Flying Schools

[mr_rodge]

Hi there, just a quickie.

I've been looking at flying schools for doing my PPL (I'm a novice) and was just wondering which is the better school (If anyone has any experience of them). The Sheffield Flying School is one of them, operating from Doncaster and Sandtoft, and the other is the Humber Flying Club. The latter is considerably cheaper for lessons etc. but what are the recommendations for flying schools? I'm from Doncaster and if there are any others in the area, let me know!

Thanks.

[Mickey Kaye]

Where in South Yorkshire are you?

Sherburn a nice place to fly from and Full Sutton must be the best value place around thier Cessna 150 is 78 quid and their pa-28 85 pounds per hour. Ontop of that you got to add 20 quid for instruction. It may save you a little money if yoiu are prepaired to travel further.

[mr_rodge]

Hi,
Thanks for the quick reply. I don't mind travelling an hour or two, and I'm in between Doncaster/Rotherham/Barnsley. That's great, by the way. Thanks for the help.

[eltonioni]

Then go to Netherthorpe (http://www.sheffieldaeroclub.net/) and learn to fly properly for less money. ;)

[Captain-Random]

i'd recommend Sherburn Aero Club. Quite Cheap, 3 grass and 1 tarmac runway for most wind directions. very friendly

[julian_storey]

In my view the choice of airfield and or flying school is very much a secondary consideration to the choice of instructor.

In my experience you will get better value for your money from an experienced, career instructor who's instructing because they enjoy it, than you will from a low hour newbie who is only instructing because they have to until they get enough hours for an airline job.

You're going to be spending quite a bit of money, so do some research, go to a few places, chat to several instructors and go with the one you get on with the best.

Finally, remember that the lowest hourly rate won't necessarily mean the lowest overall cost.

[juliet india mike]

Full Sutton excellent value and all career instructors. Won't take long up the AI from Doncaster. No frills and social scene scanty, but all are welcoming.

They don't mind you booking and cancelling, no cancellation fee, just ask you to give as much notice as poss. Given that you wil lose 50% of booked lessons due to weather in the UK, plus when the rest of your life interferes, it is an important consideration cost-wise

Also offer fast track via Adam and his set up there, see The Great Circle :: Aviation Pilot Supplies & Flight Training (http://www.thegreatcircle.co.uk/)

[L'aviateur]

I did half of my PPL from Sandtoft, and found it a good place to learn at. I now fly regularly from Sandtoft and Doncaster when i'm in the UK. It's friendly, has a good school, good and keen instructors and a good atmosphere. Down sides are that it doesn't have a great social life and is a bit expensive. Ideally you want somewhere close though, because you will have times when lessons will be cancelled, and also as you get closer to your Cross Country Qualifier, you'll want to be on notice by the phone for cancellations and any day that you can manage to get suitable weather to get round.

From the description post, i'm guessing that Netherthorpe is your closest flying school. Full Sutton, Sherburn and Sandtoft will all be around an hours drive away, which can be a bit tiring. Flying from Doncaster means you have to pay an extra 7 pound per landing (if I recall correctly).

If you are available this week, i'll be flying out of Doncaster and you're welcome to join me and we can fly into a few local airfields and meet some instructors. Most of them are places I drop into anyway whilst i'm hour building.

[Mickey Kaye]

Another thing to remember is the annual membership fee. For some schools it can run to a couple of hundred quid. Again I think Full Sutton is the cheapest around at if my memory serves me correctly 68 quid.

[BroomstickPilot]

Hi mr rodge,

One thing you haven't told us is whether you learning purely for pleasure or whether you wish to go professional.

If you learn at a club, then you are inevitably competing with other club members for training slots. If the school is busy, you may end up booking lessons weeks ahead and then finding on the day that weather prevents you from flying, so you have to wait more weeks for another lesson, that might not take place either. If you are learning for pleasure then this is just a minor nuisance. If, however, your wish is eventually to get yourself through the ATPL, then these repeated delays become intollerable.

If you go to a school, then the number of students is smaller, so you can expect better continuity. So although the hourly rate is significanty higher, the outturn cost is less and the time taken much shorter.

If you are going professional then, best of all, go abroad for your PPL and do it full time somewhere where the weather can be guaranteed.

Broomstick.

[mr_rodge]

Hi,

I'd like a career change to the airlines ultimately, but I'm on a tight budget and I can't get the time off work to go abroad, so my intention is to go as far as my budget will allow, as quickly as possible. If it doesn't work out or if I run out of money (I can definitely manage the PPL cost), I'll still have a great hobby and hopefully this will kill the 'I need to fly' bug I seem to have had for so many years. Career wise if it's unrealistic for me to make it that far, I'd love to get into instruction or something of that nature.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[bigfoot01]

Vote for Sandtoft, nice hard runway and proper chips!

[BroomstickPilot]

Hi mr_rodge,

Here's a bit more guidance for you then.

If you are bent upon flying for a career, then do the PPL (not the NPPL) on Group A aeroplanes. If you are going to fly for a hobby, then fly three axis microlights. They are infinitely better aeroplanes and cost vastly less to fly.

I see several other ppruners have recommended various clubs at which they have been well served. I do not know any of these because I fly further South than your area. So here are a few guidlines for choosing where you are going to fly.

First of all, don't go to a very small club with only two aeroplanes and a couple of part time instructors. If you don't get on with one instructor, you will find the other can't take you on as he/she is already loaded up with other people who can't get on with your instructor. Go somewhere where they have at least six single engine, basic training aeroplanes and even more instructors.

Relying on part time instructors is OK if you are always able to fly on the days they are available. Otherwise, you could find yourself in the situation where you are available, the aeroplane is available, but the instructor is not available.

Avoid places where you fly with a different instructor every flight.

What julian_storey says above is absolutely correct. Your working relationship with your instructor is crucial. Career instructors are almost always good, while 'hours builders' are a mixed bag; some good some bad. Trouble is it is expensive to find out which of them is which.

Good luck.

Broomstick.

[eltonioni]

Vote for Sandtoft, nice hard runway
Coward. :p

[flybymike]

Hard, but quite narrow....:oh:

[eltonioni]

An old girlfriend once said that it doesn't matter as long as you go in something that fits. :}




There's good advice up there about choosing carefully. It's also worth bearing in mind the amount of time you will spend on the ground at larger airfields - with the money clock ticking. If going pro then I wouldn't be too bothered about the social side, but then you'll be wanting fast and cheap too if it's just a stepping stone.

Don't worry too much about the aeroplanes as long as they are servicable. I learned (and still fly) some old dogs but they were cheap, properly maintained (and therefore available) my instructor had 11k hrs glider & SEP and the club has two CAA examiners on the staff which is worth bearing in mind when the time comes.

I'd recommend SAC at Nethers every day because it met all my needs and hopefully keeps me reasonably sharp when there's just over <500m of sloping grass, but I've flown with Sheffield Flying Club at Sheffield and I still use their a/c at Doncaster - nice people though the big airport is a real drudge.

Sandtoft is ok (SFC again), but they only have two concrete runways and I find the place a little bit odd to be honest. That might just be me though seeing as I'm a bit odd too. :)

Sherburn is like a bigger version of Nethers but it's a bit of a drag to get up there even if they do have those shiney AT3's. They are closed Mondays I believe.

[squawking 7700]

Phoenix Flying School at Netherthorpe every time.

7700

[civil aviation]

If you want to get it quickly and cheaply you could go to Florida where there are several JAA FTO's with plenty of aircraft.
If 'Yorkshire' is important to you, try the one which is owned and operated by a true Tyke www.flyoba.com