What do you do after you get a Privates Pilot Certificate?

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Earning a private pilots certificate is quite an accomplishment. For some, its just a bucket list item that they may never bother with again, but for others, it may be the beginning of a whole new life. For people who get the "taste of flight", sometimes they say its a "bug" that hits them, and they just HAVE to keep flying. Flying can feel like an addiction for some people, but thats not necessariy a bad thing!

You might have been saving money to buy a motorcycle or a boat, and are suddenly thinking of other uses for that money. A friend might have bought you a "discovery flight" as a birthday gift (or maybe you did it on your own!) and now you're really interested in more and start to research it a little.

You might get to a point when you say "Wow, getting a pilots license and renting airplanes is expensive, what would I use it for?” Well, if you aren’t trying to make a career out of it, there are still many ways you can use a pilot’s certificate. What do you use a boat for? Besides the obvious answer of pursuing more advanced ratings, learning new aircraft types, or more extreme flying (aerobatics), you simply use a private pilots certificate for fun, social and other volunteer type activities.

Vacation

A lot of people hate the idea of flying anywhere commercially, due to having to check bags, go through airport security, and having to wait at the airport for sometimes several hours ahead of time. If you had access to your own private plane, depending on how far you were flying, and how close your home field was, you could just about get to your destination faster than flying commercially. If you just have a basic trainer type aircraft, you might not be the fastest airplane, but you can still travel about twice as fast as your car.

Imagine just packing up a couple small bags, grabbing the wife, and going to the beach for a weekend get-away?

$100 Hamburger

The $100 Hamburger is basically a flight where you and a friend fly to another airport, and enjoy a nice meal at the airport restaurant or nearby restaurant. It is essentially, a meal that costs $100 + due to plane rental expenses. Often times, pilot-friends from near by areas might meet up for barbeque at some distant airport. The $100 Hamburger is a great meal with friends with a great excuse to go fly.

Fly-In

A fly-in is basically a giant gathering of pilots, aircraft, and aviation enthusiasts. They often include static airplane displays, air shows, various experimental home-builder type workshops, and many other social activities. Often, pilots will camp out in a tent near their plane, or drive to the fly-in and stay near by. Two very large and famous fly-in events are "Oshkosh” and "Sun-n-Fun”.

EAA AirVenture, "Oshkosh”

http://www.airventure.org/

Sun-n-Fun

http://www.sun-n-fun.org

Volunteer Pilot Groups

There are many groups that pilots can get involved with and volunteer to fly for. Pilots are often needed to transport animals, provide air transportation for various medical needs, and even fly search and rescue missions. Pilots are also needed to help mentor youth.

Pilots N Paws Pet Rescue

Pilots N Paws is a non-profit charity organization that helps transport animals. They work with rescue groups to help animals get adopted.

http://pilotsnpaws.org/

Angel Flight

Angle Flight is a non-profit charity organization consisting of pilots and other volunteers that help arrange free air transportation for any legitimate, charitable, medically related need.

Civil Air Patrol

The Civil Air Patrol is a volunteer organization and is the Auxiliary of the United States Air force. As stated on their website, the Civil Air Patrol pilots fly reconnaissance missions for homeland security, search and rescue, disaster relief, and even counterdrug operations at the request of government or law enforcement agencies. They sometimes transport medical personnel and supplies and blood and live tissue. In times of disaster, they assess damage and transport emergency personnel from site to site. When not flying traditional emergency missions, cadet orientation pilots fly orientation rides for cadets and teachers while also maintaining their own proficiency.

http://www.gocivilairpatrol.com/

Challenge Air

As stated on their website, Challenge Air builds self-esteem and confidence of children and youth with specials needs, through the experience of flight.

http://challengeair.com

EAA Young Eagles

Young Eagles is a program that gives interested young people, ages 8 - 17, an opportunity to go flying in a general aviation airplane.

http://www.youngeagles.org