PPL – Advice?

There are 2 routes for the PPL which will not deplete your account

hey,
My Name is Dan, i’m in 2nd year, at seneca College for avaition. I’m in toronto, and i’m in the same boat as you except i never had enough money to afford the PPL. So this is what i did. I applied for this program, the Canadian government will pay for all your flight time, but you pay for some other stuff plus tution (maps, jacket, e-6b). The key to this program, is they want you to be hardworking, so i suggest you take all your advanced maths and every hard course you can that is related to science. Cause first year is pure academic and i haven’t work so hard i my life. I look back at high school and think i was the biggest slacker. at the end of the first year you start flying if you make the grade (can’t fail anything and maintain at least 70 percent), and i just got the PPL,i have about 60 hours on c-172s models and i didn’t pay for any of the flight time, the c-172s are 2 years old and now i’m starting the transition to the beechcraft bonanza which is a very nice aircraft. This year the program changed and you will get an applied degree (i graduate with a diploma), which means its better than a diploma but not as good as a BA. But in this industry, no one really cares as long as its a degree. But heres the tradeoff, the tutition is pretty high now. First year tutition is 6000, 2nd year is 10-12000 dollars, and so forth. But you graduate with a integrated commercial (commerical standards for the world, but i still think you will have to pay transition fees), and a multi IFR rating. I suggest you look into this program, if you want to move away from home after high school sault saint marie offers the same program except its not a degree, you get a diploma. My advice, get the rec permit, and get some hours PIC under your belt, cause it will make aero class so much better as well as training for PPL. Cause if you come in with the PPL, seneca will take 35 hours away that they would have given you. But if you have the rec permit, you get the full 200 hours. If you have any questions, i’ll be happy to answer them.

As difficult as it may seem now that you have saved up the money for the licence, don’t start now if you are not sure that you can afford to fly regularly after you get the licence. If you have to scrounge up money for an occasional flight, these will be pure horror rather than enjoyment and it’s not very safe either. Have you considered taking up gliding now and “progressing” to powered aicraft later? It’s much, much cheaper and will turn you into a very accomplished pilot. As for becoming a professional pilot, dont’ get to fixated on this idea. Whichever way you choose (commercial/military) it’s a long way with lots of obstacles and there’s great likelihood of becoming very disappointed along the way. Keep some options open before embarking on this, e.g. by getting a degree or training in another occupation beforehand.

I was/am in a similar situation as I am a pilot. My advice is go to university and get a 4 year degree. Every smart pilot has a Plan B option in case you get fired/layed off/medically disqualified from commercial flying. Only fly when you have enough cash to finish the next step in your ratings process. Given the cost, avoid flying for non-training reasons. Don’t fly idly between ratings. Once you have your liscences and ratings, you will need to do perodic reviews to act as pilot in command and maintain proficiency. Start flying as soon as you can. Cleveland weather isn’t much different from Toronto, so I’d start flying in the summer so that you can fly everyday and don’t have to deal with studying for school at the same time. In the US, once you have your liscence/ratings, you can’t loose them for not flying, but like every pilot you must pass bi-annual reviews and medical exams.

hi there

I am near on the completion of my PPL, and its cost me about £6000 (about $8000 US), so its not cheap at all…

I will have completed with any luck at the minimum hours required, but I currently fly a warrior, so not the cheapest route.

As for keeping it current, well you have to fly a minimum amount of hours a year, so you will have to keep that up. But not only that you will want to be flying all the time you can get!!!

As for for commerical.. well I am trying to get sponsourship now.. I have looked at a few courses in the UK that look ok, however I have family commitments, and moving to new zeland to complete the McAlpine course maybe a little too hard for me, as its hard to leave a love one for so long!

Apart from that good luck, you have chosen the most rewarding thing you will ever do.

Dont believe you will get paid a mint if you are a pilot though… most FO’s get about the same as a check-out person at Tesco’s supermarket (£15-20k), but a captain can expect about 60k + (taken from Easyjets web site).

Plus you will be repaying all the hard earnt money that pays for your training!!!

I personally will have a degree this time next year, and dont know what to do, as it is in Business Entrepreneurship. So I may work for a while before continuing on my flying career, but I know its what I want to do.. what could be better!!

Hope that helps you out!

good luck with what ever you do.. and remember.. enjoy it!

loz

Follow your heart. You only get one life. I didn’t start flying until I was late thirties. Huge mistake.

Money will always be a problem, but at least you’ll know you haven’t wasted it on food or women.

Moggy

Hmm. Will your PPL become a burden? Yes and no.

Yes it will become a financial burden, as you’ll end up spending every disposal penny (or should that be cent) on adding more hours to it.

But then no it won’t be a burden, because you’ll love every single minute of it and you’ll constantly crave more flying.

Welcome to the addictive world of aviation. 😀

To give a serious answer to your question, you’ve obviously given it more thought than I had done when I was your age; you’ve looked at the costs, you’ve identified what it is that you want to do.

Perhaps you can look at whether the Canadian Armed Forces will sponsor you through University? The RAF do that over here, but competition for such awards is very high. Failing a military sponsorship, how about Air Canada, would they do such a thing? Pursuing such a route kills a few birds with one stone; you get to fulfil your education, someone else pays, and you’ve got a fair idea of what awaits you at the end.

Whatever you choose to do, good luck. 🙂