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There are many valid reasons to obtain a Private Pilot certificate.  While the training represents an investment, the maintenance of your skills after obtaining your rating is far less costly.  A weekly one hour flight in a basic four seat airplane, split between two pilots is the same price for each as a dinner for two at a neighborhood restaurant.

Your certificate will be yours forever, once you become a rated pilot.  There is no date of expiration.  While you should certainly fly more than the minimum, and you must commit to staying proficient, the only recurring requirement is that you perform three takeoffs and landings every 90 days in order to take a passenger.  Similarly, every two years you must schedule a refresher training session, or Biennual Flight Review.  The BFR is scheduled with any flight instructor, and is in most cases completed within an afternoon. Should you stop flying, for any reason for an extended period of time, you can still return to flying with some recurrent training.

So what are these many and varied motivations to begin training?

When the weekend, holiday, or vacation comes around, or unplanned travel needs arise, a standard four seat airplane can provide great flexibility, and opportunities.  A Private Pilot can take friends and family on daytrips to the beach, to the mountains, to another city, or where ever else they want to go.  Pilots can turn the seven hour road trip to visit family into a two and a half hour flight. Avoid long lines at large crowded airports for security check and baggage recovery.  Do away with long waits for connecting flights at out of the way hub and spoke airports.  There are a lot more airports without scheduled airline service that suddenly become accessible when you can pilot a plane yourself!

It is perfectly common to be able to rent an $80.00 per hour flight club airplane that flies at 130 mph and fly round trip to Ocean City or Atlantic City and back in two hours…or one can take two friends or family members and some light bags, and fly to New York City for the weekend.  This four hour round trip to New York comes out to $120.00 per person when the cost is divided among all three.  Unlike airline fares, these numbers don’t fluctuate dramatically. Unlike the airlines you won’t have to deal with the hassle of travel through busy airports.

With plenty of flexibility, such as when you are on vacation, a simple four seat airplane can provide amazing travel opportunity.  If you have any doubts check out www.pilotpub.com or www.westernuspilotsguide.com and get these books:

Join a flight club after obtaining your instrument ticket.  A club gathers an average of 15 owners per plane to share the cost of maintenance, insurance and ownership. Clubs often have three or four aircraft and generally have more than one model.  Club members place a bond that, depending on the club, may vary from a couple hundred dollars to just under a thousand.  This bond makes the pilot an equal owner and partner of the club’s fleet.  Clubs also collect monthly dues which vary in price.  A typical club will charge $50 to $100 dollars a month. Flight club airplanes are cheaper than flight school planes and are meant to be taken on daytrips and week-long voyages.  This gets expensive at a flight school, which generally has far higher minimum flight use requirements per day than a club.

The great thing about clubs, however, is that once you have your ratings, you can get to know other pilots like yourself, with whom you can practice instrument skills, or with whom you can split the cost of a trip.  Clubs often organize events such as plane washes, fly outs, seminars, and monthly meetings to keep the organization functioning smoothly.  Clubs are also a great way to learn about airplane ownership, and to begin to learn about aircraft maintenance issues.

"Time is money, and it’s not tax deductible." Small business people can visit clients by flying in a straight line at easily over 120 mph true airspeed over highway traffic jams and winding back roads to any one of numerous municipal airports. You don’t have to own the plane.  You can either rent through a flight school or flight club. You can have the client meet you, you can take a taxi, or you can have a rental car waiting for you. Flying out to meet a client is certainly a sure way to impress without sitting in traffic or waiting for a connecting flight.

Note:  Practical destinations will likely be in a 50 to 300 NM radius. An instrument rating, thunderstorm detection/diversion equipment, and a basic autopilot will become invaluable to the frequent flier.  Icy clouds will prevent flights during some winter days.

Volunteer with an aviation service provider!  This kind of activity often brings purpose to a pilot's flying and helps to keep a pilot motivated to stay proficient.  Here are some examples:

1) Compassion Flights for Non Emergency Medical Transport.

* Angel Flight www.angelflightamerica.org

Volunteers rent or own planes to move hospital outpatients to treatment in other cities.  The patient can not otherwise afford the cost of travel to the treatment location, and is in many cases extremely grateful.  The clients, who are of all ages and backgrounds, become new friends.

* Flying Doctors www.flyingdocs.org

You don’t have to be a doctor to rent or own the plane used to deliver doctors and medicines in rural areas of Mexico.  This is a guaranteed way to fill up your scrap book and photo album, experience something new, and make a personal contribution.

