Costs

[W1ld]

Sorry if I have posted this in the wrong forum.

Just wondered if someone could let me know the average costs of getting a PPL.

I have enquired at my local flying school but as yet the have not replied.

Thanks

[EGBKFLYER]

Depends where you live (SE England generally more expensive than say NE England), what licence you do (JAR or NPPL), what aircraft you learn in (2 or 4 seat for example) and whether you do it in the minimum time or longer (more common) etc etc.

Budget Figure? £7000 and you'll probably have change. Watch everyone shout me down and give reasons why it's more/ less now!:}

BTW - I'm assuming you mean a PPL to fly fixed wing aircraft and not helicopters.

Try some other local flying schools too - if the one you contacted didn't respond it's their loss! This link might help you:

www.loop.aero

[littco]

EGBKFLYER think you are spot on.

You are looking at a minimum of 45 hours flying at about £130-180/hour depending on the aircraft you fly.

7 exams at £30 and exam

Then there are the other bits you need.

Headset £100-£300
Flight Bag/CRP/Maps/Knee board/pens/etc £150+

Landing fees Min £100+

Then you should really add a 10-15% contingency into that as well.

So you are really looking at about £7k +/- £1000

Thing is, cheap doesn't always mean better, Go with a flying school you're happy with rather than the cheapest.

What does anyone else think?

[Mercenary Pilot]

I would say between £6-7000 is sensible, go for quality not price:ok:

[robin]

I made a mistake in my school - it was reasonable priced, but because it operated from a large airport, we weren't allowed to do solo circuits/flights until we passed the PPL. That meant flying with an instructor to another field to do the solo stuff then flying back, adding to the time and cost of these lessons.

Made a hell of a difference to the final cost. Some clubs are still in this situation so beware.

[the_daddy]

Also depends on what country you wan't to do your training in...

All I would add is budget for the worst and if it's cheaper you have money left over to enjoy the post-PPL life!

[IO540]

The min may be 45 but the average is claimed to be 50-60 hours.

The older one is the longer it takes!

Also much depends on freedom to book lessons when the weather is OK, how well/badly the school is organised, how honest the instructor is, etc.

£9000 is far from uncommon, and plenty of people (especially older people) have spent twice that.

However, the difference we are talking about here is nothing compared to the ongoing budget which is required to maintain a reasonable currency, over the (hopefully many) subsequent years.

[W1ld]

Thanks guys I'll start looking around

[EGBKFLYER]

Phew - not as much of a pasting as I might have got then!:}

Some sensible advice there W1ld - just remember too though that you can't take it with you when you go and most people don't regret what they spend/t on their PPL because flying is just so much fun!:ok:

[Darth_Bovine]

Hi,

I'd say most people are correct and you should be thinking around £6.5k (depending on where u do it).

It's a lot of money, but you should keep in mind that it will take many months to complete (unless you go for the short, sharp, intensive course) so the cost is well spread out over that time period. Personally, it took me about 60 hours total time to get my PPL. That was spread out over about 18 months.

Most people can fit it into their budget; it's just a matter of giving up some things to go flying. It's a fun course too. You'll get a great deal of pleasure just from gaining your PPL. IMHO, it's not a means to an end - the whole PPL experience is great fun and I enjoyed learning then as much as I enjoy flying with my PPL now. I never regret spending the money doing it. I just (yesterday) passed 100hours logged. It's just a number, but I still think of it as an achievement, as will you when you go solo for the 1st time, do your first cross country..etc..etc.. There are plenty of milestones along the way to keep you interested! :)

My advice: find a school you're comfortable with and do it. I seriously doubt you'll ever regret it.

Cheers,
DB.

[W1ld]

Yeh it's something I have been putting off for what ever reason. But soem things are changing so it's getting to the point where I think I should take the plunge & start.

Thanks again for all the advice

[White Bear]

"just remember too though that you can't take it with you when you go and most people don't regret what they spend/t on their PPL because flying is just so much fun"

Couldn't agree more, except you can take with you the skill the knowledge and the memories.
Good Luck,
W.B.

[tonyhalsall]

Not sure if this helps but.................

In 1987 I paid Blackpool Air Centre £2,000 up front and came away with my licence two months later.

At the time dual training was £60/hour - My PPL took 42 hours

[tangovictor]

another consideration, is to go for nppl m, ok you are restricted to microlights, but lets face it, the fixed wing U/L's are amazing
nppl m, full training inc exams approx £3000, half the price, double the pleasure !

[microlight AV8R]

NPPL(M)

£90 to learn to fly, then a further £3000/£4000 to learn to land :eek:

Worth every penny.

[EGBKFLYER]

:D Ha! Like it - so true too!

[tangovictor]

half the price to rent a Eurostar compared to a Cessna,
http://www.loop.aero/tv
take a look they tested 3 microlights, on video,

[Lister Noble]

Started last August ,finished this June .
Age 63,took 53 hours,started at £135/hr then fuel cost made it £145.
Total hrs cost around £7500 plus the other bits,probably around £9000 all in including ANR headset and an expensive medical ,£820, old age ;) ;)
I checked out four local schools before making a choice.
Ask around,look for a good track record,reputation etc,definitely cheapest is not always the best.
Good luck
Lister:)

[tangovictor]

medical for nppl m, £15 or whatever your GP wishes to charge you, no rip off CAA authorised Dr required, hire a EuroStar £78 wet per hour, apart from not being able to " progress" to instrument flying, the nppl makes so much better sense

[IO540]

Go and get your PPL.

When you lie on your deathbed, will you wish you spent less money on something you like doing?

:)

A PPL is a piece of cake. Anybody who can get a GCSE pass (which is everybody these days) can do it. It just gets frustrating due to UK weather, and perhaps due to disorganised schools. The thing which is a lot harder is some stuff after that, e.g. an IR. Aircraft ownership is also a bit of a learning experience, to put it very politely.

[Paris Dakar]

W1ld,

If you haven't done so already, get down to your local WH Smith and spend a few quid on 'Pilot' and 'Flyer' mags and check out the Ads in the back. Many flying schools have their own websites now but ones that haven't will still send you their course details through the post. As well as the UK, you will find adverts from Europe, Africa, Australia, NZ, Canada and the US.

Happy browsing

[DHthe2nd]

I guess this would be a good thread to post in as it's not worth starting a new one.

I plan on doing my PPL next year hopefully. The cheapest place I have found nearby is Shobdon aeroclub. I'm just wondering, why is it so much cheaper than everywhere else? Their rates are £99.75/hour dual. Sure they're only C152's but £99.75 is so much cheaper than anywhere else i've seen. Does anyone know of any catch in this or reason for why they are so cheap?

They seem to have covered pretty much all of the extra costs on their PPL page: http://www.aeroclub.co.uk/ (PPL course on LHS, second page along) That table lists their old price of £87.50 per hour which has recently gone up but is listed correctly in the "charges" section. (and where the table states
45 hours flying @ £87.50 per hour = £4488.75
4488.75/45 = 99.75 so they have just forgotten to update the 87.50 bit)
Hope that makes sense.

So yeah, does anyone know how Shobdon can afford to be £20-30 cheaper than most other schools?