Ever wonder what it’s like to soar the beautiful blue skies with your family, look down at your own house, go on an epic cross country flight in your retirement? Why not go for it? If you think you are too old to learn how to fly, or it costs too much money, think again! In total, it costs approximately $6 500 to get your private pilot’s license, and you can do this at any flight school you want. There are flight schools located in very many cities. The instructors are always very friendly, and at the private pilot level, the amount of ground school knowledge that you need in order to meet FAA/TC requirements is not brutally extensive.
The best way to go about getting your private pilot’s license is to go on line, and check out some reviews of flight schools that are near you. You should consider their prices, and what other people have to say about the level of training they received at the school. Something you may also consider investing is Microsoft flight simulator. It comes with virtual books that teach you much of the ground school material you need to know, as well as explaining much of the technique involved with flying the airplane. Another resource that is extremely handy to have is the book “from the ground up”. It explains everything in a very easy to understand way for the private pilot as well as the commercial pilot.
Better yet, you do NOT need to own your own airplane in order to take your family and friends flying! Most flight schools will rent out their airplanes for approximately $130/hour.
If you are obsessed with aviation, however, and are willing to fork out the money, you can have a lot more fun and freedom by owning your own airplane. You can get a Cessna 172 from the late 1970s in very good condition for about $60 000 plus insurance. This would be a perfect airplane for going on the cross country flight you have always dreamt of doing with your spouse. There are also a lot of really exciting new things in general aviation. For example, air parks that are being made. There are airports now where you can have a house on the apron right beside your hangar! Also, if you are the outdoors kind of person, you could get your seaplane rating, and buy your own float plane. You could have it at your camp or cottage during the summer, and fly into lakes to go fishing that no one has ever been in before. Certainly the most exciting part of general aviation is the freedom. Flying outside of controlled airspace is certainly the best, so perhaps even building your own grass or dirt strip could be an option, if you have the land or live on a farm.
