PPL - Private pilots license

rexehuk

rexehuk

rexehuk

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Hello!

This is to anyone who's done a PPL for standard single prop in a cess 152 or PA28.

What plane did you do it in?
What airfield did you do it from?
How many hours flight did you do?

I'm about to embark on my PPL around November/December time, aiming to be qualified for my license by next Christmas or Summer 2013.

The best place for me to do mine is Biggin Hill via these:

http://www.flyefg.co.uk/

Do you have any advice for me? :D (apart from don't crash and kill yourself)
 
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nah you just put them in the pitot tubes instead :)

I did 10 hours in blackpool years ago when i had the time and money. was good fun and learnt a lot - not sure if I will ever go the full way and get the PPL mainly bc the airline industry is in a complete mess at the moment and training/working for any company would be a living nightmare in the current climate.

I flew cessna, nice little plane... not much more to say about it really theres a lot of theory but really its just like learning to drive but in the sky and if you know the theory the rest is easy.
 
iamtheoneneo said:
nah you just put them in the pitot tubes instead :)

I did 10 hours in blackpool years ago when i had the time and money. was good fun and learnt a lot - not sure if I will ever go the full way and get the PPL mainly bc the airline industry is in a complete mess at the moment and training/working for any company would be a living nightmare in the current climate.

I flew cessna, nice little plane... not much more to say about it really theres a lot of theory but really its just like learning to drive but in the sky and if you know the theory the rest is easy.
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Ahh I should note I'm doing the PPL for fun, not looking to get a job out of it. I'm 22 and would love to have something different under my belt.

Office Mon-Fri and the open skies on Saturday or Sunday :p.

I'm probably going to go for the Cessena too, it's cheaper to do lessons in and from what I hear it's quite nice to fly for your first plane. After I'm done with that and got some hours under my belt with the PPL, I am going to pay the extra two grand for the aerobatics plane license. I'm viewing this as a sort of (expensive) hobby to partake in when I'm bored, pop out on a Saturday and hurtle around the skies at 200+mph.
 
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Tefal said:
so how much does it cost to learn + how much to rent a plane to fly after you've qualified?
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For a standard international PPL £6-7k.

Renting planes as far as I've understood is on a per-hour tach basis. So if I rent a plane for the weekend, my engine on time is 3 hours, then I'd pay 3 hours rental. My dream is to fly to something like the Goodwood festival and land on their strip, you get full VIP treatment from what I've heard, so would be great to grab a PA28 for 4 of us and split the cost.

Also when you're flying and renting, you may need to pay landing fees so you have to account for that. During the training, the course fee covers all your landing costs.
 
rexehuk said:
If you're referencing what I think you are, then you are full of fail.

It's actually

PULL UP! PULL UP! ALTITUDE! ALTITUDE!
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Well actually YOU are full of fail...since none of the GPWS cautions say Altitude :-P haha

iamtheoneneo said:
I did 10 hours in blackpool years ago when i had the time and money. was good fun and learnt a lot - not sure if I will ever go the full way and get the PPL mainly bc the airline industry is in a complete mess at the moment and training/working for any company would be a living nightmare in the current climate.

I flew cessna, nice little plane... not much more to say about it really theres a lot of theory but really its just like learning to drive but in the sky and if you know the theory the rest is easy.
Click to expand...

Not sure I'd class my job as a living nightmare!! :confused:

rexehuk said:
For a standard international PPL £6-7k.

Renting planes as far as I've understood is on a per-hour tach basis. So if I rent a plane for the weekend, my engine on time is 3 hours, then I'd pay 3 hours rental. My dream is to fly to something like the Goodwood festival and land on their strip, you get full VIP treatment from what I've heard, so would be great to grab a PA28 for 4 of us and split the cost.

Also when you're flying and renting, you may need to pay landing fees so you have to account for that. During the training, the course fee covers all your landing costs.
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Its not always done on tach, and landing fees aren't always included. It depends on the school and what airports you fly into!

I did my PPL back in 2004/2005 and flew the PA38, PA28 and then did my CPL in the PA34. Happy to answer and questions people have!

