How to find cheap flight instruction?

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EchoKilo

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EchoKilo
Hey guys! I'm a new guy here.

So I'm currently a student pilot who has spent a lot of time away from flying. Seven years to be precise. I've logged 27.8 hours according to my logbook and I have also soloed once. According the shirt tail hanging on my wall, my first and only solo was on 10/29/2011.

I'm looking to go back and finish my private pilot license, but the trouble is that I was 20 the last time I was training and my dad was funding it all. I don't have a great deal of money to spend on plane rental and such, so I'm trying to find alternatives to try to get it done cheaply.

My father owns a C172 XP, which is actually the plane I started training in. It was a little too much plane for my experience level so I ended up later renting a C150 and contuing my training in that. It was the more expensive route, but my dad was fitting the bill. It's possible I could use that plane again, which would prevent me from having to pay an arm and a leg to rent a plane. But then again there's also the problem that the 172 XP is just a little too tough to handle for a low-hour student pilot.

I also haven't found any instructors or flight schools near me that still use 150s. I'm not sure if there are any who would be willing to use my plane.

So I suppose my questions are - what would it cost me roughly if I were to use my own plane? Are there cheaper routes to obtaining you PPL? I believe my last instructor charged me $35 per hour for the instruction not counting the plane, but I don't believe he's doing instruction anymore. I'm not really prepared to pay much more than that. Maybe $50/hour at the most.

Thanks to all who answer!
 
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Oh, and one more thing. Given my time away, how many hours do you think it would take to finish it? I know I will have to go back and touch on the presolo stuff again, which I'm very familiar with. But I hope I don't have to log 40 more hours to get it.
 
How do you plan to pay for flying after you have your license? What’s your monthly aviation budget?
 
Half Fast said:
How do you plan to pay for flying after you have your license? What’s your monthly aviation budget?
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This more of a "I want to finish what I started" type of thing. I'm probably not going to do a crazy amount of flying. I will likely end up easing my way into flying as a hobby. My plan was to essentially take my tax refund and cut an instructor a pretty fat check with it all at once and say "okay, now let's get me my license".
 
Learning in the XP should be fine. Right rudder is your friend.
 
Clark1961 said:
Learning in the XP should be fine. Right rudder is your friend.
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Those xps ain't no joke! Lol... I had trouble taming it in the air and landing it. Lots of power on tap. Never got the feel for it. The 150 was so easy to fly. They are my favorite plane simply because they are so easy to operate.
 
EchoKilo said:
Those xps ain't no joke! Lol... I had trouble taming it in the air and landing it. Lots of power on tap. Never got the feel for it. The 150 was so easy to fly. They are my favorite plane simply because they are so easy to operate.
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A friend of mine has a 172 with a 210 hp Franklin. It’s sorta fun for a 172 - you can be at pattern altitude before reaching the end of the runway...
 
Clark1961 said:
A friend of mine has a 172 with a 210 hp Franklin. It’s sorta fun for a 172 - you can be at pattern altitude before reaching the end of the runway...
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Lol, doing full power stalls in the XP was pretty much a 90 degree angle.
 
EchoKilo said:
Lol, doing full power stalls in the XP was pretty much a 90 degree angle.
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Yeah, for power-on stalls ya wanna use a selected power setting rather than full rental power. That’s pretty standard in anything but the basic trainers.
 
I wouldn't pay ANY instructor all at once. You may want to change instructors along the way (very common) and getting your money back would be uncomfortable at best. Pay as you go is a wiser move. Good luck.
 
Well, if there's a freelance CFI on here who works out of Nashville who will train me in my dad's XP for $35/hour, I'll have an $800 check for you here in 2-3 weeks. Spread the word.
 
You couldn't handle a 172XP?


You might want to find somewhere other than the CFI to save money.
 
I think "easing back into flying as a hobby" with zero budgeted for currency ... sounds like a disaster in the prep stages.

I think looking for a "cheap instructor" instead of a "good instructor" also sounds like prep for a disaster.

