What "extras" will I need for my PPL?

[AJ1990]

Hi everyone, I just had my first lesson towards my PPL yesterday at Stapleford and found the whole experience just amazing. I am just interested as to what "extras" such as log books, check lists, headsets etc I will have to purchase? My instructor asked me to get my own headset but Ive been looking around and am slightly confused about the subject of active/passive headsets - what's the difference? Could anyone suggest a good headset for around the £140 mark?

Thanks in advance for any help :ok:

[bern444]

Asking which headset is a bit like asking which car - but there are two main players in the £140 area, David Clark and Peltor. The Clarks are industry standard, and you can buy lots of clones at various prices, I personally thought they were rather uncomfortable, and have had the same Peltors for many years. I picked them by going to Transair and trying on all the ones they had. I think that's the best thing to do.

Bernie

[Aaron-EIWF]

Basically ANR (active headsets) have a series of small microphones, which pick up ambient noise and cancel it out. Passive headsets have big gel cups which clamp down around the outside of your ear, these block out the noise this way. Cant go wrong with a David Clark, even if it is a bit past £140. David Clark H10-30 Headset (http://www.transair.co.uk/product4.asp?SID=2&Product_ID=1100)

[PompeyPaul]

Headsets can generally be picked up cheaper off of ebay. I bought my David Clark a couple of years ago and haven't had any problems with it at all. Have flown for around 3 to 4 hours a day in it without problems.

Getting the ENC \ ANR version was a bit of a waste of cash.

Although the "Rolls Royce" of the headset world seems to be the Bose-X.

Rough list of stuff

Books - you'll be best off going with what your school recommends either Jeremy Pratt or Trevor Thorn
Headset - has been done to death before on here, David Clarks seem "industry standard"
Bag - for all of your stuff
Map - aviation chart. Make sure you have the current one
Nav. stuff - ruler, protractor & pens (ohp type)
Knee board - any type will do
Watch - any type
High vis jacket - might not need it for training but at some point you will
Log book - for recording all of your time in
PLOG book - you can print them out yourself but I use the transair one
Whizz wheel - you'll get used to this in the end

That's about it, imho

[the dean]

AJ,

save your money.

get a log book ( as you need to log each flight and your instructor will show you how to start ) and the first text book..( i know what i would recommend but ask your instructor what he wants you to use ).

it is best to read the lesson you have completed for the day at home when it has time to sink in...and then the next one you are going to your instructor should tell you each time what you will be doing next lesson. some lessons are repeated ( depending on ability ) ...and some are repeated many times ( like takes offs and landings ).

sounds to me a bit unfair that you are asked to go to the expense of a set of earphones at your stage. the training outfit usually provides these . any outfit i ever instructed in provided them for its students.

not everybody finds that they like it :eek: ..( sounds like you're not in that group ), and not everybody finishes the course :{ so i would keep the expense to a minimum at this stage. things like a computer for navigation and the next text book i would leave for the moment.

stick to the basics of how to fly at this stage so as not to get confused.

good luck and enjoy...:ok:

the dean.

[Lister Noble]

AJ,
Peltor are excellent value for money,I preferred using my own headset almost immediatley,I ended up with Pilot ANR and am very happy with them over last 3 years but Peltor are one of the best passive sets around.
There is loads of stuff about this subject on here and few agree with each other!
Your instructor should point you in the way of everything you need and I expect Stapleford stocks most of it.
Try to keep ahead with the ground school and knock them off one after the other,again your instructor should tell you in which order.
Good luck.
Lister:)

[RollNow!]

Ive used a "generic" more or less unbranded set before and they have been fine really. I have to say though i have a pair of DC's now which are a lot nicer. Gel ear covers so they are comfortable and the noise reduction is great so you get excellent clarity through them :ok:

[AJ1990]

Thanks for all the great advice! I was talking to the shop keeper at Stapleford recently and he told me to avoid the exams for the moment and to focus myself on the Flying element. When would you suggest making a start on the ground school side of things? I think that money will soon prove to be an issue as I'm funding my training myself, I just hope I can find a balance between what I can afford and maintaining regular lessons so that I can benefit from them the most.:hmm:

[RTN11]

With respect to the exams, some of them are very relevant to the flying you are doing, while some are just relevant to flying full stop.

A lot of schools make you do Air Law before first solo. This isn't actually a legal requirement, but is probably good practice.

Navigation and Met are a lot easier once you have some practical experience, so I would focus on those later.

Human Performance is the easiest by far, so I would do Air Law 1st, then Human Performance so you have 2 exams under your belt quite quickly.

All the rest may be easier with practical experience, but not in a big way, so fit them in as you study for the others.

