Is it only a good idea to get a pilots license if you have a lot of money?

Question

What i mean is, i know its expensive to go to school to earn your private pilots license. But after you get it, do you have to pay out of pocket for all the expenses to fly places? Like gas, renting the plane, having a place to land and keep your plane, not to mention flying back. Also, can people hire you to fly them places if they pay for everything and not pay you? Just have you fly for them, or pay for your lodging if they want you to fly them back?

Answer 1

To answer your general question, the honest answer is "yes".  If you have no intention or aspiration of eventially flying professionally, then, yes, you will have to pay out of pocket for all of the expenses, most of the time.  Flying is an excellent way to drain the bank account if you are just essentially doing it as a hobby.  Once you have a private pilot certificate, you still either have to pay rental fees or buy, operate, and maintain your own airplane (or a share of an airplane).  With fuel prices these days, it's not cheap.  Where I live you can rent a clunker M-series Cessna Skyhawk for about $130/hr wet.  Plus, you can also count on the fact that you will need periodic refresher training with an instructor, which is an additional cost.

To answer your other questions: as outlined by FAR 61.113(a) and 61.113(c), you may not carry passengers for compensation or hire, but you may carry passengers who can cover their share of rental/fuel expenses provided that you as the pilot in command pay no less than the pro rata share.  You may not carry passengers for additional compensation.  Anything else is a violation of these regulations, and people get caught more often than you would believe.  

"Sec. 61.113

Private pilot privileges and limitations: Pilot in command.

(a) Except as provided in paragraphs (b) through (g) of this section, no person who holds a private pilot certificate may act as pilot in command of an aircraft that is carrying passengers or property for compensation or hire; nor may that person, for compensation or hire, act as pilot in command of an aircraft.

(b) A private pilot may, for compensation or hire, act as pilot in command of an aircraft in connection with any business or employment if:

(1) The flight is only incidental to that business or employment; and

(2) The aircraft does not carry passengers or property for compensation or hire.

(c) A private pilot may not pay less than the pro rata share of the operating expenses of a flight with passengers, provided the expenses involve only fuel, oil, airport expenditures, or rental fees."

The FAA strictly enforces these regulations, and there are no loopholes that you can sneak through.  

Beyond that, it's more difficult than you would think to get passengers to even pay their share of expenses for a flight.  Heck, sometimes it's hard enough to give plane rides away.

Having said all of the above, I am not trying to discourage you from becoming a pilot in the slightest...it's one of the most rewarding things you can do in your lifetime.  I just want to make sure that you have an honest idea of what you are in for before you take the plunge.  If you are willing to accept that it will be a significant part of your financial life, then don't wait another day to start flying!

To put things in perspective, for my own personal flying time, I spend an average of about $8-9K per year on flying, and I fly 50-100 hours a year.  My flight time as a professional are thousands of hours more than that per year, however.

Answer 2

Flying costs plenty.  So pilots get other people to pay for their flying.

Answer 3

A lot of money is a relative term.  Flying is an expensive hobby, that's for sure.  Not all pilots are rich though.  Many of them just make flying a priority, so they exchange newer cars or bigger houses to support their flying hobby.  Most middle income people can find the money it takes to fly if they can justify it in their minds.  It just involves sacrifices in other areas of life.

Airplane ownership does involve both hourly variable costs and annual fixed costs.  You can get rid of the fixed costs by renting planes.  All of the expenses are rolled into the rental fee, so it's very predicable.  Another way of reducing fixed costs are to go into a partnership with another owner or two or more and splitting the costs.

To answer your other questions, in general, as soon as you say "hire", you are outside the limitations of a private pilot certificate.  As a private pilot, you are required to pay your "pro rata share" of the flight expenses in most cases.