Students
If you're a student pilot, or thinking about learning to fly, joining Crosswinds might be a good choice.
Crosswinds Flying Club has multiple fight instructors available for member instruction. For information on Crosswinds membership and our available flight instructors please contact our  Club Vice President.
Participation in the club is a great way to learn more about flying through interaction with other members. We are different than a flight school in that we own the planes and have a strong interest in taking care of them - we are also the ones flying the planes. We keep rates low because club volunteers do as much as possible to keep the planes in top condition.
Information
There are numerous references on the web for new pilots including:
If you haven't taken your aviation medical you can find an Aviation Medical Examiner at http://ame.cami.jccbi.gov/. You don't need a medical to take begin instruction but will need it before you can solo - it's just a good idea to get it out of the way. The medical form is provided at the doctor's office but here's a copy for your review: http://www.leftseat.com/pdffiles/8500-8new.pdf.
Requirements
The FAA requires 40 hrs of flight instruction although most pilots need 50-70 hours of flight instruction - no matter where they take instruction. There's also ground instruction with your instructor and self-study. A written test (actually given through a computer testing service) is required (the written test can be taken at any time) as well as an oral test and flight test with a FAA Designated Examiner at the end of training. If you fly at least twice a week you can probably finish in six to nine months or so.
 Estimated Costs
|
Training item
|
Estimated Cost
|
| 50 - 70 (Dry Tach Time) hrs in our Piper Warrior |
$2,750 to $3,850
|
| Fuel (roughly 7 gal per hr 100LL in the Warrior |
$2,100 to $2,940
|
| Instructor (30 or 40 hours) |
$1,350 to $1,350
|
| Club Initiation (student pilots get a discount) |
$250
|
| Club dues (roughly for a year) |
$1,020
|
| Books, tapes, headset, ground school |
$600
|
| Ballpark rough total cost for training |
$8,070 to $10,010
|
A good general estimate after you join Crosswinds and begin your flight training is around $90 to $100 per hour depending on fuel prices and whether or not you're solo or dual.
Stuff
For training, you don't need a lot of pilot gadgets. Our planes have intercoms so you won't need a portable intercom. You can easily spend another $1,000 to $2,000 on a handheld radio, GPS, noise-canceling headset, and other gadgets that are nice but not essential for initial flight training. Your flight instructor will tell you what supplies you need to start.
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