suggestions on how to pay.

I would work on securing a better income first. Honestly, because if you found away to afford to get your license would you be able to afford to keep flying and stay current and proficient? Even flying gliders will still cost you a few grand to get that, ultra lights still cost money to buy and maintain. Your in the restaurant business you said, wait tables at a high end restaurant, become a manager, plenty of ways in that business to make way more than $3600 a year. Heck you can make more than that as car hop at sonic. Get to it man, a plane is calling your name!
 
fumovox said:
wonderful advice Ill try that I live in central florida there are a lot of schools here Ill give it a whirl
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In central Florida? I'm based out of KORL and there is a flying club there, Orlando Club Flying. It's about as cost effective as you can get. PM me and I'll give you the chief instructor's contact info. Talk to him and see what you can work out.

John
 
Op, at your age you really need to learn a skill set. albeit a trade or a collegiate degree skill. Serious question, are there not any car dealerships near you where you can get into sales? No cell phone store where you can get into sales?
 
fumovox said:
i made 3600 total last year so yea I don't make enough while the advice of people works in middle class not so good for below
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In that case, my advice is scrap the plans to fly. You cannot afford it. In the meantime, get a job.
 
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fumovox said:
Well Im a sign spinner And I was hoping on creating a resource for others who are in a better situation than myself, to be honest
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If you spin the sign really really fast you could maybe get some lift and if you shaped the sign like an airfoil who knows what might happen.
 
I paid for 100% of my private pilot certificate while making $9.25/hr and living entirely on my own. I was 16 or 17 years old when I started (dropped out of HS when I was 16). How did I manage to pull it off? Well...I *really* wanted it.

If you want it, you'll figure out a way, don't expect to find much for discounts on flight training. The profits margins are so thin most operations really have no margin to give any sort of discount.

I manage a small flight school in Nebraska, our instructors charge $35/hr, and we charge $120/hr for a 172. We have three 172(s).

If you're not working 60 hours a week, well, then, you don't want it bad enough. Flying is a luxury...and if you want to experience the luxuries of life...you need to work harder than everyone else.
 
jesse said:
I paid for 100% of my private pilot certificate while making $9.25/hr and living entirely on my own. I was 16 or 17 years old when I started (dropped out of HS when I was 16). How did I manage to pull it off? Well...I *really* wanted it.

If you want it, you'll figure out a way, don't expect to find much for discounts on flight training. The profits margins are so thin most operations really have no margin to give any sort of discount.

I manage a small flight school in Nebraska, our instructors charge $35/hr, and we charge $120/hr for a 172. We have three 172(s).

If you're not working 60 hours a week, well, then, you don't want it bad enough. Flying is a luxury...and if you want to experience the luxuries of life...you need to work harder than everyone else.
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My brother knows a couple that would love to fly but cant afford it. They are married with no kids and just can't figure it out, though they can afford a $300k home and lease a new pair of BMW's every three years.
 
So what are your long term goals? Are you looking to fly for pleasure or work into an aviation career? If you're just looking for pleasure I'm going to say you're a long ways away from doing that financially speaking. Even if you manage to get your ticket on the cheap it's still expensive to fly.
As for solving the money problem, I'm happy to inform you that you have a tremendous up side potential starting where you're at now. Having disposable money is really all about how much you make minus how much you spend. It's not rocket science. With the numbers you've shared, you need to focus on the "how much you make" part because I doubt there's much you can cut on the spending side.
As others have mentioned you can increase your income substantially with very easy to find jobs. You can make $20-$30k/year delivering pizzas 4 or 5 nights a week, or make $15-$20k with any full time minimum wage job.

I'm 42 and I started out in the military at 17, and then worked into a career in technology at 23 (when I got out). I would work whatever job I could get and then be immediately looking for my next "better" job. I would also improve my marketability by reading books and learning more than others around me. After many years I worked my way up to a very high income job and ultimately started my own business seven years ago with the experience I gained.
There's one person and one person alone who is responsible for you getting out there and making a killing and you look at him in the mirror every day. Don't settle for anything less than what you're capable of doing. Go get a new full time job and immediately start working towards the next one. Use flying as your motivation. Put a picture of the airplane you want on your bathroom mirror. go get it.
 
Yeah, I worked my way through flight school. Had to work all kinds of odd jobs, but it's worth it in the long run. If you can't do better than $3,600 in a year, you seriously, seriously need an attitude change and to go work for someone who can help you learn how to work and get motivated. I wouldn't take on a student if I knew that was the situation because I'd consider them a safety risk even after they got their license unless they planned on having a job to be able to spend money afterwards to stay proficient.​
 
If you're for real, you're on a flat-line trajectory to nowhere. If you don't deal with this now you'll soon be 30 years old and living with your parents. You can learn to fly later -- right now you are too poor to fly and there are far more important ways you need to invest your time and money.

