How do you fund your habit?

CJones

CJones

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I just read Jesse's post in another thread that mentioned that he is flying quite a bit since getting his Commercial and CFII done. It made me think about how, a few years ago when I was flying with Tony for my IR, I could have pushed through and gotten my Commercial and at least CFI (if not double-I) done relatively cheap and in a short period of time. I was in school (again) at the time, but I didn't really have any *huge* financial commitments at the time, and my work schedules made for some random big chunks of time that could have been filled with flying.

Now that I'm finished with school and have been working full-time at a 'career-oriented' job for about a year and a half, I'm just not flying much at all. I'm in a unique position that I have access to a great flying airplane less than 15 minutes from my house for just the price of gas, oil, and some hangar rent. Even with that great setup, I only flew ~25hrs last year. :mad2: I just can't seem to justify going to burn holes in the sky without some purpose when we're trying to save for a down payment for a house, and we have a kid on the way, and trying to put money back for those 'what if' situations, etc. etc. I'm making more money than I ever have at a single job (without working 90 hrs/week) and yet I find myself with less 'expendable' income than I did when in school. I would like to finish up my Commercial and at least get my CFI just for the sake of doing it, but I just can't figure out where that 'free' money would come from now. If we want to take a quick trip somewhere, I have no problem paying for it, and I don't feel guilty for doing so, but I can't get past the guilt of "I shouldn't be spending money on this" for more advanced training.

So how do you fund your flying habit? Do you actually budget something from each paycheck into a separate bucket for a monthly flying fund? Do you just say "screw it, I'll figure out how to pay for it later"? ???

Mo' money, mo' problems...
 
I didn't get married. I didn't get anyone pregnant. ;) And for a few years prior to starting training, I did absolutely nothing but pay down the house, pay down the house, pay down the house. No vacations, no movies, no going out to dinner, no dating, etc...

House was pretty much paid off before I really got into it, and now the HELoC only runs me $90 a month or something like that to keep the plane.
 
i just throw away the receipts and then try to get leah to pay my credit card bill
 
CJones said:
So how do you fund your flying habit? Do you actually budget something from each paycheck into a separate bucket for a monthly flying fund? Do you just say "screw it, I'll figure out how to pay for it later"? ???
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I started officially flying (ie having to pay for it myself) a little later in life, so I had money saved up to cover the PPL costs and IR and basic early hours. Nowadays, my flying is basically budgeted for through investment income. I take a portion of my dividend income from the previous year and that makes up the current year's flying budget.

Now for the really expensive fun stuff (B-25, DC-3...other exotic aviation related odds and ends)....that has all been paid for through Navy bonuses.
 
CJones said:
So how do you fund your flying habit?
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Delayed gratification. Worked really hard (while not flying) to make a butt load of money and now spending it on flying. I can't say that I would recommend any other approach.
 
You're about to have a time problem that's harder to solve than the discretionary income problem you asked about. Once that little one comes you're going to have more of your time committed to the baby and helping Rachel with house things that she can't get done because she's doing baby things. Once you do buy the house you're saving for, you've got lawn mowing, landscaping, and random home repairs to attend to. When the second child arrives you can plan on your free time being imaginary without some meaningful prior planning.

If you really want to get the commercial and CFI, go for it now before the house and second child arrive. Ask yourself what you'll do with those ratings that you just spent $5K-10K on with the limited amount of free time you're going to have.

I've been working on my IR on and off for a year now and am not close to being done. I really need the IR for the travelling we do but can't find the time to commit to finishing it. I've decided the only way I'm going to finish it is to go with one of these 10 day intensive courses. The problem with that is the cost of the course and the lost earnings while dedicating a week to it. Regardless, I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet and do it.

Congratulations on the forthcoming of your little one. Glad to hear you're going to make it back to 6Y9 again this year too.
 
I stayed pretty much debt free other than my home and student loans and those were pretty minimal. I bought a house with easy payments that were only slightly more than it cost me to rent. I did borrow money to complete each rating. But paid it off before I started on the next rating. Essentially a rating every two years. Once I got my CFI I was able to fund additional ratings with my instruction and now support my soaring habit (glider) with CFI/commercial pilot (part time) funds.

