Ppruners one and all, I ask you what would you like to see in your ideal flying club?

Having visited many over the year's I have been generally unimpressed, ropey aircraft, disinterested and sarcastic ops staff/ instructors, shabby buildings and shite tea. No other type of business could get away with this!
I know my ideal flying club would have a fleet of shiny Mk 9s at a week day solo rate of £80 per hour but seriously what draws you, the hard core of the GA community to your club?

Popham

+ a bar / restaurant open in the evenings
- Hampshire fog
+ Clearer approaches and runway lighting.

G

.......I'm in it !!!

But then Im in France, where a flying club is actually a club run by members for members, not to make a profit. I've been here 3 years now, and I have been made to feel really welcome, despite my bad French, everyone is friendly, helpfull, and there is a real flying spirit about the place. As a bonus, its a 10 min drive at the most from my door.

It is one of the things that makes me love living here.

Regards, SD..:ok:

A fleet of DA40TDi planes (with reliable engines, so some way off :O ) or SR22s or TB20s, every instructor on a salary and with a current ATPL, flight planning facilities available to all. 1200x45m runway with ILS in both directions, H24 and Customs.

Bournemouth FC are very good. Aircraft are fairly old PA28's but are in good condition. Rates are good, with landing fee's included, people are great, relaxed and seem a generally good bunch.

Just my view...:D

Not Goodwood.

Increased membership fee by nearly 100% this year. It's also going to force all individual group members of syndicated a/c to join the flying club and pay the fee! This adds £450 to our group of fives bill. That's on top of an already very high hangarage fee!

Not so bad if they were doing something to justify it ... but I can't see what?

:mad:

SS

The ideal Flying Club would have a hard runway. Not because tarmac is better than grass, or vice versa, but it enables flying all throughout the year.

Not so bad if they were doing something to justify it ... but I can't see what?

Totally agree. Apart from a miniscule discount for an already over-priced revival meeting, its difficult to call.

There are things lined up throughout the year, and discounts to a few places, but the money they are asking and the way they are forcing it upon all the a/c owners and group members isnt impressing people. Everything at Goodwood is pricey, from the hangarage to the bacon rolls, and heres another example of LM hitting the people that keep the place afloat.

:(

Don't think a flying club can provide post PPL needs. They close early, aircraft are booked for training and are so shabby and dirty. They can't be taken away for a weekend etc. They dictate when you can fly. No social gatherings.That's the way it was where I was flying, almost as if they were doing me a favour letting me fly one of their expensive heaps, so I found a share in an aircraft at a private strip. Works beautifully, all year round. Couldn't wish for more. :O

That's absolutely right - very few people do any long-term flying on self fly hire.

However the facilities of a decent club would still be of use to post-PPLs, and their presence would also be beneficial to less experienced pilots or students.

Presently, most people who finish their training end up on their own.

This one has been done to death in another thread recently...

My ideal flying club:

Welcoming smile and coffee when you drop in, not made to feel like you are unwanted if you have not pitched up for a lesson or to fly a club plane.
Hard runways if possible, well drained, well maintaned grass oterwise
Lights - Pilot operated as well
NDB (mega wish list ILS/DME!!!)
Bar - Gives a proper club feeling
Regular fly-outs, big monthly during the summer and smaller more frequently. Private owners being welcomed to these flyouts and club being happy about them offering space to other members when available!
Presentation evenings, CAA, Interesting Aviators etc
Proper club spirt rather than just give us your money attitude
Cheap AvGas

The list can go on and on!

Crumpet ;)

Come to think of it, if you got enough girlz into an airfield, there would soon be enough business there to pay for an ILS. The social scene determines who hangs around, by and large.

Ideal Flying Club...Mmmmm

Maybe one that doesn't lock its doors and not tell its members/customers what's happening or where ya moneys gone ..blah blah blah...not that one again.:uhoh:

Sorry..I'll shut up now.

Still a tad bitter..!:ooh:

Are we talking ideal airfield or ideal flyin club????

