I got my 3rd class medical a week or so ago and trying to find a good flight school for my PPL. I live in Weatherford so the Dallas area is too far. I was looking at possibly Spinks Flight Center but hoping to get some actual reviews or recommendations from locals. Anyone have any recommendations or contacts who can speak to the quality of certain schools or instructors? TIA

You might try out mineral wells if its not too far. The only other place i know of is Ft Worth Alliance airport and they have a few flight schools over there. I used to CFI out of Denton so Ive been to all those airports plenty. Good luck in your joirney!

Learn on steam gauges and you'll easily adapt to glass panels. Not so much the other way around.
Wish I knew the area around there more.

average_joker said:

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Learn on steam gauges and you'll easily adapt to glass panels. Not so much the other way around.
Wish I knew the area around there more.

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That's definitely a question I intended to ask instructors. What's the ideal order? I assumed it was old school first and then glass, but obviously I don't have a clue. Thanks for the reply.

There's enough other learning to do at first without looking at gauges/screens. My instructor had to tell to get my head out of the cockpit and keep my eyes "out there".

There'll be plenty of time later on to worry about them. It's actually a relief to have someone else work the radios etc and you get to do the fun part!

Whether it's glass or the gauges all you need for a while is airspeed, altitude, and attitude indicators.

edit to add--
I googled a couple of things and suggest you call these guys. Looks pretty close and it's a small town airport that looks perfect for learning.

http://www.bourlandfield.com/

Thanks 80sGeorge. I had heard of that airfield before but didn't realize they had training available. Looks like they have a 152 as a trainer/rental. And oddly enough my AME at my medical wrote a name down and he said he is at Spinks but his name, Greg Engel, is the listed instructor at Bourland so that's a positive recommendation for him. Thanks again for the replies. I will give them a call tomorrow, that field would be ideal for traffic and proximity.

Any experience with the difference between a 152 and 172? If I trained totally in a 152 how would the learning curve be if I wanted to fly a 172 after getting my license?

Easy

A Cessna is a Cessna is a Cessna. They all fly relatively the same, just heavier controls as the planes get bigger. A 152 is an excellent plane to start in, they're nice flyers and forgiving to heavy handed inputs from new pilots. I own a 182 and had no problem flying it after having less than 50 hrs in smaller Cessna's.

Good luck, get a tailwheel endorsement!

Thanks CenterHill. That's good news. I aim to start my training the week after Thanksgiving and with no kids and a flexible work schedule I hope to knock it out fairly quickly, as long as I can avoid cloud cover and ice over the next several weeks.

A 152 is a different airplane from a 172 but transitioning is not difficult.

You have to have an instructor you enjoy, get along with and who has your training in mind and isn't just building hours for his "jet job" or supplementing income between charter flights.

If it doesn't feel right after a few hours discuss it with the instructor and if not better then get another one.

I don't know of any instructors in that area, but the 152 should be fine for training. I trained in a 172 and bought a 182 turbo and the transition was pretty easy. I now fly an SR22T and that was a little bigger transition, but still very manageable. The only problem you may run into with the 152 is ability to fly with 2 grown ups on hot summer days. Just get your private knocked out by April and you'll be golden.

Enjoy your training and don't get discouraged if you don't pick it up right away. I felt like I would barely learn to how to do a maneuver then we would move on to the next thing. I thought I would just get further behind, but by check ride time, I was very confident in my flying abilities.

Also, just about every pilot screws up early on. Most of us have made mistakes that could have killed us. I sure did. My friend Jay Consalvi (look him up) did as well. They say pilots get 2 buckets, one full of luck and an empty bucket of experience. You need to fill up the experience bucket before the luck bucket becomes empty.

ABlane13...cool your going to do this! Learning to fly was hands down the most self rewarding thing I ever did. About a year after I got my ticket my wife went and got hers as well. Now we are a two airplane family....a "taildragger" for me and a Piper Warrior for her. I learned in a Piper Thomahawk at New Braunfels from a military instructor. First plane we bought was a Cessna 150 and we used it to build time and experience.
ISLAND AG hit the nail on the head..............find a true "instructor"... a guy who makes his living at it and not just trying to build time to get his ATP rating. Stay away from the "pilot mill" flight schools.
While learning make sure you get some IFR basics for "just in case".
Remember when you get your ticket that it gives you the real beginning to learn from that point forward. You should continue to learn something every hour of flying for the rest of your life.
Build your hours in a forgiving airplane....don't go out and purchase a Bonanza or Mooney when you have low hours. Take your time and learn.....
You will be the most dangerous when you get to about 500 hours.....you will think you are Chuck Yeager and are invincible. Don't let it come back to bite you.
Don't ever stop "flying" the airplane till its in the chocks and shut down.
Above all...ENJOY it. There truly is nothing like it.....and when your up there all by yourself, looking at the beautiful blue you can think of High Flight and the immortal words.....
.......Oh, I have slipped the surly bounds of earth....................................

