Young Wanna-do

[Jon-Kyle Mohr]

Hey guys,
Its great to be here, looks like an awesome community you have.

First off, let me introduce myself. I'm an aspiring 14 year old who has one goal, get up in the air ASAP. I've been interested for aviation as long as I can remember. We have photos of me spotting at DFW when I was two, tapes of me stating my future occupation would be an "Aiwpwane piwot" at three, etc.. Now I spend my days flying anything from ultra-lights to 737s into KSAN in Flightsim. You could say I'm a bit addicted, I've spent well over $1,000 on addons (yoke, pedals, planes, the works.)

I went flying from Nashville to Knoxville, TN in a C172 roughly 4 months ago, and if any of you here have the flying bug you know this is far to long to be on the ground. I'm just about ready to climb a water-tower to get that much closer to the big o'l blue.

Anywho, as you may see I am very interested in training for my PPL. The only problem I have is age. I have no problem what-so-ever funding the training, I drag in around $2,000 a month with freelance web development. In case you fellas don't know (which I dont' count on), the minimum solo age is 16, minimum to get your PPL is 17. To say the least, I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place.

In one way I wish to get in the air and start cranking away at that PPL flying twice a week. On another note, I'd like to wait till I'm 17 to start. I figure that if I start now and get those 15-25 hours for the solo done, I'm going to be waiting a good two years till I can stretch my wings solo. But... if I wait till I'm 17, I'll end up in the loony bin screaming "voooooooosh!" and running in circles with my arms sprawled out. Not a pretty picture in my mind (even though I'm on the brink of doing this at the moment.)

Does any one have a suggestion as to what I should do? I'm about ready to take an intro flight regardless of what I choose, its been too long since I've been flying.

 

[Lead Sled]

If I were you I go find a glider school and get started. You can solo a glider at 14, get your PPL-Glider at 16. Why wait, you'll have a great head start on the others and you'll gain valuable skills that will be a help to you throughout your career. You can find a school at www.ssa.org

'Sled

 

[banned username 2]

My advice to you is take an occasional "Intro Flight" to keep yourself interested and such (once every 2-3 months), but don't lay out any serious cash until you are old enough to get the PPL completed, you don't want to drag that training over 3 years... it really would be counter productive and cost you a lot more money in the long run.

I would say once you are about 16 1/2 start training 2-3 times a week towards your PPL, you'll probably get your Certificate just about the time you turn 17... THEN start working on your Instrument rating right after you finish...

Hope this helps!

(P.s. I was Full Time Flight Instructor for nearly 3 years, I seen a few kids in your exact predicament, they all did fine flying once in a while to keep them happy and then going full bore when they got to 16 1/2)

 

[Jon-Kyle Mohr]

Lead Sled: I've actually looked into this, forgot to mention in my post. There are no glier camps/schools within 100+ miles of my house. I doubt any one in my family would be willing to drive me to one of these once a week.

Falcon Capt: Thanks for the addvice! I'll keep this in mind

 

[mmmdonut]

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[350DRIVER]

I would probably spend the money on a few intro-flights just to get up in the air until you get a tad older. Once you hit 15 1/2 then would be the time to seriously start flying and taking the "lessons", possibly an hour every other week. Once you hit the magic "16" then step it up a little bit and increase the lessons so on your 17th birthday you will be able to take the checkride. I wouldn't rush into things at this point in the ball game since you still have quite a bit of time to get your "feet wet". I applaud your desire and ambition to want to get a head start and "fly" but I don't see any need to dish out a lot of money present day especially at your age. Let time takes it toll and all the rest will fall into place and it will put you in a pretty good situation so you are able to take your PVT checkride on your 17th birthday.

Look at these upcoming flights as more or less "enjoyment" flights but also log the flight time and soak up as much knowledge as you can since that will allow you to mature in more ways than one and also get you ahead of the curve.

I have flown with many younger guys in your age bracket and this was the plan of action that I suggested and it seemed to work out quite well for all involved. You may even want to get into some sort of formal ground school program that many will offer you at a reduced cost due to your age. The former flight school that I once upon a time instructed at would offer pretty nice discounts for those who are in your position, spouses, etc, so you may want to inquire and look into these options that may or may not be available to you depending on the flight schools around you.

You are never too young to "start learning", try to enjoy these younger years though and allow yourself to get the best of both worlds. If I were you I would come up with some sort of plan of action since many flight schools will try and take your money and will attempt to talk you into starting full steam ahead now (present day) which I personally don't think would be in your best interest.

Speak to your parents about your desire to want to fly, explain to them the age problem that you are faced with and have them go with you to the local flight school with a plan of action.


I would also put some of that $2,000 away into some sort of "flying account" for future purposes. Flying is not cheap as I am sure you are aware of and if you are able to have a nice flying fund then that should make the financial situation much better and lesson the burden 1 to 2 years down the line. It will start to get somewhat expensive once you get into your instrument training and so on.

Once again, I applaud your determination and can only hope that you are able to get back up in the air soon.

good luck young one,

3 5 0

 

[nosehair]

Two new words for you, Jon-Kyle: "Sport-Pilot", & "SpaceShip One".

DoIt,DoIt,DoIt

 

[minitour]

I'd start studying up...take the occasional flight once every couple of weeks...maybe an hour here or there...just get really good at the basics...don't worry about spicing things up yet.

But get a REALLY good knowledge on everything you possibly can...

Maybe on the weeks you don't fly, you could do 1-2 hours of ground time. Start with the Private Pilot books and work your way through...Start memorizing checklists of the aircraft models you'll be flying...

Just keep studying and reviewing, and I'll bet by the time you're 18 you'll be able to fly through your Commercial/CFI stuff.

If you're bringing in $2000 a month, as 350 said, you should probably put some/most of that away for flying.

Try to find a good instructor to teach you the fundamentals. Once you learn the basics, everything else is just combining the basics to make those "complex maneuvers".

If I could go back to your age and start over (especially with your financial situation), I would have started with a little flying and a lot of studying/ground time. Then I would have started working hard core on my PPL just before 16 so I could solo AT 16. Also, I would have probably tried to do all of my ratings while going to school and at a place that has a 135 charter operation tied in to it. I'm sure there's one near you.

I'm sure if you did all of your ratings at a school with a 135 operation (and did well) you could probably jump right into the 135 stuff (part time) out of HS (as SIC). Then get your 4 year degree, and by the time thats done you've got 1800/800 or something like that...you'd be perfect for a regional...

Sounds like you've got a lot going for you as far as getting started. Just work hard and I'm sure you'll do fine.

Good Luck
-mini

 

[bafanguy]

Would the Civil Air Patrol be a way to get some exposure to airplanes ?

 

[de727ups]

Sport pilot isn't going to help cause you still have to be 16 to take the checkride.

I'd make friends with a local pilot who will help keep you in the air and nurture your interest in aviation. If you were around Spokane, WA I could keep you busy.