Money saving tips

MONEY SAVING TIPS

Tip... Before you spend any money on anything related to getting a pilot certificate,
other than an introductory discovery flight, get your FAA medical exam first. Why?
Because the medical exam may reveal a medical condition that would not allow you
to qualify for a pilot's certificate. By knowing this information BEFORE you invest
your hard earned $$$ on flying lessons could save you a lot of $$$ if you are
medically unable to fly. Also... always get the highest class medical exam that reflects
the type of pilot you plan on becoming in the future. For instance... If your goal is to
be an airline pilot, then you should get a "First Class Medical" Exam which is what
airline pilots are required to have. If your goal is to fly cargo as a commercial pilot
then get a "Second Class Medical" Exam which is what commercial pilots must have.
If you know you are only going to fly for your own pleasure then simply get the
"Third Class Medical" Exam which is what Private Pilots must have. By getting the
highest medical exam that reflects your future pilot goals, you won't make the
mistake of investing in something you are medically unable to do.

Tip... In order to take a FAA written exam, you must first get an endorsement from a
qualified instructor stating that you have received the ground instruction required for
the exam. There are basically three ways to go about this.

1. Pay your instructor anywhere from $10.00 to $40.00 per hour to go over all the
ground information. This tends to take about 30 hours. So this way would cost you
anywhere from $300.00 to $1,200.00 dollars. I do not suggest you go this route... I
suggest the following two ways.

2. Be smart and sign up for a ground class at Moore Air for about $175.00. This will
cover all the information you need to take the written exam and if you go to all the
classes, you will receive the endorsement for the written exam.

3. Purchase a DVD course for the certificate or rating you want to earn from either
Sporty's, King or Jeppeson. These courses will cost you about $200.00 - $300.00 but
the benefits are great:

A. You get to study whenever your schedule allows.

B. If you ever forget a topic or want to brush up on your knowledge, simply watch
the lesson again.

C. Take a free on line test to qualify for the endorsement to take the written, or mail
in your practice test results to receive the endorsement to take the written.

D. The lessons are professionally presented for ease of learning and often include
video or animated examples.

Tip... For private pilots, beware of receiving flight lessons every day without a
break. For best results, try to fly every other day or about 3 days a week. If you fly
every day you tend to not have enough time to let the previous lesson really sink in.
By taking a day off between flights your brain is better able to absorb all the nuances
of the previous flight. Also be aware that flying less than twice a week will most
likely extend the amount of lessons you will need which drives your costs up. A lot
of flying is about repetition, and if you don't practice at least twice a week you simply
forget stuff. This means you will not be learning as efficiently which will cost you
more in the long run.

Tip... Before you spend a dime on any flight training (regardless of the
certificate you want) you should take the written knowledge exam. By doing
this you go into your ground and flight lessons with the knowledge you
learned from the exam. This saves time...and time is $$$. A common error I
see all the time is the student only focuses on the flight and ground lessons
and does not deal with the written exam. They get to the point where they are
all ready for their check ride but their written is not done. So they stop flying
and focus on the written...but they spend sometimes months on getting the
exam done. When they jump back into the plane they have regressed so much
that they have to do tons of flight lessons AGAIN. This is an expensive error
yet a very common one. Be smart and don't make this mistake!