Good luck to you and may you always have tailwinds............

Quote:

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Remember when you get your ticket that it gives you the real beginning to learn from that point forward.

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Yes..Old Saying...You can have 1,000 hours of flight time/experience or you can fly the same hour 1,000 times.

My boss just got his license from Bill Spence out of Hicks Airfield. It's north of Saginaw on 287.

100 Aviator Dr, Fort Worth, TX 76179

That's relatively close to Weatherford. If you wanted more info I could get his contact.

edit - Bill is a full-time instructor after retiring from a major airline. He provides some high level certifications to professional pilots as well as training new ones. I rode with them once to Carlsbad and he was very easy going.

Thank you all. Very encouraging and has me even more excited. I spoke to Greg Engel who trains at Bourland and some at Granbury and I think he's my guy. We are going to meet at the airport after Thanksgiving to sit and talk and go on a flight. He's a former Navy pilot who retired from Lockheed last year and all he does is train now so I don't have to worry about him leaving for the airlines. My intent is to definitely be done before Easter so I don't have to deal with the heat while training in a small plane. I did a discovery flight a few years ago in July and the 3rd touch and go became a full stop to avoid having to clean the cockpit, so I hope to avoid that at all costs.

I trust these folks at Hooks with my life when I'm in their plane, so I'd trust their input on the topic.

They're obviously here in Houston, but may know some folks in your area.

Ask for John Van Paschen, or his wife Caro.

Weatherford Airport

OK, I've got to ask.

What is the average cost to get your license like this? I know it will vary, but I would really like to do this some day and want to start thinking about how to make that happen. I imagine it isn't a good sign that Hooks will finance the lessons.

I doubt everyone owns a plane and I know you can rent planes. What does the rental cost structure look like? Say to fly to Colorado.

Insurance?
Plane Rental?
Gas?
???

OK, I've got to ask.

What is the average cost to get your license like this?
To be safe, let's say $10k:
40 hours (minimum) plane rental at $125/hour wet= $5,000
30 hours of instructor at $50/hour =$1,500
Testing and physicals: $300?
Decent headset and bag and charts and whanot= $750
Insurance: $300/year
Examination and Examination Fee: $500

Bare Minimum: $8,350

You have to have 40 hours to test out, and you have to have (I think) 30 hours flight with instructor. I tested at 42 hours, but did all my training over the course of a summer. If you don't fly for a month, as a student, you forget what the radio sounds like and may lose the feel for it, so it'll take you a few practice hours just to catch up what you lost.

$10k will get you single-engine VFR rules certified. IFR (cloudy days) is extra, twin engine is extra.

I know it will vary, but I would really like to do this some day and want to start thinking about how to make that happen. I imagine it isn't a good sign that Hooks will finance the lessons.
See agove

I doubt everyone owns a plane and I know you can rent planes. What does the rental cost structure look like? Say to fly to Colorado.
Too much to be fun. A single engine moves at ~140mph (and that's generous). You have to fill up every hours. You may not fly in a straight line since airports with gas may not be on your heading.

A more reasonable flight would be Houston to Fredericksburg and back: ~5-6 hours, so $750 bucks.

Insurance? $300/year
Plane Rental? $125/hour, don't pay for gas, get reimbursed if you do
Gas? Pay for it at another airport, get reimbursed at home (AT HOME AIRPORT'S SELF SERVICE RATE)
???

Maybe I'm approaching this incorrectly then. The biggest reason I want to get my license is to have more control over trips I'd like to take now, but are too long in a car and too big of a pain in the ass to fly commercial.

Examples
Elk hunt each fall in Colorado. Flying to Denver and then renting a car to drive another 4-8 hours sucks for baggage and time. So does driving 16-24 hours from Houston.

Trips to fun vacation destinations that don't have big airports. Wine country of California, most golf destinations, Santa Fe new Mexico, Aggie football games, etc. Just cutting travel time from 2 days driving to 6-8 hours flight time would be awesome.

Is it harder more expensive to get a twin engine license to make those trips work?

Anyone have the same thought or get their license for the same reasons?

