First off, sorry to add thoughts so slowly. Lots of excuses, none of them good, so - - - sorry.
How do they do that? Do what? Well, I see advertisements all over the place saying something like learn to fly for $3900.00, or learn to fly for $60.00 per month. While doing your research be sure to ask this question to the school: "What are all the costs in learning to fly?"
Yes, I will teach the you in lesson one how to fly, but the you will not very proficient at it. Flying is really only a few things: straight, turns, up, down, fast, slow, and landing. Of course landing is just going slower and slower close to the ground, and pretty soon the plane falls out of the sky from an altitude of one inch. I digress...
Let's look at what all the costs may be.
First the airplane cost. The absolute minimum time required under CFR Title14, Part 61 says 40 hours. Multiply this time the hourly charge for the plane. Don't forget the sales tax in the state of Washington - maybe your state too, and fuel if they have a "dry" rate.
Second is the Certified Flight Instructor (CFI). The same regulation says "at least 20 hours of instruction." Again multiply times the hourly rate. As of today (4/13/2010) no sales tax on this service.
Third is Ground school. You need to pass the knowledge exam so you must study somehow. There are several ways, ground school is the formal classroom style. There are CD ROM or DVD courses for purchase, you may be able to just buy the material on e-bay and do home or self study. No matter how, there will be some expense for you. And then the Knowledge exam its self is around $100.00.
Once you finish all of the schooling, there is the Practical Flight Test, or Check Ride as it is called. This is done by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) or a designated representative of the FAA. If you can get an appointment with the FAA, the check ride is free, but odds are the FAA will send you to a Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE). The DPE will charge from $350 - $500 .
Not done yet. For all certificates (not license) except the new Sport Pilot Certificate there is a Medical Exam that is done by an FAA Designated Medical Examiner. This will be in the $100.00 range.
There is some time before and after your flight that you are talking with your CFI. This time is valuable and charged for by the CFI or flight school. It is called Pre-flight and post-flight pilot briefings. During this time, the CFI will be teaching you how the maneuvers that you will learn on that flight are to be done in theory, the aerodynamics of the maneuver, and what the completions standards for the maneuver is. This is usually between one tenth of an hour up to a couple of hours on some flights. This is usually charged at the same rate as the Flight instruction.
So, when a flight instructor or flight school says, "Yep, I'll teach you to fly for four grand..." start asking questions, and if the total real amount is in the $8K - 10K ball park they are most likely telling the truth.
OK, so how do they do that? Easy, they leave out all the extras that you really need. I'll do the same thing. 40 hours in my Cherokee 140 that rents for $98.00 per hour times 40 hours is $3,920.00. Oh ya - plus fuel, and sales tax - the real cost is $98.00 for the plane, $31.50 for fuel, plus $8.33 for state sales tax, and lo and behold the plane by its self is $137.83. See how it adds up?
Ask lots of questions!
How do they do that? Do what? Well, I see advertisements all over the place saying something like learn to fly for $3900.00, or learn to fly for $60.00 per month. While doing your research be sure to ask this question to the school: "What are all the costs in learning to fly?"
Yes, I will teach the you in lesson one how to fly, but the you will not very proficient at it. Flying is really only a few things: straight, turns, up, down, fast, slow, and landing. Of course landing is just going slower and slower close to the ground, and pretty soon the plane falls out of the sky from an altitude of one inch. I digress...
Let's look at what all the costs may be.
First the airplane cost. The absolute minimum time required under CFR Title14, Part 61 says 40 hours. Multiply this time the hourly charge for the plane. Don't forget the sales tax in the state of Washington - maybe your state too, and fuel if they have a "dry" rate.
Second is the Certified Flight Instructor (CFI). The same regulation says "at least 20 hours of instruction." Again multiply times the hourly rate. As of today (4/13/2010) no sales tax on this service.
Third is Ground school. You need to pass the knowledge exam so you must study somehow. There are several ways, ground school is the formal classroom style. There are CD ROM or DVD courses for purchase, you may be able to just buy the material on e-bay and do home or self study. No matter how, there will be some expense for you. And then the Knowledge exam its self is around $100.00.
Once you finish all of the schooling, there is the Practical Flight Test, or Check Ride as it is called. This is done by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) or a designated representative of the FAA. If you can get an appointment with the FAA, the check ride is free, but odds are the FAA will send you to a Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE). The DPE will charge from $350 - $500 .
Not done yet. For all certificates (not license) except the new Sport Pilot Certificate there is a Medical Exam that is done by an FAA Designated Medical Examiner. This will be in the $100.00 range.
There is some time before and after your flight that you are talking with your CFI. This time is valuable and charged for by the CFI or flight school. It is called Pre-flight and post-flight pilot briefings. During this time, the CFI will be teaching you how the maneuvers that you will learn on that flight are to be done in theory, the aerodynamics of the maneuver, and what the completions standards for the maneuver is. This is usually between one tenth of an hour up to a couple of hours on some flights. This is usually charged at the same rate as the Flight instruction.
So, when a flight instructor or flight school says, "Yep, I'll teach you to fly for four grand..." start asking questions, and if the total real amount is in the $8K - 10K ball park they are most likely telling the truth.
OK, so how do they do that? Easy, they leave out all the extras that you really need. I'll do the same thing. 40 hours in my Cherokee 140 that rents for $98.00 per hour times 40 hours is $3,920.00. Oh ya - plus fuel, and sales tax - the real cost is $98.00 for the plane, $31.50 for fuel, plus $8.33 for state sales tax, and lo and behold the plane by its self is $137.83. See how it adds up?
Ask lots of questions!
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