Its gonna cost how much?!?

Well I have been doing some research on how to go about getting my P.P.L. and decided that one of the local Flying Clubs would be the way to go. I reached out to the Pacific Coast Flyers and was put in contact with Jeff White, the Chairman of this club. Jeff gave me an idea of what I could expect along the way to my P.P.L., gave me reasons why learning to fly through a club would be a better option then learning through a school and gave me an idea of what I could expect to pay for all of this.

According to Jeff most of his students get their license in about 55 hours of training. There are two separate costs associated in an hour of training, one is the plane rental, which in this case would be $120 for a Cessna 172, the other parts is for the actual instruction, $50 is Jeff's fee. So one hour of training is $170. Jeff said that a typical lesson is between one and one and a half hours, and that I should go two or three times a week. I don't even need a calculator to know that this is going to cost a fortune, but hey, I knew that going into this, which is exactly why I have put it off for so long.

I decided that a discovery flight is the way to go right now, so Jeff and I scheduled an hour after work to take me up in the air, let me get my hands on the controls, and see if this is something I really want to pursue.

What better time then now?

One of my biggest concerns in life is that I am going to grow old and regret not doing more with my life. It is this fear that has lead me to some great experiences, from learning to kick box and fighting in a sanctioned bout, to moving to San Diego and driving across country...twice! Since moving to San Diego, buying a condo and getting engaged it seems this fear has taken a back seat, maybe because I feel this whole San Diego experience is big enough that I could take a break from living life to the fullest. That has been the case for a while now, a year at least, where my weekly routine is more or less identical to the week before: work, gym, surf, repeat. Not a bad routine to be stuck in, but still...a routine.

The fire to have new experiences I once had returned this week after a phone call with my father. We have had this conversation before but for some reason it stuck with me this time around. I had mentioned how it would be cool to learn to fly, like I had mentioned in past conversations, and he replied saying he always wanted to learn as well, like he had in past conversations. It was then that I realized that my old man would never learn to fly, and that neither would I unless I just went for it. Fact is, learning to fly is a lot of money, but is it money well spent? I think so. When I am an old man, looking through the family photo album and I come across the photos of me flying a plane, I don't think I will regret spending the $8000.

So...I guess its time to just go for it?