What would be the best way to get my pilot's license? Should I try to find an individual instructor or school?

Question

I started 15 years ago to get my pilot's license and gave up right before I was to solo. Now I've finally decided to "take the jump". Would it be cheaper to find an instructor w/ a plane than to apply to a school? I guess a better question is "if you knew what you knew today and had to do it all over again, how would you go about to get your pilot's license?" I do have a full time career as a mechanic so I won't be able to devote 150% of my time to it plus I have a family (that's laughing at me for even the thought of me finishing my dream) that takes up some of my time too. I just hope someone who can see it the way I do could give me some good advice in trying to achieve my goal. Plus, I guess it would be foolish just to get a vfr rated license and not an ifr right? I hope that's still the terminology, I picked up a few airplane magazines and I see different language than I did a few years ago. Anyone who wouldn't mind me emailing them about flying, please drop me an email

Answer 1

Probably the most inexpensive way to get your certificate is to try calling around to some local airports and see if there are any flying clubs. That is almost always the least expensive method. Most clubs generally have at least one instructor and if not not they certainly could recommend one. Here at our local airport that is definitely the case. I am mentoring a student pilot right now and we sat down and figured out that joining the club saved him about 20% over a conventional school.

If you like, please feel free to email me about flying. I can bore just about anyone to death talking about flying...

Answer 2

If price is your main concern, call around, ask around, shop around and find a local FBO with a good training program. Personally I'd stay away from the slick ones where all the instructors where white shirts and shiny black shoes. Somebody has to pay for those and it shouldn't be you.

If you want to get it done in a fixed period of time, there are places you can go for a couple weeks and get a license. I don't know any well enough to recommend them, but you can find them in the flying magazines. It will cost more, but you'll walk out of there with your license.

Don't worry about the IFR rating unless you plan to own your own airplane and fly fairly regularly on IFR flight plans. Otherwise you'll just let your IFR currency expire and then it will be too much trouble to get it back and you'll never use it. Focus on getting the private pilot ticket first.

Don't worry about the naysayers. My 69-year-old dad got his pilot's license last November. Anybody can do it.

Answer 3

This is really an "it depends" - if you can control your training, and are willing to put in the hours in a short time, then an individual instructor from a club, with plane would be best - especially if you join the club, meet the people, there would be additional help.

if you want the instructor to "have a plan" then a school is the way to go.  I used an FBO that graduated its instructors to airlines, and went through 3 over the 14 months it took to get the license - i thought they "had a plan" but really didn't.  A retired airline captain came in and finished up my training in less than a month, he let me know what was needed, and we did it.   A year later i was back getting my instrument ticket, and then had a kid, took a year off of training (but kept flying), then used 'american flyers' to finish up in 4 lessons and my check ride.

Don't go right for the Instr rating - you need PIC cross country time anyway -  and it may take awhile to accumulate it.  you also get much better at flying the more you do it - not to mention listening to the radio, and picking up the lingo (i listen to EWR arrivals at work to get accustom to the speed of interaction)

if you just want to be able to fly around yourself and perhaps a passenger from time-to-time, there is a new class of license available - i haven't checked into it, but it may be the right solution..