In Training

When most students decide they're ready to learn to fly, they want to know which flight school to use and how to schedule a lesson. Seldom do students stop to consider buying an airplane and learning to fly in it. This isn't surprising, but it is too bad because training in your own airplane can offer lots of benefits, both obvious and subtle.

Before you laugh at the very idea of buying an airplane before even starting your flight instruction, you should know that it can make real financial sense to buy a training airplane such as a Cessna 152, Cessna 172, or Piper Cherokee. If you buy carefully, which means finding a quality, relatively low-time airplane, you may be able to recoup every dime that you spend on it and possibly even more when you sell it.

A classic training airplane, such as a Piper Cub or Aeronca Champ, can also be a good investment for a new student. Before getting into the specifics of the airplanes, let's talk about finding an instructor who can teach you in your own airplane.

If the airplane is relatively modern, meaning an all-metal, tricycle-gear design, you may be able to lease it to a training school and take lessons with the instructors who teach there. This makes a certain amount of sense in that the school's use of the airplane is helping to pay for the cost of ownership. One disadvantage is that the airplane is accumulating flight time much faster than if you were the only person flying it, and accumulated flight time is one of the primary factors in determining an airplane's value. Another potential problem with leasebacks is that students can be a little tough on airplanes. Piloting skills aside, no one is quite as good to an airplane as its owner.

A trainer is a little like a rental car. If you don't own it, small scratches in the paint and smudges on the upholstery don't mean much to you. As the owner, however, it means something to you in terms of devaluation, not to mention pride of ownership. Therefore, when you set up a leaseback agreement, it's important to specify exactly how the airplane is to be maintained. Be aware, however, that the typical leaseback arrangement calls for the owner of the airplane to pay for all maintenance costs. You can also limit the number of hours to be flown.

If you arrange a leaseback, the instructor situation is exactly the same as for anyone else. You will have to compete with other students for the instructor's time and, unless you stipulate otherwise in your leaseback agreement, the training charges will be the same.

Another approach is to buy an airplane, keep it for yourself, and hire an instructor separately. Again, you have more than one option. You may choose to hire a freelance instructor or contract with one through a flight school. If you hire an instructor through a flight school, you'll pay a premium hourly charge. Almost all schools charge more for instruction given in a customer's airplane than in one that the school operates.

The advantage of this approach over hiring a freelancer is that you're more likely to be able to set up a firm training schedule. Freelance instructors often teach part time, making scheduling difficult. And, if a freelance instructor quits, you have to search for another instructor in your area. If a flight school instructor quits, the school can usually provide another instructor.

Finding an instructor to teach in a classic airplane can be more difficult. Tailwheel instructors, especially experienced ones, are hard to come by. Before you buy a tailwheel airplane as a trainer, make sure there's an instructor available who can put in the required time.

It's the rare flight school that has a current tailwheel instructor on staff, so you'll probably have to hire a freelancer. (You should also realize that many tailwheel aircraft aren't equipped with the instrumentation and avionics required for the private pilot checkride. Be sure that your airplane is, or be prepared to take the practical test in something else.)

With all of that in mind, which airplane should you buy? The two most popular classic trainers are the 65-horsepower Piper J-3 Cub and 7AC (or 85-horsepower 7EC) Aeronca Champ. Both airplanes have their devotees, and both have their strong and weak points.

The J-3 Cub is the standard by which just about every airplane-trainer and otherwise-is measured. It's cute, it's relatively easy to fly, and it costs next to nothing to operate. You'd be hard pressed to burn more than four gallons of fuel per hour in a Cub. But as affordable as J-3s are to fly, they are not cheap to buy. The very characteristics that make them classic airplanes also have made them wildly popular, driving prices through the roof. Expect to pay $20,000 just to get into the game with a decent airplane. If you want a cream puff, change that first digit to a three.

