I know you‘re eager to start your pilot training, but worried about the costs. Flight lessons, aircraft rental, books, exams and more add up fast. You want to take to the skies, but money is holding you back.
The good news is there are lots of options for getting free flying time to offset those expenses. I‘ve been training for years, and discovered creative ways to get hours at low or no cost.
In this guide, I‘ll share all my best tips to help you get free hours to earn your private certificate, rack up cross-country trips, and get closer to a career as an airline pilot. Read on to start strategizing how you can get flying for little or no money!
Why Free Hours Are So Valuable
Just to get your private pilot certificate, you‘ll need at least 40 hours flight training as a minimum. The average is 60-75 hours, which could cost you $8,000-$15,000 or more depending on rental rates and instructor fees near you.
After that, you‘ll need:
- 40-65 hours to get your instrument rating
- 250 hours to qualify for a commercial pilot certificate
- 1,500 hours to get hired by an airline
Based on typical rental costs of $150-$250 per hour, you can expect to spend over $100,000 on flight time from zero hours to airline ready! Paying for all these flight hours gets extremely expensive.
That‘s why every free flying hour is so valuable – it‘s an hour of experience that you don‘t have to pay for. Free flying opportunities help you:
- Save thousands of dollars during training
- Get your certificates and ratings faster
- Focus cash on other aviation costs like exams and gear
In one example, a pilot getting from 40 hours to 250 hours would spend over $30,000 on rental aircraft. But getting just 25 hours of free flying would save them around $4,000. That‘s money that could pay for books, instructor time, and FAA exams instead.
The more free hours you can get early on, the faster and cheaper your path will be to becoming a certified pilot. Keep reading for plenty of ideas to start logging experience for little or no money.
Great Options to Fly for Free
There are a bunch of ways fellow pilots like you have gotten creative to get free flight time. Here are some of the best options:
Join a Flying Club
One of the top choices is to join a local flying club. Clubs give members affordable shared access to aircraft. Average membership fees are around $1,000 per year. Hourly rental rates are lower than schools and FBOs, often around $100-$150/hr. Even bigger savings come from networking with fellow club pilots for shared flights. I‘ve been in a club for 2 years and gotten 10+ hours of free right seat time just by being social and asking to tag along. Look up clubs near your airport and join one ASAP.
Find an Aircraft Partnership
Partnering with other pilots to co-own or share an airplane is another great way to save. You split fixed costs like insurance, maintenance and storage. Partnership hourly rates end up much lower, around $50-$75/hr. Shop around for a compatible partner working towards a similar certificate. Over a year or more together you can both save thousands in rental fees and get valuable flight experience.
Scout Your Local Airport
Don‘t underestimate the value of good old fashioned hangar flying! Spend time chatting up pilots at your airport. Get to know the schools, clubs, and regulars. Exchange numbers and let them know you‘re eager to fly. Experienced pilots often love taking new students along just for the company. Offer to cover your share of fuel as a polite gesture. You‘ll likely get hours of free right seat time just by putting yourself out there.
Volunteer as a Pilot
Volunteer your skills to great non-profits like Angel Flight, Pilots N Paws, Veterans Airlift Command, and others. These groups provide valuable services with free flights, covering your fuel and expenses. You help people in need while steadily logging pilot-in-command and cross country hours. It‘s extremely rewarding. Target 5-10 volunteer flights per month if you can.
Become a Flight Instructor
Once you have your commercial certificate, obtain a Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) rating. New CFIs can start instructing around 200 hours total time. You‘ll get paid $20-$30 per hour to fly with students while simultaneously logging pilot-in-command hours towards higher certificates. It‘s the ultimate 2-for-1 flying deal. Instruct for a year or two to quickly build 500-1,000+ hours.
Tow Banners or Gliders
Banner towing and glider towing companies hire 300 hour commercial pilots to fly their specialized planes, like Super Cubs. You‘ll log PIC time while seeing amazing views. Previous tailwheel experience helps. Pay isn‘t great at $100-$150 per tow, but each flight will be 1-2 hours of fun experience.
