Flight Lesson for DH

[njsweetP]

I'm thinking of getting DH a flight lesson for Christmas. He's always mentioning how he'd love to have one. He asked for one for his 50th bday which was last month.. Has anyone ever done this? It sort of scares me but I know he'd love it. http://www.pilotjourney.com/pstore/buy-certificate.php

THe good thing is they give refunds at anytime.

 

[WDWisTheBest]

I'm thinking of getting DH a flight lesson for Christmas. He's always mentioning how he'd love to have one. He asked for one for his 50th bday which was last month.. Has anyone ever done this? It sort of scares me but I know he'd love it. http://www.pilotjourney.com/pstore/buy-certificate.php

THe good thing is they give refunds at anytime.

That would be a great present. And, the refund option makes it even better.

 

[Bren's Mom]

I would google 'flight schools yourtown' or 'flight lessons yourtown' just to see who offers them nearby and what their cost is. But I think it's a great idea!

 

[Frye7127]

My husband is a flight instructor and you are starting to tread into a money pit My DH loves flying and is thankful he got his licenses a long time ago. Your husband will love it!! and what a great and thoughtful gift!

 

[daughtersrus]

We live on a small semi-private airport that used to have a glider ride company. My BIL always wanted to learn to fly but never got past remote control planes and helicopters.

We gave him a glider ride for his birthday one year and he LOVED it!

 

[sam_gordon]

My DW got me an "introductory" flight for my Bday over the summer. I've wanted to learn to fly since my early teens (I'm now 40). She called one of the local flight schools and got a voucher for the introductory flight.

As far as the flight itself... I scheduled it when I wanted. It was an "hour flight". Touched base with the instructor, he took me out to the plane (Cessna 172) and put me in the pilot's (ie: left) seat. He got in the right. He handled taxi, takeoff, and all radio calls. We went about 20 minutes away from the airport and he had me take over the controls. Coincidently, we ended up flying over my home, and both my kids schools. We went through some clouds and basically just made some lazy circles in the sky.

He directed me to fly back towards the airport and when we got to a certain spot, he took the aircraft back and landed it.

I *LOVED* it. Now I just to need to keep saving $$ to try for my license at some point.

 

[Jellical Cat]

Be careful!! You may get him hooked. I bought one for DS#3 when he was 17. He is now 28 and all his extra money is going for flight lessons. He is a little more than half way through and has completed his first solo.

 

[njsweetP]

My DW got me an "introductory" flight for my Bday over the summer. I've wanted to learn to fly since my early teens (I'm now 40). She called one of the local flight schools and got a voucher for the introductory flight.

As far as the flight itself... I scheduled it when I wanted. It was an "hour flight". Touched base with the instructor, he took me out to the plane (Cessna 172) and put me in the pilot's (ie: left) seat. He got in the right. He handled taxi, takeoff, and all radio calls. We went about 20 minutes away from the airport and he had me take over the controls. Coincidently, we ended up flying over my home, and both my kids schools. We went through some clouds and basically just made some lazy circles in the sky.

He directed me to fly back towards the airport and when we got to a certain spot, he took the aircraft back and landed it.

I *LOVED* it. Now I just to need to keep saving $$ to try for my license at some point.

Thanks! This sounds like what I'm interested in getting him. So glad you enjoyed it! I know he will be thrilled, but I'm the one who's going to be stressed out!!

 

[njsweetP]

Thanks everyone for the great replies! I am think I am going to go ahead and purchase through the link in my original post. There is another flight school nearby but it doesn't participate in that program, price is about the same, but I don't think they offer refunds. I did email them but haven't heard anything. I like the fact thati if he decided the other school is the way to go I can get a refund.

 

[kmacht]

That $130 is going to cost you alot more in the long run. My wife had a friend at work who's fiancee' was a pilot. He owned a vintage WWII aircraft (AT-6). For my wedding present, she had him give me a ride in the plane while he flew formation with two other aircraft. He gave me a short lesson and let me do some flying after he broke off of the formation. It absolutely got me hooked. It has been eight years since that flight and I now have my pilots license, work for an aircraft jet engine manufacturer, and am building an airplane in our garage (not as crazy as that sounds). That first free flight has cost my wife over 50k so far (5k for the license, 20k for the plane, 25k for the garage to build it in, not counting logbooks, charts, headphones, rental fees, etc). On the plus side, we can now go to the airport, hop in a plane, fly 45 minutes to Marthas Vineyard, land on a grass runway, park and walk across the street to the beach). We can also go visit friends and family in about a third of the time it takes to get there by car. We have met many new friends around the airport and have had some incredible life experiences because of it.

The best advice I can give is that if he truely enjoys this flight, please shop around for an instructor before going further. Don't just start doing flight lessons with this place because that is where he took his first flight. There is nothing more important to successfully learning to fly than ensuring the instructor/student relationship is right. Ask around, get references, and compare costs before going further.

Keith

 

[Jellical Cat]

That $130 is going to cost you alot more in the long run. My wife had a friend at work who's fiancee' was a pilot. He owned a vintage WWII aircraft (AT-6). For my wedding present, she had him give me a ride in the plane while he flew formation with two other aircraft. He gave me a short lesson and let me do some flying after he broke off of the formation. It absolutely got me hooked. It has been eight years since that flight and I now have my pilots license, work for an aircraft jet engine manufacturer, and am building an airplane in our garage (not as crazy as that sounds). That first free flight has cost my wife over 50k so far (5k for the license, 20k for the plane, 25k for the garage to build it in, not counting logbooks, charts, headphones, rental fees, etc). On the plus side, we can now go to the airport, hop in a plane, fly 45 minutes to Marthas Vineyard, land on a grass runway, park and walk across the street to the beach). We can also go visit friends and family in about a third of the time it takes to get there by car. We have met many new friends around the airport and have had some incredible life experiences because of it.

The best advice I can give is that if he truely enjoys this flight, please shop around for an instructor before going further. Don't just start doing flight lessons with this place because that is where he took his first flight. There is nothing more important to successfully learning to fly than ensuring the instructor/student relationship is right. Ask around, get references, and compare costs before going further.

Keith

DS did not go back to the small airport that he originally took his intro flight at. I told him that if he were going to do it, go to the airport that had a tower and that had to deal with the Class B airspace so he would guess used to that type of thing. It was a bit more intimidating than an airport with no tower and far fewer planes but he feels that he has learned a lot. He also likes his instructor who is a bit younger than he is.

 

[mom0299]

I did this for DH's 40th birthday this year. He loved it! I even got to go with him on his discovery flight. He got to take the controls for a while. We flew over our house and saw some beautiful scenery. I took some amazing pictures.

 

[Anne34]

We live on a small semi-private airport that used to have a glider ride company. My BIL always wanted to learn to fly but never got past remote control planes and helicopters.

We gave him a glider ride for his birthday one year and he LOVED it!

We also live in a fly-in community (DG) and my husband is a private pilot. Thank god he learned before he met me. Definitely a money pit!!! He shares a plane with his dad and it is still crazy expensive. Two of my three kids want to learn to fly now!

I think he will love it -- especially since he asked for it for his birthday.

 

[PatriciaH]

Great idea! FYI they have a Facebook page and were offering Groupon flights for $75 last month. Wish I saw then. If you sign up for the newsletter they send you a $5 off coupon to your e-mail.