So how much does it cost to get flying?

[pepper_airborne]

You know you can happily sit in the dooropening of a plane all day without getting sucked out, so i dont really see it as a big deal if a door would open on me.

[C]

If you're serious about a flying career, you'd be wise to get into the habit now of always thinking "how can I fly without spending any of my own money?" Seriously, that's the thing that keeps most airline and military pilots going

A very good point. I've only ever paid to go flying once. That was on a 747, and oddly enough I was nowhere near the cockpit!

[machineman9]

Well I was hoping my parents could help out with funding too... but what about after that? What more could I ask for to help keep the payments on my part lower?

[C]

In all honesty, do you need to do it now? I only started flying a week before my 18th birthday courtesy of a flying scholarship (and then had a two year break), and if you intend to make military flying your career then there aren't many benefits to flying training beforehand; you'll often hear them talk of "untraining" bad habits picked up in such flying.

If you intend to make it a civilian career, pre or post university you may prefer to save money now to aid you when you enrol on one of the modern loan/bond flying training schemes such as OAA/OATS or CTC, where you'd do all the flying you needed to anyway.

[machineman9]

Hmm, I dont know. I would just like to get it done and sorted, but I could easily postpone it for a later date. At 16 I can apply for a gliding scholarship and at 17 a flying scholarship too... Might be worth a wait if those scholarships will earn me points with the rest of my flying.

Military flying is currently on the borderline- I would love to do it but there is a price to pay greater than the value of the lessons. I definately want a career in flying... that is a definate, but I dont know if I should go down the RAF route or the airliner/other civilian route.



edit: another good point to postpone is that I will really need a vehicle to get around as I will soon need to travel to college and back, or further. Postponing the flying until I have a means of getting there at my own accord would be a benefit.

Motorbike fun  8-)

[beaky]

My friend told me that once he was flying circuits and the door managed to open up, he had to lean a bit to close it again. I wouldnt have wanted to be in his position without a great deal of chute attached  ;D

But thanks for the link... I will remember it for if and when it is needed.


Now off to bed. Half past midnight and I am up at 7 for my radio course.

Thanks so far!

You'd be surprised.  A forward hinged door won't open very far in flight.  The air pressure is pretty strong.  Try doing it on the ground with just 20 or 30 kts of wind.  That is why aerobatic aircraft have a jettison handle for the door, which usually just pulls the hinge pins out and lets the door go.  

It's not that bad... I've stuck my leg out of a 172 in cruise and put my foot on the step on the main gear leg (with seatbelt on and someone else flying, of course)...no problem holding the door open, etc.

 The quick-release doors on the Aerobat are very handy, but unless we were tumbling or spinning, I'd get out of a fixed-door Cessna with no problem.  ;D