I am trying to decide where to rent the plane from for pilot training.
But, being the archetypal pauper grad student, I needed your opinion (and
reasons) on which would be the cheaper option:

Our university's flying club:
Cessna 152 (1978) at 30$/ hr (measured by hobb's meter)
Piper Warrior II PA-28-161 (1979) with a new engine at 35$/hr
fuel charges extra.
instructor charges extra. (I can engage any instructor I choose.)
Membership costs: (I become the co-owner of the planes, as long as I am a
member.)
One time initiation fee of $300
Monthly membership fee is $35

----------
Another flying club near-by:
Instructor charges (dual flying and ground training): 50$/hr
Discounted rental rates include fuel and oil.
Cessna 152 (1983) Rate: $79.00/hr
Piper PA28-161 Warrior II (1983) Rate: $89.00/hr

As I have no clue about the hourly flight-training-fuel-costs and
instructor charges if I were to use the university's flying club, I
cannot compare the prices directly using arithmetic. Can someone give me
an estimate on these costs too, please?

Also, how much time might I need to spend reading books to pass the
examination?

Sincerely,
Vishvas Vasuki

Fuel Figure $4/gallon and 8Gal/hr. Total of $32/hour for fuel about $30/hr
for and Instructor. It looks like if you figure $100/hr for the university
flight option you would be real close. The flying club you mention hase an
expensive instructor, IMHO. I would say that option #1 is the less
expensive of the two...

--
Mike Flyin'8
PP-ASEL
Temecula, CA
http://flying.4alexanders.com