PPL Decision

[FairPayer]

I'm toying with the idea of getting a PPL as I've always been interested in flying and living in Bangkok would allow me to get my licence at the Thai Flying Club www.thaiflyingclub.com for around $5,000.

Before I commit to it I would really like to understand what the likely costs of this hobby would be going forward if I were to spend a day flying every second weekend and on occasion the odd longer 2-3 day trip up country e.g. Chang Mai which is circa 700k from Bangkok.

I don't want to do the PPL and then not keep up with it because the capital cost of an aircraft (or share in an aircraft) and operating costs are too high.

Also, I wear glasses for driving and have had hypertension (high blood pressure) for a number of years which is well managed via a daily dose of Tenoretic. At 35 neither of these conditions prevent me from playing squash, golf or any other physically demanding activities (golf isn't that demanding unless its 35C in the shade!!). Could they prevent me from getting a PPL?

Would appreciate any and all feedback good, bad or indifferent.

[Aussie Andy]

Hi,

Its difficult for me to comment about costs ion Thailand, but the normal thing here wold be to rent an aircraft on an hourly basis from your club once you have your license. Hourly rates vary so I suggest you discuss with your club the costs and availability of aircraft to renters post-PPL.

Hope this helps,


Andy

[Evo]

As Andy says, it's hard to guess costs in Thailand, but if a PPL is 5000 USD then it sounds like flying it a fair bit cheaper than over here in the UK (where a PPL will cost around $7500-$10000 depending on where you do it). However, I think it is fair to say that if you plan on flying regularly after the PPL (say 30+ hours per year) then after a couple of years the initial cost of the PPL becomes fairly insignificant - if it is hard to afford a PPL, then it's going to be hard to afford to fly regularly afterwards.

Over here the cheapest way to fly regularly once you have a PPL is usually as part of a group - club hire is best if you're flying less than about 20 hours a year and aeroplane ownership is usually the most expensive option. Groups also have the advantage of letting you take the aeroplane away for several days, over here clubs charge so much to do this that few people ever do.

It's hard to guess what the costs of a group would be in Thailand. You first buy a share in the aeroplane - the cost of this varies depending on the size of the group, but as you're touring regularly a small group is best (the smaller the group, the better the availability) so a fifth share in a typical tourer (PA28/C172) would probably start at about $10k or so. You then pay a monthly charge for hangarage/insurance (say $100 - $200) and an hourly cost which is really fuel plus maintainance (<$100). These are very rough figures and probably an overestimate (based on converting the UK cost to USD), but it should give you a general idea.

Good luck :ok:


Also, I wear glasses for driving and have had hypertension (high blood pressure) for a number of years which is well managed via a daily dose of Tenoretic.... Could they prevent me from getting a PPL?


I'm not a medic and don't know the Thai rules, but I'd guess that unless things are bad then there shouldn't be a problem. I need to wear glasses all the time but my uncorrected eyesight is still good enough for a commercial medical, so I guess it needs to be quite bad to prevent you getting a PPL. As for blood pressure, my father in law is on all sorts of pills for that and has a FAA medical, so that can be done too. Obviously you need to see an aviation doctor for an official yes or no.

[FairPayer]

Thanks Evo, thats bang on the money. It gives me a good broad brush handle on what to expect post PPL and its not as scary as I thought it would be.

I'd appreciate it if I could ask one more question. Do I need to have good technical/mechanical skills to secure a PPL? I'm a retired Accountant (never wanted to be one really) so handy with numbers etc but not at all a "hands on" kind of fella. I'm the guy who can't put the IKEA book rack together even with the instructions. Will this stop me passing PPL? I intend to fly rather than fiddle around with the plane but I guess you need to have a theoretical understanding of mechanics in order to pass the PPL?

[Evo]

I'm useless at anything mechanical, but it didn't cause me any problems. You need to develop a basic understanding, but it is very basic - you're learning to fly the thing, not to take it to pieces. It is probably a good idea to have someone in the group who can do it, but it doesn't need to be you (much to my relief...!) :)

[FlyingForFun]

First of all, you are definitely thinking along the right lines by considering this stuff up front. Many people don't - they save the money to get their PPL, then they finish their course and realise that they're going to need more money to use the license they worked so hard to get. Hopefully by working all this out up front you won't be one of the many who fail to keep their licenses current.

Agree with everything which other posters have said already. In the UK, the cheapest way of flying is to fly a homebuilt aircraft. You don't have to build it yourself - many people build an aircraft, then sell shares in it to recover some of the costs. You get all the benefits of owning a share of an aircraft, but the aircraft you own will quite likely be more interesting, and use far less fuel, than the type of aircraft you will train on. You're able to do the maintenance yourself to reduce costs further still.

I have no idea what the home-building community in Thailand is like, or what the regulations are, but if you're looking for a cheap, fun way of using your license once you get it, then this would be worth looking into.

FFF
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[strafer]

FairPayer,

The answer to both whether you can afford it and whether you're capable in the first place, depends very much on how much you want it. You'll need a fair bit of application to pass and money you spend on flying can always be spent on something else.

Why don't you take a trial lesson? If you don't fall in love with it, it's probably not worth pursuing. If you do, welcome to the club.