In hind sight it might have worked better for me to borrow money enough to complete my Commercia/CFI ratings together. But then I happened to stumble into a great CFI/FBO combination just as I finished my CFI. Essentially my instructor quit to go fly corporate aircraft and I took over his students.

Brian
CFIIG/ASEL
 
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pilot117 said:
You're about to have a time problem that's harder to solve than the discretionary income problem you asked about. Once that little one comes you're going to have more of your time committed to the baby and helping Rachel with house things that she can't get done because she's doing baby things. Once you do buy the house you're saving for, you've got lawn mowing, landscaping, and random home repairs to attend to. When the second child arrives you can plan on your free time being imaginary without some meaningful prior planning.
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Very true. This should be an interesting experience to say the least. Rachel is REALLY good about my flying habit. If I said "I want to get my Commercial done." She wouldn't bat an eye when saying "OK, have fun." But she also knows she can say that because she knows that I wouldn't sleep at night knowing that I'm spending so much money on something so 'useless'. ha! I said I wanted to get a new fishing pole earlier this summer and she said "Go for it! Spend it now, because come November, it's all gonna change." haha

If you really want to get the commercial and CFI, go for it now before the house and second child arrive. Ask yourself what you'll do with those ratings that you just spent $5K-10K on with the limited amount of free time you're going to have.
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Good point. There really isn't a 'reason' for having the extra ratings, which is why it is so hard to justify the expense. I'd like to have them for the sake of having them, but I don't plan to load up on students or have an every-Saturday gig flying human lawn darts, either, so there really isn't any monetary payback for the investment.

Congratulations on the forthcoming of your little one. Glad to hear you're going to make it back to 6Y9 again this year too.
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Thanks. The 6Y9 trip is kind of like the last big hoo-rah before the little one gets here sometime in November. My making the trip is all dependant on how Rachel is doing at the time. Rachel is really bummed that she can't make it, but she'll be ~7 1/2 months on Labor Day which is pushing the 'safe travel' threshold. Plus, I'm about 90% sure she can't even fit in the RV any more. ha
 
pilot117 said:
<snip>If you really want to get the commercial and CFI, go for it now before the house and second child arrive. Ask yourself what you'll do with those ratings that you just spent $5K-10K on with the limited amount of free time you're going to have.

<snip>
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I would 2nd this recommendation. I completed my CFI shortly after my 1st child was born. It was a lot easier to justify going flying when I was getting paid for it.

Brian
CFIIG/ASEL
 
Ive got some money in the bank, and set aside a monthly budget for flying...... But Im always dipping into the reserves to pay for flying. I haven't found the balance yet.

Said I was going to take a short break after getting my PPL to build up finances.... yeah, that lasted a week. Now working on my complex. Already have a plane and CFI lined up for my taildragger.

Ill probably take a break when the CC gets declined.
 
CJones said:
Good point. There really isn't a 'reason' for having the extra ratings, which is why it is so hard to justify the expense. I'd like to have them for the sake of having them, but I don't plan to load up on students or have an every-Saturday gig flying human lawn darts, either, so there really isn't any monetary payback for the investment.
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Chris,

The reason for having them is that you'll be able to have someone else pay for you to go poke holes in the sky, and give you a reason to do it too! We're all addicted to this thing - You think 25 hours/year is bad, try zero - So if you can get someone else to pay for it, you'll be doing well. I would bet that if you get the comm and CFI, you'd have them paid back in a year or two even if you didn't actually get paid - Because someone else can pay for the occasional necessary flying fix. Plus, some cool opportunities will probably arise...

Go get it done!
 
Separate checking account with direct deposit from pay check.
 
CJones said:
So how do you fund your flying habit? Do you actually budget something from each paycheck into a separate bucket for a monthly flying fund? Do you just say "screw it, I'll figure out how to pay for it later"? ???
Click to expand...

I have a portion of my paycheck deposited into a separate account for flying. I use that account for gas, hangar, mx, training, and occasionally for lunch near the airport. My wife and I agreed a while back on what amount our budget would support and I stay within that.

All that said, the airplane is our primary vacation vehicle. So we sorta get double duty out of the money.
 
I try to stick something in savings for my annual whenever I have extra money. I only fly if I can pay for the gas to fill it up when I get back, I do not like partially filled tanks.