Once you start studying for exams, and you have chosen your textbooks (I used AFE, and found them to be quite good) buy a PPL confuser. It really helps with exam prep.

Good Luck.

RTN

[DeeCee]

Gerry, who runs Gerran Avaiation (the shop at Stapleford) is a very nice guy. It sounds as if he gave you the right advice i.e. just get what you really need at the moment.

[jollyrog]

Ask the instructors at your FTO if any of them sell stuff or can get you discount via their accounts with suppliers. It's usually cheaper than buying it yourself online, or whatever.

I've saved a bundle doing that

[Leezyjet]

I think I might have seen you yesterday after your flight at Stapleford in reception, was your instructor a young guy with glasses, and did you have a red/black sweatshirt on ?.

Anyway, I've got the Telex Echelon headset which is one of the cheapest that Transair do (although I didn't get mine from them) and I've had it for over 3 years and it is fine. The only thing I've done is put some of those cotton ear covers on it, as the plastic covering the ear cups gets a little sweaty after a while :yuk:

What you could do is start off with a cheaper one (much better to have your own than a loaner that has been on hundreds of heads :yuk: ) then once you have your PPL and can carry passengers, you could upgrade to a better one and use the old one for your passenger.

I'd also echo the comments about getting the first Trevor Thom (or whatever it's called these days)book and reading through each lesson before and after you do it, so you know what to expect on each flight. You should be able to find one on Ebay to save a few quid, if not they are £20 from Transair.

Good luck and I'll probably see you around at EGSG !!.

:}

[Redbird72]

I know it's a bit of a wait, but I bought my DC's from Transair in their January sale for only 20 quid more than ebay.

Amazon marketplace is good if you want brand new books cheap - i bought most of my Trevor Thoms from there - brand new, current editions way below retail price.

It's definitely a good idea to pace your purchases; anything relevant to aviation is always expensive!

[gasman123]

I managed to buy all the Pratt books off ebay for between £4.50 and £13 each, all were either new or A1. Headset was a Pilot ANR for 120 ish off Ebay. There's no need to rush, hold off & a bargain will come along. On the other hand, you could say - £7000+ to learn, why worry about saving a tenner on a book & buy yourself a Bose-X for £600 :) I just get a small amount of satisfaction from getting a bargain!

[Nashers]

ive got my ppl books if your intrested and i fly from stapleford as well so am there more or less everyday.

appart from headsets and log book you will need a fuel dipstick, fuel drain, clip board, vfr chart, diversion ruler, time/airspeer ruler, CRP5 and one or two other things for your map.

you will enjoy it dont worry!

[BroomstickPilot]

Hi AJ1990,

You do need a bag for your kit.

If you go to Argos, up unitil recently at least they have had a Pierre Cardin pilot case for £19.99 that is every bit as good as bags costing £35 at Transair.

When I was having flying lessons, I also found it convenient to leave the pilot case in the clubhouse while flying and take only the things I needed for the lesson (headset, kneeboard, chart, etc) to the aircraft. For this purpose, I used one of those Nike bags that you buy in the sport kit shops. Once in the aircraft and with all my various toys organised for the flight, the bag would be rolled up and put in my pocket.

Broomstick.

[gasman123]

Argos selling Pierre Cardin Pilot cases?? Didn't believe it till I checked. Will buy one tomorrow!

Maybe you could find a bargain ANR headset in Lidl! Good deals on glass cockpits, I believe...

:}

[AJ1990]

I think I'm going to go for the Peltor 8006 (http://www.afeonline.com/shop/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=10&products_id=189&osCsid=4c5d0cd0332b90441fd8dd0818f95f17), does anyone know of any local shops near Stapleford other than Gerren Aviation? The only other place I've found is Transair in Victoria, it's just I would rather be able to try out a couple of headsets before parting with my hard earned cash :{.

[BackPacker]

fuel dipstick

Don't bother with one unless you know exactly what type/model aircraft you're going to fly, whether it has long-range tanks or not, and so forth. And even then you'll find that if you are going to need a dipstick, it comes with the plane.

Fuel gauges are notoriously inaccurate so the mantra is to always visually (preferably with a calibrated dipstick) check fuel quantity. Problem is, with in-fuselage tanks (Robins for instance) there is no way to visually check fuel quantity unless the aircraft has a sight gauge, and with in-wing fuselage tanks (Piper, Cessna) a slight bank to the left or right (uneven ground, difference in oleo pressure) can make a big difference in apparent fuel quantity at your measuring point. Better to err on the side of too much fuel.

diversion ruler, time/airspeer ruler

He means your thumb. From the tip of your nail (unless you grow very long nails) to the first joint is 10 nm or 6 minutes flight time in an average training aircraft. When flying directly into the wind, make that 7 minutes and with a tailwind 5 minutes.

