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What do yall think about this idea?

LonghornSoldier

LonghornSoldier

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Dec 12, 2005
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I am considering finding a way to finance the acquisition of a base pilots license.... plane rental costs are raw, but I have a licensed instructor willing to do all training etc free of charge as long as the required plane rental times needed are covered... and is also willing to extend that instruction to any of my friends that want to participate in this.... There are no words as to how epic it would be to pull off for business, vacation and other aspects.... what do yall think? Have to do a gofundme to help cover the cost of the aircraft rentals to log the needed air time etc, but i think it would be so worth it...especially since i have buddies that would go in on a used plane with me... and at that point, i can try to start a small business - like a freight style thing, or chartered vacation set up...

What do yall think? Im tempted to get this rolling, but its gonna run somewhere between $7-8k total for rentals and minor other expenditures - all of which would cover anyone else doing it with me...

Always dreamed of doing something like this ever since i was a 4 years old and learned my dad was a pilot. Im tired of the "what ifs" and "what could have been" shit, and im looking to make major impacts in the mundane and ****ed up play that is my life. Im looking to start busting my ass to get even a part of my dreams from childhood, and turn it into something both productive but also worthwhile of my time and attention. Im looking to start making life good, regardless of if it feels liek cooperating...

However I am curious as to other peoples thoughts and/or suggestions regarding this... i know we all trash each other etc etc, but keep it civil and on point here bc I dont think i have been this seriously focused on developing change I want in a long long time.... but i gotta cut ties with the past and all the dark crap that goes with it, which has me doing all sorts of out of character stuff... Hell, I am even writing a book, and rereading a book series from when i was younger so I can try to write a screeen play for it...

anyhow, enough rambling.. lemme know what you think and thanks in advance guys
 
And btw - dont take this as me hitting any of yall up for help on this.. lol I just trust some of you guys on here to the point that i would like to hear feedback... looking at a lot of different things to start doing in life to change it up and make it start behaving better haha.
 
I have a drone, that’s about as close to airplane ownership I feel comfortable with lol
 
LMAO - I dont care what any of yall say.
Belldozer1 said:
I have a drone, that’s about as close to airplane ownership I feel comfortable with lol
Click to expand...

LOL... they are fairly easy to maintain.. and you would be surprised how affordable they are... but this type of deal opens all sorts of doors and possibilities..
 
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LHS, if it's something you really want to do then go for it. As you know it's not cheap to do and if you are wanting to make a living doing it you will need to get a Private Pilots airmans cert with instrumentation rating.
Read up on part 61 & part 141 in the FARs (federal aviation regulations) for whatever the current requirements are.
Expect 50-60 flight hrs before getting signed off for a check ride and most companies require 1000hrs+ before they'll hire ya as a fully qualified pilot. That's not to say you can't get hired as a co-pilot right out the door. You can also do ferry flights for big bucks or take up skydivers ect... while racking up your hrs.
It's a process for sure but anything we really want doesn't come easy, right? Do your research on it all before you commit funding so you know exactly what it all entails and if you want it, do it! Good luck brotha.
 
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GuaranteedFresh! said:
LHS, if it's something you really want to do then go for it. As you know it's not cheap to do and if you are wanting to make a living doing it you will need to get a Private Pilots airmans cert with instrumentation rating.
Read up on part 61 & part 141 in the FARs (federal aviation regulations) for whatever the current requirements are.
Expect 50-60 flight hrs before getting signed off for a check ride and most companies require 1000hrs+ before they'll hire ya as a fully qualified pilot. That's not to say you can't get hired as a co-pilot right out the door. You can also do ferry flights for big bucks or take up skydivers ect... while racking up your hrs.
It's a process for sure but anything we really want doesn't come easy, right? Do your research on it all before you commit funding so you know exactly what it all entails and if you want it, do it! Good luck brotha.
Click to expand...


Word. I actually knew about the additional stuff to do instrument ratings etc. Dad flew Kingairs/queenairs and we have discussed that. He also knows a lot of pilots in the private sector that always require just a base license to ride copilot to meet flight requirements and they tend to get paid on a piecemeal basis... but the first step is to get the base level and then go up... i figure if i can pull off the base level then I can work ways to fund the instrument ratings and certifications. At tha point, but breaking it down like this makes it seem easier to attain and gives clear and defined goals etc.
 
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Or you can join the Cloud Pushers and get it free if you Qualify for the training, can you imagine yourself flying A Spectre Gunship? Well, wake the D F^ck up! Its a dream ..LOL

Good luck with that project, its a long money road and very time consuming and a lotta Ground School///
 
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I was waiting on @GuaranteedFresh! To comment seeing he is the only trained air traffic controller that I'm aware of, in this forum.

