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How are you going to fly once you get your license... rent?
Check into the LSA category. Many modern LSA planes have ballistics parachutes, navigation/auto-pilot (I see auto pilot as a safety feature if nothing else), modern avionics etc. You can only fly with 1 pax, in VFR , daytime. By law they can fly very slow (45 knot clean stall). You will save 50% over what a PPL will cost you. The restrictions are designed to keep you out of trouble and the reality is that mot PPLs flight only with 1 pax anyway. You can always upgrade to PPL later.
In terms of life insurance (at least my term policy)-- my understanding is that a lot of them ask if you are a pilot or plan to fly / learn to fly imminently when you APPLY, but if you decide to learn to fly 5 years later then you are still covered.
My husband drove race cars as a hobby. Coworkers, mostly women, would say "you LET him?"
1. He's a grown-ass man.
2. I'm not his mother.
3. Many people die every in automobile related deaths. I was more worried about the drive to and from that track, than I was about what happened on the track.
Make sure your life insurance covers you for flying, not all do. If I had children at home, it would be a whole different story.
1) Life Insurance for Private Pilots is readily available at competitive rates. For example, AOPA (which I urge you to join as a pilot) has several affiliated member benefit insurance programs which don't exclude pilots. Back when I had term life insurance to cover that need when I had dependent children, my insurance carrier didn't ask or care that I was a pilot.
Why, you'd ask? because
2) Flying is significantly safer than many other forms of transportation, even as a private pilot. The only aviation-related injury I've ever sustained in over 40 years of flying to date was spraining an ankle pushing my plane into a hangar on a icy-slick ramp one day.
OTOH ... I've sustained major injuries when T-boned by a drunk semi-truck driver in my car (a '82 MB 300Dt, which thankfully gave it's all to protect me). I have been dropped three times in the road by left-turning drivers who took my right of way when I was on a motorcycle (all slow-speed accidents, but managed to tear up a rotator cuff in one of these incidents). On top of that, I've been down at least a half-dozen times from my road bicycles when forced by car traffic to be right up against the curb on a busy street, where there was a pothole or loose gravel/sand/debris which caused me to go down ... generally with minor scrapes/bruises, but one time aggravating my rotator cuff injury ... but very narrowly missed being run over by the traffic behind me which wasn't going to slow down for a rider in the road.
3) From an underwriter's perspective, there's a whole bunch of risk activities which are far more dangerous than private GA flying. I think the concern about GA and insurance is overstated for most folk.
LOL ... I, too, had a fuel related incident some years ago in my C182. Fueled at Front Range in CO off the MOGAS truck, and was headed to Cody WY that day for a fly-in. Somewhere in the middle of nowhere WY, I noticed the EGT starting to rise and the manifold pressure starting to drop ... so I set back to both tanks and started to richen the mixture. Didn't get much change, so pulled on carb heat, which helped little bit, but the trend was still there and then the engine started to run rough. I then pulled the lower drain for a few seconds, thinking there might be something blocking fuel flow; that was the problem, the engine cleared up and I was again able to set normal cruise power. A few minutes later, the same thing happened. By this time, I'd been looking for a place to land on my route, off-field if needed, or an airstrip ... and I had plenty of viable choices available. A few minutes later, the fuel flow interruption happened and I cleared it, but decided it was time to land and investigate the cause. There was an oil field rough dirt landing strip below me and that's where I landed. Sump'ed the right tank ... which I knew had a wrinkle in the fuel bladder, and sure enough, there was water in the tank. I'd sumped it before the first flight of the day and after getting the fuel at Front Range, but all was clear at that time; what I hadn't done at Front Range was the "wing shake" advised for the old bladder tank Cessna's. So, I tied the tail down and drained about 3-4 gallons of water out of that tank before it ran clear gasoline. Sump'ed the rest of the fuel system, made sure all was clear, and resumed my flight without incident. Refueled at Cody, sumped and wiggled the wings, and the fuel was clean. On arrival, I'd called Front Range airport to advise they had a problem with their MOGAS truck fuel that day, and they stopped all MOGAS sales for the day.
