Is it irresponsible to pursue a PPL if I can only fly once per week?

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Stunna2018@reddit

During training: I guess once per week is plausible but it would take a really long time. I did twice per week and it took me quite a few months. Almost a year if I recall correctly.

After training: just because you’re done training doesn’t mean you can’t book a flight with an instructor if you need to improve your proficiency. That’s actually the safe thing to do.

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I dont think its irresponsible but you should expect it to take longer. It will be less efficient, if you will. The first part of each lesson will be getting reacquainted with the plane so youll end up accomplishing less in each lesson. This will reduce as you build experience.

BTW, I am in the Air Force and unfortunately I believe its unlikely you will find an Aero club at a base near you these days

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Minimum-King9399@reddit (OP)

That makes sense thank you! I actually found one near me that is $55/hr instructor fee and $175/hr wet rental for a Piper Warrior. I believe this is pretty good in terms of rates. Outside Boston.

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No-Medium-5279@reddit

Curious what flight school or club? I’m also outside boston and pay $85/hr instructor at and $175 dry

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CluelessPilot1971@reddit

I believe the club in question is not open to the general public.

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gromm93@reddit

I get the desire to save money and all, but personally I think I would be getting my money's worth by paying the instructor an extra $30/hr.

Usually the reason for such a discrepancy is lack of experience. I'm ready to be proven wrong.

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CluelessPilot1971@reddit

Are you eligible for membership?

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haveanairforceday@reddit

Yeah that seems like a pretty fair price to me

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VanDenBroeck@reddit

Irresponsible, how?

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vtjohnhurt@reddit

It's inefficient for training, but many people fly even less often. Once you have 300+ hours, it is easier to fly infrequently and maintain proficiency.

A strategy that has worked for me for 16 years is to only fly 4-6 months of the year, then I can fly twice as often for the same money, and the weather is better. My proficiency increases every year. There are a lot of metrics in glider flying that objectively measure proficiency, for example, average cruise speed over the length of the flight. This measure both how efficiently you climb, and also how fast you cruise (faster is better for racing and XC distance).

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Greenie302DS@reddit

I’m a physician. I know two physicians who died in GA and another who has crashed (twice). The biggest issue I have seen is poor ADM, we are used to doing procedures while awake for 36 hours, you can’t bring that into aviation (see the hazardous attitudes and surgeons have many of them).

I would say, scratch that itch while you can but don’t treat aviation like you treat medicine. You may have a gap in flying during residency and need to go up with a CFI again when rusty, but that’s fine. I went 8 years without flying and then got a plane 6 months ago and still love it.

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theconsciousamoeba@reddit

I’m a medical student in Philly and got my PPL in high school in Florida. I’m spending this summer retraining with a CFI because I lapsed too much time between logging hours while in college and masters years. I expect this will happen again in residency. Not ashamed at all to retrain. Absolutely agree with Greenie. I’ve seen several non-medicine GA aviators die from similar ego and lapses in time/experience as well.

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Minimum-King9399@reddit (OP)

Thank you so much! That makes sense.

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DBond2062@reddit

The only thing I would add is that having one day available per week is not the same as flying one day a week. Between weather, maintenance, and CFI schedules, I average only actually flying about half the days I schedule.

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Affectionate-Let-979@reddit

I started in March and I flew 2 hours in March, 3 hours in April, and so far 1 hour in May. I’m still booking 3 flights per week though. It’s taking a long time! And after 6 hours I still feel very, very much like a beginner... but with motivation and money, why not.

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Minimum-King9399@reddit (OP)

That makes sense thank you!

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Creative-Grocery2581@reddit

You absolutely can obtain a PPL. It will just take longer. I know folks who were successful

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Flat_Ad3079@reddit

In my opinion it’s fine as long as you practice at home too through chairflying and revisions.

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unisonic2025@reddit

Airline pilot / CFI / currently flying GA again (Cessna’s). I can say it may take longer than the average since you have a lot going on but it all depends on how much you retain after each lesson. I would agree it would be better to do min 2-3 times week but that isn’t already practical. Don’t be disappointed if there are repeat lessons or you’re not getting something correct right away. Once you get your private definitely maintain PROFICIENCY. So many GA accidents are caused by pilots making poor decisions and taken unnecessary risks. I would highly recommend going on and getting an instrument rating as well. Behind that if you’re just planning on flying for FUN anymore ratings would not be worthwhile.

Anyways began the journey and see how you like it. Flying especially flying by yourself and being able to take friends and family flying if an experience like no other. Good luck.

