Here's where I want to fly, now what do I need?

Reading these postings brings a smile to my face as I realize just how
good my decision to get my first rating while in my early 20's was.
That was 25 years ago.

The first long trip with your family is memorable.
You make your own schedule, weather permitting.
No rushing to the airport to make someone else's departure time.
No standing in line waiting to be body searched, luggage searched,
further trip delays, bad food, etc.
You will meet interesting people and stop in places you would otherwise
not think to be interested in seeing. But your eyes will be opened
forever more.
Never think of being "stuck" in some out of the way town, think of it
as an opportunity to learn about new people and places.

On Fri, 16 Apr 2004 07:14:14 -0700, C J Campbell wrote:


"Boris" wrote in message
om...

1) Is 3K-5K a realistic estimate of the cost of getting VFR rated?

It was five years ago, when gas was cheaper. It is more like $7K - $9K now.

In this part of the world (Dallas, Houston), VFR is going to cost you
~ $3.5K - $7K, depending on your ability, the plane you learn in, and
school. That doesn't include things like headsets and incidentals. In
fact, there is an FBO right up the road from me offering $5899.00 for PPL,
in a 172 and $4899.00 in a 152. Furthermore, these prices are inline with
several other schools in Houston.

Based on that, if you are paying $8k - $9k in this area, it sounds like
you're getting ripped off. Just the same, I'm sure rates are going to
vary from local to local.

Cheers.

On Fri, 16 Apr 2004 11:14:34 -0400, charles.k.scott wrote:

On Fri, 16 Apr 2004 01:29:18 GMT, Angus Davis
wrote:

On 4/15/04 5:27 PM, Boris wrote:

1) Is 3K-5K a realistic estimate of the cost of getting VFR rated?

Probably closer to $5k, or even higher, depending on things such as
buying headsets for your entire family, etc.

Where I learned to fly, the cost was $145 with an instructor and $99
solo. That seems about average, doesn't it?

The absolute minimum amount of time of training necessary to be
allowed to take your flight exam is 40 hours, right? I do not know
what percentage of that would be dual and what would be solo, but I
think the 40 hour figure is way low as most people these days take 20
and more hours just to get to the point where they can solo. 60 or 70
hours seems more reasonable before trying for the exam.


I believe I remember hearing the national average is 45 - 50 hours for
PPL. Obviously, that's an average, so it may be that some are taking many
more hours. I read an article by someone just the other day that took
96hrs to get her PPL.

Cheers!

(Boris) wrote in message . com...

Detroit to Traverse City (30 minutes from Lake Ann) is 180 nautical
miles. There are municipal airports near Grosse Pointe although I have
not investigated them. There is a grass strip about 5 minutes from
Lake Ann.

There are a few paved strips within 20 miles too, including Traverse
City which has an ILS approach (ILS = Instrument Landing System - a
system which allows appropriately equipped aircraft to find a runway
and land, when the clouds may be as low as 200 feet (or lower
for special circumstances).

This could be important because paved runways are a common requirement
for insurance policies, both at FBO's and new private aircraft. Some
underwriters won't waive this.

It could also be important because Lake Ann (4M0) has no instrument
approaches. But hey, land there if/when you can, land elsewhere
if/when you can't.

4) What plane would be suitable to hire for this distance, a grass
strip, 2 adults, 2 young children and some luggage?

With the answers you get, keep in mind that children get bigger and
occasionally more numerous.

6) If the answer to (2) is yes, what is the rental availability of IRF
aircraft and is there a premium?

There's not a lot available in the Detroit Area bigger than a trainer
(172 or PA28), which would be okay starting out. By "not a lot" I
mean "nothing when I looked a short time ago."

8) If I left on Friday afternoon and returned at dawn on Monday
morning, what additional charges are applied to the rental?

There are no FBO's in the area that will regularly rent you a plane to
not fly all weekend.

They're not just being mean (well, one in particular might be), they
have flight schools to operate, and want to keep their students flying
and their fleet billing lots of hours on the weekend.

Buying your own or a partnership would be the way to go if you want to
do this every weekend.

On Fri, 16 Apr 2004 14:17:53 -0500, Greg Copeland wrote:

On Fri, 16 Apr 2004 11:14:34 -0400, charles.k.scott wrote:

On Fri, 16 Apr 2004 01:29:18 GMT, Angus Davis
wrote:

On 4/15/04 5:27 PM, Boris wrote:

1) Is 3K-5K a realistic estimate of the cost of getting VFR rated?

Probably closer to $5k, or even higher, depending on things such as
buying headsets for your entire family, etc.

Where I learned to fly, the cost was $145 with an instructor and $99
solo. That seems about average, doesn't it?

The absolute minimum amount of time of training necessary to be
allowed to take your flight exam is 40 hours, right? I do not know
what percentage of that would be dual and what would be solo, but I
think the 40 hour figure is way low as most people these days take 20
and more hours just to get to the point where they can solo. 60 or 70
hours seems more reasonable before trying for the exam.


I believe I remember hearing the national average is 45 - 50 hours for
PPL. Obviously, that's an average, so it may be that some are taking many
more hours. I read an article by someone just the other day that took
96hrs to get her PPL.

Cheers!

Opps. I stand corrected. I believe the actual national average is closer
to 50 - 60 hours. Sorry about that.