Rich Bates - Flight Instructor

You can rent airplanes and go just about anywhere you please.  You can take your family on weekend trips, go sightseeing, or just go flying around for the fun of it.  You can also cut a few hours of travel time to business meetings.

You can fly yourself and one other person in a four seat, 180 horse-power (or less) aircraft, in the day, within a 50 nautical mile radius of your home airport.  With some additional training you can fly farther and/or to bigger, busier airports. 

About halfway through the training for private pilot you could elect to get the recreational pilot certificate.  At this point you are no longer considered a student, and can exercise the privileges of a recreational pilot.  With additional training you can add additional privileges to your certificate such as flying farther from your home airport or flying to bigger and busier airports.  With some more training you could then qualify for full private pilot status.

We'll spend some time discussing what we're going to do during the flight.  You'll already have a good idea of what is coming up because you will have a copy of the syllabus that has all of the lesson plans.  Afterwards, we'll evaluate and review what happened during the flight.  We'll also discuss what to expect on the next lesson.

Lessons are relaxed and comfortable, yet I try to keep them challenging by introducing something new each time.

Yes.  You can take an Introductory Flight lesson for only $60.  Contact me to set up an appointment.

I no longer offer that because I no longer have access to a light sport airplane.  In fact, in Yakima there are no light sport planes you can rent.  However, the recreational pilot certificate is similar and there are many qualified aircraft you could fly in Yakima.

It depends.  The short answer is it can range from as short as six weeks to as long as nine months.  The average is probably six months for private pilot and three months for sport pilot.  You can find more information on the page Learn to Fly.

It depends.  The two major variables are time and the airplane.  A major factor affecting the number of hours is the frequency of your flights.  If you fly too infrequently, your abilities will deteriorate between lessons and your progress will be slowed, increasing the overall number of hours.  More frequency will help decrease the total number of hours.  A more complete answer can be found on the Learn to Fly page.

No.  Most people just pay as they go.

Instruction is $40 per hour.  The aircraft rates vary according to the plane, but you can check them on the aero club page. 

Yes.  While it's not my preferred method due to fees, I can accept major cards through ProPay (similar to PayPal).  I don't even need to know your card number.  Cash or checks work best for Introductory Flights, flight reviews, and aircraft checkouts.

That's tougher to answer.  It could be about the same as getting the private pilot license.  However, there are other variables involved that could have an effect such as:  previous training, experience level, whether you can use a safety pilot or "training buddy", and whether the aircraft you want to fly or own has advanced avionics.   Contact me to discuss your situation.

Yes, you can incorporate flying into your business as long as the actual flying is incidental to the business.

One important point about flying for business:  if you absolutely have to be somewhere, take the airlines.  It removes the pressure on you as a pilot to complete the flight if conditions deteriorate and nobody beats the airlines for handling the nasty weather.

It depends on what your idea of safe is.  I think about safety in terms of risk.  Flying small airplanes carries a higher degree of risk than flying the airlines or driving your car to the store.  Understanding the risks involved and actively working to mitigate those risks can make flying very safe indeed. 

The best approach is to understand their concerns and to educate them about the facts or point out the benefits of you becoming a pilot.

For example:  let's say that you're going to have to visit the in-laws (whether you want to or not).  Flying would get you there and back in a fraction of the time and with less hassle than if you drove.  This leaves more time for visiting (or golfing).  It's a win-win situation.  You might even be willing to visit twice a year.

If that doesn't work for you, you're pretty much on your own.

Whoa!  Hold on there Momzilla.  Have you considered the benefits of flying lessons?  A kid can learn and apply quite a bit of academic material and hang out with responsible people while at an airport.  Check out this informative, yet humorous article to learn more.

Yeah, I understand.  I've barfed a time or two in an airplane.  While it makes for a memorable experience, it's something I work hard to avoid.  We can fly in the mornings or evenings when it is cooler and the air is less bumpy.  Lessons can be shortened if you start to feel queasy.  Eventually you'll build up a tolerance to the motion.  Besides, there is no shame in using the sick sack, only shame in not using the sack (much shame).

Well, there's good news and there's bad news.  If you're getting dates now, you'll still do just fine.  If you're not getting dates now, then being a pilot won't help much.  Trust me on this one.