Glenwood Springs Flying Club
Depending upon what your specific goals and plan is, joining the Glenwood Springs Flying club may or may not be right for you.
Essentially, the club has about 15 members and 2 early 70's aircraft. Both aircraft are Cherokee 235's. The aircraft are older, and given the small number of users they are readily available. Buying into this club (a 1/20th share) is about $3000, and once you are a member you operate the aircraft for cost (roughly $120/hour fuel included), you'll also be responsible for monthly minimums, and quarterly fees.
Now the benefit of this club is that their aircraft, Cherokee 235's are very capable, and after you have your license then you'll have a plane to fly.
Unfortunately, many people join this club just to learn to fly, thinking that they can sell their membership later - very few ever do, finding a buyer for your membership if you want to get out of the club later is nearly impossible.
Now if your entire goal is to just learn to fly, and you're really not interested in owning an aircraft there are better avenues that will cost you less.
As an example, we rent our Diamond Katana DA-20-C1 Katana Evolution for $129 per hour, fuel included. If you purchase in a 10 hour block you can rent the Katana for $119/hour. As you can see, as a member of the club you'll be paying nearly $120 per hour to fly a 40 year old airplane, mean while you could be spending the same and flying a thirty year newer aircraft, and you didn't have to buy-in for $3000, and you don't have monthly minimums, and you don't have quarterly dues.
There are some other advantages learning in the Katana at Eagle - First, students in glenwood spend a good deal of time travelling to the larger runways of Eagle and Rifle to practice landings because student practice is difficult and time consuming at Glenwood Springs because of it's runway length and placement in the valley. Learning at Eagle means you spend more time practicing and less time commuting to other airports. The result is that your training time is less, and therefore the cost is less. The second major advantage that the Katana provides is a simpler aircraft that is easier to learn in. This means you get through your training faster as well.
If you're considering learning to fly, we would like to invite you to come out to Eagle airport and take a discovery/intro flight. You'll have a chance to meet our instructors, fly the plane for an hour, see our training curriculum, and get all your questions answered. We offer discovery flights that are 1 hour of flight time and 2 hours of instructor time for $199.00. Call 970-401-5105 to schedule one today.
Getting a Mountain Flying Lesson in Vail
For pilots visiting the Vail Valley, Mountain Flying is a great way to breakup the time.There are a tremendous number or great reasons to visit the Vail Valley.... whether summer or winter, there is always something to do. Skiing, hiking, biking, golf, the list goes on and on. While you're visiting here consider another great activity that's available year-round. Flying!
For many of the pilots who visit find that a couple of mountain flights can be a great way to break up the vacation and do something different for a couple hours.
We operate from the Eagle County Regional Airport, but a single lesson we can visit Aspen, Telluride, Steamboat, or even Leadville. Leadville of course earns you bragging rights - the highest paved airport in North America, with a pattern altitude above 10,000 feet! We offer flight instruction and aircraft rental year-round. Call 970-401-5105 to schedule.
Point your plane Due West, Aviation Fun in Western Colorado
Learning Mountain Flying in the Heart of the Colorado Rockies. If you’ve ever wanted to learn the skills to be proficient to fly your own airplane in the Colorado Rockies then we can help. Alpine Flight Training specializes in mountain flying instruction in your own aircraft.
We use a variety of structured and unstructured scenarios to teach real world mountain flying by flying to and from many of the popular mountain airports in the Colorado Rockies and eastern Utah. With proper training, the mountains can be a safe and rewarding flight environment, use your plane for exactly what you dreamed of, flying to great destinations like Vail, Steamboat, Aspen, Santa Fe.
Whether you are a new student pilot or a seasoned flat-lander, let us show you the proper techniques for flying in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. We can even meet you at a front range or western slope airport to begin your training. Call today for more information. 970-401-5105