Learning to fly - advice sought !
Discussion
That's it . Decision made. I am going to get my PPL.
Having stooged around aircraft a fair bit, I have decided to take the plunge and get my license.
If I don't do it soon , Mrs TS will only bludgeon me into spending the money on a new patio or some other nonsense. So it is time to strike and set the wheels in motion to make it happen.
I will do it next spring - giving me time to plan time off work etc.
I know already that little Cessna's and their like really don't do it for me. I may learn to fly in one, but for me I want to get straight into the older stuff. This means tail-wheel training, because I think I would like to get into a Cub, Citabria, Decathlon or something like that. Perhaps even Tiger Moths...
I am sure that PH has a fair share of pilots. So , the question is do I get my training here in the UK or book a month off and go somewhere sunny, get the training nailed and then convert back in the UK with additional training to adapt to our challenging climate and crowded airspace?
Does anyone here have positive experiences, or negative experiences I can learn from ?
Any advice welcome.
Cheers
TS
Having stooged around aircraft a fair bit, I have decided to take the plunge and get my license.
If I don't do it soon , Mrs TS will only bludgeon me into spending the money on a new patio or some other nonsense. So it is time to strike and set the wheels in motion to make it happen.
I will do it next spring - giving me time to plan time off work etc.
I know already that little Cessna's and their like really don't do it for me. I may learn to fly in one, but for me I want to get straight into the older stuff. This means tail-wheel training, because I think I would like to get into a Cub, Citabria, Decathlon or something like that. Perhaps even Tiger Moths...
I am sure that PH has a fair share of pilots. So , the question is do I get my training here in the UK or book a month off and go somewhere sunny, get the training nailed and then convert back in the UK with additional training to adapt to our challenging climate and crowded airspace?
Does anyone here have positive experiences, or negative experiences I can learn from ?
Any advice welcome.
Cheers
TS
Avoid loud bangs from the engine. They'll fill yer pants in seconds!
I'd opt for the US due to the exchange rate, but the downside will be the cost of getting there & accomodation. If you do that, make sure you get an FAA medical done before you go as you'll need that to solo. Get the ground school booked as they do fill up, there's places that'll do it in 3 days, the the exam on the 4th. You'll need human performances & limitations and the radio license (I think) on your return to convert + some airspace differences experience.
I'd opt for the US due to the exchange rate, but the downside will be the cost of getting there & accomodation. If you do that, make sure you get an FAA medical done before you go as you'll need that to solo. Get the ground school booked as they do fill up, there's places that'll do it in 3 days, the the exam on the 4th. You'll need human performances & limitations and the radio license (I think) on your return to convert + some airspace differences experience.
Edited by fatboy b on Tuesday 15th July 10:39
I did my PPL over a period of a few years, one thing I would addive is to try and get the exams out of the way sharpish, then you can purely focus on the flying. have a look at the oxford aviation CD roms from places like transair. they really help with revising.
As for the aircraft. get your PPL in a spamcan, you can always convert afterwards. I did mine in a piper warrior and now fly a beechcraft.
you will enjoy it, but be prepared to be controlled by the weather. I cant comment about the UK V Overseas thing as I havent done it, but if I had the time and the money then I would probably go overseas. ( although Im aware that flying clubs in the UK need as much support as possible at present!)
As for the aircraft. get your PPL in a spamcan, you can always convert afterwards. I did mine in a piper warrior and now fly a beechcraft.
you will enjoy it, but be prepared to be controlled by the weather. I cant comment about the UK V Overseas thing as I havent done it, but if I had the time and the money then I would probably go overseas. ( although Im aware that flying clubs in the UK need as much support as possible at present!)
Edited by Obiwonkeyblokey on Tuesday 15th July 10:39
am sure you will get a more informed reply, but the key issue re: uk vs abroad is the conditions you will be flying in. if you plump for, say, california/florida it is likely you will spend your entire PPl flying in glorious sunshine with visibility to the horizon, experiencing wide open airspace. you'd then get back to blighty and find the complete opposite. a bit like learning to drive on private roads then being let loose on the m25. the radio communications procedures are also very different iirc.
maybe best to learn in the uk, but use the US for cheap hour building should you want/need extra licenses.
std. pub opinion mind, am still saving for mt HPPL
maybe best to learn in the uk, but use the US for cheap hour building should you want/need extra licenses.
std. pub opinion mind, am still saving for mt HPPL
A lad I used to work with did it. He is a very bright lad but has no common sense whatsover. Some of his greatest moments include: -
- After hearing a knocking from the diff of his MGB GT at over 3,000 RPM, he used a single scissor jack to get it in the air, put it in gear, fired it up, wedged the throttle open and got underneath to have a look
- Disconnected the fuel pipe while the engine was hot and still running
- After a complaint that a fluorescent fitting in an office was too bright, he sprayed the sides of the diffuser with grey primer and put it back up still wet
- Run a length of cable tray through a zip-up scaffold's solid end sections without thinking how he could take the scaffold down afterwards
- Smoked pot in the main air intake to a lecture theatre
- Bought a Skoda aged 16 and drove it without a license etc.
