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#1
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Question about training costs
I'm looking into Westwind Aviation in Phoenix
http://www.flywsa.com/ But I wanted to know what everyone thinks of these prices. Private Pilot Course 8 Weeks long Ground School (60 hrs) 40 Hours Dual Instruction in Cessna 172R/S 10 Hours Solo 172R/S 1 Multimedia instruction kit Preflight/Postflight Briefing (24 hrs) 2 Hours 172R/S FAA Private Checkride $10,600.00 I've heard anywhere from $5-8000.00 for the private pilot license. Is that just for the calculated hours, without adding in ground school? The wet rate is $106/hr & flight instructor is $39/hr. (Damn Oil Prices) If I go the commercial route Private Pilot $10,600 Instrument Rating $14,200 Multi-Engine & Single Engine Commercial Pilot Certificates $14,300 Airline Crew Orientation Program $2,800 Flight Instructor Certs (MEI, CFII & CFI) $11,800 332 Total Flight & Simulator Hours 47 Total Multi-Engine Hours $53,700 Total Just thought I'd check before making the investment. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. :-) |
#2
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it's nice that they break it out..
do the math and it adds up to over $10K, 40hrs dual @$106 + $39 = 5800 10hrs solo @106 = 1060 24hrs pre/post mission briefs @39/hr = $936 60hrs of ground school at $39/hr for the instructor, that is a $2340 ground school ONE ON ONE course, most can be found for 600-800, with more than one student in the class. Plus 2hr for the check ride @$106 = 212 They must be throwing in the MultiMedia instruction kit with the $2340 ground school, and I'd be betting that it is not one on one instruction for 60hrs. compare prices at www.westairaviation.com Las Vegas NV (VGT), select Training, then Part 61 course. Total is $4525 for 40hrs in a C-172 ($3400), 20 dual 20 solo, 20 dual instruction hours ($800), FAA Medical ($85), FAA Written Test ($90), FAA flight check exam fee ($325), books, headset, etc est at $400 cost, Ground School $325 BT "Tolwyn" wrote in message ... I'm looking into Westwind Aviation in Phoenix http://www.flywsa.com/ But I wanted to know what everyone thinks of these prices. Private Pilot Course 8 Weeks long Ground School (60 hrs) 40 Hours Dual Instruction in Cessna 172R/S 10 Hours Solo 172R/S 1 Multimedia instruction kit Preflight/Postflight Briefing (24 hrs) 2 Hours 172R/S FAA Private Checkride $10,600.00 I've heard anywhere from $5-8000.00 for the private pilot license. Is that just for the calculated hours, without adding in ground school? The wet rate is $106/hr & flight instructor is $39/hr. (Damn Oil Prices) If I go the commercial route Private Pilot $10,600 Instrument Rating $14,200 Multi-Engine & Single Engine Commercial Pilot Certificates $14,300 Airline Crew Orientation Program $2,800 Flight Instructor Certs (MEI, CFII & CFI) $11,800 332 Total Flight & Simulator Hours 47 Total Multi-Engine Hours $53,700 Total Just thought I'd check before making the investment. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. :-) |
#3
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Tolwyn wrote:
I'm looking into Westwind Aviation in Phoenix But I wanted to know what everyone thinks of these prices. Private Pilot Course 8 Weeks long Ground School (60 hrs) 40 Hours Dual Instruction in Cessna 172R/S 10 Hours Solo 172R/S 1 Multimedia instruction kit Preflight/Postflight Briefing (24 hrs) 2 Hours 172R/S FAA Private Checkride $10,600.00 Good God! That price is aimed at the most ham-fisted inept students. I got my private license in 44 hours. I might have gotten it in a little less but I had 4 instructors before I settled in with one. Here's what it would run today at my local FBO if I were to do it over: Aircraft Rental 44 X $85 = 3740 Dual Instruction 22 X $35 = 770 Ground School 0 Books, etc 150 Checkride, misc crap 340 Total $5000 You don't need a ground school. You can study at home for free. -- Mortimer Schnerd, RN VE |
#4
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Tolwyn wrote:
I'm looking into Westwind Aviation in Phoenix http://www.flywsa.com/ But I wanted to know what everyone thinks of these prices. Private Pilot Course 8 Weeks long Ground School (60 hrs) 40 Hours Dual Instruction in Cessna 172R/S 10 Hours Solo 172R/S 1 Multimedia instruction kit Preflight/Postflight Briefing (24 hrs) 2 Hours 172R/S FAA Private Checkride $10,600.00 60 hours of *ground instruction* for private pilot? Wow. The flight school I worked at, also in Arizona, quoted *approximately* $8,000 for private pilot, based on approximately 50 hours -- $105/hr for 172SP (that rate has gone up since then) + $45/hr for CFI, give or take for some ground instruction (no airplane rental) and some solo time (no instructor), plus Cessna Private Pilot Kit ($300), written exam ($80), other pilot supplies, stage checks and checkride. Of course, the actual costs/hours vary from person to person. Some people spend more time studying at home than others, and some learn faster in the airplane than others. |
#5
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Some people find a group ground-school course advantageous, others
prefer to study at home alone. Another school in Arizona had a ground school course that was $200 for 6 weeks, meeting 2 nights/week for 2-3 hours. Between each class, students were to read two chapters in the Jeppesen Private Pilot book. There were 12 people per class, and at the end, most were ready to take their written exam. The good thing was that everyone benefitted from the discussions resulting from everyone's questions. Again, just depends what you prefer or need (group vs. one-on-one). |
