Aviation as a Hobby: Flying can be a rewarding and challenging hobby. It can be very safe or very dangerous. Becoming a pilot takes time, money and determination. As with anything in life, you get out of it what you put into it. Most people who take on aviation as a hobby are involved in a career outside of aviation or are retired. These people have always dreamed of flying but for any number of reasons don't want to pursue it as a career. If you are going through training and know aviation is only going to be a hobby, the training can be an enjoyable part of that hobby. If you are going the career route, the training may just be the means to the end.

To turn aviation into a successful hobby you need to be able to set aside several (5 to 10) hours a week for lessons, ground school and home study. Obviously you can spend less time but your training will take longer and seem less productive. You can spend more time but then training becomes a burden and you can easily burnout. If you are able to attend flight lessons 2 to 3 times a week, your flight training can be complete in a matter of months. If you are only able to fly once a week or once a month, expect the training to take years.

The cost of learning to fly can vary greatly. Depending on how much time and effort you put in and where you train, the cost to earn your private pilot certificate will be between $3,000 and $15,000, with the average being about $5,000 to $7,000. The big variable is how often you fly and how prepared you are to fly. The goal in any kind of training is to learn from previous experiences; if those experiences happened yesterday they will be fresh in your mind, if they happened a week ago, then you'll spend half of each lesson relearning the previous week's materials. The cost of training is based on renting the airplane, paying the instructor, and purchasing required materials. The cost of renting a basic training airplane is $75 to $150 an hour, which includes fuel. Instructor rates vary from $20 to $100 an hour. The FAA sets the minimum hours of training required to earn your private pilot certificate at 40 - a combination of dual and solo hours in the airplane. The average time it takes to receive a private pilot certificate is about 60 hours. There are other types of pilot certificates that require less training, however discussions here are based on the private pilot certificate. In our opinion, the private pilot certificate offers the highest level of safety with the fewest restrictions.

Once you've completed your training you'll be able to buy and fly your own airplane or rent one. Airports that offer flight training will also often offer airplane rentals.

 

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