Fly Your Way To A Homesteading Experience

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Then again, you may want to get involved in a cooperative venture. I once visited an isolated stretch of Alaskan wilderness where three homesteading families had carved a small landing strip out of the forest. Back in 1972, these families -disgusted with high land prices, zoning laws, and building codes-had paid the money for one of their number to earn his wings ... after which the group purchased a used Cessna 180 and-exploring from the air-found their Alaskan hideaway, bought their land (which-because it's so remote-was inexpensive), and established themselves. Today, the three families are well entrenched and consider their decision to ''take to the sky" to be the best one they ever made.

Don't worry about how to finance your flying education. Where there's a will, there's a way!

CHOOSING A FLIGHT SCHOOL

The selection of a flight school is something that should be done very cautiously, since your choice of a training environment will determineto a large extent- how competent a pilot you'll be at graduation. So take your time ... shop around. Be selective.

The first thing you should do is visit all the flight schools in your area. (Look in the Yellow Pages under "Aircraft Schools".) Inquire about their rates ... and ask if you can buy "block time". (Often, by paying for 10-hour "blocks" of air time in advance, you can get a 5% or 10% discount. This can add up to quite a savings.) If you're planning to use your veteran's benefits, ask if the school is VA-approved.

Many schools and fixed-base operations (FBO's) offer inexpensive ($5 or $10) introductory lessons. If you've never been up before, by all means take one.

The major light. plane manufacturers -Cessna, Piper, Grumman, and Beech-all administer training programs through their dealers. All have been in the business a long time and have built many, many training aircraft. Consequently, a dealer associated with one of the Big Four is nearly always a good choice when it comes to flight training.

You'll also, however, want to consider the many independent schools that have no manufacturer affiliation. These establishments frequently use Cessna, Piper, and/or Grumman training aircraft, and some off er better, more personalized instruction than you'd get at a dealer-run school. (Some, on the other hand, are incredibly poor.) And, because the independents usually offer a less formalized curriculum than the dealers, they're often a little less expensive.

Examine independents carefully. Ask yourself: Would I want to work here? Are the airplanes clean? Do the trainers look well maintained or are they tired and beat-up? Is the "school" merely a one-instructor, oneairplane sideline of a charter operation? Talk to students and instructors ... see how they feel about the place. Be critical. And consider the one-pilot, one-plane operation only for your private ticket ... not for your advanced ratings.

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