It's Everything a Flying Club Should Be...

Getting the urge to fly? We welcome student pilots in the club. Every pilot was at one time a student pilot so we’re confident you’ll enjoy, with us, the lofty pursuit of flying!

Participation in the club is a great way to learn more about flying through interaction with other members. We are different than a flight school in that we own the planes and have a strong interest in taking care of them - we are also the ones flying the planes. We keep rates low because club volunteers do as much as possible to keep the planes in top condition.

Information
There are numerous references on the web for new pilots including:
FAA Student Pilot Guide [FAA-H-8083-27A} http://www.faa.gov/library/manuals/aviation/media/faa-h-8083-27a.pdf
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association sites : http://www.aopa.org, http://www.aopa.org/learntofly/ and the AOPA Project Pilot site: http://www.aopaflighttraining.org/project_pilot. Club members can serve as your Project Pilot Mentor.

At  http://www.beapilot.com. you can download a certificate for an introductory plane ride at various flight schools.

If you haven't taken your aviation medical you can find an Aviation Medical Examiner at http://ame.cami.jccbi.gov/.  You don't need a medical to take begin instruction but will need it before you can solo - it's just a good idea to get it out of the way.  The medical form is provided at the doctor’s office but here’s a copy for your review: http://www.leftseat.com/pdffiles/8500-8new.pdf. 

Requirements
The FAA requires 40 hrs of flight instruction although most pilots need 50-70 hours of flight instruction – no matter where they take instruction.  There's also ground instruction with your instructor and self-study.  A written test (actually given thru a computer testing service) is required (the written test can be taken at any time) as well as an oral test and flight test with a FAA Designated Examiner at the end of training.  If you fly at least twice a week you can probably finish in six to nine months or so.

There are programs at College Of DuPage, other community colleges and flight schools at various times to help you learn about aviation for the Private Pilot written test.  Many people just use self study materials or video tapes along with coaching from their instructors.

Costs
If you figure 50 - 70 (Tach Time) hrs in our Cessna 172 ~ $4,500 to 6,300
Instructor - flight+ground time (50 - 70 hr) ~   1,700 to 2,400
Club initiation+dues (say 1 yr)                          ~   1,250
Books, tapes, headset, flightbag, etc.                      ~ 500
Ballpark, blue sky guess Total                   ~  $8,000 to $11,000

You can use these times to compare costs with other clubs or flight schools.

Stuff
For training you don’t need a lot of pilot gadgets.  Our planes have intercoms so you won’t need a portable intercom.  You can easily spend another $1,000 to $2,000 on a handheld radio, GPS, noise canceling headset and other gadgets that are nice but not essential for initial flight training.

Visit
So, look around, compare and drop in on one of our Meetings or just contact us with ANY questions you might have.

Getting from the “Gee, I’d like to learn to fly” stage to actually sitting in the cockpit can be daunting so we’ll be happy to help with any questions you may have. Just Ask Us.