Fly Skydivers
Skydiving operations hire pilots with 500-1,000 hours to fly jumpers up for parachute release. You‘ll fly high performance planes like PAC 750s or King Air C90s. It‘s rewarding and exciting work with regular takeoffs and landings to satisfy your flying fix. Hourly pay ranges $150-$300.
Survey, Photography and Tourism Flights
Build connections with aerial survey, photography, and tourism companies. There are opportunities to get paid for sightseeing flights, banner tows, pipeline patrols, game counts, tourism charters, and more depending on your certificates. The pay is low at first (think $100-$150/flight), but you log valuable hours in unique operations.
Join Civil Air Patrol
The Civil Air Patrol offers orientation flights and free flight instruction to new members. After joining a squadron you‘ll get to fly with experienced CAP mentors in Cessna 172s/182s. Make a service commitment in return for free training. You‘ll gain real-world emergency response experience on missions.
Other Groups and Clubs
Lots of other clubs offer flight scholarships, orientation flights, or free hours in exchange for joining their organization. Check out the Commemorative Air Force, local 99s women pilot groups, vintage aircraft associations, and youth education groups.
Barter Your Skills
Consider trading your professional skills, services or product knowledge in exchange for flight lessons or aircraft rental. For example, offer website help to an FBO for flight credits, or tutor students for flying club membership. Get creative with your unique talents and interests to barter for free hours.
Smart Strategies to Maximize Free Flying
Here are some key strategies I‘ve learned for optimizing your search for free flying opportunities:
Network constantly – Most free flying comes from connections. Attend airport events, chat up every pilot, join groups, and stay in touch.
Fly often with the same pilots – Regular partners lead to hundreds of shared hours over time.
Advertise your goals – Let the airport community know you‘re eager for right seat time. Offer to split costs.
Schedule solo flights too – Don‘t just depend on free flying. Maintain skills with regular solo practice.
Start a social media or blog – Post your aviation journey regularly. Great way to attract partners.
Watch the weather obsessively – Sunny days are prime for spontaneous flying. Be ready to jump in a plane.
Consider night ratings – Fewer pilots fly at night so you may get more chances.
Go the extra mile – Offer to cover the full tank or wash their plane. Goodwill goes a long way.
Have a schedule flexible for flying – Be available on short notice when opportunities pop up.
Join online flying groups – Forums like Reddit‘s r/flying help connect pilots.
Consider multiple memberships – Join national AND local pilot groups for maximum exposure.
Volunteer a ton – The more you volunteer for charities the more free flying missions you‘ll get.
With persistence and creativity you can get dozens if not hundreds of discounted or free hours. But it takes work networking nonstop in aviation circles.
Cost Considerations
While the tips above help reduce flight costs significantly, it‘s wise have realistic expectations. Truly free hours are hard to come by. You‘ll likely still have costs:
- Aircraft rental fees for solo flights
- Fuel for solo and mutual flights
- Books and supplies for studying
- Written exam fees
- DPE checkride fees
- Instructor fees for required lessons
- Potential aircraft buy-in and ownership costs
- Additional equipment like headsets and iPads
Realistically, expect to pay an average of $50-$150 per flight hour even utilizing all the free flying methods. The big savings come from avoiding $150-$300/hr retail rental rates.
Make a detailed budget averaging your expected hourly costs based on projected mixtures of solo, free, and instructed flights over months and years. Understand total costs before committing to this amazing but expensive career path.
Helpful Resources to Find Free Flying
To start connecting with pilots and groups, check out these resources:
AOPA Flying Club Finder – 700+ flying clubs in the directory
Pilots N Paws – Register to volunteer flying rescue animals
Reddit r/flying – Popular online forum to meet pilots
GoFlyShare.com – Flight sharing/expense splitting site
OpenAirplane.com – Network to rent planes from other pilots
I highly recommend joining multiple relevant Facebook and Meetup.com groups wherever you‘re located. This is a super friendly community waiting to welcome aspiring pilots like you.
Now get out there and start flying for free! Feel free to contact me if you have any other questions. Blue skies!
