Want to start...

[Sam Gordon]

First, I apologize if this topic has been covered (I'm sure it has). I did not do a search, but went back a couple of pages, and found this thread: https://www.pilotsofamerica.com/community/threads/what-would-you-look-for-in-a-flight-school.130476/
But that just leads to more questions.

Apologize in advance for the length of this...
I have wanted to get a PPL since I was a young teenager (now 50). Even though the college I went to had pilot classes (actually degrees), between the time and money suck, I couldn't do it.

Over the last couple of years I thought "I'll do it when I retire" (solves the time problem). But I recently started thinking that I'll be 65 (at least) when that happens, and I don't know that that's realistic.

I still have two kids in HS, and work 830-5 M-F. I get the occasional weekend and weekday evening requirements (including watching the kids participate in sports).

I've googled periodically what my options for training are, and none of them jump out as a "perfect" solution, but I don't know where to go from here and would like some guidance/suggestions.

Option 1
I live in the same county as the college I graduated from. I thought about going back and just taking the classes to get me to a PPL, but not a degree. The classroom work would be about 15-20 minutes from home, flight would be about 25-30 min from home. The bad point is I'd have to be excused from work to attend the classes, and I don't know if they do "after hours" flight training. I've emailed the department, but haven't gotten a response.

Option 2
At the commercial airport serving the town I work (about 20 minutes from work and 45 minutes from home-- opposite direction of airport in Option 1) is a flight school. They use DA20s as trainers. I don't know if that's a big deal or not. They're about $500 more (not counting extra hours) than Option 1.

Option 3
The local flying club has a list of folks (14) who have "expressed an interest" in instruction. They are listed as "CFII", "MEI", "A SEL", and "A SES". They all list the aircraft (ranging from C-152, C-172, Archer, and DA40) and their emails. Sending a blind email to people doesn't seem right either though to me. I've emailed the club and haven't heard anything back. I don't know how to narrow down flight instructors this way.

What do you recommend I do at this point? I'm waiting for my boss to get back from vacation and ask him about taking the college classes (if he'll let me off of work).

Am I tilting at windmills? Am I too old? Will I put in all of this money and then not use the license? I wish I had someone to talk to. My wife isn't discouraging, but she said she won't fly with me (she doesn't like small airplanes... even small commuter planes make her nervous).

Thank you if you've read this far.

 

[PeterNSteinmetz]

I can't really argue with them. That would be my preference. But I'm going to be like you, if I don't get a loan, I might as well not start. There's ALWAYS going to be something needed that would take money away from lessons. And, currently rates are fairly low, so it makes sense (if you're going to do a loan) to try now than to wait and rates go higher.

Sam, I must confess I am in the “never borrow money except for a house or education” camp. JH’s loan at least ended up being a money maker in the end.

Be that as it may, how about taking some smaller steps at a time rather than borrowing a ton up front?

As others have suggested, maybe take the discovery flight first and see how you like it? You can log that time.

Another alternative to consider when starting with limited time and money would be a glider club. Is there one in your area? Learning to fly gliders is a great way to start in any case as it really teaches the fundamentals of flight. The time you put in can ultimately be applied to a powered airplane rating.

You can solo more quickly in a glider and even at a commercial operation a private certificate may only cost $5k. At a club, it will go more slowly and you will put in more sweat equity, but the cost will be a lot lower and will come in smaller affordable chunks.

Just another idea I thought I would throw out there. The Soaring Society of America, http://ssa.org , has a lot of good information on getting started.

I will post one of my favorite soaring videos which shows how elegant this kind of flying can be -

Also, have you looked for and joined a local EAA chapter? They often will have monthly meetings that you can attend and talk with local pilots. A lot of them will likely be happy to help a student get started.

 

[PeterNSteinmetz]

Experimental Aircraft Association http://eaa.org.

I see you are somewhere near Lexington. Looks like the closest soaring club would be up in Seymour, IN. Likely a 1.5 - 2 hour drive. Usually you would spend most of a day up there on the weekends, helping out and then perhaps getting in some flights. It is a more social and slower and much cheaper way to learn to fly. http://soarky.org/

Given the weather in that part of the world I imagine you would be looking at 1-2 seasons to get your private.

I learned to fly gliders at a commercial operation about a 45 min drive from my house. I now also belong to a club about a 1.5 hour drive away. Typically I will drive up Friday night and then spent Saturday and perhaps some of Sunday up there. I camp on the field for free and cook in the clubhouse. It is a pleasant time.

I think what my grandfather meant by that saying was education to improve one's professional credentials. Are you thinking of making a career of it?