I took my PPL(H) for helicopters last year in Florida. It took me four-and-a-half weeks for complete the whole course, and as you might expect some of that was quite involved and stressful. Great fun though!
The course was a present from my Dad and I'm not entirely certain on the costing, although apparently it was no more expensive for him to send me to Yanksville for a month than it was for me to take the course here in sunny England.
The course was a present from my Dad and I'm not entirely certain on the costing, although apparently it was no more expensive for him to send me to Yanksville for a month than it was for me to take the course here in sunny England.
Lots of good advice here, and if I could be so bold as to add my twopenneth:
Learn in a spamcan, PA-28 etc. While you want to go the tailwheel route later, time in the air is expensive, and you want to get it done as easily as possible. There is a reason why all driving school cars are easy to drive little boxes after all, even if they are not what we choose to buy once we have our license. Think about it.
The other issue is confidence. A PPL is a license to learn, and frankly, as a tyro pilot you will know very little over the basics, and have, obviously, the bare minimum of air experience. Use the time post PPL to build some cheap hours to get your bag of experience filled, and go from there. 50-150hrs is when you learn.
Next up, where to train? Frankly, you don't go to Poland to learn to drive because it's cheaper, and then drive in the UK. A road is a road, right? The air is the air, right? The UK is a very different weather/RT/procedural experience from the USA. I'll never forget the first time I flew in the USA, which was a twin (Navajo) from Chicago to Phoenix, as a UK trained pilot who had never flown outside these Isles. There are differences, and as a result what shoul have been an easy times flight was a learning experience. Same as now, when I sit beside a guy, I can pretty quickly make a guess as to where he has done the majority of his hours, and I'm not usually wrong.
Next up, is make friends in the flying community. Most PPL's sack it off post getting the license, as they suddenly find they are 'on their own' and once they have taken Grandma and the family for a flight over the local area, they really are at a loss to know whats next. Suddenly spending £200 to fly to another airfield and back with a cup of coffee in the middle of it and a bacon roll doesn't seem like good VFM. Hence a lot, over 50%, of PPL's lapse in the first 5 year issue time. Solution is join an organisation, get into fly-in's etc. It keeps you interested, and stops you feeling like a lone wolf.
All in all though, good luck, and enjoy yourself.
Learn in a spamcan, PA-28 etc. While you want to go the tailwheel route later, time in the air is expensive, and you want to get it done as easily as possible. There is a reason why all driving school cars are easy to drive little boxes after all, even if they are not what we choose to buy once we have our license. Think about it.
The other issue is confidence. A PPL is a license to learn, and frankly, as a tyro pilot you will know very little over the basics, and have, obviously, the bare minimum of air experience. Use the time post PPL to build some cheap hours to get your bag of experience filled, and go from there. 50-150hrs is when you learn.
Next up, where to train? Frankly, you don't go to Poland to learn to drive because it's cheaper, and then drive in the UK. A road is a road, right? The air is the air, right? The UK is a very different weather/RT/procedural experience from the USA. I'll never forget the first time I flew in the USA, which was a twin (Navajo) from Chicago to Phoenix, as a UK trained pilot who had never flown outside these Isles. There are differences, and as a result what shoul have been an easy times flight was a learning experience. Same as now, when I sit beside a guy, I can pretty quickly make a guess as to where he has done the majority of his hours, and I'm not usually wrong.
Next up, is make friends in the flying community. Most PPL's sack it off post getting the license, as they suddenly find they are 'on their own' and once they have taken Grandma and the family for a flight over the local area, they really are at a loss to know whats next. Suddenly spending £200 to fly to another airfield and back with a cup of coffee in the middle of it and a bacon roll doesn't seem like good VFM. Hence a lot, over 50%, of PPL's lapse in the first 5 year issue time. Solution is join an organisation, get into fly-in's etc. It keeps you interested, and stops you feeling like a lone wolf.
