Orienteer Posted October 23, 2014 Posted October 23, 2014 It's been over a year since my BFR and coincidentally my last flight. Finally get the chance to go out and commit some aviation this weekend with an instructor to warm the passenger seat. Getting pretty excited, it has made me really miss the community at my old flight school, and want to get involved in my local airfield more (Strathalbyn YSYN). No longer a C.U.B (now having a Wife, Baby and Mortgage), i'm finding flying to be a little cost prohibitive to fly on a regular basis. I've made a deal with my wife to give up the FUICs (ask a South Aussies) to fund a bit of flying more regularly ($4/day over two months = ~2hrs of flying!). I would love to know what others have done to make flying more cost effective. I certainly don't want to lose the skills i've learnt and don't want to stop learning. My retirement goal (by the age of 35.....) is still to build a nice little 2 seater, but reality says that is still a long way off. So what have others done to bring down the cost of flying to get up flying more regularly?
facthunter Posted October 23, 2014 Posted October 23, 2014 Your choice of aircraft will have the biggest bearing on cost and the usage you put it to. If you like cross country flying (usually in groups) you will spend more and need flexible work hours because if the weather is crook you stay put or risk dying if you make a habit of testing your luck. Sharing ownership with a COMPATIBLE group will cut fixed costs. Insurance annual inspection and hangar costs have to be considered as major fixed items. Set aside an amount for engine time per hour also. The aircraft will depreciate. You rarely make a profit. On the other side of the equation your aircraft money has to be paid from money left after all your normal living costs are paid. You might need a lifestyle change. Sell a big house for a small one in the country Stop smoking , pass your mistress onto your mate Marry a very wealthy lady and so on. Nev
rgmwa Posted October 23, 2014 Posted October 23, 2014 So what have others done to bring down the cost of flying to get up flying more regularly? Waited for the kids to move out. Took a while though. rgmwa 1
Downunder Posted October 23, 2014 Posted October 23, 2014 Put a notice up on the club board that you're willing to share costs with anyone willing to take you flying with them..... No guarantees but would be alot cheaper than hiring...... Amazing the number of people that just fly by themselves........ 2
nickduncs84 Posted October 23, 2014 Posted October 23, 2014 Hi Orienteer. What sort of skills do you have in the way of building a kit.. may have a proposal for you....
mnewbery Posted October 23, 2014 Posted October 23, 2014 http://generalaviationnews.com/2013/07/22/10-tips-for-frugal-pilots/ http://fixedwingbuddha.com/pilots-guide-to-flying-on-a-budget/ 1
Guest nunans Posted October 23, 2014 Posted October 23, 2014 I suppose the cheapest way would be to share some hire time with a friend ( you fly there, they fly home ) only half would go in your log book but you would be looking out the window for half as much per hour. Better still hitch a ride and get some stick time with someone who flys there own plane, I'm no where near you but I often go up on my own and would be happy to let a sensible licenced person fly my plane for half the fuel cost. Otherwise put the pennies away for an hour here or there through the year
Marty_d Posted October 23, 2014 Posted October 23, 2014 made a deal with my wife to give up the FUICs Didn't know that came with a monetary saving... 1
Orienteer Posted October 24, 2014 Author Posted October 24, 2014 Hi Orienteer. What sort of skills do you have in the way of building a kit.. may have a proposal for you.... Well I'm a land surveyor, so i'm great at measuring and being pedantic about the little things.... Have no experience with kit building, but pretty keen to learn/experience I'm listening.... PM me if you want. Great suggestions from most, i'll be having a chat with my instructor this weekend and see what people around Strathalbyn there are to talk to too. Didn't know that came with a monetary saving... Yeah, looking into that too....
Orienteer Posted October 24, 2014 Author Posted October 24, 2014 Goolwa isn't far from you is it? Nev Not really, about an extra 20min drive from home compared to Strath.
Bruce Tuncks Posted October 24, 2014 Posted October 24, 2014 Have a look at what is involved to become an instructor. At Gawler, we have often been short of instructors on account of not paying them . But if you enjoy helping people learn, you can have fun and lots of flying, most of it free. And... if you learn about maintenance and get to be a level 2 ( not an expensive thing to do) then you will be able to trade services for flying time. good luck, Bruce
rankamateur Posted October 24, 2014 Posted October 24, 2014 if you learn about maintenance and get to be a level 2 ( not an expensive thing to do) Can you put up any link that shows how to achieve this?