You can definitely spend 10-12K if you tried but you can also spend a lot less if you live close enough to cheaper options or willing to travel a bit. I will train in a Cessna 152 @ $95/hr wet and the instructor at $45/hr. The goal is to fly often enough that I can do my check ride around 40-45 hours to keep costs down. If I can do that including medical, check ride, insurance, and written exam I will be right around 7K all in. But if I wanted to upgrade to a 172 or couldn't check ride at 40-45 hours then the price could get closer to that 10K estimate.

I don't have super defined goals other than being able to fly a plane. I am fine with the "100 dollar hamburger" as they say. I want the life experience of flying a plane myself, learning and flying bigger and faster planes, and then one day maybe owning my own plane or shared ownership if it's in the cards financially. I think just being a part of the aviation community has potential to open doors to experiences and opportunities you might not have otherwise.

Sounds like you are doing it for all the good reasons. There is truly nothing like flying. Some of my most enjoyable times has been talking airplanes at the small private strip we kept our planes at. It's much like being an Aggie...a brotherhood, if you will.
One thing I should add is to try and not think about the $$$$ of it so much. The important thing is to learn all you can. Don't try and force yourself to solo at a certain amount of hours, or try and "best" your buddy who says he soloed at only 6 hours etc. Remember this your life here......take your time until you feel proficient at what you are doing.....sounds like you have a good instructor lined up. Listen to him and let him guide you.
I can tell you that trying to use a VFR rating solely for business or for something that has a "schedule" or deadline attached to it is a recipe for disaster. Lots of people have been killed because they got what pilots call "get thereitis". Example: You plan on a flight trip over the week end with the wife. Friday you get a weather briefing and all looks good and off you guys go. But Sunday an unexpected low pressure has moved in and you are down to VFR minimums along your intended route back home. Both you and her need to be at work Monday for important meetings. Pressure and stress are on you because you need to get home Sunday afternoon. Now you are faced with a huge decision.......leave the airplane and find another way home or try to "get there." Now you just caught "get thereitis" and it can kill both of you. Remember weather is the main killer of VFR pilots.
I almost learned the hard way trying to use my plane for business trips but only had a VFR rating. An IFR rating can get you killed just as easy if you make wrong decisions but it at least can save your life if you are flying VFR and get caught in low ceilings etc. Talk and discuss with your instructor what your main goals of flying are and let him help you.
The old joke around all of us at our strip is "time to spare...go by air".

Ag LA06.....not trying to diffuse your enthusiasm to learn to fly..please understand that. The reasons you state as why you want to learn to fly is a great goal. However you are wanting to do long trips, (Wine country in Cal.), oftentimes over mountainous terrain in high altitudes, in times of the year (Elk season in Colorado) that the weather can be very challenging and dangerous.
To safely accomplish your goals you are going to have to have, at minimum, an IFR rating, preferably a Commercial rating for advanced flight training, and it sounds like you want a twin engine rating as well.
You also state that you want to save tons of time over driving for these trips so you are going to need to have access to or own a high performance single engine or a twin engine aircraft. Both of these will require lots of flight time to have proficient type ratings.
These types of aircraft typically have advance systems, I.E. Constant Speed props, retractable landing gear, de-icing equipment, etc. and require consistent and frequent flight time to stay proficient in them.
There is a old slang term given to the V-Tail Beech Bonanza......it is called the "Forked Tail Doctor Killer" by many pilots. Why? Because it was thought that typically high income people own them because they are expensive, relatively fast, and can carry a respectable payload. However they are a complex airplane to fly and require an experienced pilot to handle them in all conditions. They got their nickname because Doctors with little time to build flight hours would go get a pilots license and then with low flight time would load up the family and head to the mountains to go skiing, vacations, or whatever and end up drilling a hole in the side of the mountain with them, killing themselves and everyone with them.
What I am getting at is just to say take your time in your journey of learning to fly. Get your VFR ticket to start and build some flight time in a safe, forgiving aircraft like a Cessna 150 or 172. Then move up to get your IFR and again build some flight time. Then, if you have the financial resources, get your Commercial ticket and ultimately your twin engine rating. Just don't go out and purchase a high performance aircraft right after getting your license and head to Colorado Elk hunting. You don't want to become a NTSB statistic.
Tailwinds.................

<<<IFR (cloudy days) is extra>>>

I know what you meant regarding cloudy days but realistically if you have an instrument rating you will find yourself often filing an IFR flight plan on severe clear days.
This puts you "in the system"...you are in a more controlled environment, usually on radar, provided with traffic separation and advisories. It doesn't have to be cloudy to get great use out of an instrument rating but if it is cloudy, within limits, you can still fly. Of course, with this, comes another level of staying current and maintaining proficiency.

