Learning to fly

Ahleckz said:
How much would it cost to hire a plane for a few hours once you have your license? I was terribly jealous of Scuzi who just took a wee trip to the Channel Islands last month.

Also, do you have to do refresher courses after a few years?

I'm seriously considering doing the same as the OP and getting the license but I'm not sure how often I'd be able to fly once I had it.
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normally you have to join a club and buy a share in a plane, I doubt many places would just hire you one out

the club had rules about min flying hours every few months otherwise you had to get a check flight with the instructor again
 
Ahleckz said:
How much would it cost to hire a plane for a few hours once you have your license? I was terribly jealous of Scuzi who just took a wee trip to the Channel Islands last month.

Also, do you have to do refresher courses after a few years?

I'm seriously considering doing the same as the OP and getting the license but I'm not sure how often I'd be able to fly once I had it.
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The going rate is about £120-150 per hour depending on the aircraft type.

Your rating is valid for 2 years and to keep it valid, the legal minimum is to do 12 hours as PIC in the 2nd year, however most clubs have much stricter rules. My club has a 28 day rule. If you haven't flown in 28 days you have to go up for a check with an instructor. Realistically speaking, you'd want to be doing at least 2 hours a month to keep current enough to be safe.
 
Haven't a lot of clubs been hit in the recession? My mates club went bust recently. Funnily enough, he had is PPL before he was legally allowed to drive.
 
I always fancied getting PPL. An ex-g/f many years ago got me a taster lesson and i loved it. It was quite simple and easy to fly :)

The thing to remember after getting a PPL, is that you need to fly a certain amount of hours to maintain ur PPL.
 
KatanaDV20 said:
The fun (adrenalin) starts when youre pottering along at night over water and the engine coughs for a second. The only engine :D
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Yeah, that's an experience. When I went to Guernsey a few weeks ago, I had planned to cross the English Channel at 3000ft, due to the base of the Class A airway being FL35. I preferably would have wanted to get up to FL80 or higher but with the multiple danger areas active over the channel, it would have been a mission.I knew before departure that the aircraft I was taking had some starting problems, usually put down to some sort of ignition issue, but I got to Guernsey no problem.

I landed safely, went into the terminal, had my coffee, bought some crap then returned to the aircraft. It wouldn't start. Eventually I figured I had one last start attempt before the battery drained so I called the CFI for some advice. I got it started but it ran a bit weird for a few minutes before picking up. I was planning on crossing 50 miles of water with an engine that appeared to have a mind of it's own.

I did the crossing anyway, not before putting the life raft in the front seat, I engaged the AP and spent all of my time keeping an eye out for ships on the shipping lanes, thinking "If my engine failed now, I could land abeam that ship and hopefully they'd pull me aboard".

I was landing on 05 at Lee-On-Solent, the threshold is right on the coast so the entire approach is over the Solent. It was officially night by now and of course, every man and his dog was returning from day trips. I had to do a few orbits over the IOW before making an approach. I was at 2000ft with a stonking headwind. Solent Radar had given me traffic info on multiple aircraft so my head was spinning all over the place trying to clock the nav lights or the strobes. I came in high, you know, just in case the engine packed in. It did splutter a few times during the approach but I think that was just a bit of carb ice clearing.

Anyhoo, when I made the landing, far from a greaser, I was so god damn relieved. I would do it a million times over but I must admit I was constantly thinking "what if?" the entire time!

It wasn't fun at the time but looking back.... it builds character! :D

There are quite a few pilots on OcUK now. Maybe we should organise an OcUK fly in?
 
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Scuzi said:
Yeah, that's an experience. When I went to Guernsey a few weeks ago, I had planned to cross the English Channel at 3000ft, due to the base of the Class A airway being FL35. I preferably would have wanted to get up to FL80 or higher but with the multiple danger areas active over the channel, it would have been a mission.I knew before departure that the aircraft I was taking had some starting problems, usually put down to some sort of ignition issue, but I got to Guernsey no problem.