Both together sure sounds like we're being trolled, but maybe not.
 
denverpilot said:
Both together sure sounds like we're being trolled, but maybe not.
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And just like that, I don't care about anything you have to say. If you're going to be one of those people who throw around the word "troll" so freey, you can just stay out of my threads. Sorry not sorry.
 
EchoKilo said:
And just like that, I don't care about anything you have to say. If you're going to be one of those people who throw around the word "troll" so freey, you can just stay out of my threads. Sorry not sorry.
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Oh get a grip. We get trolled here fairly regularly like any other message board. It’s the Internet.
 
EchoKilo said:
Dude, it's more plane than you think. Those things scream!


What do you mean?
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They don’t scream. It’s more like a 172 that is a little less underpowered.

What he means, I think, is that if you couldn’t handle a 172xp then perhaps you shouldn’t fly at all. A different hobby may suit you better.
 
Thanks for minimizing the disaster. A 150 will save up to two lives (no rear seats), and the slower lighter airplane will cause less damage on the ground. If memory serves, they hold less fuel so the fire will be smaller and there will be less smoke from the hole.
 
Ravioli said:
Thanks for minimizing the disaster. A 150 will save up to two lives (no rear seats), and the slower lighter airplane will cause less damage on the ground. If memory serves, they hold less fuel so the fire will be smaller and there will be less smoke from the hole.
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Dang man, if he didn’t like what I said, he’s going to truly hate you. LOL.
 
I think you’ll be much farther ahead finding a great instructor to help you tame the XP. You’ll be farther ahead and be much more competent by the time you finish your rating. The extra $20 - $50/hr for 25 hours of dual is relative peanuts in this game, especially if your dad is helping with the bills.

I also agree with others in this thread that if you can’t master a 172 in relatively short order then maybe this game isn’t for you. Sorry, but not hearing the truth can be deadly in this hobby.
 
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EchoKilo said:
Dude, it's more plane than you think. Those things scream!


What do you mean?
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I've flown them, and personally I don't think the 172, XP or otherwise, is a good trainer because it's TOO EASY to fly.


What I mean is based on your comments, IMHO, ether you had a really bad instructor, or flying may not be for you.
 
Tough crowd here. Compared to a 150, a 172xp is a speed demon. Virtually any plane upgrade after the plane you train on is a speed demon.

In addition to the extra power, you have a constant speed prop so that adds some complexity to a student pilot.

That said, there's no good reason not to train in the XP, particularly if that is the plane you're going to fly after you get your certificate. I agree with finding an instructor who is good rather than cheap (although there's not necessary an inverse correlation between the two). You also need to budget to fly after you pass your check ride. Flying is a perishable skill, particularly early on.

It's impossible for any of us to venture a guess as to how much more time it would take to finish. It depends on lots of factors, including ones out of your and anyone else's control. The best thing you can do is commit to flying several times a week. After you've flown with your instructor a bit, he or she can walk you through the syllabus and figure out what it will take to wrap it up. Good luck.
 
Trying to find a "cheap" CFI is so insulting to the profession....I was going to say a few other things but I'll hold back. Yeah troll entered my mind too @denverpilot
 
Check out the Wings of Eagles folks at the Smyrna and John Tune airports. You may be able to work with one of their instructors and your airplane. I agree with the others that say you should just train in the 172XP. It won't take you long to get comfortable with the extra power and prop.
 
Put the cost of instruction into perspective. You mention having a tax refund of $500 to spend. What else? The minimum for PPL is 40 hours, however if your solo took 25 hours, hitting the minimum will not happen. You are probably facing at least 60 hours of dual. Then there's the flight test fee etc. So at $50 an hour you need to come up with an additional $3000 or so, plus the cost of the airplane.

The issue of post-certification proficiency is something else to consider. Flying is an unforgiving hobby. Please take it seriously.
 
Wow, what a bunch of uptight jerks. I guess I was supposed to be dissertation-level with my eloquency in how I worded my posts so as to satisfy you all. Forget it. I won't post here again. Enjoy your forum everyone.
 
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EchoKilo said:
Wow, what a bunch of uptight jerks. I guess I was supposed to be dissertation-level with my eloquency in how I worded my posts so as to satisfy you all. Forget it. I won't post here again. Enjoy your forum everyone.
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When you're 90 you'll look back and thank us.
 