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Awkward-Bet-8053@reddit

Currently doing my PPL through and aero club and I love it, everything is pretty relaxed and the instructors are actually there because they want to be. Not saying flight schools are bad but you’re going to have a more enjoyable CFI if they are there for the love of it and not just seeing it as a stepping stone. Yes it takes longer but at least I can work through the week and save money for when CPL comes around.

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TobyADev@reddit

I did it once a week. Worked for me. Granted, it took 2.5 years (with some big gaps in the middle), but it worked

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Icy_Huckleberry_8049@reddit

if you only fly once per week, it will take you longer to get your license which will cost you more money.

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eugeneoshepkov@reddit

I just started my PPL with this schedule, don't see a big issue here. But I have full-time job and almost 40 yo, doing flying as a hobby

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lnxguy@reddit

Once per week is a good pace for someone who is a full time student or works full time. No biggie.

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DatabaseGangsta@reddit

I have a high school PPL student who flies 1-2x a month MAX. He can’t seem to make any progress on radios or landings, but keeps asking when he can solo. After several months of this, I told him maybe he would benefit from flying with another CFI. I don’t know how to help someone who doesn’t practice enough to improve

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diqface@reddit

Lol, I'm close to soloing but not quite there. Instructor got in the plane with a handheld radio last time. I bounced a landing and went around. She said "today is not the day" lmao. I said "my self worth is not tied to how fast I solo" haha. I'm at 20 hours. I hear about students pressuring their instructors to solo. Makes no sense. I'd fly with my instructor forever if it didn't cost so much. She's a pleasure to fly with and learn from. I'm only going to go as far as an instrument rating and some endorsements. My main concern is passing my checkride the first time to give her progress toward her gold seal

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Minimum-King9399@reddit (OP)

Thank you for sharing!

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DatabaseGangsta@reddit

Honestly I think to make good progress 1-2x a week is the minimum

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PilotToolBag@reddit

I trained once a week or less often and soloed at 55~ hours.

I’ve seen different stats on safety:

Flying with a CFI =‘s 3x more dangerous than driving a car. Some stats say it’s safer than driving a car!

Flying alone =‘s 13 times more dangerous than driving a car.

Motorcycle is like 9x more dangerous than a car.

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Full_Wind_1966@reddit

Well training once a week is tough. Once you have your licence, once a week is more than enough to stay sharp. Once a month is probably where I would draw rhe line for that.

Can you squeeze in an extra flight per week for the few months you are training?

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RecheckFeePlease@reddit

That’s what I did. Checkride at 55 hours

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blindpylote@reddit

My students who fly once a week get it done in 8-12 months depending on how capable they are and whether they do the reading and chair fly. Show up for every lesson prepared and in a mental and physical state that is optimal for learning and it’s doable for sure.

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abravenoob@reddit

I’m in the field and would caution you against pursuing it during a surgical residency. You are going to be working 80-100 hours every week doing work that is physically, emotionally, and mentally taxing.

You will get an average of one 24 hour period off of work every week and this will generally be your only flight window. Some of those days the weather will be bad and you can’t fly. Some of those days your SO who you are never around for will want to do something that prevents you from flying. Some of those days you will be too drained to safely fly and will have to recognize this and resist the urge to push it to get the hours. Some of those days you’ll just want to do something else. Some of those days you’ll just have to do something else, like study for your exams and Boards.

Regular weekly flying is not realistic. Sometimes you might have a few weeks of flying one day each week, but I would expect the average to be once every 2-4 weeks, especially since you are in New England rather than somewhere like AZ or SoCal. Potential gaps between flights could be 4-8 weeks on occasion.

I’d recommend finding a 4 week period when you can focus on the PPL and do that full time in an accelerated manner. There’s an ortho who did it in around 26 days and 56 flight hours while in school prior to residency. This way, you can build the base of knowledge and get the license so all you have to do in residency is meet the minimums to stay current.

I would worry about an infrequent flyer resident flying solo cross country in a 50 year old PA-28 while balancing all of this. I wouldn’t say don’t fly, but I’d suggest you just fly dual instruction and just do it for fun, not worrying about the hours or PPL until you have more time to focus on it.

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CaptMcMooney@reddit

not at all, once a week can work. On average i probably did once or twice a week, there were periods i'd go a few weeks between flights. signed off for checkride at 41 hours

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theshawnch@reddit

I flew mostly once a week and did it in 2.5 months. It can absolutely be done, you will need to put more time in at home studying, chair flying, etc.

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DDX1837@reddit

It's not irresponsible. But it will take longer than if you flew 2, 3 or 4 times per week.

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wasnizam@reddit

Once a week is genuinely workable, especially during training — it's not ideal but it's not irresponsible either, the key is how intentionally you use those sessions. A lot of people train on similar schedules and come out as solid, careful pilots.

