“My son wants to be a pilot. Can you talk to him?”
That question, or one very similar, comes my way often. It’s not always a son, of course. It could be a daughter, or a niece, or a neighbor down the street.
The basic message remains the same, however. The individual initiating the conversation knows little to nothing about the process of becoming a pilot, but they are smart enough to seek out knowledgeable folks.
That’s a good thing. The opposite happens all too frequently. That’s the situation where a young person asks an adult about how to become a pilot, and the adult who knows almost nothing about the process simply makes up a series of reasons the inquisitor doesn’t fit the mold. That really irritates me. How many young, bright, talented kids have been steered away from a great career or a life-affirming hobby because they asked the wrong person for advice?
Truthfully, there are myriad ways to go about the process of becoming a pilot. Among those ways are two very different paths: Military service and private lessons.
On the private side, the methods of studying for the FAA knowledge tests allow for so much flexibility it’s almost impossible to give a blanket piece of advice that will be equally viable for all people in all situations.
Having said that, there is one piece of advice I pass along to almost everyone who asks me about flight training. It’s as counter-intuitive today as it was when a CFI gave this same advice to me nearly 40 years ago. It’s also every bit as true as it ever was. It is this: Buy an airplane.
I wish I’d become an owner decades before I actually made the leap. Oh, how my life would have changed.
For me the airframe that caught my eye was a Taylorcraft BC-12D. It was a bit beaten down by time and neglect, but it was also a classic that was actually for sale. The price tag was $7,000 — a number that I considered to be an almost unimaginably large sum in my youth. I mean, I barely earned that much money per year.
I tried half-heartedly to find a partner to buy into the T-craft with me although, to be honest, I have no idea where I was going to come up with $3,500 either. Times were tight and financial creativity was not one of my skillsets back then.
Had I made the purchase, building time would have been significantly cheaper than it was in rental aircraft. My own airplane would be available pretty much whenever I wanted to fly. Overnighters would be no problem. Rental outlets often charged a minimum number of hours per day, which put the kibosh on trips that involved multiple days away but only half a dozen hours of actual flight time.
That long weekend in Key West just doesn’t work for me with a rental.
I think about that airplane often. Even today, I can see it in my mind’s eye tied down outside the FBO at Meriden Markham Municipal Airport (KMMK) in central Connecticut. It needed a buyer. I wanted that airplane.
That T-craft and I represent another in a long history of unrequited love stories. To this day I’ve never flown a T-craft. I’ve taxied one from one side of the field to the other, but that’s it.
My first airplane came about when I finally had the finances in place and a strong enough desire to take the plunge. It was a 1963 Cessna 150. A C model with a straight tail and the fastback. In fact, 1963 was the last production year for the fastback. I liked it. I liked it a lot. The rear window has never been all that sensible from my perspective. Losing it to gain a cool, aerodynamic aft half of the airframe suited me just fine.
It was exactly what I advise people to shop for if they’re thinking of becoming a pilot. It was slow, with a paltry 100-hp Continental engine up front. The flip side of that limitation is that the C-150 doesn’t burn much fuel. Less fuel equals less cost. Less cost equals happiness.
Even as the slowpoke of the skies, I often remind student pilots and time builders their goal is to build hours, not distance. There’s nothing wrong with getting to cruise altitude and making the decision to dial back on the power so you can loaf your way to the destination.
Flight time equals experience. The unexpected will happen. Lessons will be learned. Achieving that while spending fewer dollars and traveling at a speed that allows for clear thought can make all the difference between simply building hours and actually expanding your knowledge base.
Ugly and slow but airworthy has been more or less what I’ve been looking for in my life as an owner. Faded paint doesn’t bother me at all. A fabric interior that was looking dated and worn during the Reagan administration is fine with me. If the panel is sparsely populated with radios that look like Marconi himself built them and festooned with analog gauges that have been in place for as long as I’ve been alive, I’m good.
That all translates to a lower purchase price while taking nothing away from the flyability of the airplane. In some sense the ugliness gives it a bit of character.
Although, to be fair, the paint can be spruced up easily enough. The panel can be refurbished with all-new digital gizmos for a more modern look — a look that lends itself to easier navigation and clearer communication.