Blinkz
 
Blinkz said:
Well actually YOU are full of fail...since none of the GPWS cautions say Altitude :-P haha
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As I said, "If it's what I think you're referring to" being the military simulator for the A10-C then yes it DOES say that.

So I pass the fail right back at you :cool:.

Blinkz said:
Its not always done on tach, and landing fees aren't always included. It depends on the school and what airports you fly into!

I did my PPL back in 2004/2005 and flew the PA38, PA28 and then did my CPL in the PA34. Happy to answer and questions people have!

Blinkz
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Where do you hire from if you take a plane for a weekend then? I can't see them charging you 48 hours x hourly fee. Also the courses I'm looking at include all the landing fees, otherwise I wouldn't do it, would work out way too expensive.

How many hours did you end up doing to get the PPL? And have you done any further such as night / instrument flight PPL extensions?
 
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rexehuk said:
As I said, "If it's what I think you're referring to" being the military simulator for the A10-C then yes it DOES say that.

So I pass the fail right back at you :cool:.



Where do you hire from if you take a plane for a weekend then? I can't see them charging you 48 hours x hourly fee. Also the courses I'm looking at include all the landing fees, otherwise I wouldn't do it, would work out way too expensive.

How many hours did you end up doing to get the PPL? And have you done any further such as night / instrument flight PPL extensions?
Click to expand...

Well considering we were talking about PPLs I thought that the discussion was limited to civil aircraft! Besides a PC game is hardly a proper source :p

I was just talking in general, not all schools use a tach to charge. Some just use block time etc. Generally if schools let you take the aircraft away for a weekend then they will be a minimum number of hours they charge, even if you fly less. I've never hired an aircraft over a weekend though so can't really comment.

Well if the landing fees are included then thats all well and good. You'll certainly do a lot of them whilst learning to the land haha.

I did my PPL in 45hrs, but then I did it full time. Average for most people seems at least 55hr ish.

Haha yes I've gone a little further since my PPL, I then did my night rating, then MEP course, then CPL course, then IR rating. After that I did a 737NG type rating, then an A320 type rating, then got an ATPL ;) I've nearly 3000hrs now :D
 
It's likely to cost more than £6-7k from start to finish. Most people take more than the minimum 45 hours required and you have to budget for exam fees, landing fees and equipment. I did my PPL in a PA28 and personally prefer it to the C152/172. Take a trial lesson in both to see which you prefer.

As Blinkz says, if you want to take a plane away for a weekend, there will usually be a minimum rental fee. If you take a plan for 2 days and only fly 3 or 4 hours, they're likely to charge you more than what you fly since the plane isn't earning them any money whilst sat on the ground.

Best of luck with it. It's a really interesting course. :)
 
One more thing. Never, NEVER pay up front for flying. Some schools will offer you a discount for buying hours in bulk or paying for your course up front. Don't do this. So many people have been stung to the tune of £thousands as flying schools have a history of going belly up overnight. Pay as you fly!
 
UK & Europe are horribly expensive to fly in, add to that landing & parking fees and costs can mount.

What are your plans...is this for leisure flying or are you taking the first step to join the airlines to be a Boeing or Airbus driver?

If you can - I cant recommend America enough, awesome aviation atmosphere there and training is cheaper. Also you can get European licenses at a lot of schools there. And before someone says "but Uk weather is so not like Arizonas"...yes thats true but u can find the bad weather places to train in if you want an IFR license after that.

But if £ is not an issue then ignore the suggestion for America lol.

I did my PPL in a DV20 Katana, awesome little Austrian machine! I got my IFR in a Piper Warrior and my multi-engine in a Piper Seminole. And yea I did all this across the pond. Loads and loads of fun!

Good luck and keep the blue side up :D

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@ Blinkz - nice dude :) u got 737NG typed - u fly a BBJ or for an airline? Those are sweetass planes I love them.
 
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If you do train in the US, budget a grand for when you come back to the UK to get up to scratch.

EDIT: Just to clarify, I'm not saying it will make you a bad pilot - it will just be different flying here. I've seen quite a few people need 5-10 hours to pass a club check after returning from the US.
 
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