So in summary, so far, we want

fleet of shiny Mk 9s, DA40TDi's or SR22s or TB20s
a bar / restaurant open in the evenings
Clearer approaches and runway lighting
every instructor on a salary and with a current ATPL
1200x45m runway with ILS in both directions, H24 and Customs
Regular fly-outs
Presentation evenings, CAA, Interesting Aviators etc
Cheap AvGas
Crumpet

But the crunch is "solo rate of £80 per hour"

If the club is not charging enough to make a profit how does it provide the perfect airfield and club?

ps bose-x, your club has most of what you ask. does it not?

Yakker,

It certainly seems like it is getting there, allthough the boy that washes the planes is still a bit wet behind the ears, flying an airbus does not make him look suave in his wellies.....

:O

I have read alot of the replies here and cant help thinking that some are not talking about a flying club at all, but Airfield Facilities or a Comercial Flying school and hire establishment. This isnt the same thing in my book at all.

Does the type of Flying Club I spoke of in an earlier post in France exist in the UK anywhere? My only experience of the Flying scene in the UK is where I learnt to fly, which was at a commercial Flying School, and at the time I didnt know any other form of flying existed. I just happened to move to France a couple of months after getting my PPL, so didnt really fly in the UK post PPL at all, maybe 4 flips?

From what I read here it is a miserable existance being a PPL without your own aeroplane in the UK - a depressing thought if I ever come back to the UK permanantly.:(

As I said earlier, Im happy with my club here, and if I am not its up to me to change things, after all its my club. Have I really been that spoilt by accidentally being here in France?

Regards, SD

Hmmmm,

Well flying clubs here used to be like that ... but they seem on the whole to be more akin to schools now. There are a few clubby types but they a few and far between it seems. Gliding and microlighting seem to have a far better club attitude, but then, certainly the former couldn't operate any other way.

Perhaps bringing back PPL instructors might help? ... but other threads cover that little bowl of contention :E

SS

To be honest, Sleap (Shropshire Aero Club) comes pretty close to being ideal for me. I have a share in an aircraft, which lives outside at a cheapish cost. The club has maintenance facilities, a cafe, instructors should I need to ask anything or do a revalidation flight etc. Which you don't get at a strip. Members can fly when it's closed, and have keys, so don't need to worry about opening hours. The social scene is a bit anorakish, but whose fault is that - there are hundreds of members, but the rest of us don't hang about there that often. Yeah, not perfect, but not bad at all. :ok:

We have an Examiner and Instructor at our strip for revalidations etc, which is why I don't think I could do better anywhere else, apart from some better weather than todays. :p

Any club as long as it's not CrapAir!

Shortstripper's hit the nail on the head I think. Too many 'clubs' are actually schools, who are really just in the business of converting students into PPL's. Some DO make the effort to be friendly and clubby, but there's no getting away from the fact that they are businesses, which have to be run in such a way as to remain profitable (or at least break even, as seems to be the case in some places).

That said, it doesn't hurt for us to say what we'd like to see at our ideal 'club', so my 2p's worth:
* A variety of aeroplanes, not just the standard PA28. I'd love to be able to go to my club and have the choice of types, depending on my choice of tailwheel or conventional, basic or complex.
* Some flexibility on pricing; maybe some kind of 'quantity break' based on your hours flown during a particular period (I'm thinking aloud here)
* A friendly atmosphere. Goes without saying, thankfully we have that where I currently fly from.
* A social events calendar. Even if it's just club evenings out, or a sunday lunch date, organised once every couple of months. Anything to get club members talking to each other rather than just have them rock up, fly the aeroplane, and bugger off again without getting to know each other.
* Informal training evenings. Maybe instructors could operate on a rota to do say one weekday evening every month or so, to be on hand to answer anyone's questions and concerns. Open forum, so the experienced PPL's and Students all manage to chip in and perhaps help each other out?

BM

It's a pity Carlsberg don't do flying clubs!