Restoration and renewal is always a possibility.
Yep, I’m still in the camp that believes buying and owning is a good move in the long term. It could even be seen as an investment in our own future. The airplane opens up our horizons, builds skills, and knowledge that we can monetize to our own benefit, and generally increases in value over time.
That T-craft would sell for considerably more than $7,000 today. But, if you’ve got one for sale in that price range, let me know. I just might be interested.
In 83 I bought a clapped out J3 for $7000 with 4 high school grads working with me as A&P apprentices. We made into an owner club and they all learned how to fly it and fix it. They are still in aviation and I’m retired, the Cub is still flying.
I finish two years of college and decide I would like aviation better than accounting. So I go to my Army recruiter and sing up for fixed wing maintenance mechanic school. On the weekends at Ft. Eustis I walk to the airfield and bum rides with the army pilots waiting to do their monthly flight time requirement. One day I’m in an L-19 over Virginia and the pilot says would I like to fly the aircraft. My first experience piloting an aircraft. After Vietnam and a B.S. in Aircraft Maintenance Engineering (thank you G.I. Bill) I start my new career as a flight test engineer and get assigned my very own F-14. The other F-14 in the flight test hanger is assigned to a retired Lt. commander, Al Sundstrom, who flew Corsairs over Korea. We both worked the night shift and became buddies. I say to him I want to learn to fly. He says then we need to buy you your own airplane. He finds an old tri-champ that’s good enough for instrument training. He then puts me through a two hundred hour Navy flight training course (well kind of). We did incredible things in that airplane and other airplanes that definitely were not in the PPL syllabus. I taught me to be comfortable flying on instruments, which I did on occasion. I was very lucky that Al was there to teach me. He of course was having a grand old time in his retirement with his new student and unlimited time in my airplane. In summary, I get my A&P license, My B.A. in Aircraft Maintenance Engineering and two hundred hours of flight instruction all on the cheap. It wasn’t my plan, I just fell into it.
I soloed an Aeronca Chief in 1960. I had to check out in a C-150 for my cross country because it had a VOR receiver.
I’ve flown about 50 different airplanes, owned a hot air balloon, a Pitts S-1S (the most fun you can have with your clothes on) for 18 years, and now am back to my roots with an Aeronca L-16A, (a warbird Champ).
I learned something from every airplane I’ve flown, sometimes it was, I don’t want to fly this thing again.
I counseled two guys I worked with who were interested in learning to fly.
I suggested they buy a C-150, and hire a local Instructor to teach them.
One was married with kids, one a bachelor. The bachelor flew 50 hours in 45 days
and passed his check ride.
The married guy took 7 months. Life gets in the way sometimes.
They sold the C-150, for more than they paid for it, minus a few tires, oil and filters and in another year, they both had there Instrument rating, one bought a C-210, one bought a Mooney.
I often tell people that I got my Private in 1960. Aviation costs the same now as it did then, It takes all you’ve got.
Most of us who have been flying a long time, can remember thinking we were sort of pilots before we really were. If it isn’t in you “to be an airplane PILOT” before you ever flew one, then it may never be there. I learned to fly in an old C 150, then our government taught me how to fly really fast. I was a pilot in my heart as a kid who would lay on my back in the middle of a bean field with paper and pencil so if an airplane flew over, I could draw the underside of it. Now I’m almost 80 and own a C 150 to come full circle in my flying . Loved the slow ones then loved the really fast ones, now love the slow one again. “It” was always there. If it’s in a youngster, they will do “what ever it takes.” Give them a ride. See if it’s there.
Wonderful story and good advice as usual, Jamie. But agree with the comments that prospective pilots should rent until realizing that flying involves – pardon the pun – real down to earth learning and work to develop very important, sometimes life-saving, skills, and is not all the romance and excitement of Top Gun, etc. If it’s still what they want, proceed, and safe flights always! Also agree that No-Nothings, in any field, should not discourage anyone, especially a young person, from investigating and pursuing a possibility. Let them realize for themselves that they do not have the necessary ability or dedication for that particiular endeavor, thus opening them to keep looking and find out what is their path in life.
