Hi, my name is David and I'm a pilot who likes to help others aspiring to fly by sharing adventures and things I've learned over the years. I started flying in high school, have been a flight instructor for over 30 years, and a Captain at a major airline. Join us at Freedom Flight as we inspire the next generation of pilots, talk about flight training, and share our enthusiasm for flying.
"As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." Proverbs 27:17
I have few pair of A20’s And one A10. Sound quality and ANR is almost identical. The A30 is awful as far as sound and ANR in GA. The reviews all over Amazon. I think A20’s is the sweet spot!
This is perfect, l have been looking for a video clip like this, which gives a simple straightforward explanation of the instrument panel. These are some of those times you truly appreciate the internet. Thanks, man. Appreciate it 🙏🏿
I'm taking mine soon and I'm beyond excited. As a perfectionist, it's just hard when I'm new to something like this and don't know how to go about it I feel awkard. But this video definitely helped a lot, thank you!
Great video! I am 16 and I hope to be able to schedule a discovery flight sometime this year. I want to become a pilot but I am worried about the expenses of flight lessons. Any advice will be greatly appreciated
I know it’s very expensive. If you decide to do it as a career, it’s likely to be a great investment into yourself. Even slow progress is better than no progress. Hung around for the least expensive place to train. Smaller airports outside the city tend to be less expensive as less traffic getting in and out of the airport. Be super prepared for each flight, ask what to expect from your instructor so you can be very prepared. It’s worth it, I assure you. Thx for watching.
I decided when my father and I was flying U-Control Gas Models at the age of 12 years old after Dad was in WW2, that I was going to fly. I became 21 (then legal age) in 1956. My parents refused to sign for me before that. I went to the local airport and paid $5.00 for an orientation flight in a Super Cub. I started instruction the next week end. After 3 hours instruction, I found a lower price at a family owned airport. I switched to an Aeronca Champ 7AC flying out of a 2200' dirt runway W/ Elec. wires on one end and 50' pine trees on the other. The airport name was "King Aviation". The family name was "King". It is a much larger, paved, municipal A.P. now. When I soloed I switched to a Super Cub PA12 that I took my flight test at Edgartown AP, Martha's Vineyard in Cape Cod. July 4th 1958. My total cost was around $500.00. I can't imagine how much my flight instructor was paid out of $12.00 per hour dual instruction in the 7AC. By the way The FAA was the CAA back then. I'm too old to fly now but I have a great many memories and still love aircraft. My favorite are WW2 fighter aircraft. I could not afford an orientation in a Cessna 150, today. I built the "Corbin Baby Ace" in my profile picture because I was a poor Pilot that loved to fly. But great with my hands. Built it at Ft Lauderdale Xec. in 1978 That's my story and I'm stickin too it.
Got my PPL in August 1970 before starting my senior year of high school. Counting everything listed in the video (books, physical, flight test, etc.), and 42.5 hours of Cessna 150/152 time, it cost me $775. Of course, auto gas was 25 to 30 cents per gallon and the minimum wage was $1.50/hour. At standard CPI rates per BLS, the current cost after 54 years would be $6,206. But, probably not many people these days would use the equivalent of a Cessna 150. Very basic plane.
Once a week student for the last two years, and your estimates are absolutely on point! End up spending right around 85 hours, 20k training, plus 1k for the checkride. The last bit was hard! I thought I was ready at 65 hours, but winter storm and various unexpected events set me back for another 20 hours to keep currency and please the new CFI. All the efforts apart, it is truly amazing to finally fly freely on my own!
He is right on. Figure $20k. This is more than reasonable in order to become a private pilot. This is a life long accomplishment and opens many doors in life. Well worth the time and nominal investment. Make sure to buy a Cessna 172/182 shortly thereafter. Solid investments that hold their value well and are conservative with their operating/owning costs.
Building the courage to schedule my discovery flight soon, this video was a huge relief to watch, you seem like an awesome instructor & I appreciate the information you passed along here!
Actually millions of places to land in an emergency. At least compared to the topography of Greece. I will tell only this, in Greece flying VFR 1500ft over 50 NM of only sea is full normal. It is our operation.
