Aviator27J

I haven't flown in probably over 3 years but if I have any spare money it would be great to get my BFR and just rent once in a while to have fun in the sky like I used to. I'm moving to Tomball on 28 June and I've seen prices at Hooks for a 152 starting around $57/hr I think, plus $25 for instructor. It was either UFS or Hi-Tech Aviation.

Anyway, does anyone know CFIs out there or have any recommendation as to which school to check out over the others? I pretty much only care about a 152 b/c it's cheap and it'll be just me flying mainly, but when I want to bring others along I'll go with the 172 or Cherokee or something. I haven't flown in the past 3 years but since I've been with the airline the whole time and dispatching for just about the last 2, I'm still up on the book-smarts of it...I'll mainly need refreshing on maneuvers and stuff.

In related news, does anyone have any hookups for skydiving around Houston? I'd really love to do it if I can afford it (we don't earn as much as pilots) and I'd rather jump by myself and not do tandem, if it's offered around here. I haven't heard anything from the CO Skydiving Club lately either.

Thanks!

crewlover

I'd go with UFS. My fiance used them and seemed to really like them. They keep there planes in good condition and a bunch of their instructors now work for us. Talk to T/R Disagree and he'll be able to fill you in more on them.

Aviator27J

Thanks! I'll check them out. I'll be in town this week instead of my semi-not-really commute to the Bay Area of CA so maybe I can check out the rentals on a day off. One of them was a bit cheaper, especially with block time, but it's a small enough difference that I don't care about costs if one has nicer aircraft than the other (like you said, UFS possibly).

I'm still open to more input if anyone has any! Thanks for your help!

T/R DISAGREE

here is the Web site for United Flight Systems.

www.unitedflight.com

cfdoubleeye

Skydiving: Head down to Wharton airport and talk to Chuck, the drop zone owner, about taking the Acccelerated Freefall course. The drop zone is at the airport right on the side of the highway - so you can't miss it. I used to jump there regularly until I traded 6 grand in parachute gear for my MEI certificate.

Skydive Houston is a Tandem Factory, and they wil bump your instructional jumps for the revenue generated by the Tandem riders. The attitude there was pretty poor in the past and I do not recommend it - oter than the fact that they have good aircraft (a rare sight in the skydiving world).

I also highly recommend the San Marcos and Beeville drop zones. Expect to pay about $180 per jump as a student, but once you get your 8 jumps you are only paying $20 for the adrenaline rush of your life (or hundreds of them in my case).

Blue Skys!

Aviator27J

Cool...$1000 investment to get to $20 jumps is cool with me once I get that $1000 freed up to spend. How's the cost for chute rental in addition to that ride aloft?

Does anyone know of places around IAH that rent Tigers or uncommon aircraft? Maybe tailwheel, biplane, etc? That'd be the coolest thing to take up a nice radial biplane when I can afford a $ splurge!