The 'doctors crashing planes' thing is mostly a proficiency and overconfidence issue more than a frequency one. The risk isn't getting the license, it's what happens when life gets busy post-training and currency starts to slip while self-assessment doesn't keep pace. You already seem to be thinking about this clearly, which puts you ahead of most.

What tends to work well for people in demanding careers: staying current rather than just legal, being really honest with yourself before every flight about whether conditions are appropriate for your actual skill level that day, and building relationships with a CFI you trust enough to do recurrent training with. Having a go-to instructor you can call for a refresher flight when life has been busy is worth more than any particular training schedule.

The aero club route through your dad sounds genuinely smart — the lower cost means you can fly more often without financial pressure driving decisions. Financial pressure and 'I already paid for this day, conditions are marginal but let's go' thinking is more dangerous than flying once a week.

Neurosurgery residency will be tough on everything. But if you know that going in and plan around it — keeping current, staying humble about the days you haven't flown in a while — there's no reason this can't be a great long-term hobby. Good luck with the medical process.

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ScrivyHitSomeRibbies@reddit

I got it flying once a month lol

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chupchupandaway@reddit

Go for it! That’s what I’ve been doing. Sometimes twice a week, sometimes once every two weeks. There were times where I had to relearn or get comfortable again, but as you get further along it’s less of that. It does take longer but I kind of prefer taking my time on it because I feel like I’ll end up safer and more comfortable than if I got it done in a few months.

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Mydogsblackasshole@reddit

Took me about 13.5 months and 55 hours to get to my checkride so definitely doable

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mirassou3416@reddit

It isn’t irresponsible at all to chase what you want to do. I did it myself but while I was working long hours as a software engineer, just not near the workload that you have. Just go do it. I like the comments of others regards adapting a different attitude toward flying vs medicine but just go do it. You’ll know pretty quickly if it’s more than you can handle it right now and can always postpone at some point and come back to it.

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mambosan@reddit

Also keep in mind that once a week is going to actually be less than that due to maintenance issues, weather, etc.

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BazingaBeeKay@reddit

I’m flying once a week sometimes less getting my PPL right now. It’s pretty tough to maintain being proficient, but I try to chair fly as much as possible so that I can keep that proficiency. It helps a ton.

I am working two jobs 60 hours a week and my flight lesson once a week, whilst studying and it’s tough, but I refuse to take on debt whilst I do it.

I generally know it’s going to take me longer to pursue my dreams but I’m perfectly ok with that.

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Minimum-King9399@reddit (OP)

Sounds like a grind! I respect it. Thank you for sharing.

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happytoreadreddit@reddit

Training once a week will take forever. But once you get your PPL, flying once a week is not unsafe at all. I wish I could fly every week.

If I go more than 30 days, I get a CFI. That’s my personal rule. But once a week is fine.

My advice is make a plan and knock it out.

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Minimum-King9399@reddit (OP)

Thank you!

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GoobScoob@reddit

I’m going to be brutally honest here. Your situation sounds exactly like the type that’ll end up becoming a statistic, or a significant waste of time and money. Flying is only one small portion of the time commitment required to become a pilot. The general rule of thumb during training is for every hour you fly you’re doing 2-3 hours of study and/or ground training.

Best case scenario you somehow do have the bandwidth to do residency and flight training simultaneously it’s still going to take you significantly longer and cost more than most applicants because of the atrophy that happens when you can’t fly frequently. Also consider weather. If you only have enough free time to fly once a week and your one day gets cancelled that’ll detract. Schedule flexibility plays a huge role in how efficient flight training can be as well.

Let’s say you succeed- you’re a private pilot certificated to fly single engine aircraft in clear skies only until you get additional ratings. If that’s your only goal then congrats. You can now go out and get your $300 hamburgers! If not, the inefficient cycle continues.

My suggestion would be to put your nose to the grindstone and focus for now on your med school for now. If/when you are settled in residency and you feel like it’s routine and you’ve got the additional free time/money to take on flight training properly then re-evaluate.

I’m not saying don’t do it, but understand that what you’re signing up for is not a small undertaking- and it doesn’t end once you get your certificate. You still have to fly regularly to stay safe and current. Once a week is plenty to stay current once you’ve got a couple hundred hours under your belt, but in the beginning you need a bit more immersion.

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Minimum-King9399@reddit (OP)

Thank you for sharing!

