> The main problem I have with this, though, is that I don't want to do this unless I can also learn at least partially how to fly the plane. (A Cessna 172. It has dual controls.)

It's the easier plane to control... A friend of mine from Bergamo is an Alitalia pilot; sometimes we both flew together (once with a Yak-52, a sort of acrobatic monoplane); usually we use the 152 or 172 from his airclub, and twice he let me to control the plane; the last time I did the landing under his supervision.

It's a real fun.

S.