What to do after PPL/how to save money or fly for free??

[midlifeflyer]

Aha! That makes much more sense than the quoted paragraph from the chief counsel letter. Thanks.

My fault. I opted for the easy "no private pilot" in the earlier opinion instead of later ones that don't talk about pilot qualifications but do talk about the operational aspects:
Like this one from 2011 which says,

§ 91.321 allows an aircraft operator to receive payment for carrying a candidate, agent of a candidate, or person travelling on behalf of a candidate, running for Federal, State or local election without having to comply with parts 121, 125, or 135, so long as several conditions are met.​

 

[Sundancer]

CAP can be a hot mess, and a PITA to deal with. I stepped away after 14 years of mucking with the nonsense - BUT: it may be worth looking into, IF you find a squadron with an airplane, AND it isn't gacked up by silly nonsense and poor management, AND you have enough PIC time (it used to be 175 hours) to train for mission pilot, AND you pass the MP checkride. Then, IF the wing in your state isn't a cesspool or a good ol' boys club, and has some missions, then you can build some time flying for free - you'll need to make yourself available, and they'll (usually) want you to take on other, often pointless, "duties", as well.

All that said, I have seen low-time guys build significant hours flying CAP. You'll need to shop squadrons, asked around, find out the political environment. They often have a hard time keeping enough qualified MP's, and/or putting 200 hours on each airplane annually, and that's directly attributable to the bureaucracy and institutional confusion. Two illustrative extremes you can look at:

http://captalk.net/ (CAP can do no wrong)
https://auxbeacon.org/ (CAP can do nothing right)

CAP has had some pretty sketchy ethics issues; also some good folks. Pilots vary from low time PPL to ATP and military pilots, and everything in between. Take a look, bt be wary.

 

[alfadog]

Do it after inflation has taken its toll. For example, I've heard some of the old timers say that their training was $10/hr plane+instructor for a grand total of $500.

Well, I am certainly not so much an old-timer as others but I started in '74 and got my PPL in '76. IIRC, the airplane was $36/hr. wet and the CFI $9/hr. Brand-new 152's. You would have to go waaaay back for $10/hr. total. Pre-WW 2?

 

[asicer]

Well, I am certainly not so much an old-timer as others but I started in '74 and got my PPL in '76. IIRC, the airplane was $36/hr. wet and the CFI $9/hr. Brand-new 152's. You would have to go waaaay back for $10/hr. total. Pre-WW 2?

$2500? That's so doable! (If you ignore inflation)

 

[alfadog]

$2500? That's so doable! (If you ignore inflation)

Yeah, well, when I started in '74 I was earning $3.75/hr building Glassic cars. When I finished in '76, I was foreman in another fiberglass shop earning a whopping $6.00/hr!

 

[MarkH]

Yeah, well, when I started in '74 I was earning $3.75/hr building Glassic cars. When I finished in '76, I was foreman in another fiberglass shop earning a whopping $6.00/hr!

Inflation, 1976-2018, for reference:
$6 = $27.11
$36 = $162.67

Considering in some parts of FL you can rent a new LSA for $120/hour wet, it seems that, in this case, the LSA Rules worked for lowering the cost of flying a new plane.

 

[Dana]

Well, I am certainly not so much an old-timer as others but I started in '74 and got my PPL in '76. IIRC, the airplane was $36/hr. wet and the CFI $9/hr. Brand-new 152's. You would have to go waaaay back for $10/hr. total. Pre-WW 2?

You sure about that? When I was learning to fly in '76, the C-150 rented for $18 wet, instructor another $10. That was a 141 school, the FBO down the ramp was $15.

 

[tlglenn]

Join an amateur sports team and travel to tournaments. Bring teammates that share a common purpose with you for the trip. Collect pro-rata shares from them to reimburse you for direct expenses of the flight. Not free, but cheaper.

 

[alfadog]

You sure about that? When I was learning to fly in '76, the C-150 rented for $18 wet, instructor another $10. That was a 141 school, the FBO down the ramp was $15.

You might be right. $18 did stick in my mind but I though it was too low. This was at KPBI through the local college, don't know how much anyone else was charging.

 

[alfadog]

Inflation, 1976-2018, for reference:
$6 = $27.11
$36 = $162.67

Considering in some parts of FL you can rent a new LSA for $120/hour wet, it seems that, in this case, the LSA Rules worked for lowering the cost of flying a new plane.

Could have been wrong and maybe it was $18/hr. wet. I have my original logbook but no receipts.That would be $81 in 2018 $$ then. I imagine fuel prices went up faster than general CPI so $100 - $120/hr. does not sound bad.

 

[MBDiagMan]

My early training ca. 1992 cost $15 for the instructor and $40 for a 150. My first seven hours were in a champ and if I recall correctly, it was $25.