PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - How Much does flying cost?
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Old 23rd Aug 2002, 10:15
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FlyingForFun

Why do it if it's not fun?
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
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Really depends what you want to fly.

If you can find the cash to buy a share in a PFA aircraft, flying gets a lot cheaper. I paid £6000 for my 1/6 share in a Europa. I pay £50/month, £15/hour dry, and approx £10/hour for fuel. So, after you've found the initial payment, your £200/month would buy you 6 hours a month - more than enough to stay current, and more than lots of private pilots manage.

You can get even cheaper if you start looking into single seaters, such as the Luton Minor, Rollason Turbulent, etc. You'll have to hunt around, but I've seen 1/12 shares in these aircraft go for less than £1000, and typically cost around £15/month and £15/hour wet (i.e. including fuel). The only problem is that, being single-seaters, you won't be able to get checked out with an instructor, so the insurance company would probably want a reasonable amount of total time and/or time on similar aircraft first.

If you're looking at hiring, you'll be paying a much higher hourly rate, although it will probably be about £20-£30/hour cheaper (for the same aircraft) than you pay before you get your license, because you won't be paying for the instructor.

It's nice to see someone thinking about these things before they really get into the training, by the way! So many people are concerned with how much it costs to get the license, how many hours does it take to get a license, how many months does it take to get the license, then when they get their license they realise they can't afford the time and/or money to keep it current!

FFF
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