The Cub, however, is a gentle, forgiving airplane that will teach you how to fly in ways that a Cessna 152 never even thought about. This is true of every classic trainer; you'll come out of them a better pilot. Your coordination will be much better, as will your attention to pitch control. You'll have a much better "feel" for what the airplane is doing because the airplane telegraphs it. And because a tailwheel airplane won't tolerate sloppy touchdowns, you'll become very critical about the landing attitude. The single biggest advantage to learning in one of these old airplanes is that for the rest of your flying career, you'll be a better pilot for it.

The post-war Champ was designed around all of the Cub's shortcomings. It is roomier, you fly from the front seat, and the visibility over the nose is outstanding-for a taildragger, that is. It has about the same runway manners, although it touches down at a much higher speed than a Cub-maybe as high as 40 to 45 mph. Golly!

It's heavier, which means it handles crosswinds a little better, and its higher cruise speed of about 90 mph makes it a little more useful for cross-country flights. If, however, they ever decide to pick a poster child for the Adverse Yaw Society, the Champ will be it. Either your feet get busy on the rudder pedals to counteract the adverse yaw, or every flight will polish the bottom of your pants. This, by the way, is a plus, not a minus, because you'll really come to understand rudder control. A Champ will generally cost two-thirds to three-quarters of what a Cub in similar condition would fetch.

Joining the Champ and Cub, and completing the triad of popular postwar trainers, are the Cessna 120 and 140. Essentially, these are taildragger versions of the Cessna 150. (Actually, the 150 is a tricycle-gear version of the earlier 140.) Compared to the Cub and Champ, the 120 and 140 offer a much more modern feeling, side-by-side accommodations, control wheels instead of sticks, toe brakes, and cross-country speeds in the 105 to 115 mph range. Their spring-steel landing gear makes them extremely forgiving on the runway.

The wing on the 120 is all-aluminum with a fabric covering. The 140A has the single lift-strut, all-aluminum wing of the 150. If you don't have a hangar, the aluminum construction makes the 140 a much better candidate for outside tie-down storage than the Cub or Champ, which have fabric-covered steel-tube fuselage structures that can rust. The Cessna 120s and 140s run in the $12,000 to $25,000 range and are extremely popular because they combine classic looks with relatively modern utility.

At least a half-dozen other tailwheel classics could fit the trainer mold, but the one that's the most numerous is the Luscombe 8A (also E or F models). The Luscombe is basically a more sprightly Cessna 140 with more rigid gear and stick controls. However, finding an instructor who is comfortable enough to teach you in the airplane may be a real chore.

The Luscombe is a very direct-response airplane on the runway, meaning it does exactly what you tell it to do. It won't cover for your mistakes like more modern tricycle-gear trainers. If you ask it to do something stupid, it will do just that. The instructor has to allow you time to correct your own mistakes, and in the event you don't, still give himself time to save it. Compared to the other aircraft mentioned, the Luscombe is the least forgiving, so the instructor has to be especially familiar with the airplane's handling. Learn to fly a Luscombe with the right instructor, however, and you're going to come out a terrific pilot. The Luscombe also has an aluminum structure (many have rag-fabric-covered-wings) so, it too can sit outside and suffer less damage from elements compared with a Cub or Champ.

Don't want the challenge of a tailwheel? Then look at the 1950's crop of early nosewheel airplanes. The Piper Tri-Pacer, possibly the best value in the four-place field at $15,000 to $25,000, is both a good trainer and a good cross-country airplane cruising at 125 mph.

Also, don't forget that the Cessna 172 came out in 1956 and the Cessna 150 debuted in 1959. Those early "square-tail" Cessnas are gaining in popularity because their performance is almost identical to the modern airplanes, but they are available at a fraction of the cost. Just make sure you're getting a good airplane with a good engine or you may find you've just bought a high-wing money sucker.

There's one other advantage to buying a classic airplane to learn to fly in: It's much more fun flying something with character. Also, when you earn your certificate in your own airplane, you'll never have to wonder whether a rental airplane is available. Just saunter out to the aerodrome, strap on the airplane you know and understand, and start living the life of a private pilot.