IGX

I recently came across info about the number of airport in the US, and that general aviation, while expensive, isn't as crazy expensive as I thought.

I know we have some ex-military pilots here, but does anybody here fly little Cessnas/Bonanzas/Pipers etc.?

I do

How would you rate the practicality for travel in the 3-4 hr. flight time range, assuming you get an instrument rating? I know it changes depending on whether you're taking about a 182 vs. a Mooney or Bonanza, but the latter don't seem like they're an optimum choice for people under 500 hrs, so thinking more about hours than distance.

Maybe a better question: what should someone be thinking about prior to getting a pilot's license? I have a sense of the cost, and the time commitment where various options make sense, but most people writing about this are recreational and probably have biases.

One thing I've heard instructors say that makes sense to me is to get the best training you can right from the beginning, because the way you think about things and the habits you get into are likely to stay with you. I haven't learned to fly yet but that idea has gotten me to hold off a little longer until I can find the right situation.

In my reading about this, another point I saw raised is that it's better to go to a school or take an intensive course so you'll retain more from the previous lessons and won't have to repeat material. For helicopters, one school I saw made the claim that it's so hard to learn that you really won't get there without more intensive training than weekend lessons. Self interest on their part since they want people to go to their school but it's something to consider.

This strongly strikes me as the kind of thing that attracts a certain type of wealthy, careless dude, and you want to be sure your training isn't designed to cater to that type.

I think if you absolutely have to be there, you will want to take a commercial flight or drive. I have thousands of hours, and am not keen to take a small plane into any real weather, no matter what they advertise.

But if you love flying, then the opportunity to use the plane as a tool in your life and not just as a way to dissipate your bank account is awesome. If you live somewhere where the weather is generally good for VFR flying, then the odds that the weather and your plans match up are way better too.

Flying is a perishable skill, flying on instruments more so. I was a member of a flying club that owned an aircraft. We disbanded after one of the fellow owners flew our plane with his wife in it into a mountain in the clouds. He was instrument rated but out of practice. Made a bunch of bad decisions, left behind two kids 19 and 22 years old.

. I was a member of a flying club that owned an aircraft. We disbanded after one of the fellow owners flew our plane with his wife in it into a mountain in the clouds.

Yeah that is uncomfortable. Sorry about your friend.

nafod wrote: ↑Wed Jul 27, 2022 10:05 pm But if you love flying, then the opportunity to use the plane as a tool in your life and not just as a way to dissipate your bank account is awesome. If you live somewhere where the weather is generally good for VFR flying, then the odds that the weather and your plans match up are way better too.

Yeah, it *seems* like if you can have a legitimate business use part of the time, and you can avoid situations where you can get in a lot of trouble, it's fantastic. We have a lot of places around Lake Michigan that are 4 hr drives in traffic that you could fly in much less time.

I know a guy who flies around in a Lear 60, after having a King Air before that, and he talks about the convenience factor. It seems he could get 90% of the benefit on distances within 800 miles with a lot less airplane and one fewer pilot.