All in all though, good luck, and enjoy yourself.
john_p said:
Ask your local club if you can learn to fly, and say you're not worried about taking off and landing, just want to know how to fly. Then ask if they have a 737 or an Airbus simulator you can practice in. See what they say
naughty, verrrrry naughty 
Edited by schmokin1 on Tuesday 15th July 11:28
agree with pretty much all chainguy says.
but, with the cheap dollar, I would still do the ppl in florida on a 3-4 week trip, and use the savings to get a few quick hours in a club when you get back, to get used to flying UK style. Do your exams in advance distance learning, or at least do the swotting in advance and sit your exams at the FAA as soon as you get there.
I learned in Spain, and my first few VFR flights (as a full commercial instrument rated newbie) in the UK were an eye opener to say the least, with the busy airspace and frankly mad looking half mill chart.
If you join a club, there will be one or two commercials there who don't have a job yet and will want to fly for no money (they will have mortgaged their soul for the licence). You can then get someone who knows the score to go up with you if you let them have a go...
Enjoy!
but, with the cheap dollar, I would still do the ppl in florida on a 3-4 week trip, and use the savings to get a few quick hours in a club when you get back, to get used to flying UK style. Do your exams in advance distance learning, or at least do the swotting in advance and sit your exams at the FAA as soon as you get there.
I learned in Spain, and my first few VFR flights (as a full commercial instrument rated newbie) in the UK were an eye opener to say the least, with the busy airspace and frankly mad looking half mill chart.
If you join a club, there will be one or two commercials there who don't have a job yet and will want to fly for no money (they will have mortgaged their soul for the licence). You can then get someone who knows the score to go up with you if you let them have a go...
Enjoy!
euroboy said:
Got my PPL about 5 years ago now (although its expired at the moment 
)
My personal take on it:
Get all theory exams taken ASAP - Oxford Publishing do some good books. I cant remember exactly how many exams there were (maybe 7 in all + a RT exam?)
Make sure you fly at least once a week, otherwise you forget what you did last time. Little and often works just as well as doing it all at once.
Id learn here in the UK if I were you. I know the USA is cheaper but its a different world here in the UK. Lots of people who do the initial training in the USA really struggle when they get back to the UK with the RT and more complicated navigation.
Have a look around a couple of clubs and find what is best for you. Some train with high wing Cessnas, others with low wing Pipers. I much preferred the low-wing aircraft. Only go with a club you feel comfortable with as you are going to give them a shed load of money. I used SoloFlight at Humberside Airport.
Budget circa 6k if you aim to do it in the minimum amount of hrs. I got my licene @ 46hrs (and was solo after 5hrs) and it cost me (well my old man) just shy of 6k altogether.
Its bloody great fun but dont underestimate the complexity of it. Its one of those things where its 'what you know and not what you do' thats important. The flying part is very simple - but its the flying combined with navigating, talking, getting approvals from ATC, looking out the window for other AC, plus monitoring all the aircraft systems that starts to make it complicated. Plus you always have to have a plan for when things go wrong!
Enjoy it, theres nothing quite like it!
How much would you budget for flying once a week? Just wondering how much I need to set aside to get my licence back in currency again. )My personal take on it:
Get all theory exams taken ASAP - Oxford Publishing do some good books. I cant remember exactly how many exams there were (maybe 7 in all + a RT exam?)
Make sure you fly at least once a week, otherwise you forget what you did last time. Little and often works just as well as doing it all at once.
Id learn here in the UK if I were you. I know the USA is cheaper but its a different world here in the UK. Lots of people who do the initial training in the USA really struggle when they get back to the UK with the RT and more complicated navigation.
Have a look around a couple of clubs and find what is best for you. Some train with high wing Cessnas, others with low wing Pipers. I much preferred the low-wing aircraft. Only go with a club you feel comfortable with as you are going to give them a shed load of money. I used SoloFlight at Humberside Airport.
Budget circa 6k if you aim to do it in the minimum amount of hrs. I got my licene @ 46hrs (and was solo after 5hrs) and it cost me (well my old man) just shy of 6k altogether.
Its bloody great fun but dont underestimate the complexity of it. Its one of those things where its 'what you know and not what you do' thats important. The flying part is very simple - but its the flying combined with navigating, talking, getting approvals from ATC, looking out the window for other AC, plus monitoring all the aircraft systems that starts to make it complicated. Plus you always have to have a plan for when things go wrong!
Enjoy it, theres nothing quite like it!
Not sure where you are located but if you do plump for doing it in the UK Wellesbourne avaition are great based just out side Statford-on-Avon. The training fleet is Robin 200s, delightful little things not horrid little cessnas or terrahawks. They aslo have a 2160i so if you are getting the blues about hacking around the circuit you can get 1/2 an hour of aeros in to spice things up. If you are just going to fly for fun then farm strips and taildraggers are the way forward. Simple self maintained permit air craft are the dogs.
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