I started my flying journey in 2001 by purchasing a Kolb Firefly (part 103 legal ultralight), single seat, tail dragger, pusher, for $8K. I flew it approx 200 hrs over 5 yrs before purchasing half of a C-150F from a local airpark owner and CFI, who included my dual training time to Private in the purchase, for $8K. I did Gleim self study and passed my written and passed my Private checkride in Mar 07. I sold the C-150 in 2010 for a lot more than I paid for it due to improvements that I made to it. Starting out in a 40hp ultralight that burned 2.5 gph was inexpensive and gave me many fun experiences of flight and confidence to pursue getting my Private. I now fly a RV-6A and have logged nearly 2000 hrs. I would probably still be flying the Firefly if I didn’t meet the CFI owner of the C-150. With current rental rates in the $200+ per hour with CFI, I definitely would still be flying that little 60 mph Firefly and having fun! Flying is fun no matter how slow or fast you go.
A modern, three-axis, Part 103 ultralight is more affordable and uses auto fuel. No licenses required. Hangar in your garage or barn. It follows the same laws of physics as do all other aircraft. A motorglider is another good option for anyone wanting to own an aircraft. They may not be very fast, but they will teach you how to fly, not push buttons on a glass panel. Look for your local glider club and learn to fly gliders, great fun and camaraderie, and more challenging than just steering a powered spam can from point A to point B.
Great advice. I bought my J-3 Cub in 1964 when I was a low time student pilot for $1200. Had so much fun with it that I didn’t take time out to get my private ticket until over a year later. Still have the Cub. Our son, grandson & granddaughter all did their first solo in it on their 16th birthday on floats. I’m going to be 81 next month & will probably sell my Cessna 180 & 170B in a year or so but the Cub will never be sold.
Great Article as Always, Sir! You are such a talented writer!
Ugly and slow? Dunno about that … I’ve had our C-150C for 20 years now. At age 72 with thousands of hours in sexier airplanes, the fastback and straight tail remind me of how girls seemed prettier back in 1963. And this ol’ girl will fly all day at 100 knots and 24 mpg on $3.93 a gallon of no-ethanol regular from the town pump. It’s a wonderful and blessed life to enjoy such a cheap date in these inflationary times.
I’d suggest putting off buying the first airplane until their PPL training is completed. First, our aspiring aviator needs to decide if flying is REALLY their thing. Believe it or not, some people just don’t like flying and decide nah, I don’t wanna do this. You can just walk away from flight training, but if you’ve bought an airplane you probably don’t want to just walk away from it.
Second, if our aspiring aviator buys during their lessons, they now have TWO learning curves – learning to fly and learning to own an airplane, and they have another set of expenses on top of flight lessons. (Insurance, inspections, upgrades, repairs, hangars – good luck – or at least tie downs.)
Third, at this point they really don’t know enough about airplanes to make sure they get a good one. Remember, the PPL teaches people to operate an airplane but not to evaluate, inspect or repair an airplane. The PPL is a “driver’s license”, that’s all. If the airplane of their dreams gets bought and needs an engine overhaul, all new radios, paint, has lots of corrosion and a long laundry list of unaddressed AD notes, they’re going to go back to surfing pretty quickly and they’re going to have a very bad taste in their mouth about aviation, probably forever. Luck is not a strategy. At the very least, get a competent pre-buy inspection, but they don’t yet know how to evaluate the inspector’s competence (or in some cases, honesty).
Fourth, they really don’t know their “mission statement” OR their capabilities. A 150 isn’t going to go around the world nonstop, and a Baron isn’t the best airplane for low and slow sightseeing. Faster and better cars don’t take transition training, the speed limit is 70 whether you are driving a dented Dodge Neon or an Aston Martin, they all work pretty much the same. If you take a low time 150 driver and quickly put them into a Baron or a Mooney 252 without significant transition training, well, they’re going to have a problem.
Get the certificate first, then work your way up in the airplane world. You can’t join the army as a general (well they wouldn’t let me do it, anyway).
I totally agree with Miami Mike’s comments.
Right on!
Excellent advice.