The cost of living will outpace the compensation for sign-spinning and other odd jobs. We do not live in a leisure society and you need to make yourself useful in order to find and keep meaningful employment. Maybe that means going back to school if you're able to afford it and disciplined enough to succeed, or maybe that means apprenticing as a plumber, electrician, appliance repair, etc. I'm guessing that $15k would seem like a fortune to you at this point but it won't carry you through the next 50 years of your life. You should find a friend who makes more than $12k/year to look up to. You seem to live in a very small pond and you need to get out of that environment to learn how to succeed.

I don't know you but you appear to have at least average intelligence and Internet access, so you are plenty capable of following the advice people are giving you. You can do some basic research on what jobs are listed around the country, what the average pay is, and find something that pays a living wage and intersects your interests and abilities. Work on that and save the flying for when you're out of the poor house.

I don't see any point in getting through the lessons now if it will be 6 years before you can afford fuel. You'll just need to go through it all again to refresh your skills. If you were a young kid then maybe it would be a noble preoccupation to mow lawns for lessons but you're a young man now and you're not pointed in the right direction.
 
ollopa said:
If you're for real, you're on a flat-line trajectory to nowhere. If you don't deal with this now you'll soon be 30 years old and living with your parents. You can learn to fly later -- right now you are too poor to fly and there are far more important ways you need to invest your time and money.

The cost of living will outpace the compensation for sign-spinning and other odd jobs. We do not live in a leisure society and you need to make yourself useful in order to find and keep meaningful employment. Maybe that means going back to school if you're able to afford it and disciplined enough to succeed, or maybe that means apprenticing as a plumber, electrician, appliance repair, etc. I'm guessing that $15k would seem like a fortune to you at this point but it won't carry you through the next 50 years of your life. You should find a friend who makes more than $12k/year to look up to. You seem to live in a very small pond and you need to get out of that environment to learn how to succeed.

I don't know you but you appear to have at least average intelligence and Internet access, so you are plenty capable of following the advice people are giving you. You can do some basic research on what jobs are listed around the country, what the average pay is, and find something that pays a living wage and intersects your interests and abilities. Work on that and save the flying for when you're out of the poor house.

I don't see any point in getting through the lessons now if it will be 6 years before you can afford fuel. You'll just need to go through it all again to refresh your skills. If you were a young kid then maybe it would be a noble preoccupation to mow lawns for lessons but you're a young man now and you're not pointed in the right direction.
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Good friend of mine always says: "Show me your friends and I'll show you your future".
If you want to be successful in life, then surround yourself with successful people.
If you want to be a criminal then hang out with criminals.
If you want to be poor, then hang out with poor people.
 
tuwood said:
Good friend of mine always says: "Show me your friends and I'll show you your future".
If you want to be successful in life, then surround yourself with successful people.
If you want to be a criminal then hang out with criminals.
If you want to be poor, then hang out with poor people.
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I always got as close as I could to the people I wanted to be.
 
Sierra Victor said:
Man U guys are suckers.
This guy is totally playing u.
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Yeah, let's get into that again because it was so kool when we did it with rachelk.tailwinds.
U kno wut i meen bro?

Sent from my Apple IIe using TypeTalk
 
jesse said:
I paid for 100% of my private pilot certificate while making $9.25/hr and living entirely on my own. I was 16 or 17 years old when I started (dropped out of HS when I was 16). How did I manage to pull it off? Well...I *really* wanted it.

If you want it, you'll figure out a way, don't expect to find much for discounts on flight training. The profits margins are so thin most operations really have no margin to give any sort of discount.

I manage a small flight school in Nebraska, our instructors charge $35/hr, and we charge $120/hr for a 172. We have three 172(s).

If you're not working 60 hours a week, well, then, you don't want it bad enough. Flying is a luxury...and if you want to experience the luxuries of life...you need to work harder than everyone else.
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I have worked two jobs for the past 20 years. Since I took the stupid route(screwed off in school), it's the only way to have the extras I want.

Want it, work for it. Other suggestions about working at the FBO are good. I know that employees of the FBO here get a healthy discount on airplane rentals.
 
Sierra Victor said:
Man U guys are suckers.

This guy is totally playing u.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
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Sure, I know. But you know what? There are kids out there in the same boat and hopefully they're reading some great advice here. Heck, I'm mining the words myself and I'm 68. Never too late to learn something.

dtuuri
 
You live in Florida, and make $3,600/yr? In your case you have many, many options to increase your earnings potential, especially at your age. Thats what you should concentrate on first.
You can always get into flying in a few years after you have established yourself. It's all a process, and sometimes you have to wait a little for the extras.