Look man, you can get rich doing something you don't love and then use that money to do what you love, or you can do what you love and do it so passionately that it works out for you. Some of the best pilots I've ever seen are private pilots-- Alaska bush pilots are insanely good. Fresh got to fly with the most highly trained helo pilots in the world in the 160th-- and I'd be willing to bet some of those guys are retired and flying private or commercial now-- it's a competitive field and you're going to have to put the man hours in.

But if this is where you want to go then go for it.
 
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clob94 said:
I was waiting on @GuaranteedFresh! To comment seeing he is the only trained air traffic controller that I'm aware of, in this forum.

Look man, you can get rich doing something you don't love and then use that money to do what you love, or you can do what you love and do it so passionately that it works out for you. Some of the best pilots I've ever seen are private pilots-- Alaska bush pilots are insanely good. Fresh got to fly with the most highly trained helo pilots in the world in the 160th-- and I'd be willing to bet some of those guys are retired and flying private or commercial now-- it's a competitive field and you're going to have to put the man hours in.

But if this is where you want to go then go for it.
Click to expand...


Money is a factor in Retention in the service, plus getting ya ass shot at every other day..but, Big Corps and Airlines look hard for these pilots , so its a seller market when you have flown a military Aircraft into battle or otherwise, that means you can find LA in a Fog bank in the middle of the night in driving rain..lol
 
LHS, this is going to be a longshot suggestion since I have no idea how old you are but here it is. If you are young enough, -35 I'd say, give law enforcement a look. Sure, you have to do the mundane patrol or detention assignment but, many agencies, especially larger ones, have aviation detachments and law enforcement is screaming for recruits right now. If you come into the department with a private licence, many of them will snap you up into the aviation unit. You might be doing helicopter support and patrol or extradition of prisoners. Even in a backwater like Northern Nevada, I know of at least half a dozen guys who came into the department with a private license, ended up racking up the hours in the aviation unit and punched out after 20 years and are now comfortably employed in aviation (couple of them for Southwest Airlines) and a couple flying casino execs around in some nice Lears, while drawing a police pension. One I just learned of the other day, turns out his daughter is in one of my classes and she caught me up on her dad.

Anyways, just a suggestion. Might be a way to finance the dream in the long term while being paid to do it.
 
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Freeper - I am 40, and have a record almost as long as the aggy river of tears.... Me and L.E. dont exactly get along too great bwahahaha....but thanks for the suggestion bro - i really do appreciate you trying to help me out. Any fresh ideas or perspective only help devbelop and fine tune ideas and plans.

Also keep in mind that I grew up in a pilot household. Thats what my dad did. I have been learning the ins and outs of the job for years now... just need to apply it in training and go through the motions to pass the test... and as far as ground school etc goes - my dad may be retired from the State, but he still has an active instructors permit and will be doing all the training for free. My only costs will only be cost of renting the aircraft to log the actual flight hours etc.

And at an average of 52 hours needed to be ready to test and get licensed, the cost of rental on an aircraft ranges between $100-200 per hour... so if you do the math and understand the full total isnt due at once, but can be broken into smaller installments in accordance with scheduled actual flight time... so roughly $300-500 per session in the sky....
 
LonghornSoldier said:
Freeper - I am 40, and have a record almost as long as the aggy river of tears.... Me and L.E. dont exactly get along too great bwahahaha....but thanks for the suggestion bro - i really do appreciate you trying to help me out. Any fresh ideas or perspective only help devbelop and fine tune ideas and plans.

Also keep in mind that I grew up in a pilot household. Thats what my dad did. I have been learning the ins and outs of the job for years now... just need to apply it in training and go through the motions to pass the test... and as far as ground school etc goes - my dad may be retired from the State, but he still has an active instructors permit and will be doing all the training for free. My only costs will only be cost of renting the aircraft to log the actual flight hours etc.

And at an average of 52 hours needed to be ready to test and get licensed, the cost of rental on an aircraft ranges between $100-200 per hour... so if you do the math and understand the full total isnt due at once, but can be broken into smaller installments in accordance with scheduled actual flight time... so roughly $300-500 per session in the sky....
Click to expand...

So you know aviation in and out....how are your engineering skills? If you're looking to get some hours in the air and offset some costs, how about volunteering with the Commemorative Air Force? I have a good friend over at the Tex Hill Wing in Hondo. They're always looking for help maintaining their old warbirds...You could probably wrangle some rides in exchange for hours. Just guessing at it though....
 
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freeper said:
So you know aviation in and out....how are your engineering skills? If you're looking to get some hours in the air and offset some costs, how about volunteering with the Commemorative Air Force? I have a good friend over at the Tex Hill Wing in Hondo. They're always looking for help maintaining their old warbirds...You could probably wrangle some rides in exchange for hours. Just guessing at it though....
Click to expand...


