Prologue – Getting Hooked

I started this endeavor about 4 months ago – September 1998. I was going to see a different kind of instructor – my golf pro. He canceled on me, so I thought I’d stop in at a nearby airport (Whiteman – WHP) a look around. Walked in to a flight school there and started asking questions. Before I knew it, I was on an intro flight, and loving ALL of it. Bought a pile of training stuff – they could have said, “you need to buy a Cessna 172 now”, and I would have called the bank. They would have turned me down, but I would have called.

Raced home a told my wife – “I knew I’d like it, but I didn’t know I’d LOVE it. I want to get my private pilot’s license.” Holding our 1-year-old, I’m pretty sure it sounded more like “I know we don’t have nearly enough life insurance, but I want to zip around in a tiny plane in the busiest airspace in the country. Oh, and by the way – it’s real expensive.” Overall, she was supportive – she could see how excited I was.

But the reality was that I didn’t really have the TIME to get started yet. In May I started a software company, and the travel now involved was tremendous. It would need to wait. With the support of my wife, and the kind folks in rec.aviation.student, I started studying to pass the time. Even with CD-ROM, books, Internet sites, newsgroups and talking to other pilots – the time passed VERY slowly. I decided I would start my training around my birthday – in January.

An added bonus of waiting was that I came in contact with a flying club at a local airport (Van Nuys – VNY) and joined. This will cut my training cost, considering the average 172 rents for over $50/hour Hobbs time, and the club 172 goes for $34/hour Tach time.