M61A1 Posted October 24, 2014 Posted October 24, 2014 Get yourself an inexpensive 95:10 with a trailer. Learn all you can about maintenance. That will involve hanging around and helping other maintainers. When your aircraft costs less than $10k and hangarage is no issue, suddenly flying becomes much cheaper. You may also find, as I did, there is a lot of fun to be had flying with others who have similar performing aircraft, flying places together in loose formation. 3
rankamateur Posted October 24, 2014 Posted October 24, 2014 flying places together in loose formation. Flying in company?
Guest nunans Posted October 24, 2014 Posted October 24, 2014 Man I could do with an fuic right now, and they're a lot cheaper than hookers :) Seriously though there have been some good suggestions above, instructing for free would be one way to get flying though the course isn't free and once your students could fly a bit you'd just be a passenger in the passenger seat not doin much flying. A cheap two stroke or vw powered might be an option but even then five or ten thousand for a plane buys you a lot of worry free plane hire...
Bruce Tuncks Posted October 24, 2014 Posted October 24, 2014 That's a really good question, about the pathway to become a level 2. The official answer would be to attend a course and then serve an apprenticeship by doing things under the supervision of a level 2 and then apply to the technical manager with the recommendation of the level 2 you have worked with. I would like the procedure to be set out much more clearly. And I would like existing qualifications, like science-based degrees, given due credit. What I'd really like is exams for theory and practical. regards, Bruce
Kununurra Posted October 24, 2014 Posted October 24, 2014 It seems some of the people on this forum know you very well and your flying experience or otherwise they would not be advising you to take up the option of becoming an instructor which in my opinion is a huge step and one that should only be undertaken by someone with a lot of experience as that is what you would be aiming to do pass on your flight experience to students. I think that to get what we want in life we have to put in the hard yards so as harsh as it may seem if it really is your dream it may be time to get a second job to fund your passion. Good luck following your dream 1 1
poteroo Posted October 26, 2014 Posted October 26, 2014 Man I could do with an fuic right now, and they're a lot cheaper than hookers :)Seriously though there have been some good suggestions above, instructing for free would be one way to get flying though the course isn't free and once your students could fly a bit you'd just be a passenger in the passenger seat not doin much flying. A cheap two stroke or vw powered might be an option but even then five or ten thousand for a plane buys you a lot of worry free plane hire... The truth about instructing is that you don't really get much 'hands on' time yourself. You only demo a manoeuvre once, maybe twice - after that, you have to coach your student thru it until they become proficient. I'd guess that the instructor might really 'fly' for 10% of the time logged - if that. You'll never become an airshow pilot while flying all your hours instructing. As well as this lack of handling time - you will spend 2 hrs on the ground with briefings, debriefings, aircraft preparation, hangar cleaning etc - for every flying hour. It is never going to blow your logbook like ag work or long haul airlines. I'd recommend against approaching instructing if 'free hours' is all you have in mind. Contrary to the popular expectation that instructors always have their skills - it's very common for instructors to lose their 'touch' and 'feel' for the aircraft. This happens with newly minted instructors, or low hours instructors who don't fly very often. And, if your demonstration of a manoeuvre is sloppy - it's not a good look in your students eyes! If you own an aircraft and can bear a bit of extra cost - you need to get some solo handling practice yourself. If you instruct in GA, then it's often possible you do charter and aerial work flying which certainly keeps your hands on time rolling. I personally maintain my handling time by flying quite a few hours of formation in the RV, and I also spend 'company' funds on about 2 hrs per month low level handling in the trainer. So, why bother instructing? Well, it's more to do with a desire to teach. One-on-one instruction, ( in any skill ), can be very rewarding. Flying is exceptionally so. happy days, 1 1
bexrbetter Posted October 26, 2014 Posted October 26, 2014 Man I could do with an fuic right now, and they're a lot cheaper than hookers :) You obviously don't live where I do ...
M61A1 Posted October 26, 2014 Posted October 26, 2014 Man I could do with an fuic right now, and they're a lot cheaper than hookers :)Seriously though there have been some good suggestions above, instructing for free would be one way to get flying though the course isn't free and once your students could fly a bit you'd just be a passenger in the passenger seat not doin much flying. A cheap two stroke or vw powered might be an option but even then five or ten thousand for a plane buys you a lot of worry free plane hire... I only just put a bit of thought into those numbers about hire......how do the sums stack up when I've flown around 130 hrs for the year, with no hangarage, maintainer or hire fees, just fuel and parts?
spacesailor Posted October 27, 2014 Posted October 27, 2014 About 1.5 years for a half VW powered aircraft, but the fuel cost + insuance would be much lower. spacesailor
Cosmick Posted October 27, 2014 Posted October 27, 2014 You obviously don't live where I do ... So your saying its not the same as the 'Big Mac' principle in Economics.
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