This is the one and only time I'd ever had a problem with fuel contamination in my plane in 30 years. One can argue that this "might have had" a different outcome, but I look upon it as having borne out the training for such a situation, practicing off-field landings, having chosen a route of daytime VFR flight in good conditions over remote terrain that offered almost continuous viable emergency landing opportunities, paying attention enroute to those options, and having exercised my judgement to safely land and investigate the fuel problem. I was prepared and current, my aircraft was sound, and corrective action was simple and resuming the flight was easy. Nothing that I experienced or did was outside the realm of the training I'd received or reasonable judgement to deal with.
It sounds to me like the story posted above about a pilot that had a problem with a fuel system did nothing more or less than the same thing. He was trained and capable of dealing with the situation, and did so appropriately using his skills and judgement to a good outcome. I don't see this as any different than operating a car in an adverse situation and bringing it to a good outcome ... I'll bet he's been there, done that and still drives. FWIW, I know people who have had car difficulties/accidents ... and they have quit driving; they rearranged their life priorities/situation so that they do not have to drive anymore. One lady I knew had a drinking problem ... which was more important to her than her driving, so she quit driving rather than deal with the financial penalties of drinking and driving ever again.
I'm also a farmer/rancher these days, operating powered farm equipment. Comparatively, this is much more dangerous than GA and I've had many a day where I've been more at risk of limb/life for hours on end than ever in an aircraft. In GA flying ... even as an instrument rated pilot ... one needs to know your own limitations and that of the equipment. I rarely fly in hard IFR conditions, and will not fly over the mountains IFR or in the dark over that type of terrain ... even though my ICC rides always show a high level of proficiency, there's no need to challenge those to minimums. So my personal minimums have a much higher range than what I'm licensed and legally equipped to do. For my business travels, I set out with the outlook of "time to spare, go by air" ... if I need to delay, so be it. For my recreational travels, especially into remote backcountry/wilderness areas ... if it's not a fun looking day ahead, I don't need to prove anything and the trip can be delayed/abandoned as the situation warrants.
I'm sure you have all heard this before, but I really want to get my PPL. Have always wanted to for years but now in my mid 40's I have the money to do it. I'm not interested in flying for airlines I have always been into aviation. The next best thing I could afford was RC aircraft but now she has become so terrified of things she doesn't want me to do it. The strange thing is she used to love flying in small planes in her 20's her sister took her up in her boyfriends planes a bunch of times. Now she says for some reason she has a fear of many things now. I know flight training will take up a lot of time where I'm away from the house she will be thinking I'm going to die. Seems like to me most crashes in small planes are because people take risk like flying in bad weather, or planes that aren't kept up well.
Do you have minor children? Then if you want to do this, you'd best take out a HUGE life insurance policy, because it is true that flying small planes is risky, and you have a financial responsibility to finish raising your children. Even if you don't have minor children, if your wife is financially dependent upon you, you should make sure you have plenty of life insurance. Then, if you want to stay happily married, and your wife still doesn't want you to fly, don't. But if you put it to her that this is something that you really want very much, if you've made sure that she is financially secure, perhaps she will change her mind.
Location: About 10 miles north of Pittsburgh International
2,458 posts, read 4,212,248 times
Reputation: 2374
Quote:
The next best thing I could afford was RC aircraft but now she has become so
terrified of things she doesn't want me to do it. The strange thing is she used
to love flying in small planes in her 20's her sister took her up in her
boyfriends planes a bunch of times. Now she says for some reason she has a fear
of many things now.
To me this sounds like her fears are originating in her own head, and no amount of rationalization from the members of an internet forum is going to persuade her not to be afraid.
1) Life Insurance for Private Pilots is readily available at competitive rates. For example, AOPA (which I urge you to join as a pilot) has several affiliated member benefit insurance programs which don't exclude pilots. Back when I had term life insurance to cover that need when I had dependent children, my insurance carrier didn't ask or care that I was a pilot.
Why, you'd ask? because
2) Flying is significantly safer than many other forms of transportation, even as a private pilot. The only aviation-related injury I've ever sustained in over 40 years of flying to date was spraining an ankle pushing my plane into a hangar on a icy-slick ramp one day.
OTOH ... I've sustained major injuries when T-boned by a drunk semi-truck driver in my car (a '82 MB 300Dt, which thankfully gave it's all to protect me). I have been dropped three times in the road by left-turning drivers who took my right of way when I was on a motorcycle (all slow-speed accidents, but managed to tear up a rotator cuff in one of these incidents). On top of that, I've been down at least a half-dozen times from my road bicycles when forced by car traffic to be right up against the curb on a busy street, where there was a pothole or loose gravel/sand/debris which caused me to go down ... generally with minor scrapes/bruises, but one time aggravating my rotator cuff injury ... but very narrowly missed being run over by the traffic behind me which wasn't going to slow down for a rider in the road.