It may seem too simple but it is surprisingly accurate. Accurate enough at least for a diversion ETA.

[liam548]

i bought the pilots fixed wing starter pack from pooleys. Seems to have pretty much everything in there apart from a headset

[Nashers]

i got my ppl at stapleford and they do say you can use the thumb but they also teach you the proper way of doing things and if you plan to go for the CPL you will need the diversion ruler and time/speed ruler anyway. its best to learn to correct way of doing things fist time round then do what you want later on when ur more experianced.

as for the dip sticks.... no dipstick comes with the aircraft atleast at stapleford so if you have decided to do your ppl in a C152 for example you will need to get a C152 dipstick from the shop. if your still not sure what you need to get just ask your instructor to go the the shop next to reception with you.

[Bigglesthefrog]

Hi AJ
For you right now its the hands-on flying that's the most important thing so don't buy anything that you don't need. Remember that the flying club are in it to make money so they're hardly likely to say "No" to anything you think you should buy.
However, because of the need to have clear communication with your instructor and deal with the unfamiliar banter from the tower, even at this early stage I would invest in a headset and frankly, as others have said, a basic David Clarke off Ebay would be fine. Personally I wouldn't bother with an ANR headset unless you are planning to fly an AN2 after you get your PPL:eek:

Don't buy fuel inspection cups, fancy pilot bags and electronic navigation gizmos. (If the flying club doesn't have a fuel inspection glass on site or in the aircraft, I'd like to know why not.)
You can still end up having the fancy Pilot bag and other things like this as they make excellent gifts for Christmas and Birthdays and even as an excersise 14 present;)

I think some established pilots forget that many people starting out on the PPL route are strapped for cash. The PPL itself is a fair slice of one's hard earned and when you have finished paying for instruction on a regular basis, and the not inconsiderable cost of getting to the airfield, there may not be much left in the kitty.

The bottom line..... "Fly the plane"

It's the best thing I ever did.
Best of luck.

BTF

[batninth]

This whole "What to buy" question comes down to personal preference I guess, and there is something nice about getting a nice new shiny pile of stuff at the start of your flying career.

However for the sake of balance, maybe for people finding this thread in the archives when they search on the topic of "Starting Learning Flying New Kit" or whatever, I would like to add that you don't need to go out and buy everything on day one.

I took the approach to acquire what I needed as I got around to that part of the course which has meant that I've spread the cost & bought contemporary items. I've also bought some items second hand - Abebooks is good for getting flying books, some of the "2nd hand books" are actually new & being sold off by wholesale operations.

This has also spared me a couple of problems: Had I bought a new headset at the start of my training, I would now have a problem as it wouldn't fit in the intercom on the aircraft that I have bought a share in. Similarly, I was able to take advantage of a new Air Law book as it came out (I'm learning on the dark side, the "M" word, and we have our own Air Law book now).

PompeyPaul, I have to ask.....
WatchWhen you start? Surely you save that for the day you pass your GFT?

[BackPacker]

Just for reference, take a look at what your instructor is bringing for your flight lesson. He is Pilot In Command and has the legal responsibility for flying and navigating the aircraft.

You'll probably find that he brings the following:
- A headset
- A kneeboard containing his license, a recent map of the area, some blank pieces of paper, a pen, maybe a checklist or two and maybe a few VFR approach plates. Maybe not even a kneeboard, map and checklists if he has checked that you have those.
- Spare glasses if required by his medical
- A watch (not all aircraft have clocks on board)

So you can conclude that that's the bare minimum - and a headset is something you can borrow. Anything else is extra and not legally required to fly the plane.

Flight planning, PPL style, requires some extra stuff which can stay on the ground: a whizz wheel, a ruler marked in nm (and flight time if you can find them, would be handy) and a square protractor. Personally I have put these in my kneeboard as well, but I've never needed them in-flight. Not even for the diversion on my skills test.

[RTN11]

when i started i was pretty lucky, the school had a nice deal that if you put down £1000 up front, you get a slightly better hourly rate on the aircraft and all your stuff free. This included

The pilot bag
long ruler
short navigation ruler
wizz wheel
set of afe textbooks
protractor
map
map pens
kneeboard with plogs

The only other thing i bought was a headset.

On day one, all you really need is your brain. As you go along, you need more stuff. Having your own headset is much nicer than using club ones, but everything else can be bought as you go along.

My PPL was quite drawn out, and for about 6 months i just kept looking at my wizz wheel thinking "what is this, what does it do?" until i finally had to use it.

Don't buy it all now unless there's a cheap deal to be had.