Flying and landing planes, and even helicopters is actually really easy. Turning them on is the complicated part. Every craft has a different startup sequence that’s like 50 steps and you’ll break something if you don’t do every step in the correct order.
Flight instructor here. It usually takes 5 or 6 flights for students to become comfortable working the startup and shutdown procedures. By the tenth time they climb in the plane I can normally say “okay start up and let’s taxi out” and that’s detailed enough instruction for them.
It takes about 6 to 8 hours of practice flying the plane, from straight and level flight, turns, climbs, descents, slow flight, stalls etc. before I even try letting them land, and then usually another 6 to 8 hours of practice before they can put the airplane down gently more often than not.
Is it worth it getting a pilots license? Would it be better to just fly commercial rather than a dinky Cessna or something? I wonder if it’s a good financial decision.
Becoming a private pilot is a stunningly terrible financial decision.
That “dinky Cessna?” I want you to imagine an 80’s Honda Accord that costs as much as a Lamborghini to buy and maintain, and that’s on top of the $8,000 or so you’ll put into training.
A better financial decision would be to buy a brand new Lexus every time you go out of town.
$8k sounds cheap, I looked into it for where I live and it was €15k minimum, probably more like 20… I gave up on that idea real quick and stuck with flight simulator and my drones haha.
All told I paid about $5,000 for my private pilot certificate in the early 2000s, though everything is more expensive and the US dollar is cheaper now. Since you used Euro, I wouldn’t be surprised if it is cheaper in America; we get a lot of commercial pilot students from around the world at places like ERAU.
Yeah that would make sense, car licenses are also much easier/cheaper in the US so I guess this is an extension of the same logic. Anyway the older I get the more anxious I become when flying (even commercial), and my vertigo keeps getting worse, so it’s probably for the best haha.
One interesting thing: American private pilots are trained in night VFR as a basic requirement, so any American private pilot can fly at night under VFR rules. In other countries, it either requires additional training or they do not allow VFR at night at all and so to fly at night you must be instrument rated.
Don’t mind me I am being a goober, all my ‘flight time’ iis from DCS and other flight sims.
You ever see the video of a guy who spawns in a P 51, on an incline, aircraft rolls off a cliff backward, then he does the entire start up sequence while freefalling, pulls the aircraft around such that the nose is now pointing the direction the craft is falling, guns the throttle and pulls up with feet to spare?
Found that video once on YouTube and have never managed to find it again.
I can fly a plane.
Landing a plane. That is more difficult.
Flying and landing planes, and even helicopters is actually really easy. Turning them on is the complicated part. Every craft has a different startup sequence that’s like 50 steps and you’ll break something if you don’t do every step in the correct order.
Flight instructor here. It usually takes 5 or 6 flights for students to become comfortable working the startup and shutdown procedures. By the tenth time they climb in the plane I can normally say “okay start up and let’s taxi out” and that’s detailed enough instruction for them.
It takes about 6 to 8 hours of practice flying the plane, from straight and level flight, turns, climbs, descents, slow flight, stalls etc. before I even try letting them land, and then usually another 6 to 8 hours of practice before they can put the airplane down gently more often than not.
Landing a plane isn’t particularly easy.
Is it worth it getting a pilots license? Would it be better to just fly commercial rather than a dinky Cessna or something? I wonder if it’s a good financial decision.
Becoming a private pilot is a stunningly terrible financial decision.
That “dinky Cessna?” I want you to imagine an 80’s Honda Accord that costs as much as a Lamborghini to buy and maintain, and that’s on top of the $8,000 or so you’ll put into training.
A better financial decision would be to buy a brand new Lexus every time you go out of town.
$8k sounds cheap, I looked into it for where I live and it was €15k minimum, probably more like 20… I gave up on that idea real quick and stuck with flight simulator and my drones haha.
All told I paid about $5,000 for my private pilot certificate in the early 2000s, though everything is more expensive and the US dollar is cheaper now. Since you used Euro, I wouldn’t be surprised if it is cheaper in America; we get a lot of commercial pilot students from around the world at places like ERAU.
Yeah that would make sense, car licenses are also much easier/cheaper in the US so I guess this is an extension of the same logic. Anyway the older I get the more anxious I become when flying (even commercial), and my vertigo keeps getting worse, so it’s probably for the best haha.
One interesting thing: American private pilots are trained in night VFR as a basic requirement, so any American private pilot can fly at night under VFR rules. In other countries, it either requires additional training or they do not allow VFR at night at all and so to fly at night you must be instrument rated.
I guess I’ll look into it once I have money to burn
This is the most correct answer.
The silliest answer is that the most difficult part of flying a plane is attempting to taxi while avoiding Blimps buzzing the tower at Mach 2.
=P
Might be the odd one out but I thought landing was the easiest step besides takeoff. It’s been 25 years since I’ve flown tho
Don’t mind me I am being a goober, all my ‘flight time’ iis from DCS and other flight sims.
You ever see the video of a guy who spawns in a P 51, on an incline, aircraft rolls off a cliff backward, then he does the entire start up sequence while freefalling, pulls the aircraft around such that the nose is now pointing the direction the craft is falling, guns the throttle and pulls up with feet to spare?
Found that video once on YouTube and have never managed to find it again.
Flying is the easy part as long as you count not hitting the ground as success.