Go fly a Taylorcraft asap. Buy when you can. They are a special plane. I grew up in the factory in PA, and I have friends that currently own a fabric two place, and a four place and a fiberglas four place.
And your advice and reasons to buy an inexpensive plane for flight training is spot on.
Jim,
Were you in Conway, PA? I grew up in the hills above Conway, in Economy Boro. I suggest you google earth “220 Elizabeth St, Freedom, PA.” That was our post office address. In the 1950’s I used to watch the rag dolls shoot final over my Aunt’s white frame house on the hill above Rwy 27. They were so low I tried to jump up to grab the landing gear for a free ride. What memories!
Yes, it was Conway, PA., at the Conway airport. As a kid I flew, as a passenger, over the white house you mentioned, many times.
*1… FLYING C L U B. *2… SP0RT PlL0T–L S A. *SOLO in 15-18 hourz REALISTICALLY. @2O-2? BEC0ME an FAA certificated SPORT pilot & lump around inna aeronca CHAMP like we did ,or similar. *C H E A P. effective. ETCETERA!!!
The 150 is the better choice, especially for a brand new future pilot! The 150 would most likely be less expensive to operate in the long term if the new pilot is not a mechanical gifted person. The old tail dragged is cool but not really practical for learning to fly. IMHO. We face a similar situation with my granddaughter .
Some of my private was in a Cessna150, and it seems like a simple enough airplane to build. All the discussion about training does have a focus on cost, and with the success of the 150, it is not understandable to me why it is not currently produced. A Tesla Model Y is assembled in 2 1/2 hours using robotics. It would certainly seem that some of this technology could be applied to producing a trainer like the 150 for a lot less than a quarter of a million that a Cirrus or some other of the current single engine trainer selections. To me this is the real challenge of GA. Small aircraft manufacture, like the auto spectrum, seems to have adopted a mentality that everything produced must employ all of the technology and luxury that has ever been discovered. GA needs practicality, and thinking about an aircraft 80 years old as the best option (e.g. 1940’s Taylorcraft) as the best option is nuts.– K.I.S.S.
Likely but not necessarily 80 years old. I believe the last F-21 T-Craft was built in the 90s. The F-19 and F-21 had full electrics as well. That said, the C-150 would likely be easier to get and have the instruments and radios needed for a PPL. The full metal airframe is more forgiving of storage on a tie- down as well.
We’ll just have to gree to disagree on this one. The old tail dragger is exactly the way to learn how to fly. They teach you that you need to actually FLY the plane unlike the trainers that let you drive the plane on the air and just watch it taxi itself on the ground.
I fly with a lot of newly minted pilots and their basic stick and rudder skills are pretty much non existent. But they can all look at their iPad instead of looking where it really matters, out the window.
If the prospective pilot is age-appropriate recommend passing the PPL written test before seriously starting flight training. That accomplishment indicates real interest, persistence, and drive to put adequate effort into completing a challenging goal. Much less expensive in time and $$ than burning some hours of flight lessons to find out “I’d rather do ________ than go take a lesson today/tomorrow/this week”. And is there time, $$, and transportation to take a lesson at least twice a week? A flight lesson is like a Dr. appointment, multi-hour event (all morning/all afternoon/all evening) that must be scheduled in advance and may be cancelled by WX, late return to FBO, instructor unavailable, etc. It is tough to get a PPL, and tough and expensive in time and $$ to keep flying. Not to be overly negative, but realistic IMHO. CM
The Taylorcraft is absolutely the best value on the market. $20K will get you one with a good strong 65 hp that will last for years and fly on less than 4 gallons per hour. Or for closer to $15K you can buy a fixer upper. There are many mods available for upgrades… we know because we have them available for sale.
Increase Engine hp to climb better/cruise faster (trade off is more fuel burn).
Increase the Gross Wt.
Add a Starter, Alternator
Modern wheels & hydraulic brakes,
skylight for optimal vision.
Or you can usually find one already modified with most of these upgrades for around $30K.
With an upgraded Taylorcraft, You have an airplane that’s more capable, more fun, cooler looking, and nostalgic than a Cessna 150.