Learning to fly...

[megakid]

What does it take to learn to fly and get my PPL?

I've been considering it for a while now and when I move back to London in March, it's definitely something I will look into.

I'm 23 and have a fulltime job, 9-5. What sort of commitment am I looking at, both financially and time?

If anyone here has got their PPL, is it worth continuing for a CPL?

 

[megakid]

Thanks for the responses - the figures quoted were approximately what I expected.

I don't really plan on doing it for a living, just is something I've always wanted to do. I only mentioned CPL because of the restrictions of the PPL - I gather you can't fly in anything other than excellent weather plus only during daylight hours with a PPL?

Does anyone know if I can begin lessons here in Australia over summer (more flight time?) and continue, do exams when I get back in March? I'm finding myself at loose ends at weekends so could probably do a fair few hours - plus I have a car here, unlike London. Saying that, I don't want to rush it so perhaps I will just wait.

Where do the extra airspace restrictions end around London? Are all the small airports like Biggin Hill and Southend included?

I definitely want to start with fixed wing flights (seems far more reachable, given the costs etc). Does anyone have any recommended flight schools? Any particular aircraft I should be looking to train in?

Cheers!

 

[megakid]

Have you considered getting a Microlight licence instead?
It costs about £3000 to get a licence and you could probably buy a used microlight for a couple of thousand.

Not really interested in a microlight licence.

I'm going to ring around the local Sydney airfields to find out if I can get some hours in before returning to the UK, it's cheaper here and I am pretty keen on getting up there before March '10 which is when I'll be returning to London.

 

[megakid]

Going back to my question regarding starting my training here and continuing when I get back - is learning to fly like learning to drive?
i.e. if your parents take you out a lot before your first lesson, then generally you'll need less lessons when you begin (in other words, the instructor will recognize the hours you've put in before beginning). Relating this back to flying, could I start a PPL course out here, do say 20 hours of flight time (I guess this is logged in my flight log?) and then I relocate back to London. Could I then go down to Biggin Hill and start another PPL course and do the remaining 25-35 hours there? Or do these PPL courses follow a strict curriculum/schedule meaning jumping countries half-way through won't work out?
I don't mind doing an extra few hours when I get back to London to familiarize myself with the busier airspace etc (In fact, I'd make sure I did do this) but I would like to get started here
Can anyone see any issues with doing this?

I picked up a few brochures today and am reading through them now - will make some calls tomorrow and try to organize something this weekend.

I do that now, spins a lot of people out on the phone when spelling a surname.

"Whats your last name"
"Rogers, Romeo Oscar Golf Echo Romero Siera"

Haha, that would throw me off for sure.

John_V85 - Thanks for your long informative post - definitely excited me by the prospect of learning all this stuff!