If my business has a good week, I fly. A really good week, I fly and put something in savings. A bad week means I hang around the house on my day off.

Before the depression money was seldom a problem, now is another story.

John
 
Money is easy. Time is a real problem ;)

But to answer the OP question I feel fortunate enough to be able to handle sole ownership like a normal expense without special budgeting. Instead of a maintenance or engine reserve I contemplate major airplane expenses when planning our larger family emergency savings fund.

I realize that 1) not everyone can afford that (I can, at least at the moment) and 2) some people prefer to track their budgets with more preciseness (I don't.)

Edit: I should say that the reasons I can afford the above is because our housing is sufficient but modest, our cars are paid off and both over five years old, we have no other debts, and because I'm in the prime of my career and not just starting out, among other things. Again, not everyone is in that position.
 
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Early on I'd do some piano tunings on the side, which helped pay for the flying. As I've been working for mumble years now, never having been married (and so no children), and I don't need a new car every two years, my flying expenses are affordable.
 
Inheritance.

Wanna talk irony? Dad was retired UAL capt. I always wanted to fly with him. Couldn't afford to buy a plane or pursue the PPL until after he passed.
 
CJones said:
I just read Jesse's post in another thread that mentioned that he is flying quite a bit since getting his Commercial and CFII done. It made me think about how, a few years ago when I was flying with Tony for my IR, I could have pushed through and gotten my Commercial and at least CFI (if not double-I) done relatively cheap and in a short period of time. I was in school (again) at the time, but I didn't really have any *huge* financial commitments at the time, and my work schedules made for some random big chunks of time that could have been filled with flying.

Now that I'm finished with school and have been working full-time at a 'career-oriented' job for about a year and a half, I'm just not flying much at all. I'm in a unique position that I have access to a great flying airplane less than 15 minutes from my house for just the price of gas, oil, and some hangar rent. Even with that great setup, I only flew ~25hrs last year. :mad2: I just can't seem to justify going to burn holes in the sky without some purpose when we're trying to save for a down payment for a house, and we have a kid on the way, and trying to put money back for those 'what if' situations, etc. etc. I'm making more money than I ever have at a single job (without working 90 hrs/week) and yet I find myself with less 'expendable' income than I did when in school. I would like to finish up my Commercial and at least get my CFI just for the sake of doing it, but I just can't figure out where that 'free' money would come from now. If we want to take a quick trip somewhere, I have no problem paying for it, and I don't feel guilty for doing so, but I can't get past the guilt of "I shouldn't be spending money on this" for more advanced training.

So how do you fund your flying habit? Do you actually budget something from each paycheck into a separate bucket for a monthly flying fund? Do you just say "screw it, I'll figure out how to pay for it later"? ???

Mo' money, mo' problems...
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I just looked at my bank account and went, hey, I've got some money. I picked up my commercial/CFI/CFII at the rate of one per month.

I still probably spend about the same money flying, but I generate decent extra income from my instructing to help pay for it. I probably end up having more money left over now with way more flying. I also generate extra income via iOS app sales and custom development. All that goes to flying.

I fly skydivers about every other weekend and instruct about 4 days a week, sometimes more, sometimes less. Danielle puts up with it :)

I flew about 15 hours in 2009. 30-40 in 2010. I'll probably end up flying 200-300 hours in 2011.

It helps if you don't watch TV or waste time. I'm pretty busy these days. It's very rare that I'll waste even a minute of the day.
 
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A lot of it depends on what your goal is. Do you just want to be in the sky? Do you want to have a reason to go bore holes in the sky? Do you want someone else to pay for you to fly?

If all you care about is being in the sky, you can get your CFI and spend a lot of time having people try to kill you, all the while holding back with all your might the urge to touch the controls unless the student is actually trying to kill you. Instruction is a big commitment to the student. I made the mistake of accepting a few students when I wasn't in a position to finish them. That wasn't fair to either them or me. Now I'm in a position where I can accept students and actually have the time to see them through ratings. And I love instructing, but I also want to do other flying, hence why I'm happy that I have balance with my Cloud Nine flying and other stuff.

