Go for a SPL or PPL?

Question

Assuming normal fuel burn and one round trip to the airfield per flight hour, at “C” (Cub J3C) I was told that I “can” obtain a US FAA SPL with 15 hours of dual (\$2,565 @ \$171/h) and 5 hours of solo (\$460 @ \$91/h) plus $1,200. So \$4,160, mixing my math and the school’s quotes.

At “S1” (Cessna C-172) with the same assumptions I “can” get a US FAA PPL with 23 hours of dual* (\$5,618 @ \$244/h) and 17 hours of solo (\$2,754 @ \$162/h), plus \$1,600. So \$9,972.

*Yes, the regs only require 20, but I can only do what a particular school will actually do.

There are other schools that offer C-172s but S1 would be marginally cheaper.

The big difference is the test / prep / checkride. Doing two would be \$2,800, but a year or more apart in time.

Of course there will be fractional overages, and not everybody gets a SPL in 20 hours or a PPL in 40. (Although if you go bang-bang-bang through the course of study without breaks I think you are far more likely to.) But I’m assuming those additional costs are likewise proportional.

Therefore, a SPL will cost me less than half of a PPL. And right now I have no need to go faster or carry more than one person. (It might be hard to find one person who will fly with me anyway.)

Even if I reserve \$1,600 for that second test, the remaining difference (\$9,972 - \$4,160 = \$5,812 - \$1,600 = \$4,212) would buy about 46:15 hours in the Cub. (Plus, as a grad of their school, I’d be able to rent without obtaining an additional tailwheel endorsement or taking a familiarization flight.)

Am I not seeing something? Even if I obtain a PPL in the future the SPL dual hours will count once I have a SPL, and the PiC hours will count as total hours if I go beyond a PPL.

I’m not going to finance flying (even if I could). So it seems like a SPL gets me more logged hours 12 months (and 24 months) from now than a PPL does.

Answer 1

I don't know all the nuances of the SPL as it wasn't an option when I got my PPL, but I have looked into it as flying under the SPL rules is an option with a PPL. If you're OK with the limitations, it's a good option.

I think your numbers are fairly accurate, but I would caution that almost no one finishes in the 'published' number of hours. Where I got my PPL, the curriculum was 35 hours (a Part 141 school). I had 50 hours when I took my check ride. Most students had 60-70 hours when they completed. The one-hour lessons, all seemed to take 1.2 to 1.4 hours and sometimes you didn't complete the lesson and had to try again.

In the early phases of flying, flying regularly and often is important to keep the 'momentum'. If you don't fly for two or three weeks, you'll be spending time re-learning the last lesson. I tried to fly every week. I missed a few due to work and weather, but tried to squeeze in another lesson to keep the once a week average. So expect to take more hours than the minimum.

So with all that, I'm in the camp that says flying hours are flying hours and the cheaper the better. With the difference in hourly rates between the Cub and the 172, I'd go with the Cub. And to be honest, it will probably make you a better pilot. Tailwheel aircraft are a lot less forgiving of bad habits.

Yeah, you'll have the added expense of the SPL tests, but if you do go on for the PPL, you're not really out any extra money over the straight to PPL route. I'd do it just for the time in a Cub (I don't have a tailwheel endorsement, but I have flown in a Cub, just not as PIC.)