Realistic costs in a worst case scenario such as SoCal out of a commercial airport (KSNA) now in early 2024 is about 30k. C172 rates are $220-$260/hr and instruction is approx $90/hr. National average flight hours per FSANA in February 2024 for a PPL is 72hrs. Yes 72! Thats almost double legal minimums. SoCal average about 85hrs. Also, nobody can just do a home study at home and not need additional supplemental instruction face to face with instructor. You may take your FAA written test if the online course gives you an endorsement but if you’re getting the endorsement to take your written exam from your flight instructor, he will definitely want to provide you with some additional ground to ensure you get the best possible score. You don’t want to walk into an oral exam with a DPE with a low score. You’re asking to be grilled. Plus, no home study course can prepare you for the FAA oral exam as well as your instructor can. Your instructor should know what your specific examiner will be looking for based upon prior student checkrides and more. Again, especially considering its your instructor’s certificate and endorsement. I know very few instructors who will endorse someone and just say “Go for it. If you fail you just take it again.” At least thats not the way we operate at my business nor any of the 3 dozen flight school owners I know across the US. Unless its an independent CFI, flight schools care a lot about their relationships with the FAA DPEs they work with because DOEs will eventually realize if a school is outputting quality or subpar students through their program and no DPE wants to get involved in having someone kill themselves in a plane an the DPE be questioned as the examiner who passed him/her. As such, the flight school will want to ensure you get plenty of ground prep to ensure you pass the written and oral. Furthermore, the necessary flight training to ensure you pass your checkride on the FIRST attempt. What does all this equate to? More flight hours and more ground instruction. This video even with the hypothetical “realistic” buffer still falls short of a more realistic cost of approximately 25k. Go to a large metropolitan area/airport and you’ll need to add another 5k and now you’re up to 30k. Budget for this if you’re training in a large metropolitan area and you wont be caught off guard. Finally, unless you’re getting a 4 year degree just do Part 61. Its cheaper. My experience: USF veteran and aviator with 20+ years in aviation in the civilian world as well. Im the owner of flight schools in SoCal, TX, and AZ. My schools together send about 30+ students through a checkride every month (~360 per year). 20k for a PPL are 2022 or maybe even 2021 rates. Good luck to all!
Brilliant video thank you, if only I was 20 yrs younger I would have loved to have learned to fly, it's just so fascinating to me. I'm a driving instructor (cars) and although this in itself is an interesting job when people are learning to drive a car but know very little, it's nothing compared to aviation
My discovery flight is Tuesday and looking to be a pretty beautiful day for a flight. 80 degrees and partly cloudy. I’ve been wanting to do this for years since I was 16. I’m 25 now and I see that it’s a good time to start flying. I’ve been on flight simulators for like 12 years with lots of experience. Around 8,000 hours actually. Mostly military flying and aerobatics with some GA flights here and there. But I’m confident that I’ll impress my flight instructor and that I’ll earn my PPL in no time.
In the late 80's I finished everything except for completing my FAA check ride which I had around 55 hours (my flight logbook was also lost, so having to start over from scratch). I was a career firefighter and got busy with finishing a couple college degrees, so like an idiot I never did complete the FAA check ride. So, here I am at 65 I starting from scratch in a second attempt pursuing a PPL! I retired from the fire service so I have plenty of time just need more more money 😊😊😊My first flight after 30 + years, my CFI was gentle put after he got a feel for what I could do handling the plane, he started putting me through the ringer with a myriad of recovery maneuvers, slow-flight, steep turns, under-the-hood work, touch and goes (yes I was sweating). After we landed and fueled up he looked at me and said "I don't know why you need me I rarely ever touched rudders, yoke or flight controls". Of course I knew he was just kidding! I told him it was crazy how comfortable and familiar it felt (C172 which is what I done most of my time in). Yes I felt like it had been a long time since sitting in the PIC seat, but after flying for 20-30 minutes, there was a rush of familiarity and comfort like there was no major gap flying! So, I am hoping that I can complete the flying time with the minimal required hours? I believe one thing that really has helped is having pretty serious flight simulator setup at home -- which I have probably 2000 hours with 100s of completed flight plans using multiple platforms (e.g. Simbrief/Navigraph/ForeFlight) with flights (VFR and IFR) flown from my home-base Houston airports (KHOH/KIAH/KLVJ) to major medium small airports all over the U.S. I think this really helped to retain the familiarity and muscle memory being PIC, using simple six-pack to complex full glass cock-pits and autopilots! I guess time will tell??? Trust me I am in no way being overly-confident, secure, or cocky, because I totally respect aviation, understanding one bad decision can have deadly consequences! I think about it every time I slide into the seat and yell "clear prop"!
Any scholarships for women or companies that pay for training? I know some healthcare clinics pay for your schooling if you agree to work there for 1-2 years, anything similair
Hi thanks for watching. I do not know of any companies personally that are paying for training. However, if you are not already familiar with WAI (Women in Aviation International) look them up. I believe they have scholarships.
What I'm hearing, I think, is to pass the Instrument Written, before even approaching the Flight School - the cockpit is always the worst classroom. Also, squeeze as much out of approved simulators, because you could then repeatedly practice maneuvers (with different weather conditions) within a given flight hour. Thanks for your perspective and financial reality checks.
You might have another video on this topic, but there are lots of scholarship and grant opportunities that can be obtained to greatly reduce the cost. Young students should check with their guidance counselors and also with organizations such as the Experimental Aircraft Association or the Civil Air Patrol. Other advocacy organizations (such as AOPA) have scholarship programs for students and older adults. But yes, it's not a cheap thing to do, and it will never cost less. Nice video.
What an honest and frank summary of costs and expectations, I would say around 60 hrs is a good benchmark, and add another 20 if you do not complete within a year. it is far more complex in the UK from the knowledge requirement and written exams, 7 of them and the radio telephony licence and exam, starting to see now why the US has a high accident rate in GA compared with EASA and CAA counterparts.
