Need some ideas with my new PPL

[PAPI 32]

Hoorah! Passed my skills test Wednesday. I operate out of Fenland (EGCL) and would like some interesting places to fly to and broaden my horizons. Initially I want to start small, with local flight to local places and then step by step increase the distances flown. Any ideas will be greatly appreciated.

[Gertrude the Wombat]

Cambridge? - only problem is finding Fenland on your way home, but if you're based there I guess you're used to that!

[julian_storey]

The most important thing is to use it! :O

Lots of people get a PPL, never really use it for anything interesting and eventually fail to see the point of keeping it current.

Pick a day when the weather is perfect, get some advice from someone sensible and take a couple of friends to France for lunch! :D

[IO540]

Agree with Julian.

The best way to keep flying is to stick to trips which have some value, e.g. driving to N. France (ferry etc) or flying commercially for a day or two would be a huge hassle.

Most pilots just do local bimbles, Goodwood to Blackbushe kind of thing, for a burger, and soon get fed up with flying because (unsuprisingly) it does not deliver any value. You could drive there in the time it takes to sort the plane out.

Why do so many pilots do these "pointless" trips? Presumably because they lost confidence. It's a circular situation.

[False Capture]

Let it lapse. Then you can go through all the fun of some more training and another skills test.:}

[callum91]

What I tend to do is think of places I haven't flown to before, then fly there! Sometimes it's good fun to fly to more than one airfield in a day if you have time. As you get more confident you can fly further afield - maybe even abroad.

[Johnm]

Do two things:

First try some good cross countries:

Kemble, White Waltham, Blackbushe, Goodwood and Shoreham are all reasonable trips with a bit of complexity in planning due airspace, a mix of reasonable eating facilities and landing fees around a tenner or less. Then try France and Belgium, Ostend for Bruges, Le Touquet for lunch for example.

Second get your IMC and night qualification, Southend is easy for an all nighter <grin>

[Sam Rutherford]

Libya in November :O

Seriously, a flight to France or Belgium (or anywhere international) gives a real kick!

Safe flights, Sam.

[PAPI 32]

Thanks for all the advice. I did my QXC into Cambridge, quite a nice place despite the painful landing fee. Yeah my instructor told me about trying to avoid local flights to local destinations because you can basically drive there. I'll slowly broaden my horizons, I bought a copy of pilot to use the free landing fees, that should get me started.

Happy flying!

[Donalk]

Come and visit us in Belgium. Some nice airfields, helpful ATC and nice scenery in the Ardennes. Make some allowance on your M and B to return with a decent cargo of trappist beer and great waffles.

[Tail-take-off]

Get a copy of Pilot magazine, pick a fly-in, book the aircraft & go. It will kill several birds with one stone. It will give you some where to go &
a reason to go. There will be food available & other keen enthusiastic types there too. There is often competitions like spot landings, flour bombing, longest distance travelled, etc, if thats your thing.

Give one a try.

[Wessex Boy]

Have a look at the Fly-in and social section on the other well-known forum and get yerself to some fly-ins.

We had some great Bacon Buttys at Bourn on Saturday and raised a grand for the Burned Children's summer holiday.

Also register for Project Propeller, it is great to get the Veterans airborne again, they love it and it is into bruntingthorpe this year!

[CMDR114]

Come to Andrewsfield, lots of nice people, a good restaurant and not too far from Fenland.

[bilhar]

clacton , skegness walk to the beach, ice cream train ride or brembridge to get use to flying over the sea (only few mile)

[TheGorrilla]

use it as a beer mat.

[Runaway Gun]

Don't forget to learn to fly tailwheel, aeros or formation...

[AreWeNearlyThere]

Come say hello to all of us at Blackpool, refuel, have a sarny then pop over the "pond" to the Isle of Man for the TT !!!!

I can normally see IOM from BPL on a nice day, not too far away!!! (unless your in a hang-glider!):8

[foxmoth]

Go for the cross countries to start with, but then I would go with Runaway Gun and learn another area of aviation, especially Aeros which will give you more "handling" in a 30 min trip than you will get in 5 hours of cross countries.

[camaro]

Sam Bresse

You'll be used to short/grass strips with flying from Fenland so come and visit us at Netherthorpe - plenty happening all the time and great food in the clubhouse.

Once you have some time under your belt (100hrs P1) you can have a go at air racing. It's a great way of improving your flying skills and gets you all over the place - we are off to Menorca next week - check out The Royal Aero Club - Records, Racing and Rally Association (http://www.airraceuk.co.uk)


Camaro :ok:

[xz0npz]

Try finding one or two other newly qualified PPLs (or even grizzled OLD PPLs), to share the flying and enjoyment with.

I found that for the same money, we could go twice as far and get twice the experience. As P1, you can do the flying and get it in your log-book. In the right-hand seat you can do the nav and radio and improve your skills without having to fly at the same time. I learned more about radio and RNAV (pre-GPS days.....) when I had the time to THINK about radio and nav in the RHS than during my training when I was trying to learn to aviate as well.

Suddenly, for the cost of an hour's flying, you have doubled the distance you can go when sharing with another pilot. Make it three of you (or four) and you can go further for the same price.

I organise fly-outs for my local flying club and the premise is this: a destination about 2 hours flying time from base (for us, that's Blackpool), with a stop each way about half-way along the course - use different routes out and back. Four hours flying, four landings (three away from base): with four pilots in each aircraft, the costs are split roughly equally.

As others have said, the main thing is to enjoy it and go somewhere worth visiting. I take my wife and our greyhounds (seasoned flyers all), to airfields with nice walks nearby - hey presto, walk the dogs, day out with better half and I get to fly as well!! Life doesn't get better.