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xyberslut@reddit

Don’t think “whether”. Think “how”. Invest in a decent flight simulator setup at home. Preferably with rudder pedals and a throttle quadrant. Watch some YouTube videos of flight lessons and mimic what you can. Then get to studying. Most student pilots are way behind on their study. You can be way ahead. Go through an online ground school course, read the books and watch some more YouTube. This is all to say that if all you do is get in an aircraft once a week it will indeed take you a long time to get your certificate. But if you use the resources out there you’ll be surprised at how much you’ll be able to get out of that one flight per week. Side note: be picky about getting a CFI who will be as invested in your progress as you are.

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Minimum-King9399@reddit (OP)

I like you. Great tips thank you!!!

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mduell@reddit

Once a week, especially minus weather scrubs, isn’t going to be effective or efficient, too much regression between lessons. But you should get there eventually.

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VolubleWanderer@reddit

Had a student do the once a week route. It was painfully slow progress. His private took about 2.5 years. He did it though and is very happily still flying once a week at the FBO

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Fly3rBoi@reddit

Can be done, add 60-70% to your cost and time, if those don’t matter, absolutely go for it!

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Mundane-Reality-7770@reddit

I had multiple gaps of 2-4 months and one break of a 18 months after 10 hours and at most only flew twice a week a couple times. Checkride at 65 hours despite that.

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Minimum-King9399@reddit (OP)

Thank you for sharing!

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Mundane-Reality-7770@reddit

Full disclosure, I owned my own plane. And my dad owned his own plane for 25 years. So probably not the average student. Never really did takeoffs, landings, or manauevers from the right seat and prior to solo dad wasn't comfortable sitting right seat so it's not like I had hours flying with him that were unloggable. But still it couldn't have hurt.

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LaloMcNombres@reddit

Totally realistic - but like others said be prepared for it to take more hours. I knew a Dr. when i was starting to fly- great guy and he always flew with a CFI to avoid becoming a statistic. Maybe a bit overly cautious, but if you have the extra seat available and the money is not a concern, then why not?

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Minimum-King9399@reddit (OP)

Oh interesting! People keep bringing up the “Doctor Killer” Bonanza so that’s why I’m harping on the busy career and trying to also fly sometimes … this sounds like a smart approach. Even if it is just for a bit when there are gaps.

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LaloMcNombres@reddit

There is definite truth to that. You will learn about “hazardous attitudes” we pilots have, and add a Doctor’s type A personality to that and well, it can be a bad recipe. Just set personal minimums for yourself and don’t push things. No launching as a non-instrument rated pilot into marginal VFR for instance.

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Mispelled-This@reddit

The longer you go between flights, the more rust accumulates and the more time you will waste knocking it off and relearning what you did in the last lesson.

It isn’t as bad after you get your license, but a demanding job plus weather can easily mean going a month (or more) between flights, which is probably the bare minimum for maintaining proficiency until you have a *lot* more experience to fall back on.

The thing about doctors is thinking an MD (and/or piles of money) makes you exempt from the laws of physics. It does not, and a lot of doctors have learned that lesson the very hard way.

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ParagPa@reddit

I did it in college, when I could only afford to fly every 1-2 weeks. Took a while, but got it done

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shanihb@reddit

I got my ppl almost entirely once a week, I would take 2 hours with one to rest in between

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Minimum-King9399@reddit (OP)

Thank you for sharing!

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Inside-Leadership-48@reddit

My CFI told me twice a week minimum. But since then she’s only been able to get us flying once every other week 😅

You’ll be fine.

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Minimum-King9399@reddit (OP)

Thank you!

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rFlyingTower@reddit

This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:

Hi everyone,

I’ve wanted to get my PPL since I was a little kid. I actually wanted to be a pilot until high school, but I ended up going the premed route and am now 22 and in medical school.

I almost started flight training in college, but my parents were against it because of safety concerns and the time commitment. Recently, they’ve become more open to the idea. My dad is an Air Force veteran and is 100% disabled, so I have base access through him and may be able to train at an AFB aero club for a much lower cost than a typical flight school.

My concern is the time commitment and long-term safety. I’m hoping to go into neurosurgery after medical school, which means a very demanding 7-year residency, and I know life probably won’t get much easier after that. Is it irresponsible to learn to fly if I can realistically only fly about once per week?

I don’t want to become a statistic because I failed to keep my skills sharp. I’ve also heard that “doctors crashing planes” is almost a cliché, which makes me think carefully about whether this is a hobby I can pursue responsibly.

I’d really appreciate thoughts from pilots with demanding careers, especially physicians or people who trained while in school/residency. How often do you need to fly to stay safe and proficient? Is once a week enough during training and afterward?

Thanks in advance!

p.s. money is not a major concern for the amount we are talking as I have generous scholarships it is more about time/durable skills.

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