#6
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Good God! That price is aimed at the most ham-fisted inept students. I got my
private license in 44 hours. I don't think it's a good idea to be giving people the impression that the private can be easily done in 40 hours. A lot of people do finish in 40 hours, but most people don't. An unrealistic expectation of finishing in 40 hours can lead to frustration. I took about 80 hours to finish and I wouldn't consider myself inept or ham-fisted (whatever that's supposed to mean). - Ray |
#7
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Ray wrote:
Good God! That price is aimed at the most ham-fisted inept students. I got my private license in 44 hours. I don't think it's a good idea to be giving people the impression that the private can be easily done in 40 hours. A lot of people do finish in 40 hours, but most people don't. An unrealistic expectation of finishing in 40 hours can lead to frustration. I took about 80 hours to finish and I wouldn't consider myself inept or ham-fisted (whatever that's supposed to mean). I don't know how long the private pilot program takes most people; I only know what it took me. I was at a Cessna Flight Center and followed their flight curriculum. Heh heh... it cost me less than $1100, too. Of course at the time you could buy a very nice car for $6000 or so. 80 hours is a hell of a long time. If I had to guess, I'd say you dragged it out over too long a period, calendar wise. I flew every other day until I was finished. I figure that gave me time enough to digest what I was shown but not so long that I would forget things. If you drag things out excessively, you waste a tremendous amount of time recovering old material. -- Mortimer Schnerd, RN VE |
#8
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80 hours is a hell of a long time. If I had to guess, I'd say you dragged it
out over too long a period, calendar wise. I flew twice a week and towards the end three times a week. The average at my club seems to be about 70 hours and I've never heard of anyone at my home airport who's finished in under 60. I've also heard unsubstantiated reports that the national average (in the US) is about 60 hours now. I know I took longer than a lot of people, but that's what it took for me to feel absolutely comfortable with my abilities. I probably could have passed the checkride earlier, but I wanted to be over prepared. My point is that if a student starts training with the expectation that it will take only 40 hours, he or she is likely to get frustrated (possibly to the point of quitting) if it ends up taking a lot longer. Also, if the student only budgets for 40 hours of flying, money could become a factor towards the end of the training and that's never a good thing. - Ray |
#9
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"Mortimer Schnerd, RN" wrote:
80 hours is a hell of a long time. If I had to guess, I'd say you dragged it out over too long a period, calendar wise. I flew every other day until I was finished. Having worked at a flight school, 80 hours is *not* uncommon or unusual; 40 hours is possible, but is *not* the norm (at least not at our school, and it too was a Cessna Pilot Center, using their cirriculum). I don't know what your situation was when you did your training, but most of our customers flew twice/week except when nearing their checkrides. Some students would take a couple of weeks off for family vacations, or for the holidays, or for other personal priorities, and that always requires some extra time for review when they return, but 80 hours wasn't unusual at all. |
#10
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Local flight school does complete Students in 40-45 hours.
They have to in order to keep the Air Force FIT contract. If they can't follow the syllabus and the student cannot complete in 45 hours, the student is not qualified for Air Force pilot training. They do get the ham fisted, or those that fly less than once per week average.. that take 65-80 hours. BT completed in 42.. I wasted a couple of solo hours.. but that was over 30yrs ago when the C-150 was $18/hr WET "Ray" wrote in message ... 80 hours is a hell of a long time. If I had to guess, I'd say you dragged it out over too long a period, calendar wise. I flew twice a week and towards the end three times a week. The average at my club seems to be about 70 hours and I've never heard of anyone at my home airport who's finished in under 60. I've also heard unsubstantiated reports that the national average (in the US) is about 60 hours now. I know I took longer than a lot of people, but that's what it took for me to feel absolutely comfortable with my abilities. I probably could have passed the checkride earlier, but I wanted to be over prepared. My point is that if a student starts training with the expectation that it will take only 40 hours, he or she is likely to get frustrated (possibly to the point of quitting) if it ends up taking a lot longer. Also, if the student only budgets for 40 hours of flying, money could become a factor towards the end of the training and that's never a good thing. - Ray |
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