My Flight Story

My flight story.

At one point in my life, I thought that I was going to be an aerospace engineer.  I wanted to work for Boeing and build the airplanes of the future.  In high school, I enrolled in an aerospace engineering class where we learned the fundamentals of flight, designed our own gliders, and practiced flying and navigating on simulators.  I enjoyed the class, but as time progressed, I found myself losing interest in working in a field that is so math heavy.  I abandoned my dreams of being an engineer, but I held on to my fascination with flight.

I am on the left side of this photo; on crutches. My classmates and I are tracking a rocket that one of us had designed and launched.  We designed the rockets with a piece of software that rates the stability of rocket designs.  Although mine succeeded in the simulation, it had the worst real flight of any in the class. (Photo from Wauwatosa Now) 

Until I began searching for colleges, I had not flown more than three times in my life.  Now, living 2000 miles away from where I grew up, flying is a more common occurrence for me.  To this day, I still hold on to the wonderment and fascination that I had when I was a young kid, flying for those first few times.  I love the idea of flight.  It is almost romantic how such great distances can be bridged by the power of flight.  When I fly, I always choose a window seat, and if I don't have one I feel that I have been cheated out of the aviation experience.  I enjoy watching the ground go by, observing remote landmarks, and speculating what life must be like for the people that live below me.

My best experience with flight was this summer when I was hired to take photos for a magazine in Des Moines Iowa.  Part of my job was to get into a small bi-plane and fly around Des Moines.  The experience was incredible.  Being able to feel the rush of air and to stick my hands out to feel the plane's speed was very unique, as I have only flown in large commercial airplanes before.  This flight alone made me consider the idea of getting a pilots license.  

This is a selfie I snagged from the cockpit of the biplane.  Sunset over Des Moines.

Much of what David Werntz taught us in class was knowledge that I have retained from my days as an aerospace engineering student, his lecture reignited the spark that I once had to get my pilots license.  I think the opportunity would be amazing, however I do not know when I might get a chance within my lifetime.  Also, it is super expensive.

I need to research something in this blog post, so I am going to examine how expensive it is to participate in this hobby.

The AOPA estimates the cost of obtaining a pilot's license around $5,000 to $10,000.   Additionally, on a Cessna flying club forum users have written that the cost of flying a Cessna 172 can range from $90 to $130 an hour, which includes the cost of gas which can be about $7 a gallon.

A quick cross-reference of these numbers against those on my bank statement (data omitted from blog post) provide enough quantitative evidence to suggest that I will not be able to accomplish this any time soon.  I suppose I can hold onto the dream of one day flying my own airplane from my home in California to my parents in Wisconsin, but for now I am going to have to put it on hold.  

A Cessna 172 (Photo from flyingmag.com)

 




Sources:
http://www.aopa.org/letsgoflying/ready/time/options.html
http://www.cessna172club.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=34245