I took my first discovery flight when I was 17, and didn't get back into flying again until I was 56. The usual stuff takes priority sometime, and in your case making more money should be your priority at this point. That doesn't mean you can't hang out at the airport, and try to meet some local pilots. The people I meet at the airport are usually very happy to talk about flying. Eventually you could probably catch a ride here or there.

BTW, when you do get back into it, join a flying club.
 
I am bartering for my training right now. I stumbled into the barter after taking a discovery flight and not being able to get back to flying as quick as I wanted. Work and life got in the way and my instructor emailed out of the blue a few months later and said he thought he remembered I was in IT and would I be willing to help him build a website. So, I am building and maintaining his website and helping another dog rescue fix their website and my training is covered. That includes fuel, plane, and instruction.

Initially I was budgeting for four flight hours a month, but with this barter I am shooting for flying 6-8 hours a month.

I have wanted to fly since I was a child and could not in the military due to medical issues. I put the dream of flying behind me and built my career in IT. Now at 35 years old, I am financially able to make this dream come true. In all honesty, living below poverty isn't the best place to be when trying to learn to fly. Remember there is no shame in working 2 or 3 jobs. I did it when my children had medical issues, and I'd do it again if need be. Flying isn't cheap.
 
I'm going to echo what other people have said and say that you should invest your money in developing a marketable skill set not a hobby. You won't be able to sustain yourself on $3600 for life. Your first priority should be to find a way to make more money in the long run.

Frankly, I doubt the average taxpayer would appreciate paying out welfare to a guy who went broke (or is close to broke) because he prioritized a hobby over developing a marketable skill set.

In the mean time, keep flying as the long term dream but know your priorities.
 
Well, physics is likely to pay a whole lot better than what you have, but it's not going to be a casual study.

You have to pay for college, and it's A LOT more expensive than flying. And it simply must be your priority given what you've said here.

Many of the regulars aren't going to like this, but the good advice here is to finish your degree, get a job, and THEN consider flying. Trying to do physics and flying at the same time will extend both of them. If you have time to spare, get a physics internship, as it will help your career tremendously. Actually, do that even if you don't have the time. It's a big deal.
 
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Wait...how do you only make $3600 a year...that doesn't even make sense unless you work like 10 hours a week at minimum wage lol. Honestly...wouldn't be that hard to find something making at least 20k a year.

But man...I'm a recent mechanical engineering grad and make decent money for a 22 year old...but even then getting my PPL takes quite a bit of discipline in terms of saving the cash.

I know it sucks, but it sounds like you really need to get your financial situation squared away before you take on flying.
 
DFH65 said:
If you spin the sign really really fast you could maybe get some lift and if you shaped the sign like an airfoil who knows what might happen.
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That's terrible...and I laughed out loud - hard. Well played.
 
I would highly recommend a second job if you really want to get into flying, or even if you don't want to fly. Even joining a club you are going to spend a good bit of money doing it. But Also, I would look into something else other than the restaurant industry. Maybe look into warehousing or some form of construction work, most of those jobs are going to be above 10 an hour. And if you live in a major metro area Uber,Lyft, Postmates, Amazon Flex, Doordash could all be good part time work if you have a good fuel efficient car. Plus great tax breaks to. But like everyone else I am also really curious how you are making so little?
 
DFH65 said:
If you spin the sign really really fast you could maybe get some lift and if you shaped the sign like an airfoil who knows what might happen.
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I laughed out loud at this too...hilarious
 
DFH65 said:
If you spin the sign really really fast you could maybe get some lift and if you shaped the sign like an airfoil who knows what might happen.
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You horrible horrible person, I had to change my clothes and wipe down the table from my drink I spilled.


I got my license at 17, I budgeted with so much stress and kept doing the math after every dollar I spent for flight lessons. I still get nightmares from my Instructor "One more flight" before we moved on to the next step.
 
rk911 said:
whatever you do, do not borrow the money or go into debt. beyond that get on a written budget so you know where every dollar is going. adjust lifestyle to reduce outflow and increase income (2nd job, bartering at the airport, etc.) good luck to you.
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I tend to think it would be wise to borrow the money in order to get the training completed quickly. Otherwise, it turns into a never-ending money pit you can't...quite...conquer.
 
I tend to think that if you have to borrow money for your hobby, you can't afford that hobby. Nobody should strangle themselves with debt over flying lessons. If you can't save up in a reasonable amount of time to pay for it in cash, it's going to take you far, far longer to pay back the loan.
 
My cfi let me wash a detail his 2 cessnas for some flight time. It wasn't much, but every bit helps.
 
If one just spends $10/day on food, they would spend $3650/year. You must be hungry if you have any other bills.
 
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