55-60K to spend......

brent p h said:
Point well taken....I have been researching and have found that ADS, or arlington municipal are fairly enticing. With the FBO option chosen I'm currently playing with the novel idea of walking in and plunking down 30 large to get all of my ratings. But with this type of financial transaction I can't help but reconniter past experiences of doing business without signing some sort of contract or written gaurantee. I believe this is one of the contributing factors that made a place like ATP so appealing.
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If you are looking at KADS then I highly suggest you have a look at RFC Dallas (http://www.rfcdallas.com). They are a nonprofit flying club, with approximately 100 members and 5 SEPs, including a Cherokee 180 for $76 wet. They have 6 or so instructors who charge between $25 - $40. Apparently, the Cherokee is under-used, particularly during the week, so scheduling shouldn't be an issue if you are looking to train full-time. I am going to join once I get my private finished (hopefully within a week or so), as I think that it gives you (nearly) all the benefits of owning without the financial burden or risk.

I have looked at a few options for my IR, including American Flyers (a type of pilot factory, I guess) who wanted $11-12k for ~45 hours under part 141; an FBO where 50 or so hours, of which, say, 25 would be dual, would come to ~$7k, or the club where ~$8k would get you close to 100hrs. They also have a C177 Cardinal for $95 for when you come to your commercial.

Send me a PM if you want some insight into the training world in and around the metroplex.
 
LoadMasterC141 said:
Just give them 5. Trust me, they’ll be happy campers with that and give you a deal.
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At the FBO I went to I got very substantial discount for putting 4K on account up front. With that they gave me 10% off. At the time AOPA had a credit card deal where 5% of money spent at FBO's was discounted from the balance. This ended up with a total savings of 14.5% on my PPL and IR, something around 1000 to 1500 (I didn't keep track as well as I should have). The bottom line is, there are a lot of deals to be found if you look and ask around.

-John
 
therookie said:
At the FBO I went to I got very substantial discount for putting 4K on account up front. With that they gave me 10% off. At the time AOPA had a credit card deal where 5% of money spent at FBO's was discounted from the balance. This ended up with a total savings of 14.5% on my PPL and IR, something around 1000 to 1500 (I didn't keep track as well as I should have). The bottom line is, there are a lot of deals to be found if you look and ask around.
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:yeahthat:

DO NOT "plunk" down $30K right away! Buy your time 10 hours at a time, $4,000 at a time, or whatever will get you a good deal and keep you at the top of their schedule.
 
Hubbs said:
If you are looking at KADS then I highly suggest you have a look at RFC Dallas (http://www.rfcdallas.com). They are a nonprofit flying club, with approximately 100 members and 5 SEPs, including a Cherokee 180 for $76 wet. They have 6 or so instructors who charge between $25 - $40. Apparently, the Cherokee is under-used, particularly during the week, so scheduling shouldn't be an issue if you are looking to train full-time. I am going to join once I get my private finished (hopefully within a week or so), as I think that it gives you (nearly) all the benefits of owning without the financial burden or risk.

I have looked at a few options for my IR, including American Flyers (a type of pilot factory, I guess) who wanted $11-12k for ~45 hours under part 141; an FBO where 50 or so hours, of which, say, 25 would be dual, would come to ~$7k, or the club where ~$8k would get you close to 100hrs. They also have a C177 Cardinal for $95 for when you come to your commercial.

Send me a PM if you want some insight into the training world in and around the metroplex.
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This sounds pretty good. I am checking into it as we speak. Thank you all.
 
LoadMasterC141 said:
I would caution against dropping the whole 30 large at a small FBO, or anywhere really. Even ATP does not get ALL their money at once.
Tell them you are going to do it, maybe even drop 5 grand cash at a time, but don’t give them the whole nugget at once.
  1. They have your money and there is less motivation to keep you happy once it is all in their hands.
  2. If they go bankrupt, they have all your money. Good luck getting it back.
  3. If, for some unforeseen reason, you cannot finish training there, they likely have a refund policy that will mean you don’t get all your money back.
Just give them 5. Trust me, they’ll be happy campers with that and give you a deal.

I can tell you from personal experience, the best situation can turn sour fast, so don’t line their pockets with ALL of your money. It has been darn lucky for me I followed my own advice recently.
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You guys are right. I said plunk down $30K, but that's not what I meant. What I should have said is to approach the owner with your total plan. Tell him you want to spend $30K and see what kind of a deal you can strike. Then give him a small "good faith" deposit as cash on account. You could make a midsize deposit of $3-5K at a time and fly through that in a short period, then do it again. You will lower all the risks LoadMaster brought up by doing it this way.
 
I just did a private for ~$5,000 in Colorado. Anyone that spends over 35-40k for all there ratings did not do their research well enough. For those with a love for aviation and all things flying this is the way to go.

For those that want to get in the 121 world and never look back, maybe ATP isn't quite so bad. It will probably get you there quicker. I never understood the guys that fly for the airlines that never do any sub 12,500#, VFR flying.

-Jason
www.flyboulder.com
 
PS Finding a flight school in Florida that will make you an airline pilot in a year is not doing your research. Going down to you local airport and hanging out for the weekend is. You would be surprised how generous the aviation world is.

-Jason
www.flyboulder.com
 
Finally read the whole thread, this is a good one. I bought my own plane with 3 hours and got my CFI in under a year and am extremely happy with my decision. I have never trained with an FBO let alone a Flight Academy.

I am the proof. It works, do your research and read as much as you can. Jetcareers is a great start but only one resource, the best are met in person at the airport.

-Jason
www.flyboulder.com

BTW Before I even signed up for a discovery flight I had spent a lot of hours reading through jetcareers archives. Thanks Doug!
 
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