First Flying Lesson - anyone with experience?

[TX_92_Notch]

I think I'm going to buy a flying lesson for a Christmas present. Do any of the resident pilots / aviation junkies have any insight regarding the best location in the metroplex for this?

My brother did this in Mesquite in the mid-90's and that's my only exposure.

http://mesquiteaviation.com/discover.html


EDIT: I should clarify - I'm buying this for someone else as a gift. It's not for me; not for someone looking to gain a pilot's license. Pretty much a one-time experience.

[YALE]

The consensus is: Addison. PM MGannaway, though.

[2011GT]

With the price of fuel these days... Good luck!

[Brn N Rubr]

Huffman Aviation at Spinks.

[F8LSVT]

Depending on where you're at, I'd go to Addison.

[Rotortrash]

I don't have any first hand knowledge of which ones are good these days. A friend of mine owns Skymates in Arlington. I sent a friend there for lessons, and the service was less than stellar. It seems the maintenance had gone downhill, and so had the service.

Another friend is a mechanic at U.S. Aviation in Denton. I don't know much about the school, but I do know how he maintains airplanes and I wouldn't hesitate to fly somthing he works on.

Stay away from ALL Flight Schools at Meacham.

Stay away from Pro Aircraft at HIcks. There's one man show at Hicks that seems to have a good thing going, but I haven't heard anything about him lately.

don't know anything about the guys at Spinks.

The School at Addison has a good reputation, but you'll pay a lttle more for the training out there.

There's a school at Northwest Regional that flys newer airplanes, but their maintenance wasn't the best a few years back. I don't know if that has changed or not.

You'll likely be fine anywhere for one lesson. Just do your research before you commit to a school. some want LOTS of money upfront, avoid those. Check out the fleet. Flight School airplanes are never pretty. All avionics should work, tires in good shape, no BIG oil puddles on the ground, etc. Check to see if they have maintenance on staff.

Let me know if you have any questions, I'll help if I can.

[Brn N Rubr]

I don't have any first hand knowledge of which ones are good these days. A friend of mine owns Skymates in Arlington. I sent a friend there for lessons, and the service was less than stellar. It seems the maintenance had gone downhill, and so had the service.

Another friend is a mechanic at U.S. Aviation in Denton. I don't know much about the school, but I do know how he maintains airplanes and I wouldn't hesitate to fly somthing he works on.

Stay away from ALL Flight Schools at Meacham.

Stay away from Pro Aircraft at HIcks. There's one man show at Hicks that seems to have a good thing going, but I haven't heard anything about him lately.

don't know anything about the guys at Spinks.

The School at Addison has a good reputation, but you'll pay a lttle more for the training out there.

There's a school at Northwest Regional that flys newer airplanes, but their maintenance wasn't the best a few years back. I don't know if that has changed or not.

You'll likely be fine anywhere for one lesson. Just do your research before you commit to a school. some want LOTS of money upfront, avoid those. Check out the fleet. Flight School airplanes are never pretty. All avionics should work, tires in good shape, no BIG oil puddles on the ground, etc. Check to see if they have maintenance on staff.

Let me know if you have any questions, I'll help if I can.

Very solid info.....

I would say picking the school is the hardest part about the whole thing...flying is easy. I would definitely suggest going to talk to a few flight schools if you decide to get serious. That's how I knew I had the right school....when the owner sat down and talked to me for close to two hours on my goals and ambitions with no guarantee that I would choose him. The other schools I visited rushed me through and basically said, "give us a call when you're ready to start." I was underwhelmed to say the least.

[dblack1]

What does it cost a person to just get a license to own/fly a small plane? What would yearly maintenance costs on a plane flown weekly around 6 hours be? Where is a good place to get started?

What would be a good plane for trips of 4-500 miles by air for two people? Same question for four people and minimal luggage?

Last question, where is a good place to get started on costs associated with ownership. I know what hanger space locally is, just trying to get a grasp on cost of ownership.

[crapstang]

There is an awesome flight school up here in Gainesville with low rates ($120/hr I believe). The guy is really great to deal with.

[TX_92_Notch]

I should clarify - I'm buying this for someone else as a gift. It's not for me; not for someone looking to gain a pilot's license. Pretty much a one-time experience.

Thanks for the replies so far. Definitely some good info.

[crapstang]

I should clarify - I'm buying this for someone else as a gift. It's not for me; not for someone looking to gain a pilot's license. Pretty much a one-time experience.

Thanks for the replies so far. Definitely some good info.

Both of my neighbors own flight schools. One is U.S. Aviation. I went on a cessna 172 flight for fun with them 5-6 years ago. Very fun, and much closer to the DFW 'plex than G-ville

[2011GT]

What does it cost a person to just get a license to own/fly a small plane? What would yearly maintenance costs on a plane flown weekly around 6 hours be? Where is a good place to get started?

What would be a good plane for trips of 4-500 miles by air for two people? Same question for four people and minimal luggage?

Last question, where is a good place to get started on costs associated with ownership. I know what hanger space locally is, just trying to get a grasp on cost of ownership.

I wish I could answer this but I've never touched a piston popper since school. I work corporate jets. If I were to guess annual maintenance would be 2-4k. Flying 6 hours a week is going to cost in the way of fuel which varies dramatically from aircraft to aircraft. I would look into a piper Cherokee it's a low wing aircraft which flys different then say a Cessna 172. Fuel burn on general aviation is usually in the way of gallons per hour. Looks like the piper burns 10 gallons a hour running 120kts.

My old man had a piper lance with a 540ci engine and would hold six plus had a nice cruise speed of I wanna say 160kts

[F8LSVT]

What does it cost a person to just get a license to own/fly a small plane? What would yearly maintenance costs on a plane flown weekly around 6 hours be? Where is a good place to get started?

What would be a good plane for trips of 4-500 miles by air for two people? Same question for four people and minimal luggage?

Last question, where is a good place to get started on costs associated with ownership. I know what hanger space locally is, just trying to get a grasp on cost of ownership.

Id estimate a private license now days is probably gonna run in the $7K range. Maybe a little less if you're lucky enough to find someone to rent you a Cessna 152 for $80 an hr. Dont count on it in the dfw area though.

Ownership and maintenance I really can't give you any advice there as I've always rented a plane. Only thing I can say is if your plane (an average piston) costs $100 an hr to operate, count on putting back another $100 per hr to cover maintenance costs.

A Cessna 172 will get 2 people almost 500nm on 2 full tanks. Piper Cherokee 140 is also a nice aircraft. Both are going to burn between 9.5 to 10.5gph. Just depends on what you like flying more.

4 people and some baggage I would be looking at the minimum something like a Cessna 182.

Good place to browse aircraft for sale is www.controller.com

Hope this helps.

[Pokulski-Blatz]

Stay away from ALL Flight Schools at Meacham.

Is that to include helicopter schools?

[Chili]

Is this going to be a one time novelty / orientation flight? If so, I doubt it really matters where you do it. Shop for price. If the intention is for it to lead to full training and licensing, then worry about the rest.

Edit - Just saw post #10. I would just buy based on price / reviews depending on the longest flight time and who may let them take the stick while in the air.