2) Civil Air Patrol www.cap.gov

The Civil Air Patrol is best known for providing airborne search and rescue as well as assistance in counter drug surveillance.  The pilots are volunteers, however, these well equipped planes belong to the U.S. government.  This is a great opportunity for anyone who ever wanted to wear a flight suit while flying the flag for an official purpose.

3) Mentor a student pilot www.aopaflighttraining.org/project_pilot

Become a mentor for someone who wants to learn to fly but who may just not yet be ready to begin. This may be someone who is still in high school for example.  Mentors may take their new friends up on flights to give them a better orientation to the flight process.  This orientation will certainly help the new student progress faster as they begin lessons.  The mentor will guide their trustee along the way as training begins, either by helping to select a good instructor, or by making themselves available to help with ground self study.

Many learn to fly because they have always wanted to become professionals, and getting a commercial ticket, means finally being able to fly for free, live a dream, and make a little money too!  Here are a variety of short potential job descriptions that are attainable with the commercial license.

1) Traffic Pilot -

Patrol the highways and take traffic reporters to back ups, so that motorists can be forewarned of alternate routes, get home or get to work, and lead more productive lives.  Traffic pilots generally fly four seat, single engine, high wing aircraft like the Cessna Skyhawk and almost always get to see the sun set or sun rise.

2) Aerial Photography Pilot –

From scenery shots to department of transportation surveys, to sporting events, to air to air formation shots.  From a Nikon to a TV Camera.  Unscrew the window latch or remove the door, and let the wind blow through the cabin.  Such jobs are often found with companies that provide traffic watch services or flight instruction.

3) Glider Tow Pilot & Jump Plane Pilot –

Weekend pilots will get to know their fellow enthusiasts and be part of close knit groups. You’ll probably get good soft field operations skills and you’ll fly planes with more horsepower such as the 6 seat, 300hp Cessna Stationair, or the Piper Pawnee taildragger.  In some cases you can even step up to a turboprop jump plane like the Cessna Caravan or DeHaviland Twin Otter.

4) Banner Tow Pilot –

Up and down the beach with the best view, during the best weather. You’ll invariably fly a taildragger such as an Aviat Husky or Piper Supercub.  Some people just love flying slow with the wind rushing all around.

5) Pipeline Patrol Pilot -

Vital low level surveillance of pipelines and powerlines is usually performed in a Cessna Skyhawk or Skylane, flying relatively long distances over often remote areas, such as mountain valleys and forests.

6) Sea Plane Pilot –

The light plane is often used by fishing companies to help determine where to send trawlers. The sea plane is probably best associated with flying in Alaska, where the light plane is an invaluable source of transportation.

7) Agricultural Pilot –

Sprayer/seeding aircraft play an increasingly important role in the mechanization of agriculture. This is great job for the more independent personality, and these small planes are often turboprops burning Jet A!

8) Fire Patrol Pilot –

Light planes are extremely useful during fire season  in alerting airborne water bombers to the first sign of smoke.

Whether as a part time instructor in a flight club, or as a full time instructor in a flight school, there are plenty of different opportunities and types of instructors.  Some instructors with other "day jobs" want to fly for free and make a little money at it too.  Others seek to build hours to move on to airline or corporate jobs. Some love to teach and make it their profession.  The subject matter one can teach is just as varied, and ranges from the private pilot and instrument ratings, to tail wheel, sea plane, aerobatic, and instructor training!

Senior flight instructors may eventually qualify to become Designated Examiners.  A "DE" may provide the final interview and flight exam to anyone who has completed the training requirements and seeking  a  new certificate.  A DE may provide two exams in a day and often charges $200 to $250 per exam.

Note: Also go to www.nafinet.org (National Association of Flight Instructors)

The ultimate goal for many new pilots is to one day wear a starched uniform and fly a sleek, massive airliner, cargo plane, or business jet.  To many, turbine aviation represents a successful career life which provides adventure, purpose, and reward.  Those huge turboprops and jet planes are a continual source of amazement and attraction for most pilots.  Obtaining the private pilot certificate is the first step towards attaining this goal.

Note: For more information on airline pilot careers go to www.raa.org (Regional Airlines Association)

Whether you are looking for a chance to get away from it all, whether you want to make a personal contribution through a charitable organization, whether you want to visit clients to more efficiently better your small business, or whether you’ve always wanted to become a professional pilot, obtaining a Private Pilot license, is an exciting step in the fulfillment of one’s dreams. The attainment of the certificate is in many ways a life changing event leading the way to numerous possibilities and an endless supply of life long memories.

For more information on light aviation visit: www.gaservingamerica.org/index.htm

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