How to Save Thousands Learning to Fly

First and foremost STUDY before you go to the airport! - Learn to fly on the ground before spending hundreds of dollars per lesson learning basic theories of flight while in a distracting environment such as an aircraft! While studying at home, write down all your questions and come prepared to ask your instructor when you show up at the airport. You will learn more as an engaged student asking questions versus a one-way discussion where the instructor preaches aeronautical theory for an hour. My students who study and come prepared are students who complete their private pilot license within 50 hours! (National average near 80 hours) At $180/hour, that’s a savings of $5,400!

Use good home study materials - Some programs offered through places like Cessna, and Sporties are interactive and make dry book material much more interesting. These are programs created by professional flight instructors, and they do a great job of creating a solid foundation for ground instruction. Many of these programs are certified and allow you to take your written exam without a flight instructor's endorsement.

FLY regularly! - Flying is not like riding a bike. There are too many things that must be kept fresh in a new pilot's mind, and if they do not fly often they will be lost and have to be re-learned. You should commit yourself to flying AT LEAST two times a week. Flying is easy, but earning a pilot certificate does take regular practice.

Twin engine aircraft taking off from airport

Tune in and copy down ATIS BEFORE starting the engine - Before departing for the day, copy ATIS with engine OFF! It is much easier to listen to ATIS while the cockpit is quiet. In most cases, pilots need to listen to ATIS more than one time. If this takes 5 minutes you will save $16.67 per flight (aircraft cost at $140 an hour and an instructor is 60 per hour = $3.33 per minute * 5 minutes = $16.67) Let's say it takes 150 flights before you make the transition from paying to fly to being paid to fly, you can save $2,500 dollars (150 * $16.67 = $2,500). While some will argue that this will kill the battery, this is NOT TRUE! I worked for 5 years in aircraft maintenance and never once saw this happen.

Side note - In my experience when a student pilot accidentally left the radios on (or master switch) after a flight, it took about 8 hours before the battery discharged so much that it could not start an engine.

Sit in the back seat during a training flight - While you are in the pilot seat, you are overwhelmed with responsibilities as a new pilot. Sitting in the back seat allows you to observe things from a new perspective and allows you to take in more without the stress of piloting an airplane. You will listen more carefully to ATC calls, observe new techniques, and develop a better understanding of how to fly an aircraft. Also, it’s FUN!

Become an airport bum and get to know other pilots! Aviation is a tight-knit community. Knowing other pilots has advantages, such as meeting an aircraft owner who might invite you on a trip. This can pay off if you log some flying time and share the cost of flying. You can also meet other pilots who need to time build, and you can greatly reduce the cost of flying with a designated safety pilot. Also, knowing people around the field might help you land your first job since many flying positions are not posted publicly and are word of mouth.

Contact the owner of a flight school and negotiate - Many flight schools, especially smaller schools, will give you a break in price if you let them know your goals, particularly if you want to become a professional pilot. They know that if you do not choose them, they are missing an opportunity to make a huge profit! You are more likely to get an even better deal if you can get in contact with the owner or a manager versus a front desk attendant.

Buy an aircraft - This could save you a great deal of money if you purchase a simple training aircraft such as a Cessna 150. These aircraft can usually be sold for about the same amount of money as you paid for them. This will save you a huge amount of money on rental fees, BUT do not forget to budget for required maintenance, hanger / tie-down fees, insurance, fuel, and oil. Owning an aircraft will also make you a better pilot. As an owner, you are more likely to get involved with routine maintenance like oil and tire changes, which will give you a better understanding of the aircraft.

Act as a Safety Pilot - Acting as a safety pilot can save a ton of money when you are time building. You must be rated for the category and class of aircraft you are flying and hold at least a private certificate. In other words, the FAA doesn’t want a private pilot with a single-engine rating acting as a safety pilot in a multiengine aircraft. Acting as a safety pilot can save you as much as 4500 dollars if you fly 50 hours during your time building for a Commercial Pilots License!

Flight simulators - Have been around a long time and can certainly save you money. These devices are especially great for learning instrument procedures since they can reset an approach in a matter of seconds. A simulator allows a pilot to fly several more instrument approaches an hour versus just 1 or 2 in an aircraft. Also, time in an FAA approved simulator is significantly cheaper than flying an aircraft and counts towards required hours to complete the private, instrument, and commercial certificates!

Above is a Redbird Flight Simulator. This picture shows the FMX full-motion simulator equipped with a Garmin G1000 glass panel. In this picture. I was having fun and set up the autopilot to shoot an approach. Expect to pay between $60 and $100 per hour, depending on the complexity of the simulator.

Share the costs of flying - Once you have your private pilot's license, take friends and family flying. You MUST split the costs evenly. This even split is commonly referred to as the pro rata share and can really cut down costs while time building. Say you are making a trip, and the aircraft costs $140 an hour to rent. You take three friends flying and fly for lunch one hour away. This trip costs a total of $280 round trip. You are allowed to share the direct cost four ways at $70 a person, cutting your hourly rate to just $35 an hour!!!

Join the Civil Air Patrol - Civil Air Patrol pilots are known as CAP pilots and fly search and rescue missions, provide disaster relief, counter-drug operations, and Homeland Security functions. This is a great way to earn hours at a discounted rate and possibly learn new skills. With time you can gain pilot qualifications such as Transport Mission Pilot, Search and Rescue (SAR), and Disaster Relief (DR) which look great on a resume!

How to Save Thousands on Flight Instruction