39 and wishing to fly for extra income and fun. Need advice

[isell188]

I am 39, and one of my goals before I turn 40 is to get my pilots licence. I was also curious how tough and costly it would be to get to a level where I could do some instructing or flying of some sort to earn a supplemental income in addition to my 9-5 job. If I had my dream job, it would be to work for or own a charter company, but I am not that familiar with the workings of this type of business. I am currently in a sales position for a stainless steel company, so possibly aircraft sales may be an option. Basically I was looking to earn some extra money for misc. expenses, and flying time/lessons.

thanks.

[LoadMasterC141]

Figure on spending about 5-6k on your rivate Pilots' License(PPL). More if in big metro area. Doing it part time, you could be done in 3-4 months.

Figure on spending another 25-35k(Yes it varies that much) on the rest of your ratings to get to instructor.
Instrument Rating (IFR)
Commercial License (CSEL)
Multi-Engine Commercial License (CMEL)
Certified Flight Instructor License (CFI)
Certifired Flight Instructor- Instrument (CFII)
Multi-Engine Instructor-MEI.

Of course, there are seaplane, helicopter, glider, and other licenses you could get as well.

It would be very easy to keep your current job and work through to Instructor in as little as a year, or take your time and take a few. In the current state of the industry, flight instructors, full and part time, are in high demand. Once you get to that point, you could easily do it on the side for fun and extra $$. You could also just get your PPL and buy a nice two seat Cessna 152 for $20k and just fly for fun.

If you want to do charter, it is still possible, at any age.

I highly reccomend doing a bit more research, visiting a few local flight schools, and asking lots of questions here at JC.

Welcome aboard!

[juskl]

If you want to do this down the road and it will take time and money and dedication to do it, do flying a favor and work as a full time instructor for a while before going part time. Then at lest you will know what you are doing. Otherwise, you probably won't be that great at it and your students won't either. Like anything, you need to master it, to get good at it.....

[beckyanne19]

Isell188, I'll be interested to see how it goes for you. I've got an additional 10 years of age, but otherwise I'm thinking about going the same route. In 6 years I can retire early, and at least in theory, I get a pension, health insurance, and can start raiding the 401K. So I'd like to be in position to start a second career having something to do with flying, maybe instructing.

Right now I'm started on the PPL, waiting for a special issuance on my medical, and if all goes well I'll have the various ratings you're going for in 5 years or so.

Good luck, and set a good example for some of us other older career changers.

[Bandit_Driver]

I agree with 141 you probably will spend about 30-40K in obtaining all your ratings. It will probably take you a couple years to get all ratings working on it part time. I would fly 3-5 times a week if it is possible. This will allow you to make the most progress and maximize your money and get done sooner.

There are good oportunities right now for CFI's. I would seriously consider getting into a 135 business. You will need to due a lot of research on it. Competition is very touch in this arena. Also, you will want to research insurance costs or even you could obtain insurance to fly the plane you want to use in your 135 op.