A couple of really good posts just above.

Gunny has provided sound advice. He's definitely not a ***** E7.

I had similar ideas as you when I started flying, using it for business purposes. I quickly found my thought process was flawed. My experience, it's difficult to match business commitments on schedule with flying VFR cross country. Just about everything is working against you: weather, airspace, courtesy cars at the destination, weight/balance, available fuel, etc. it definitely can be done, but at a more leisurely pace than I prefer for the time I have available.

IFR all the way even when clear and a million. They take you by the hand and lead you the whole way.

Aggie 1944 and Island Ag.....spot on the IFR program!!

XpressAg09 said:

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I trust these folks at Hooks with my life when I'm in their plane, so I'd trust their input on the topic.

They're obviously here in Houston, but may know some folks in your area.

Ask for John Van Paschen, or his wife Caro.

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Oh Caro got her certs back? Good for her.

For me, I'm still VFR because at most, I'm flying my kids to Austin from Houston to pick up their grandpa, or we're flying to Brenham for a $100 hamburger (RIP, Brenham Diner)

Flight following is good enough for me, plus I get to fly direct. But I know there's benefits to IFR.

When I get more money and a faster plane, I'll get my IFR.

I cannot confirm. I just know she knows stuff.

Interesting information.

I just got back from driving 17 hours from Pagosa Springs, Colorado to Houston (1050 miles in a car)
. As the bird flies it's only a little over 800 miles. Seems like that would be an easy 6 hour flight with a 140mph cruising speed. Is it really not that easy?

As other posters mentioned, you need an airplane that can carry the load you want for that long and at an altitude that can get you into the Rockies safely. Those planes exist, but they are expensive to purchase and maintain and require extensive amounts of training to operate.
A simpler plane can do two of those things, but would have to stop for fuel along the way.

Yep and that 6 hour flight can be changed by headwinds or tailwinds and stopping for fuel. It can easily change to a 7-8 hour flight and believe me a lot can change in that length of time in regards to weather along your flight path. Also you can run out of daylight so better be proficient in night landings and comfortable in doing them.
Today in Texas was a good example.....strong cold front worked its way across Texas with lots of bad weather to the east. If you were flying in a Gen Av plane you either cancelled your trip or wait till the front passes. If you are flying for fun you just use good judgement and fly another day. But if you have schedules to keep you may push to think you can make it.....and that's bad.

As the old saying goes....there are old pilots and bold pilots.....but no old bold pilots.

Lotta good advice on this thread. Weather has such an impact on GA flying, especially in fall and spring with frontal passage. You hafta be alert and flexible as predictions change frequently and even rapidly, requiring on the go adjustments, mid-flight. And unlike a car, you can't simply pull over to the shoulder, or rest stop, while a storm passes you by! You must expect the unexpected and be able to respond accordingly. As mentioned, high performance airplanes (turbocharged, constant speed props) that mountain flying almost demand, require even more training to maintain proficiency and expense to operate. It's a very expensive hobby, but very rewarding at the same time. It does provide a certain freedom and independence but you pay for it handsomely! Ideally, if one can incorporate it into their business, then it's a no-brainer!

My advice is to hammer out your ground school as soon as you can, as that must be completed before you can get your license, and many put it off and end up finishing up all the required solo flights before the ground school is complete. Theoretically, you could complete ground school before your first flight. So knock it out early and you can concentrate on just flying, which takes a lot of concentration too!

And I heartily endorse your Navy instructor! Mine was a former Navy instructor pilot, who thought me "procedural flying", or doing everything "by the numbers", and the same way every time. He was a stickler for doing everything in its proper sequence, and on time! You'll not regret that. Some instructors are fairly lax, and allow students to fumble along any old way, but I preferred the disciplined approach that ingrained procedures that remain 40 years later. I suspect you will too! I haven't flown in 15 years, but still yearn to do so, and hope to buy a bush plane and fly all over Alaska in a year or two. Good luck!

I'm not sure I understand why you need turbos and constant speed props for mountain flying. Lots of us up here in AK have low hp naturally aspirated engines with fixed pitch props and do just fine in the mountains. We're not trying to fly over Denali in those planes, but you can go around it just fine.

This summer I took a week long trip cruising all over the state through the mountains in my PA-22-108 without issues. Saved me probably 4 days of driving.