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Should Daddy Pay for Flight Lessons?

You’d have to be sure he’s really interested, and not just saying it. I guess you only find out when the money has been spent… as general experience it’s not wasted, and he can always come back.

How many boys have (for example) amazing train sets because their father wanted one when they were a boy?

I agree with LeSving: the more people, and the more young people, the better

EGHO-LFQF-KCLW, United Kingdom

Yes.

ESOW, Sweden

PhilG wrote:

IHT is a British thing – not sure if other countries have a tax upon wealth that has already been taxed

Many (most?) countries have some inheritance tax, but in Continental Europe, the rates vary depending on the closeness of the family relationship between the deceased and the heir, and increase with the value of the inheritance. A distinct feature of the French system (one of the rare tax sweetness in an otherwise “tax hell” country) is that latent capital gains are not transferred to the heir; it is a quid pro quo of paying inheritance tax. But inheritance tax rates are quite high, even for close relatives. Plus, the French heir pays French inheritance tax even when the deceased was not French. That easily leads to double taxation.

ELLX

Amazing the near unanimity of answers!

Tököl LHTL

As a son whose parents paid for flight training, I can give you a different POV :)
I liked flying very much, planning and traveling especially. Being the copilot of my dad was (and still is) very enjoyable. But not so much flying the plane myself ! It looked too hard from where I was (calculating wind corrections and this stuff…).
My dad offered me to pay for my brevet de base ( a French super-simple LAPL). The TK was a joke (really) and the check ride was done by my FI. So I started to take lessons and learn how to land that wooden vehicle in a permanent crosswind. I almost stopped flying when I lost control and left the runway.
Once I got it, I could make only local flights. And quickly, I thought I could travel and see the world in this machine !
So I took the full PPL training and it was a blast and I am here dreaming about where I can fly next (budget-permitting :S).
So I would say :
- ask him what he likes in aviation : hanging in the air or traveling the world (if it’s the latter, you’re screwed:D)
- offer him a few lessons and the TK. PPL if he is ok, LAPL otherwise.

I would love to share an aircraft with my dad. If we had a 172, we would fly 150hrs a year ! He went mainly to rotary wing instead :(

I hope you can have this kind of moment with your son one day :


Last Edited by Jujupilote at 20 Nov 19:40
LFOU, France

I know more people who stopped when trying to do the exams without having flown, than other way round. FStart to fly first. Then the theory will make more sense in many cases. Then do both parallel. Start with the fun stuff. Then the dry stuff inbetween. If you have time, do all exams at once. It’s more fun learning. Don’t forget to fly, so you know why you’re learning.

mh
Aufwind GmbH
EKPB, Germany

My parents paid for my PPL.

And I will pay for my son’s (or daughter’s) PPL if they want to embark on it (hopefully they will want to).

Life is like that. As a kid you receive and as an adult you give. There is a certain beauty to it too.

EDDW, Germany

I’m leaning toward insisting he pass the written first…

Tököl LHTL

WhiskeyPapa wrote:

I’m leaning toward insisting he pass the written first

Disagree. The written can put anyone off aviation and – perhaps more importantly – a lot of the stauff only makes sense once you’ve sat in an airplane. For various resons I did it that way (written first) and if I hadn’t had a serious passion for aviation I might well have chucked it in halfway though. Also, I’ll say iot again: many very dry things in the theory stuff make perfect sense once you’re in an airplane.

About this thing with the order of the theory…

I won’t say “pass every exam before even sitting in a cockpit”. But I do recommend not lagging behind on the theory. I would recommend getting the more “boring” topics out of the way before the first flight (Air Law, Ops, HPL…). Start flying lessons, continue studying the theory and get all exams passed by the time you hit 30 or so hours.

In any case the PPL theory should not be a bottleneck to anyone who is really interested in getting a PPL. I am inclined to believe that those people who quit on a PPL because of the theory were never really committed to the idea in the first place.

I also surprisingly hear a lot about people who leave their PPL training because of money. Didn’t they know beforehand it was going to cost them 10k or so? Surely if money is a concern you won’t embark on it in the first place! Do a gliding course, or an ultralight course.

EDDW, Germany
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