Hi Scott,I hope we can add another to the GA pilot roster - there's strength in numbers, and we need the numbers in light of all the attempts by some regulators to remove us from the sky. Better than that though, we would just like to have your company among the ranks.You do need to leave home and come to Florida though!Your quote "Their planes cost between $80 and $285 per hour depending on the model. When you take lessons, you also have to pay for the instructor, which is $55 per hour. The FAA says that it usually costs between $7K and $10K to get a private pilot's license."HOLY COW! Here in Central Florida 152s rent for $43-$48 per hour, and an instructor cost another $20 an hour ($22 for IFR work). You would come in around $3,000 or so. I even rented a Cutlass (172) RG for only $80.In any case forge ahead and do this thing.Regards,Leon

Keng corrected the 2g at 40 degrees is really 60 degrees. I'll add that the trim was set for take off which has to have you climb at 65kts or so with no pressure on the yoke. As the plane continues to accelerate it will find a stable state of climb to maintain 65 kts. So as your speed increases so does your attitude. Remember in your future real life flights as well as your simming flights to trim to relieve pressure.My lesson costs were $43.00/hr for a C150/152 in 1999. Today those same ac are up to $67.00/78.00 depending on the newer C152II's with 125hp instead of the older 152's 110 hp motors. Instruction was $25.00 hr and is now up to $35.00/hr. A C172/C172SP is between $79.00/hr and $105.00/hr.I think I'll move to Florida for some instrument training. :)HIO-Portland-Hillsboro Airport

I've also been a simmer since the Commodore 64 days. I've since worked my way up to the latest 2002 Pro and have to say I'm very impressed with it. The first real plane I got to fly was a Marchetti pre-jet trainer owned by the stunt flying team known as Team America (since disbanded). Three hundred hp hotrod and geared for full combat simulation and aeobatics! I got my first combat pre-briefing and flight lesson in about an hour. They we headed to the planes to try the real thing. I had the stick from just after takeoff until the wheels touched again at landing. It was a total blast! Got to feel what 6G's feels like while you're on the tail of a bogie. The smoke effects as you shoot him down are the finishing touch. Also did a little aerobatics and formation back to the airport. What I noticed about the whole flight was that, even though I had never even sat in a real cockpit before, I felt perfectly at home with the plane and controls. The plane was actually much easier to fly than most sim planes I've tried. I found that to be the case with the several Cessnas I've flown since. But I have a feeling the big jets are NOT as similar! Anyone know of one I could try? :) Speaking of Cessnas - Has anyone else had a bad experience with Cessna Av schools? I bought two tickets for intro flights a year and a half ago. I still have them. The problem is the pilots never feel like showing up for appointments. If they do show they're 2 hours late. I finally decided one Sunday when I had all day to kill that they were going to get me a pilot and take me flying. After all, I'd had this scheduled for almost 2 weeks to give them plenty of notice. Finally someone shows up and throws me in the plane after a 30 second briefing. Hands me the key and I was pretty much on my own after that. He ran the radio and chatted with his buddy back at the fbo on the radio while I attempted to keep us on the imaginary course around restricted airspace and at our assigned altitude. Luckily I was watching the instruments becuse he sure wasn't! I noticed we were drifting and asked him what I should do. Then, while setting up my landing approach, he again drifted off to never-never land while I was getting ready to stall. I knew airspeed was dropping seriously so I slammed the throttle and dropped the nose as we started to stall. His eyes got rather huge at that point when he realized he almost killed us both and the plane too since we were maybe 100 feet agl at this time. I managed to make a nice two bounce landing with him screaming at me to "pull back!" for some reason AFTER I had already recovered very nicely. At that point I said to hell with him, I'm flying this thing and proceeded to a fairly civilized landing. I didn't mean to write a novel here but that one instructor really turned me off of the Av Center. Luckily I found a local group of pilots familiar with the Avcenter's lack of service and they started their own flight club to which I am joining shortly. These guys are all pros and very serious amateurs. I think I'm going to enjoy flying with them and earning my private licence.

Good luck on the training! There are good training centers and bad ones. There are good instructors and bad ones. It's not necessarily due to any outside association. I've had 1 bad instructor and 2 good ones. My current CFII is excellent and I got my PPL with him. This was all at the same school. Remember, you're the one paying for all this training so it's up to you to choose who's right for you. Sounds like you found a place that is more suited to your needs.

In case anyone is curious, this is how I am breaking down how much my PPL is going to cost. I am still not sure though since this seems pretty expensive. Costs are based in the Everett,WA area, which is still cheaper than the Seattle,WA area. Since I am 6'2" I am told that I need to rent the C172 instead of the smaller C152, and I am quoting the average hours needed from the flight instructor at the airfield (the FAA minimum is 35 hours):3rd Class Medical Exam $80.0040 hours Ground School classes $375.00FAA Written Test $70.00AOPA yearly insurance coverage $125.00AOPA yearly membership $50.00Kneeboard, charts and guides $50.00Headset $100.0060 hrs C172 rental $93/hr $5580.0040 hrs flight instruction $45/hr $1800.0015 hrs pre/post flight brfgs $45/hr $675.00FAA Practical Test $300.00 1.5 hrs dual for FAA Practical Test $207.00Total $9412.00

Scott,Suggest you check with other flight schools in the area. Though I can't speak of the prices for your area, there are some items on your list that aren't required for a PPL, i.e., the AOPA stuff. A friend had a similar experience when a local school quoted him a similar list. He found a nearby school costing about half the price. So, check around.Dave