It is important to get clarity up front what you want from your flying
so we don’t waste your time or money on something that is not a good idea. For example, the fastest and cheapest way for
you to go skiing and see family in Virginia is to fly commercial. The second best way will be to drive. But, if adventure is the goal, the more interesting
way would be to fly your own aircraft. But this will not save you time or
money. Like going by motorcycle, you will be less tolerant of darkness and bad
weather. Low clouds can have you stuck for days, unless you invest in an
instrument rating and upgrade to an aircraft that can fly in the blind.
So now that I have shot down any
notion of the practicality of personal flight, if you are ready to get started
learning to fly ‘just for the fun of it’ we can get going. The aircraft that we
mainly use to get people their Sport Pilot and Private Pilot certificates are
shown in this video:
If it looks like fun, I can turn you on
to some study material and get you lined up for an intro flight lesson. And yes, SOMETIMES it does save time and gas
versus driving—but most often not. You just can’t count on it like the
dependable day or night all-weather cabability of ground-based transportation,
or the fast speed of commercial flying coupled with advanced technology and
training that lets those planes fly when no smaller planes can.
