On the training, I had settled on the Cessna (How the heck do you climb in
and out of the Piper if you're over 6' tall??? ;-)

Well, when I get old and decrepit, I'll be buying myself one of those "old
man" planes, where you simply roll your wheelchair up under the wing, open
the door, and roll in.

In the meantime, until that day, I shall continue to jauntily hop up on the
wing, and sorta step/crouch/roll into my Piper... :-) (And I'm 6' tall.)

I can't believe how much it costs today!!! More than double what I would
have paid about 12 years ago had I continued, even if I redo the ground
training with a software program. And then there's the fuel costs.

Shop around. If you can find a small-ish rural airstrip, you will save big
bucks on rental. If you find a private CFI who is working a day job -- and
is NOT affiliated with any FBO -- you will save big bucks on instruction.

I don't know what you do/did for a living, but do you have any opportunity
to do a trade-out? Service/product in exchange for flight? Barter is the
American way, and it keeps the tax man out of the equation.

There *are* still ways to learn to fly "cheaply"... It just takes some
ingenuity.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"