[roger_smith]

There is different kinds of flight schools, different requirements depending on which license you are wanting to go for whether it be private or commercial, prices vary as well. Considering that you can get private licenses in some locations at around $2500 and considering it is for a plane that is pretty affordable.

Also I did not state planes are shot down everyday, I said shot down lately. and crashes have been increasing as well over the years, also kids think its fun to shine lazers into the cockpits which can also blind the pilots sometimes even permanently and cause crashes. Flying is just not as safe anymore.

It seems at first flying was awful due to lack of technology, then flying improved and it was good and now flying is getting more and more risky as time goes on.

"The rate of aircraft accidents is at a historical low, despite the series of high profile crashes in recent years that have seen a rise in the number of fatalities.

Figures from the Bureau of Aircraft Accident Archives (BAAA) make the Germanwings crash in the Alps the 17th such incident in 2015 compared to 33 that occurred up to the same point in 2014."
http://www.theguardian.com/world/datablo...ne-crashes


Downward trend of plane crashes over the last 20 years

http://www.baaa-acro.com/result-histogra...015&type=9


In fact, here's a downward trend from 85 to 2015, so over the last 30 years

http://www.baaa-acro.com/result-histogra...015&type=9



Flight school cost:
How much does it cost to learn to fly and get a pilot certificate? (top)
There are a lot of variables that affect the cost of learning to fly, including the frequency of flight lessons, weather conditions, the kind of aircraft in which you are training and its availability for scheduling, and individual aptitude. A rough estimate would range between $5,000 and $9,000, depending on the certificate being sought.
http://flighttraining.aopa.org/learntofly/faq.html#5 (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association)

There's a better than decent chance that the estimate is VFR only as well (Visual Flight Rules), meaning you can only fly when visibility is at a certain level. No cloudy day flights.


Obviously a flight sim is much easier than all that noise, especially if you're not sure you actually want to be a pilot, and would just rather enjoy an evening "flying" from the comfort of your own home.