BucFan wrote:
snip

And there's nothing wrong with that -- but then don't come back here
and scare the bejeesus out of lurkers by trumpeting that it now costs
5-figures to get your Private. Cuz it doesn't.

I know my timeframe to finish was longer than average, and I know why also.

John:

You're not the only one with a longer timeframe. I will NEVER admit to
anyone (other than any instructor I'm working with) how long it took.
I was dealing with a novice instructor who didn't know diddly about
teaching, a school that wasn't paying attention to the progress (or
lack thereof) of students, and so on. And at the time, I didn't
know any better. The CFI had no concept of diagnosing problems,
nor correcting them. I finally had enough and asked one of the other
instructors (who I knew socially and she stopped teaching primary
students years before) -- no, I begged and pleaded -- to take me
on as a primary student. In 3 lessons she had identified all the
problems, corrected them, and had me ready for the pre-solo
checkride. Had I been able to work with her the entire time, or
if I had recognized the problem was 30% me and 70% the original CFI,
my costs would have been MUCH lower.

I took 4 years and 4 CFIs. But in my case I had funerals, surgeries,
out-of-town trips for work, being p*ssed at the original school,
and so on. There was a period of 6 months that I didn't fly at
all.

When I finally did solo, it was a non-event. It was not joyous,
it was not a big deal. I considered it nothing more than a testament
to my checkbook and my stubborness.

I'm now back in training for IR. Only this time I know *so* much more
about dealing with CFIIs and such. And I've explained to the CFII
that I learned far too many bad habits as a primary student, and she's
going to have to retrain me.