Comparison with Middle Class Hobbies

Hobby Horse Ownership - Purchase $0-$5000 Instruction $45/hr. Saddles - $500-$1500 Healthcare and stall lease $3,027.50/year Of course, multiply this by the number of horses and current hay prices

http://www.umext.maine.edu/onlinepubs/htmpubs/1004.htm


ATV ownership $500-$5000 trailer-$1000.00 trail fees $25.00

http://www.atvaonline.com/rights.asp


Skydiving $85 to $125 - first static line jump. $100 to $200 for a tandem jump. Complete package of seven to 10 jumps - $1,500. The first AFF jump normally runs about $250. These prices include all equipment, instruction and the ride to altitude. Experienced jumpers buy their own gear. A complete set of state-of-the-art equipment costs about $5000
http://www.skydivingmagazine.com/faq.htm


General Aviation $4000.00 Private pilots license - 60 hours instruction. Hourly rental costs can be from $50-$80 for single engine cessnas. Real-world operating costs for the private pilot and the airplane typically run between $2,000 and $8,000 per year, depending upon the amount of flying done and the complexity of the aircraft.

http://flighttraining.aopa.org/learntofly/overview/cost.cfm


Motorcyle ownership - $1000-$10,000 depending on used and new market values


Yoga - $10-$15 per hour session. $750-$1000 per year. Avid yoga students spend more money on instruction than hang glider pilots in a two year peroid.


Hang Gliding $1200-$1700 for an average of 84 hours of instruction to hang II rating. This works out to $14.00-$20.00 per hour. However, repetition not time is what matters in the first ten lessons. High altitude lessons require more emphasis on tasks and accomplishments, not time. $5300 on equipment/gear. Synchronized ordering with the lessons and free equipment fitting, orientation and usage clinics make the lessons much more efficient, effective and speaks to the expert community to your professionalism. This highly increases the probability of success. At a minimum, this buys you the ability to fly for hours with eagles for the cost of getting to the site or later when you have put in the airtime, possibly fly up to 15,000 feet and go 100 miles cross country