London Met Uni- PPL Ground Studies

[Lew747]

Hey All!

I felt this was the best forum to stick this in as it covers ground school. Anyway...

London Metropolitan University have allowed me to enrol on their PPL ground studies course even though it started a month ago and I would have missed the first exam (Air Law) however I have the opportunity to re-take it with them anytime. I'm facing a bit of a quandary as to whether i should accept this offer which would mean travelling from Ashford (Kent) to Central London one evening a week every wednesday which I dont think is too taxing and is around 105-110 mile round trip.

Good Stuff:

- I'll be in a class of people all interested in the same thing
- My new job im about to undertake has the hours that will let me run up to London and back once every week
- I'll be able to get my rear in gear and pass all 7 PPL theory exams. (My previous 3 have already expired :( and achieve my goal of FINALLY completing my PPL whilst im still 18. I've just wasted so much time :{
- I know i'll have the help of others and the lecturer/examiner should I get stuck
- I can say i've technically 'been' to London Met Uni :} (Will shut my friends up because they think im stupid...lol!)

Problems however (always monetary issues!!): Firstly, It will cost me approx £15 in fuel alone just to travel up there and the centre is just within the congestion charge. Each class starts at 18:00 every wednesday evening and the congestion charge finishes then too, however as I will arrive 10 mins or so before the lecture do it means i'll still have to cough up another £8 each trip just for the CC.

Secondly, the course itself is approx £310 plus each of the 7 Exams which they charge at £30 each (So, another £210 for them) plus any other expenses such as books, equipment etc that may be needed (Although i have most already)

Thirdly, the cost of a round trip on the train with my bike would amount to around £18-£22 hence a similar cost to using my car (which i would personally rather use)

I don't know what to do! Keep thinking about it :confused:. I am asking the help of my fellow PPRuNer's. Do you think i should go for it? Or should I just forget it and study the subject material at home in my spare time saving lots of money?

Hope some of you can help!

Lewis :)

[Nashers]

if you know you are able to do the exams, but just need to put the effort in then i would say home study. if you need to be pushed into learning then go to london met.

the ppl exams are pretty easy and should not require alot of brain busting. the only thing i found hard in them was learning how to use the CRP5 as its confusing when you start. once you get you head around it, it is actualy quite handy.

the lecturers are all good there. i did my ATPLs there some time back. two of the lecturers travel in every day from your part of the country as well.

[Leezyjet]

London Met is right on the very edge of the congestion zone. There is a Corporation of London Car Park just around the corner that is outside the zone and is reasonably cheap for London - free if you are on 2 wheels.

Google Maps (http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=51.510388,-0.074469&spn=0.001673,0.003433&t=h&z=18)

In the pic above, London Met is the building on the left behind the grass. The building furthest on the right with the grey roof is the car park. The congestion zone starts down the roads to the left of Minories, Minories and the roads on the right are on the eastern edge and outside the zone so if you plan your journey well, you can avoid having to enter the zone and pay the charge.

:ok:

[vlieger]

I think you'd better do it on your own and spare yourself the effort and money. I went to London Met myself, but then only to do my exams every few months, not the ground school. That worked quite well (always scored above 90%). Make sure you've got the Confuser and you should be fine. As for the flight computer/Pooley, Oxford has a good DVD covering it.
In my opinion it's better to save this money and invest it in any possible ATPL studies later on instead.

[Lew747]

Thanks for your advice.

I know I could study the PPL at home but I get distracted very easily at the moment and I think travelling up one night a week might not hurt and hopefully I can get around the congestion charge problem...


I think I will go for it. This way i know for sure (well not for sure, sure!) that I will get these 7 exams over and done with as they've been playing on the back of my mind for a long time. At least it allows me to concentrate on the practical side of flying down at the club.

Lewis

[G CEXO]

I know I could study the PPL at home but I get distracted very easily at the moment and I think travelling up one night a week might not hurt and hopefully I can get around the congestion charge problem...

Where there's a will, there's a way. If I can study at home with all the distraction possible and pass the exams, trust me 100% anyone can.

G-XO