UTMC

Is anyone here a private or commercial pilot?
Does anyone else here dream at night of flying a airplane?
The same thing that happened to me after the first time I sat on a motorcycle is happening to me now with airplanes as well. I think about them all the time. Today my wife and I are going to ride down to the public airport and look around. I love flight simulators and the idea of getting at least my light sport and then private with ifr is eating me alive.

On that note, check this badass machine out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzcBidB6C0U
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=htt ... s%3Disch:1


I contacted APT today. Its about 5500$ to go from zero time to lic. private pilot.

Not a pilot, but asked a similar question a while back...

Yes, very interested in getting my PPL. Dreaming of building a Pietenpol Air Camper, though a Fly Baby or a Boredom Fighter both look promising as well.

I got a ride recently in a Legend Super Cub, which was 40 flavors of awesome.

Here in the Sonoran desert, getting a PPL looks to be $6500 at the low end (and assumes I somehow get my certification in the minimum number of hours). Of course, a Light Sport certification is less, but there aren't many Light Sport qualified planes for sale or rent in the area yet.

My dad got his pilot's license when I was a kid. He started off in sea planes, which was super fun. 5 minutes from our house was Kenmore Air Harbor, where you could charter a Cessna sea plane for something like $60/hour (charged for engine hours only!!!). All things considered, it was pretty cheap.

On several occasions, my dad packed up the family for a Sunday drive (by plane) to the San Juan Islands, my Grandmother's house on Port Gamble Bay, or other places around here. I have really fond memories of that.

I think a good bush plane would be a lot of fun. The Piper Super Cub seems amazing.

Check out this guy:

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That would be f ing awesome.
They have a cessna 150 for 73$ a hour and 40$ for instruction (113$) or a 172 for 93$ and 40$ for instruction.

No light sport planes for rent here yet either.

There were some very nice planes at the airport.

I did the same thing 2 years ago, got the bug, half of the people I work with have planes, the other half have sports cars, joined a flying club (Aspen flying club, Centennial Airport, Nice and Knowledgeable) went up enough to make me a believer, spent most of my free time thinking (see also obsessing, yes dreaming too) about airplanes... then I took a long hard look at my finances, realized that I could do it, but not the way I wanted to, not yet, so I forced myself to crush the bug and make it stop being an obsession. For now. My current non-two-wheeled mistress is boating. I FELL for it the last time I was in Seattle, buzzed around Mercer Island in the rain, soaked to the bone, on a small speedboat and I was HOOKED. Still thinking about both, the boat is much more likely at this time, but someday I'll have my plane.

Basically, you can pick your obsession. They all cost money... the bigger the toys, the more they cost... to operate, store, harbor, hangar, maintain, fuel, etc.

In my opinion $5500 is a little less than I have found it here in CO and is not a lot for what you get in return for the freedom it allows.

If you do decide to go for it... be safe... and have fun, it's nearly impossible to not have fun. But you know that already.