3) From an underwriter's perspective, there's a whole bunch of risk activities which are far more dangerous than private GA flying. I think the concern about GA and insurance is overstated for most folk.
LOL ... I, too, had a fuel related incident some years ago in my C182. Fueled at Front Range in CO off the MOGAS truck, and was headed to Cody WY that day for a fly-in. Somewhere in the middle of nowhere WY, I noticed the EGT starting to rise and the manifold pressure starting to drop ... so I set back to both tanks and started to richen the mixture. Didn't get much change, so pulled on carb heat, which helped little bit, but the trend was still there and then the engine started to run rough. I then pulled the lower drain for a few seconds, thinking there might be something blocking fuel flow; that was the problem, the engine cleared up and I was again able to set normal cruise power. A few minutes later, the same thing happened. By this time, I'd been looking for a place to land on my route, off-field if needed, or an airstrip ... and I had plenty of viable choices available. A few minutes later, the fuel flow interruption happened and I cleared it, but decided it was time to land and investigate the cause. There was an oil field rough dirt landing strip below me and that's where I landed. Sump'ed the right tank ... which I knew had a wrinkle in the fuel bladder, and sure enough, there was water in the tank. I'd sumped it before the first flight of the day and after getting the fuel at Front Range, but all was clear at that time; what I hadn't done at Front Range was the "wing shake" advised for the old bladder tank Cessna's. So, I tied the tail down and drained about 3-4 gallons of water out of that tank before it ran clear gasoline. Sump'ed the rest of the fuel system, made sure all was clear, and resumed my flight without incident. Refueled at Cody, sumped and wiggled the wings, and the fuel was clean. On arrival, I'd called Front Range airport to advise they had a problem with their MOGAS truck fuel that day, and they stopped all MOGAS sales for the day.
This is the one and only time I'd ever had a problem with fuel contamination in my plane in 30 years. One can argue that this "might have had" a different outcome, but I look upon it as having borne out the training for such a situation, practicing off-field landings, having chosen a route of daytime VFR flight in good conditions over remote terrain that offered almost continuous viable emergency landing opportunities, paying attention enroute to those options, and having exercised my judgement to safely land and investigate the fuel problem. I was prepared and current, my aircraft was sound, and corrective action was simple and resuming the flight was easy. Nothing that I experienced or did was outside the realm of the training I'd received or reasonable judgement to deal with.
It sounds to me like the story posted above about a pilot that had a problem with a fuel system did nothing more or less than the same thing. He was trained and capable of dealing with the situation, and did so appropriately using his skills and judgement to a good outcome. I don't see this as any different than operating a car in an adverse situation and bringing it to a good outcome ... I'll bet he's been there, done that and still drives. FWIW, I know people who have had car difficulties/accidents ... and they have quit driving; they rearranged their life priorities/situation so that they do not have to drive anymore. One lady I knew had a drinking problem ... which was more important to her than her driving, so she quit driving rather than deal with the financial penalties of drinking and driving ever again.
I'm also a farmer/rancher these days, operating powered farm equipment. Comparatively, this is much more dangerous than GA and I've had many a day where I've been more at risk of limb/life for hours on end than ever in an aircraft. In GA flying ... even as an instrument rated pilot ... one needs to know your own limitations and that of the equipment. I rarely fly in hard IFR conditions, and will not fly over the mountains IFR or in the dark over that type of terrain ... even though my ICC rides always show a high level of proficiency, there's no need to challenge those to minimums. So my personal minimums have a much higher range than what I'm licensed and legally equipped to do. For my business travels, I set out with the outlook of "time to spare, go by air" ... if I need to delay, so be it. For my recreational travels, especially into remote backcountry/wilderness areas ... if it's not a fun looking day ahead, I don't need to prove anything and the trip can be delayed/abandoned as the situation warrants.
Bingo! This is the most informative post in this thread!
I am the "wife side":>) Check into insurance, check into insurance, have wills and the works done. It will give her some peace of mind. What does she do for fun? Have her go for a sightseeing flight. Make her part of the process. I have no interest in flying but could probably still take the ground tests for PPL and up:>)
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