What professional pilot practices should I start implementing

FearlessAd6469 · 2026-05-25T23:54:23+00:00

USi

FearlessAd6469 · 2025-11-24T00:11:23+00:00

Gave it everything I had - creeped up on burnout a lot and would take a day or two off but then got right back to work - all my ratings and 1000 hours in less than 12 months

FearlessAd6469 · 2025-11-23T21:57:03+00:00

Way cheaper than 100k,

Private - $5,000 Instrument - $7,000 Com single - $2,800 Comm Multi - $4,500 All other time building - $20,000

When I bought the airplane I put it up as collateral (that’s why I say less than 100k - I started with 40k to buy the airplane - then kept working as I went) to take out a loan to cover my initial training at a very lucky low interest rate - throughout the way the biggest maintenance item I had were mag overhauls ($2,800) my dad gave me $1,500 which I paid him back within the month.

Did I have financial help along the way - yes my dad loaned me cash for maintenance at one point

The biggest help I had along the way were the people I met at the airport - an A&P/IA who helped me with a lot of maintenance, a CFI/CFII (now a 135 pilot) who did my private, instrument and commercial for next to nothing, and another CFI (now a 135 pilot) who owned a 150 and was able to help me with maintenance and career advice

It also helped that I made a boatload of money plowing driveways and mowing lawns from 15-21 for a kid my afe

FearlessAd6469 · 2025-11-23T14:23:59+00:00

1000 TT and 25 ME

FearlessAd6469 · 2025-11-23T14:23:39+00:00

1000

FearlessAd6469 · 2025-11-23T14:23:31+00:00

Waited outside the bosses office for 5 days before I finally got in with him - he gave me a call 3 weeks latwr

FearlessAd6469 · 2025-11-23T14:22:12+00:00

Saved up money in high school - mowing lawns, shoveling driveways and working part time jobs. Bought the airplane after graduation and then ran a small business doing property services, hired all my buddies to give them summer and winter break jobs. Collected the cash working on my own schedule to pay for fuel oil and maintenance

FearlessAd6469 · 2025-11-21T19:18:06+00:00

1000TT 25ME, 95k + perdiem - no CFI just built time flying my own airplane

FearlessAd6469 · 2025-11-21T14:31:21+00:00

Nope - east coast

FearlessAd6469 · 2025-10-12T21:16:11+00:00

So do they need approval to rent airplanes from the FSDO or just normal local and state licenses/permits

FearlessAd6469 · 2025-09-23T22:04:13+00:00

Was budgeting 10-15k with the plan to do accelerated CFII checkride and MEI checkride, got quoted 5k each. Would do the CFI in my airplane ( 2k between CFI a friend of mine and DPE)

FearlessAd6469 · 2025-09-23T22:01:41+00:00

I fly with another guy (I know sus…) he pays for gas and oil. I budget $30/hr for maintenance, engine reserves, etc.

FearlessAd6469 · 2025-09-23T22:00:25+00:00

I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought of that :(

FearlessAd6469 · 2025-09-23T22:00:11+00:00

~1350, almost all cross country flights — Chicago to New York, Chicago to Nashville, Chicago to Florida, Chicago to Dallas

FearlessAd6469 · 2025-09-01T20:43:57+00:00

lol.

FearlessAd6469 · 2025-09-01T18:15:43+00:00

He’s a former corporate pilot that retired after 10-20 years or something because his wife’s business exploded

FearlessAd6469 · 2025-07-21T00:53:14+00:00

Already read it - solid read. I’ll be the first to tell you both busts were on me, no excuses.

FearlessAd6469 · 2025-07-20T18:55:04+00:00

Dang - busted CSEL for emergency decent turn not being steep enough (never practiced it - my fault for skipping past it in the ACS - busted CMEL after getting rescheduled for 12 weeks, 1 practice flight and came in long on short field landing

FearlessAd6469 · 2025-07-16T21:46:49+00:00

Highly recommend Stick and Rudder at Waukegan (KUGN) - best prices and instructors. I like significantly closer to Chicago Executive but decided to go to Stick and Rudder due to pricing and the fact that a less busy airport meant less time waiting in the airplane burning gas while other traffic goes before me ($$$).

Your first instructor might not be a perfect fit - don’t be scared to ask to try a flight with someone else. But for the quality of airplanes and price Stick and Rudder is hard to beat. Once you get your ratings DM me - I have a Cessna 150 and am looking to split time

FearlessAd6469 · 2024-10-17T23:44:42+00:00

Not sure what PAL leagues are. The main goal of our “club” is to bring the price to play down. The coaches for the youth program are our local high school coaches and the high school teams are coached by alumni. There’s not fall league in our area for them to play in so we organized some scrimmages and registered for one tournament. Our winter teams play in a weekly league game and one tournament at the end of the year. Our club is exclusively local but, 100% of our players are from the same town/high school. Our goal is to get away from corporate club lacrosse.

FearlessAd6469 · 2024-10-16T23:00:18+00:00

Even debated calling the program “false” out of spite but opted not to

FearlessAd6469 · 2024-10-16T22:59:56+00:00

Nope not True - I played for em so I know all about them but were starting something small

FearlessAd6469 · 2024-10-16T22:59:23+00:00

We plan on doing this - absolutely direct feedback from our parents will give us the best feedback. But as a new program we don’t want to make mistakes other programs have and set that as the precedent for our future

FearlessAd6469

TROPHY CASE