before you with the cost of an CFI at $15/hr and a 152 at just under $50/hr wet and 68 hours before I got signed off by my chief flight instructor to take the checkride. Add in headsets and charts and books and ground school and misc pilot supplies (E6-B, then an electronic one, and chart plotter rules and a kneeboard and a two-readout digital stopwatch) ... and there was a lot more expense ....

But I'm curious, after having spent as many months as I did to get my ticket at a pretty good FBO and an airstrip that (at the time) had decent access in/out for pattern work, T&G's, and near to the practice area ... how you "did it in one swift sitting"?

That's kinda' misleading to somebody starting out. The typical process is more involved with an intro ride, AME Physical exam for your 3rd class medical student ticket, ground school (and taking/passing the written exam), first hours of dual leading to that day when you solo, and then the hours afterwards to progress on various skills to where you finally get signed off for solo practice flights, more dual time and finally a sign-off by a instructor to head for your check-ride. That's a lot more time and process than "one swift sitting", isn't it?

Despite the increase in costs over the last few years, aviation still has a following and an appeal which won't go away. GA has a significant economic impact and utility to many communities, and there's a lot of GA aircraft in the fleet still flying. With the additional prospect of professional flying appealing to some, there will still be student starts and folk building hours to reach their goals of flying the big stuff for pay. EAA at Oshkosh this year reported only a very slight lower attendance than last year, which is encouraging that folk will still prepare and plan for these types of events to support GA.

While light sport aviation hasn't been the inexpensive boon to GA that it was originally forecast to be, the movement toward self-certification by 3rd class medical pilots (and currently, LSA pilots) is a major step in alleviating substantial expenses to the DOT/FAA and making flying more accessible.

In my area right now, 152's have fallen out of favor for ab initio flight training in favor of 172's, so the cost/hour is significantly higher than in past years. I see 172's wet at just under $100/hour, and the 180 that I can rent at $160/hr dry. I got my taildragger endorsement in a 1952 170B at $55/hr wet and my instructor was $25/hr ... at least that qualified as my BFR, so it was not much more expense than getting my BFR that year ... and a lot more fun, too. But at $100/hr with 65 hours, that's $6,500 for aircraft rental and with another $1,000 budgeted for instructor, exams, checkrides ... the numbers look pretty reasonable for what you get. Some dedicated flight training schools can no doubt be more efficient for a dedicated student with the only priority of getting their ASEL ticket, but that requires a long vacation or available time to devote exclusively to the process.

[MustangEater82]

I have worked on a 150, and being 6'5" its not an ideal plane for me to fly with someone, to operate it comfortably, I sit in the middle and use both sets of rudder pedals. LOL

[JetJockey]

I know a few CFIs and I was lucky enough to be able to tag along and fly with them and they signed my hours off if I paid for fuel. I think it was around 6k for me to get my license and the local FBOs price it between 10k and 14k for just the minimum 40 hours. It's ridiculously expensive where I live, so it's probably not an accurate representation of getting a license in a normal area.

I belong to a flight club and we're in negotiations to buy a 310 so I'll be able to get some multi engine experience next summer, hopefully. For flight club members (it's semi-attached to the school I'll be attending) it ends up costing around 3 k to get your entire license which is incredible...but that's only because the school owns the plane and the instructors volunteer their time for $10 an hour. All we have to cover is fuel and insurance.

I learned to fly in a janky 182 that had more INOP stickers on it than I thought was possible