When I tell people they should think about learning to fly, they often say, ?I can?t afford to learn how to fly, it costs too much money!?
Flying is expensive, as I have found out, but if you use a little determination and focus, you can make it work, because it?s worked for me. When you look at finances it?s important to remember that you are flying while you learn to fly. Many people think the fun doesn?t start until they earn their pilot?s certificate. In reality, you?ll be flying on your first lesson, and if your first lesson is like mine, you?ll be doing a lot of the flying yourself.
I turned 16 last September, and since then I?ve been enjoying the sky just like any other pilot. When I was 14 I decided I wanted to be an airline pilot ? a goal I?m still very focused on. I knew that this would be expensive, and as months passed, I learned more about flying. By 15 I had read all the books, and I knew flying lessons were in my immediate future.
In late May last year I set a goal of soloing on my 16th birthday. Because school would be out in early June, I had to start my lessons in the early summer to prepare for my birthday in September. I brainstormed about possible ways to finance my lessons, and I was soon on the way to the local FBO (near San Diego, California) with my resume.
Weeks went by, and after giving up my great idea about getting a job at the FBO, I decided the only way I could meet my goal would be to earn $100 a week, which would pay for about one lesson a week. With this in mind, knowing my young age wouldn?t get me a dream job, I was soon mowing neighborhood lawns, pulling weeds, and digging trenches in the summer heat. Somehow that didn?t matter to me.
What did matter was the $100 a week I earned. It meant I was flying every week. My weekly lessons reminded the FBO about my resume, and the manager offered me the job of sitting around talking to pilots, fueling planes, and just being a hangar rat. Great!? No, not so great. I couldn?t take the job because after I?d given them my resume, my family decided to move north, to Juneau, Alaska, in July. It was back to the trenches, but I didn?t mind, and I certainly don?t regret it.
When July came I said good-bye to my instructor ? and my job. ?Great,? I thought, ?15 years old and I need $100 a week.? Thankfully, I?d saved quite a bit of money from yard work and was able to continue my lessons in Alaska without missing a week. My savings were limited, however, so I went hangar to hangar, begging for a job. I heard a lot of, ?Sorry, we can?t hire anyone under 18,? or ?No, we would only have work for you May to September, come back in May.?
After a week of disappointment, I realized a job with airplanes and pilots was out of my reach. The time had come to look for a non-aviation job. On the first day of my non-aviation search I got two job offers ? I took the grocery store job. It certainly isn?t my dream job, but I earn the money I need to fly, and it?s a lot better than pulling weeds in the Southern California summer heat.
I did solo on my 16th birthday, and one of the best parts is I did it myself. I don?t just mean I flew the plane myself, but I earned it. Sure, having someone else pay for my flying would be fun, and certainly easier, but by paying for it myself, I can say I earned it myself.
I don?t have my private pilot certificate yet. That?s my 17th birthday goal, but I have had the time of my life so far, and I have been since my first flying lesson.
Now you have the facts: The fun starts the day of your first lesson, and never stops. You can go at your own pace; there is no requirement for how often you fly. Anyone, of any age, can fly. Where there is a will, there is a way.
I did it at 15, and so can you. Now you know it?s possible, no matter what your age or financial situation, so the decision is yours ? to fly or not to fly?
- Christopher Sis