Part 141 bashing seems to be the fashion now.
Don't forget that it has advantages too;
- If you are good enough 35 hrs for your PPL
- If you are good enough 35 hrs for your Instrument rating
Unlikely that you will do it in 35 hrs, not many people do.
But equally unlikely that you will finish in minimum hours Part 61 either.
The national average for a PPL in the US is 70-80 hrs.
Now this includes the very old, the very young and the people that start, stop and start again.
So hrs wise for the PPL we'll call that a draw between 61 and 141.
You are going to NEED ground school regardless, 61 or 141.
Most 141 syllabi call for at least 35 hrs of ground school.
In the Jeppesen syllabus 11 hrs of this is pre flight briefing and post flight briefing, over 29 lessons this is 0.4hrs/lesson.
That's hardly over the top, 12 min with an instructor before and after the flight.
0.5 before and after the flight is more what you need.
That leaves 24 hrs of other ground instruction.
Consider:
- 4 hrs basic knowledge
- 4 hrs airspace
- 4 hrs regulations
- 6 hrs cross country navigation and charts
- 2 hrs night
- 4 hrs prep for your check ride
That's already 24 hrs and the above is not even enough, just the bare naked minimum that you should also get under part 61.
If we assume for a moment, just for the discussion's sake that the airplane $100/hr and the instructor $50/hr.
That means that you can do 3 hrs of ground instruction for every hour of dual flight time. If your instructor does 10 hrs more of ground school and can safe you 5 hrs in the airplane you are SAVING money.
Under part 61 you need at least the same amount of ground school as you do under part 141. Face it, you can't learn flying from reading a book; it helps if you do.
So we can call the ground school a draw again.
Even though it isn't because the quality of the ground school under part 141 should be higher since it has to be an FAA approved syllabus and the school is under continuous scrutiny from the FAA.
You are obviously interested in making a career out of flying.
Under part 141 you can start right away with the Instrument rating after the PPL, under 61 you need to fly 50 hrs PIC XC before you can do your IFR check ride. This means timebuilding VFR.
If you have your PPL and IFR 141 you can do your timebuilding at least on an IFR flight plan, which is not only more valuable but also safer since you are a more qualified pilot.
Do your time building at night, cross country on an IFR flightplan.
That way you can fill almost all of the columns in your logbook.
Even if you finish your CPL part 61 you will have the advantage of a lot more IFR Pilot in Command time.
So to summarize:
- If we assume the flight time is equal
- If we assume the amount of ground school is equal
You still come out ahead by training Part 141 because you don't need the 50 hrs PIC CFR cross country prior to your instrument rating.
A busier 141 school vs. a quiet 61 school should be able to team you up with another student so that you can sit in on each other's ground school and back seat on flights. Big advantage. I don't see that happening at a smaller 61 school where you might be the only student for that rating.
A larger school may have a good deal on class style ground school. Less cost same info, same quality.
OK sermon over, time to rant:
I did my PPL with a J-3C Piper Cub... soloed at 11 hrs
And this was when exactly? 1965?
Good luck finding a school that will let you do primary training on a tail wheel and send you on a solo XC on it. There is such a thing as insurance requirements unless they don't carry insurance off course.
Finally, rent your C-150 or PA-28 dry for cross country practice solo.
Your school will buy fuel in bulk from the FBO since they are a business on the field. Means they pay less for their fuel then you would if you are a transient visitor. Good luck finding cheaper fuel unless you don't mind to always go the the same airport in the woods.
Fuel deals can be found here:
AirNav: Great Deals in Aviation Fuel Random state, Minnesota 141 FBOs, average $4.22
Schools compute "wet rates" rental for touch and goes and high consumption.
No they don't, they calculate based on average fuel burn per type of airplane over a year. That includes cross countries, maneuvers, touch-and-go's..everything. Exactly what a student will be doing while time building.
Cruising at 8,500' or 9,500' altitude will be more economical when you pay for gasoline.
The cruise will be,the climb will not that really depends too much on the day for being a valid argument.
Last, if you can find a self employed instructor charging $30/hr, walk away.
A good instructor is worth much more than that.
Thought about how much insurance costs for a self employed CFI?
You can't get anybody to look at your car for less then $70/hr or to fix your plumbing.
We're talking about learning a skill that can make the difference between life and death. Don't pay peanuts for that sort of thing.
Rant over
Let me know if you need info or if I can help you find a place.
CustomX, are you in the Military by any chance?
In that case you can do your flight training on the VA bill.
The school needs to be 141 certified in order to have VA approval..