I would give money to take a spin in a A-1 Sky Raider, but its single seat, best Aircraft made besides the A10 and the C130..
 
GuaranteedFresh! said:
LHS, if it's something you really want to do then go for it. As you know it's not cheap to do and if you are wanting to make a living doing it you will need to get a Private Pilots airmans cert with instrumentation rating.
Read up on part 61 & part 141 in the FARs (federal aviation regulations) for whatever the current requirements are.
Expect 50-60 flight hrs before getting signed off for a check ride and most companies require 1000hrs+ before they'll hire ya as a fully qualified pilot. That's not to say you can't get hired as a co-pilot right out the door. You can also do ferry flights for big bucks or take up skydivers ect... while racking up your hrs.
It's a process for sure but anything we really want doesn't come easy, right? Do your research on it all before you commit funding so you know exactly what it all entails and if you want it, do it! Good luck brotha.
Click to expand...
GFresh, I have a neighbor that is a retired military helo pilot. He's pretty private guy but he told me that he flew Petraeus around quite a bit, I guess in Iraq. He really doesn't like to talk much about it and I have to pry info out of him. I'm assuming he was pretty accomplished to be flying a 4 star general around? He's retired now and appears to have a pretty good retirement package.
 
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Belldozer1 said:
GFresh, I have a neighbor that is a retired military helo pilot. He's pretty private guy but he told me that he flew Petraeus around quite a bit, I guess in Iraq. He really doesn't like to talk much about it and I have to pry info out of him. I'm assuming he was pretty accomplished to be flying a 4 star general around? He's retired now and appears to have a pretty good retirement package.
Click to expand...
Yeah, if he was shuttling HVTs through the theater I'd imagine he earned it. Funny thing is, once someone makes full bird and up they typically have a dedicated staff 24/7 that could make a diva jealous.
 
FlourBluffHorn said:
I would give money to take a spin in a A-1 Sky Raider, but its single seat, best Aircraft made besides the A10 and the C130..
Click to expand...
From a passengers perspective, I would highly disagree with the C130 but the AC130 gunship is truly a baaaaaad mofo. Get one of those raining down 40mm while spinning pylons above a pack of hodjis.......pure annihilation. I had one crew come in and completely wipe out a camp all the while complaining about who made the "prison brew" coffee onboard. We laughed so hard, we were crying.
 
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LonghornSoldier said:
Word. I actually knew about the additional stuff to do instrument ratings etc. Dad flew Kingairs/queenairs and we have discussed that. He also knows a lot of pilots in the private sector that always require just a base license to ride copilot to meet flight requirements and they tend to get paid on a piecemeal basis... but the first step is to get the base level and then go up... i figure if i can pull off the base level then I can work ways to fund the instrument ratings and certifications. At tha point, but breaking it down like this makes it seem easier to attain and gives clear and defined goals etc.
Click to expand...
Awesome, I was a little concerned that you were going into it blind but you obviously know a lot more about that career than I do. Just like any other job, it's all about who you work for. Clock starts when the wheels leave tarmac.
 
GuaranteedFresh! said:
Yeah, if he was shuttling HVTs through the theater I'd imagine he earned it. Funny thing is, once someone makes full bird and up they typically have a dedicated staff 24/7 that could make a diva jealous.
Click to expand...
I’ll try to dig around in him a little more and report back my findings. I’m sure he’s telling the truth, he’s a straight up guy but real private. He certainly didn’t broach the subject with me.
 
GuaranteedFresh! said:
From a passengers perspective, I would highly disagree with the C130 but the AC130 gunship is truly a baaaaaad mofo. Get one of those raining down 40mm while spinning pylons above a pack of hodjis.......pure annihilation. I had one crew come in and completely wipe out a camp all the while complaining about who made the "prison brew" coffee onboard. We laughed so hard, we were crying.
Click to expand...
Met a guy last night that just retired from the AF and moved to New Braunfels. Said he was 23rd sts. Said it was his guys that jumped into Haiti after the earthquake and set up a radio on the tarmac and were directing relief planes in for landing. Seemed like a nice guy. I told him there was a guy on this forum that used to be 24th and he was like "oh those guys............".

Bit of a family rivalry or what?
 
clob94 said:
Met a guy last night that just retired from the AF and moved to New Braunfels. Said he was 23rd sts. Said it was his guys that jumped into Haiti after the earthquake and set up a radio on the tarmac and were directing relief planes in for landing. Seemed like a nice guy. I told him there was a guy on this forum that used to be 24th and he was like "oh those guys............".

Bit of a family rivalry or what?
Click to expand...
Nothing wrong with the 23rd, you have to learn how to ride a bike somewhere.
 
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