Cheap and good don’t necessarily go hand and hand in flight instruction.
 
"The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds council is wise."
 
Look man, you asked for advice on the internet. That’s fair. But to expect you won’t get a bunch of varied personalities is unrealistic. Put emotions aside and listen to the advice you asked for, or go somewhere else and hear what you wanted to hear. Not harsh; realistic.

To your question- use the 172XP. You are going to get 2-3 hour dollars of extra instruction for every 1 hour of dollars you would have wasted on rental. That will make you a better pilot cuz you will fly more with less concern about budget. And your solo hours are essentially free. No brainer.

And consider what you’re going to fly after you get your certificate. 172XP? Then train in that. Just work a little harder to learn it, that’s all.
 
EchoKilo said:
Wow, what a bunch of uptight jerks. I guess I was supposed to be dissertation-level with my eloquency in how I worded my posts so as to satisfy you all. Forget it. I won't post here again. Enjoy your forum everyone.
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I'm afraid I have to agree with some of the other posters. If you can't fly a Skyhawk you can't fly. That said, it will take quite a bit of time to get back in the game. You should visit some of your local airports and see which CFIs are working there. Ask around. Should be plenty. I wouldn't hand one a big check though, but that's me.

The real problem you're going to have is one of currency. Aviation is a truly horrid hobby, it takes a great attention to detail and currency. Without both of those you really can wind up becoming smoking hole, lots have and they've taken innocent souls with them. Do or do not, there is no try.
 
denverpilot said:
Shouldn’t take a “great” instructor to “tame” an XP. LOL. Might take a great instructor to tame the student, however. ;)
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I was trying to be nice. Anyway, I should admit that I’m really not qualified to comment as I only have 0.9 of 172 time in my flying career and it was a lowly 180hp model.
 
James_Dean said:
I was trying to be nice. Anyway, I should admit that I’m really not qualified to comment as I only have 0.9 of 172 time in my flying career and it was a lowly 180hp model.
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Speaking from experience it's tougher to fly a 150 hp model on a July morning departing BDU than it is a 180 hp (or 195 hp Hawk XP). Talk about taxi full length prior to departing...
 
OK, I have yet to take my first flying lesson, but even to me, the OP here was seriously lacking in the humility, introspection and judgment required to be a safe pilot. Well, except maybe for recognizing that the 172XP (and, apparently, any 172) was too much plane for him. But he failed to recognize what that meant about his skills. I've read Sinistar's saga here of successfully learning in a 182. If the ubiquitous 172 is too much plane, you're probably doing it wrong.
 
EchoKilo said:
So I suppose my questions are - what would it cost me roughly if I were to use my own plane? Are there cheaper routes to obtaining you PPL? I believe my last instructor charged me $35 per hour for the instruction not counting the plane, but I don't believe he's doing instruction anymore. I'm not really prepared to pay much more than that. Maybe $50/hour at the most.
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You're probably looking at $4,000.00 +/- to finish the license. Your cheapest route is to use the C172XP which probably will run you $60/hr in fuel (perhaps less, I haven't flown one in a while and don't remember fuel burn). You should be able to find a good instructor for $50/hr or less, but that is subject to your geographic area. Around here most are charging $40/hr. Since you haven't flown in seven years, but do have 27 hrs. I'm taking a SWAG that you will need 40 hrs more. Figure 30 hrs. with instructor and 10 hrs. solo.

Of course, that is a SWAG since I don't know if you have already passed a written and/or retained the knowledge, soloed, etc.

Good Luck!
 
Wasn't the T-41 that the USAF used for primary training basically a 210 HP 172? The XP is only 195, correct?

So, if the USAF can train primary students in a 210 HP version, I think a 195 HP version shouldn't be considered too much plane for a new student.
 
Brad Smith said:
I wouldn't pay ANY instructor all at once. You may want to change instructors along the way (very common) and getting your money back would be uncomfortable at best. Pay as you go is a wiser move. Good luck.
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I would not accept such a payment either. For all I know it might take you a hundred hours to pass a checkride.
 
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