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Tips and resources for frugal pilots

Whether you are based in Europe or in the States where flying is definitely cheaper, its still going to be an expensive hobby for most pilots. However, there are some great resources and ways for frugal pilots to bring down the cost of flying in order to keep flying.

Dan Ramsey, the pilot blogger behind The Frugal Pilot as well as the author of Budget Flying: How to Earn Your Private Pilot License and other books on low-cost aviation, knows a thing or two about flying on a budget. He has also recently written an article for General Aviation News containing the following ten tips for frugal pilots:

Remember why you fly.
Keep it simple.
Manage your wants.
Be smart about aircraft maintenance.
Learn from your experiences.
Learn from smarter pilots.
Shop smarter.
Barter and trade as you can.
Multitask flying.
A frugal pilot is not a cheap pilot, nor an unsafe one.

Dan goes into some detail about each and every one of the above tips which are actually pretty simple and based on commonsense. However, a quick look at Dan’s website reveals a number of articles under the following categories:

Save on Instruction to help you cut the costs of getting a private pilot license.
Save on Aircraft to show you ways to lower the costs of finding your wings.
Save on Maintenance has proven ways of lowering the costs of flying a safe aircraft.
Save on Expenses to help you reduce operating costs so you can fly more on less.

In other words, Dan’s site is definitely worth checking out by UK or EU based pilots.

What is the real cost of flight training and flying?

If you are wondering what the real costs of flight training or flying as a general aviation pilot are, a would-be student pilot nicknamed aggieflyer has asked a great question on the Ask a Flight Instructor website about what those costs would be:

I know to get a private pilot certification cost anywhere from 5k to 9k.
What I am trying to figure out is the real cost of flying a plane after I get my certification. I see online where Cessena rents for $100-$125/hr WET.
What are other cost associated with flying everytime? Do i need to buy insurance coverage when I fly, what are added cost? do i need to pay landing fees at airports I land? Do i need to be a flying club member? Any FAA fees? Additional passenger charges etc

John D. Collins responded by writing that he owns a Bonanza which costs him the following:

Maintenance: $3,000
Insurance: $1,200
Hagar Taxes: $1,100
Hangar Condo Fees: $600
Fuel: $4,500 (Assuming $6 per gallon x 15 gallons per flight hour x 50 hours per year)

His total flying costs comes to $10,400 per year or $210 per hour, but he estimated that a C172 would be half that value. He also commented about airport and FBO fees and that most general aviation pilots learn to avoid those that have them (not difficult to do in the USA) or minimize their exposure to them.

Jim F. then posted that a student pilot should expect the cost of flight training to be much closer to $10,000 than to $5,000.

Renting a 172: At Least $120 an Hour (Potentially less for a 150/152, Cub or Tail-wheel)
Renter’s Insurance (Even if You Don’t Have Much Assets): $250
Equipment (e.g. Headsets, Charts, Books etc.): $1,000
Charts: Annual Updates
Gas (As In To and From the Airport) etc.: Varies

Jim suggested adding a few dollars or if you end up doing a significant amount of flying, adding $5 to $10 to the hourly rental charge to anticipate all of the other costs you will incur as a general aviation pilot.

Bob Watson added that the cost of a flight instructor will also need to be included in a flight training cost calculation. In the Pacific Northwest where he lives, a flight instructor will cost $40 to $70 an hour and you will need to assume 20 to 30 hours of instruction in an aircraft plus 10 to 15 hours of instruction both before and after a flight – adding around $2,000 to the cost of flight training.

Finally, Brian commented that you will first need to determine if you are the type of person who learns quickly. If so, then you should assume 50 to 80 flight hours for training plus roughly the same amount of ground time and you will need to find out what a flight instructor charges per hour. Multiplying those figures will equal your total flight training costs.

With the above flight training and flying costs in mind that are more appropriate for the States, we would love to ask any UK or Europe based readers: What were your flight training costs and what are your annual flying costs?

Top 10 ways to lower flight training costs

Let’s face it and no matter where you are in the world, flight training costs will be high (unless of course you go the military training route). Hence, a recent post by Ronn Rapp for his House of Rapp blog (and potentially for an AOPA Pilot magazine article) is a must read by would-be pilots and experienced pilots alike. His 10 tips for reducing flight training costs included the following:

Fly frequently. Plan on having at least three to four a week because inevitably some of those lessons will be cancelled due to factors beyond your control plus dragging out flight training will increase you likelihood of having to repeat something – or drop out.
Fly a tailwheel. These aircraft are easier to fly and in Ron’s words, they’re “crazy fun to fly.”
Pass the FAA knowledge test in advance. Moreover, taking a private pilot ground school course online or at a community college will be cheaper than taking one from a ground school.
Pick a quiet airport. This will minimize delays due to traffic and congestion. Likewise, learning to fly at a smaller airport will likily be cheaper.
Learn through a club. Since clubs are non-profits, learning to fly through one should be 10-15% cheaper because.
Lease an aircraft. Given how many aircraft are now on the market, it might make sense to lease one for a few months while you do your flight training. This will also help to minimize delays caused by the training aircraft not being available when you are.
Ride shotgun. Specifically, tag along with another student and CFI.
Get the ‘Net. There are literally hundreds of free online courses and other training resources from the FAA, AOPA and other sources on the Internet now.
Save up. Make sure that you have sufficient funds to cover flight training before you begin flight training.
Make friends. Hanging around the hangar and making friends with other pilots might give you an opportunity to fly aircraft that you would not otherwise be able to afford to fly.

Ron wrote about each of these tips in considerable detail but is there anything he left out that might be worth adding and help other would-be pilots to reduce flight training costs?