I landed safely, went into the terminal, had my coffee, bought some crap then returned to the aircraft. It wouldn't start. Eventually I figured I had one last start attempt before the battery drained so I called the CFI for some advice. I got it started but it ran a bit weird for a few minutes before picking up. I was planning on crossing 50 miles of water with an engine that appeared to have a mind of it's own.

I did the crossing anyway, not before putting the life raft in the front seat, I engaged the AP and spent all of my time keeping an eye out for ships on the shipping lanes, thinking "If my engine failed now, I could land abeam that ship and hopefully they'd pull me aboard".

I was landing on 05 at Lee-On-Solent, the threshold is right on the coast so the entire approach is over the Solent. It was officially night by now and of course, every man and his dog was returning from day trips. I had to do a few orbits over the IOW before making an approach. I was at 2000ft with a stonking headwind. Solent Radar had given me traffic info on multiple aircraft so my head was spinning all over the place trying to clock the nav lights or the strobes. I came in high, you know, just in case the engine packed in. It did splutter a few times during the approach but I think that was just a bit of carb ice clearing.

Anyhoo, when I made the landing, far from a greaser, I was so god damn relieved. I would do it a million times over but I must admit I was constantly thinking "what if?" the entire time!

It wasn't fun at the time but looking back.... it builds character! :D

There are quite a few pilots on OcUK now. Maybe we should organise an OcUK fly in?
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Quite an experience Scuzi, and def a learning day! Each to there own of course but there is no way I would have made a sea crossing with an engine I didn't have 100% confidence in! Saying that I don't feel comfortable with less then 2 engines now! :D

A fly-in would be great fun! Sadly my a/c wouldn't fit into any of your airfields haha, and sadly my SEP expired years ago! I'll be someones navigator though! :cool:
 
Blinkz said:
Quite an experience Scuzi, and def a learning day! Each to there own of course but there is no way I would have made a sea crossing with an engine I didn't have 100% confidence in! Saying that I don't feel comfortable with less then 2 engines now! :D

A fly-in would be great fun! Sadly my a/c wouldn't fit into any of your airfields haha, and sadly my SEP expired years ago! I'll be someones navigator though! :cool:
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Assuming from your location you're flying heavies? How do you think you'd handle a little Cessna now?
 
cheechm said:
Assuming from your location you're flying heavies? How do you think you'd handle a little Cessna now?
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Technically they are classed as mediums lol. But yes I fly airliners, the Airbus A320 specifically.

I've not flown an SEP since my training so I'm curious as well how well I'd fly them!
 
spudbynight said:
Funnily I am a MUCH bigger Floyd fan but still thought of the Foo Fighters first.

Although it is the video that came to mind more than the song.
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Don't forget Tom Petty's version.

But it's the Floyd one for me.

I want to fly, but it seems far too expensive as a hobby.

My nearest airfields are Redlands, Swindon or Kemble Gloucestershire.

I've had one trial lesson, woop, woop!

BUT even if I did get a PPL, it'll cost a fortune just in Aviation fuel, let alone being a member of a plane syndicate. AND you need to do your minimum hours just to keep your licence yearly. When you land, all it seems you can do is drink a cup of coffee at the airfields as they're miles away from anything. No flying when it's dark or in bad weather unless you've got the IMC done which is a further expense. If only I could get a lottery win.

*Just read your blog bit on the cost.

What are your thoughts on this?

I've bought a couple of issues of 'Pilot' magazine, play FSX to death and have some other real-world tutorial books on Maths and Instrument Flying, and the excellent 'Stick and Rudder'.

Thanks for the blog though, will be interesting to see how you get on.
 
FlyingPig said:
Piper Chieftain (PA-31). I added some more pictures, also to remind myself how nice it can actually be.
To the OP: be careful with whatever flight school you go to. You nearly always pay more than what is quoted, especially in the USA.
Either way, good luck, it is a lot of fun. Aviation is quite a macho world so you won't often hear this but: it can be bloody hard, even on a PPL level. I remember being completely overwhelmed during my first 10 hours as it is a lot to take in at first. Still, as with all things, practice makes perfect and you'll never forget the first time you fly solo!
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Is that JK you're flying?
 
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