If all you want is an excuse to go bore holes in the sky, check to see if you can start doing Angel Flights with the RV (I cant remember if they allow experimentals) or go join Pilots'n'Paws or Animal Rescue Flights and go fly dogs around (they don't care whether you have an experimental or not). The advantage with those is that you're really doing some good with your ratings, and you also get a tax deduction for doing it. That helps offset the cost without as much time commitment. I typically consider this to be the best way to go for people who have enough other time commitments.

If you're looking for other people to pay you to fly and you actually want to do the flying (rather than instruct), then getting your commercial and doing little gigs like skydiving and such work. But again, it depends on what your desire is. Personally, I like flying twins on long trips, so I enjoy my Cloud Nine flying, plus another customer whose Navajo I fly.

Given the fact that you have a cool plane that you can fly cheap, it sounds to me like your bigger issue is finding reasons to fly. In a few years when you have a little co-pilot, that will be a lot easier. It'll suddenly become an activity for you two to do - fly to pancake breakfasts or whatnot. In the mean time, fly when you can, and if you want to pick up some ARF/PnP or Angel Flights, I'd say go for it. My suspicion is that if you try to pick up instructing or other flying gigs, you'll quickly find you'd rather be at home with your wife and little one.
 
Once I decided I maybe, possibly, wanted to work as a pilot someday I got about one new rating a year. That was affordable for me since I was single with no kids and sharing expenses with a roommate. I was already up in the air quite a bit since my day job was as an aerial camera operator/photolab tech. The natural career progression seemed to be from the back seat to the front. Looking back, I could have been a little more ambitious but I had a hard time jumping in with both feet and took the toe in the water approach. One good thing about doing it that way, besides not overextending myself financially, was that I had no illusions about what it would mean to be a pilot as a job.
 
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I keep my wife happy, and far away from the receipts.

Works for me.
 
I thought I would be done with my primary training in 60 hours. Then 70 hours. Then 80 hours. I am now mid-seventies and we are starting to do "mock check rides" in the air but am not sure if / when my instructor will sign me off - so in reality I should say 80 - 90 hours (grumble).

I did not solo until 40 hours and did not even solo again for months due to landings / flare.

I don't know how I will fund this after my cert especially since I thought I would be done with training about 30 hours earlier than I probably will be done.

I have looked into getting a second job or doing some work on the side for a friend's law firm. My primary job is more than 40 hours a week so getting a second job sucks.

Like my CFI said - beg, borrow, steal, get 3 extra jobs - it would be INSANE to stop now!

So I continue on. I envy those people who can easily afford aviation. For me, it came at a time that I needed a hobby and it has definitely changed me for the better regardless of the cost.

Plus I've "virtually" met all these great people (on here and on another aviation site).... and "really" met the 99s and a few other aviators through my flight school, wings seminars, and flying at other places.

So the people are GREAT and a big part of this whole thing for me - second only to the airplane, the beautiful scenery up high, and the knowledge that I can achieve something very few people have ever even tried to achieve.
 
No kids, no house, no wife. I don't make a ton of money right now but I split expenses with roomates and I don't blow money on anything other than fishing, sailing and flying.

I also want to get my commercial and CFI ratings. I think i'd enjoy teaching people to fly!

Funny someone on here mentioned they did not get to fly with their dad who was a UAL captain...


My dad owned a 172 RG until I was about 10. Sold it cause he said no one wanted to go flying with him! I haven't taken him flying much since I got my PPL but we are planning on a long XC in one of my flying club's aircraft, going to visit some relatives. he is paying :)
 
Sounds like the no wife, no girlfriend, no house, no kids thing is the easiest and fastest way to fly the most.
 
I do have a girlfriend, but i've found it cheaper than being single.

Used to go out to bars alot! That gets expensive. Buying MJRC drinks n stuff
 
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kimberlyanne546 said:
Sounds like the no wife, no girlfriend, no house, no kids thing is the easiest and fastest way to fly the most.
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Got 5 kids, 3 of them in college, a wife, a house, 5 cars, and up until last year, two airplanes. I've still got the Pitts because nothing else will do now. I understand that some people, for a variety of real reasons, won't have a family but "I want..." is a reason I don't get. Nope, delayed gratification is the best option for all the "I wants" in life. I see it all the time though that it's a totally alien concept for so many gen x/y/etc folks that want what they want when they want it. Sorry if that sounds crusty.

