Quote:
Originally Posted by
TheClemsonKid http:///forum/thread/380775/anyone-have-their-private-pilots-license#post_3314671
I'm heading out to my local air field for a "introductory flight" today in a Cessna 172, to kind of get a feel for the whole thing and see if I want to continue on the road to get my private pilots license. It's a lot of time and money, but I feel like it would be worth it in the end, especially if I could vacation once or twice a year flying myself and friends and family. So does anyone out there have their license? Good? Bad? Indifferent?!?
I have a buddy who has a twin-engine certification. As you implied, it cost $$$ to get the various licenses. I think single-engine license costs can get up around $10K after classes, training, and plane rental for flight hours. The 172 is a four-seater with a range of around 500 - 600 nautical miles, depending on fuel capacity and weight. My buddy keeps trying to get me to get a license so I can go into a partnership with him and a couple other 'flyers' on a used plane. That's about the only way you can afford a plane with any kind of decent range. Once you get your license, renting a plane to fly isn't cheap. I think a 172 rents for around $90 - $100/hr plus fuel. Then there's storage and destination fees if you plan on staying overnight at your entended destination. So if you wanted to take a jaunt from Ohio to New York with yourself and three passengers, you're looking at around 400 nautical miles. The 172 avearge air speed is around 85 - 90/nmh. So you're looking at 5 hours out, and 5 hours back. So fuel and plane rental alone would be around $1,200 - $1,400. That doesn't include hanger/storgae fees while you're parked in NYC. What's a roundtrip plane ticket go for between Cleveland and JFK? The point I'm making is it normally costs the same if not more to fly yourself to a destination than it would be to just go commercial. The only perk you get with flying yourself is you don't have to deal with security, sitting around a terminal, and getting crammed into a flying cattle car. You can plot out your own itenerary and leave when you want.
