Long PPL Programs
Posted by marnithefabric@reddit | flying | View on Reddit | 9 comments
I was living in Florida for a very short time (family related). I was researching flight schools there & saw plenty of 1-2 month programs for under $10K for PPL. Now being back in North Jersey, I’m looking around here and I’m saying 6-8 months for $12-15K??? Is this just the inconvenience of being in a metro area? Kind of discourages me from starting my training.
NYPuppers@reddit
Go with the school that says 6-8 months because they are being honest.
1-2 months works if you can fly 5+ times a week and weather is great all the time and there are plenty of identical aircraft and your instructor has no other students and your DPE is both available and forgiving and you drop everything to study non stop. Only one of these things changes and you are looking at several more months.
Costs in the NY area are a bit more expensive because of a HCOL driving up the costs and the very busy airspace and airports leading to longer taxi, pattern, and transit times (at KFRG where i trained, there were rare days where my downwind legs were 10 miles, i had to wait 20 minutes to enter the delta, i had to wait 60 minutes for a takeoff, etc.). These extreme examples were the exception but you hopefully get the point... lines are just longer than in Gainesville. Northern Jersey is not as bad and GA is certainly easier the further away from the city you get.
ScJo@reddit
25k and 12 months not including the break I took. 6 months and 12k sounds about right if you stick to it and fly regularly. Try to have the financial ability to finish, as stopping part way through basically means training over again.
Jewishtrain105@reddit
Never trust the timelines given by these schools. Everyone’s training is different. If 6-8 months to get a ppl is discouraging then good luck.
WorkingOnPPL@reddit
OP if 6-8 months of training “discourages” you, it’s not a good sign.
MachineSpecialist764@reddit
If you can complete within 15k that’s good. Better to have at least 3 flights per week minus weather cancellation so you can finish it within 6-8months
ltcterry@reddit
What you are seeing at home is far more accurate and honest.
CorrectPhotograph488@reddit
10,000 is just not happening lol. 12-15k is still a really good deal.
Fit_Homework532@reddit
FWIW, those flight schools in Florida were likely lying. These days it's pretty hard to do it in under $12-15k. You gotta figure even at the very minimum 30 hours dual, 10 hours solo, that is $7500 right there with a cheap plane and cheap instructor. That doesn't include ground school, written, DPE fees, rental for the DPE, and the inevitable fact that no one gets it in 40 hours unless they are a savant or grew up flying with their parents.
rFlyingTower@reddit
This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:
I was living in Florida for a very short time (family related). I was researching flight schools there & saw plenty of 1-2 month programs for under $10K for PPL. Now being back in North Jersey, I’m looking around here and I’m saying 6-8 months for $12-15K??? Is this just the inconvenience of being in a metro area? Kind of discourages me from starting my training.
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