Sometimes I get wistful thinking about "what if I'd learned to fly when I was a teenager." But I became the man of the house at 13, put myself through college, started 4 companies, and raised a family before 40 when I finally made it back to my lifelong dream to fly. So, I just don't have much sympathy for the "why is this so expensive" and "how to I afford it now" whining. Go work your ass off and do it when you can afford it says I.
 
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I'm lucky enough that I have GI Bill (Chapter 30) money left over after my school tuition is paid to pay for flight lessons. When that's dried up, I'm eligible for another 12 months of the post 9/11 GI Bill. Starting Oct. 1 I can use that to pay 100% of training for a university program or 141 flight school.
 
My AME told me that he funds his flying activities with the money from doing pilot medical exams. He does them after his normal day of seeing patients has ended.

As for me it is pay as you go. I do have a separate account for annuals, insurance, and unexpected expenses. Haven't been going a lot lately with avgas north of $5 per gallon.
I remember thinking it was overpriced when it was 55 cents per gallon.

Dave
 
I've always managed to a budget. I pick the things I think are important, save (and spend) on those, and am a tightwad elsewhere. I fix most of the stuff around the house myself, I keep cars for a long time, I eat peanut butter sandwiches for lunch several times a week, and I don't worry about keeping up with the Joneses.

When I started flying, my finances were in great shape, but I didn't have the discretionary income to fly much. So I took a second job, teaching math at night at a local college. That paid for most of my flying habit for a couple of years, and by then I'd gotten several raises at my "regular" job and was able to dispense with the second job.
 
PittsDriver said:
...before 40 when I finally made it back to my lifelong dream to fly. So, I just don't have much sympathy for the "why is this so expensive" and "how to I afford it now" whining. Go work your ass off and do it when you can afford it says I.
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Yeah, me too, but I still understand and sympathize with the "whining." The desire to fly is a strong one. Nothing wrong with feeling the desire and wishing to make it happen. Even complaining a bit about not being able to do so is ok, after all, we're all friends here. I wish I had the opportunity to fly when young. I didn't. Sux for me. I don't begrudge others feeling the same way I did.
 
I budget very carefully. If you ever got to know me, you would realize that all of my decisions are based on my desire to fly, and am the tightest person in the world when it comes to everything other than flying.

I also don't buy the excuse of "its too expensive to fly". That might be some what reasonable if you have a family and all, but if you are single and dont have any kids, you obviously don't want it bad enough.
 
I used to fly with extra cash when it was available.
After I retired from my first career, my pension check is my flying money.
 
I finished the PPL during college summers, then flew very little for 11 years when kids were little and career was in the formative stages. When I needed the IR for business travel, it was easy enough to do and the other ratings followed thereafter. By that time, money wasn't an issue so the progression was based on whatever seemed like a good idea at the time,

I didn't ever want to be tied up with a student schedule, so the CFI rating held no interest to me until 10+ years later, and since I was flying my own planes for my own business the commercial was unnecessary as well. I ended up with quite a few ratings, all obtained when the cost was a non-event.

Accordingly, my advice is to take it as it comes. If you don't fly much for a while, don't worry about it. You'll know when the time is right.
 
kimberlyanne546 said:
Sounds like the no wife, no girlfriend, no house, no kids thing is the easiest and fastest way to fly the most.
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It is.

I never had so much excess income as when I was a single O-3.

Plus, if you don't have a family to support or go home to, it opens up a whole lot of flying opportunities/possibilities. If I didn't have a family, I'd probably be in AK flying a DC-6.

But don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade my family for all the hours in the world. It is a choice I made and I don't regret it at all. In alot of ways, my delayed entry into the world of flying put me in a position where I could do alot more interesting things than if I was a 25-30 year old trying to build hours. When you aren't a slave to a magic number in your logbook, flying is so much more enjoyable. If I was trying to build time to land an airline job, there no way I'd ever consider forking over the money to fly some of the airplanes I have been able to control. I could easily log 30 hrs in a 172 for what it cost for 1 hr in the B-25. But the Mitchell is a hell of alot more fun!
 
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