The Cheapest Way to Become a Pilot
  Aviation was never cheap, and it never will be. It will only become more expensive over time. Your job as a pilot is to investigate, prepare, and implement. With a little research and commitment you can save hundreds, perhaps thousands of dollars during your training. Here are some secrets that are guaranteed to work:
  1. Study on your own! This is number one in the list of money saving strategies. Virtually all of the conceptual material that your instructor will teach can be learned by yourself, at home. That is the bottom line. You can study by yourself or you can pay someone else an hourly rate to spoon feed you. Imagine, for example, that you have gone through all the lessons in the this Online Ground School. You have not spent one cent – no books, no CDs, no extra fees of any type. But you have applied yourself and have really learned the material provided online. When you meet your instructor, you will already OWN valuable knowledge – that’s right, it's yours forever – that he was expecting to charge you several hundred dollars for. You have given yourself a HUGE head start while substantially reducing the amount of money you will pay for training.
  1. Begin studying for your FAA Knowledge Test early. Do not put it off or it will become a psychological obstacle. Be assertive and attack it from the beginning. You will get the added bonus of learning material that you can apply in the air during the flight portion of your training. This, in turn, will reinforce the knowledge and help you make a better score on your written test.
     
  2. Take lots of practice tests on the internet in preparation for the Knowledge Test. Stick to the free ones. You will find a list of them on www.pilotsalmanac.com.
     
  3. Print off a copy of the PTS (Practical Test Standards) and get familiar with it right now. Do not buy one - you can download the PTS free from the Ground School Library page. It lists all the maneuvers that you will encounter in training and describes in detail how well you must perform them. Go over it with a high-lighter. If you find the document too confusing, ask your instructor to help you. You want to ensure that every bit of training you receive has the PTS in mind. It is the "guide" that your examiner will use on your checkride.
     
  4. Memorize the "v-speeds" for the airplane you will be training in, including the "best glide" speed. V-speeds are airspeeds stipulated in the aircraft's handbook for various operations. You particularly want to memorize: Vso, Vs1, Vx, Vy, Va, Vno, Vne, and Vbest-glide. Ask your instructor to help you copy these into a list if you aren't sure how to find them.
     
  5. If you haven't had the time to prepare for a lesson, cancel it. Being unprepared is a surefire method of wasting money on inefficient training. Make sure to give your instructor at least 24-hours notice.
     
  6. If you can, in your off-time find a good vantage point at the airport to watch other airplanes. Try to distinguish good landings from not-so-good ones. Compare the differences. Having a radio will make the exercise even more productive.
     
  7. After each flight lesson, go home and "armchair fly" the lesson all over again. This is crucial to speedy, efficient training. Failure to do this will result in extra time in the air with your instructor.
     
  8. Once your instructor has cleared you to preflight the airplane alone, begin doing so. Why pay your CFI to simply stand there and watch you preflight? Arrive a few minutes early, follow the checklist, be careful and consistent, and save yourself $5-$10 on every flight lesson!
     
  9. On every solo flight, go with a plan already made up. Otherwise, you will spend extra time in the air. If you plan to work on slow flight and steep turns, write down the specs for these from the PTS before you leave. Take off and get right to it. Practice the maneuvers with the PTS tolerances in mind. (Now, there is nothing really wrong with spending extra time in the air. After all, flying is flying. But this document explains how to save money. So, fly efficiently and get the airplane back on the ground.)
     
  10. Use Google Earth or a similar service to visually review the waypoints and landmarks along your route before making your cross-country flights (dual or solo).
     
  11. Take advantage of the free multimedia lessons at www.FAA-ground-school.com. They will give you a huge head start on your training and can save you hundreds of dollars. The things you learn here for free are things you won't have to pay your instructor to teach you later.

 
 

Gold Seal Online Ground School and Audio CDs

Effective, Efficient, and Entertaining
Get Started Right Now!