Saturday, April 15, 2017

I just bought the entire light sport pilot course for under $9

which is a pretty damned good deal. Used books are generally cheap.

I also bought and Old School NOS flight computer for $10 shipped which is also a damned good deal. I'm sticking my toe into getting a light sport pilot license as I have shelved the motorcycle idea.

I do figure that I'll try and at least pass the written as an academic exercise. However, I am going to take a somewhat different tack on this. I intend to learn the materiel and not cheap out with one of those cheater study guides. Flying is serious business and I really ought to learn the materiel.

I do not know how far I really want to take this one. I do know that purchasing a sport plane is about as expensive as a motorcycle but is pretty hard to store. I could have simply kept a bike in the garage behind the Mazda.

There are also a lot more hidden expenses and I figure I ought to be pretty wary as I am getting close to retirement and should be a little more financially conservative. Flying can get awfully expensive awfully fast.

I am going to come up with a plan of sorts and set a goal.

It is going to take very careful research before I decide which way I want to go.

Back in the day a used small plane was actually affordable to the working stiff but Dr. Bob and Lawyer John got into it and pretty much ruined it for the working stiff.

Enter the ultralight which begat the light sport plane.

The light sport plane is little more than an oversized ultralight in many cases and is affordable. 

We'll see how this plan goes. 



To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY

1 comment:

  1. Quick comments:

    Why did the M/C thing get canned?

    Ground School is a lot more fun with a group - anything doing around you? I liked doing the intensive weekend ones at American Flyers, but then I am just competitive that way.

    Flying, even Light-Sport, is a LOT more expensive than Motorcycling.

    Here are some rough costs - direct per hour depending the LS Plane you pick will be in the $20-35 hour range, plus your annualized costs (hangar, insurance, inspections) - a lot of folk report the $50-75/hour range all told, some more.

    I wouldn't buy a LS with the high possibilities of a Class-III Medical become a mainly self-certified system. Thinking that the resale values of LS Planes could take a serious hit.

    Also the Regular Private Pilot lifts enough restrictions that it may be work the effort for what ends up around the same cost per hour.

    Unless you do something engaging, like aerobatics, aerial photography, or endless Young Eagle rides, there is only so much you can do without doing cross country flying. LS is pretty dang limited, and most pilots who don't have a passionate reason to fly end up dropping out or taking long hiatuses.

    If you need to count the dollars closely, consider flying with a club or just renting. These can seem more expensive until as a single owner you get your first big service bill.

    Most folk are not ready for the sticker shock of feeding a plane unless they have been around aviation for a while.

    Good luck!

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