PPL in Canberra?

[greentea84]

Hey guys,

I was wondering if there were any members here who went through their GFPT or PPL in Canberra?
I remember about 9 years ago there were a couple of schools available but as I believe now there is only one and they are an airline.
Without naming names (but you can probably guess who they are) their prices are as follows

GFPT - based on a C150
12.5 hours classroom briefing - $750
35 hours flying (aircraft & instructor) - $7630 (Thats $218 p/hr)
GFPT Flight Test and BAK exam fees - $300
Textbooks & incidentals - $200
$8880

PPL - based on a C150
9.3 hours classroom briefing - $558
31 hours flying (aircraft & instructor) - $8091PPL flight test, exams & landing fees - $520
Textbooks, Charts, Navigation equipment - $370
$9539

So thats $18,419 to get to your PPL.

I did read it wasnt compulsary to complete a GFPT. What would the min hours for a PPL be in that case? The price pack said the PPL price is assuming people have completed the GFPT.
I dont want to end up being ripped off but unfortunately Canberra doesnt have much competition, unless anyone else knows otherwise?

Cheers in advance!

[85trx]

I was going for my cpl in Canberra. I finally bit the bullet and went to Camden to Curtis, after 80hrs dual and still didn't have my ppl. Within a week i had past my ppl. a bit cheaper but the instructors are a lot more knowledgeable.

[AnyGivenSunday99]

Go see Robbie at Brindabella. Top guy!

Keep in mind you get what you pay for. Is it wise to go cheap when you life is on the line?

Best of luck mate. best funb you can have with your clothes on.

AGS99

[Horatio Leafblower]

Goulburn is just up the road - I believe they are pretty good :ok:

Can't quote prices or rates... but $220/hour in a C152 is pretty steep if you're paying for briefings too.

Cheers

[vee1-rotate]

PPL navs ina 150? That can't be fun by any means...

[Cougar]

Whilst Brinda seem an ok company, their prices are a rip off - almost 50% more in some cases than YSBK hire rates for the same a/c.

Much cheaper to go somewhere else, and the weather might be more favourable too! Damn fog.

[mostlytossas]

Head to the country schools if you can find one within resonable driving time. Better still if they have overnight bunks. On memory Tocumwal, Ballarat, were two that did. Advantage is that less time lost taxing around,less students to compete with for an instructor, no ATC restricting op's because some RPT is due in etc. Weather is often better too or at least the instructor will decide when it ok to go and fly not some ATC non pilot who must go by the book.
Also you can save money by doing the GFPT part in one hit say over 2 or 3 weeks as less revision each lesson, and some smaller schools may discount the hourly rate as it is revenue guaranteed straight in to their account over a short period of time. Don't pay in advance however as you then lose control if things don't work out which sometimes happens.

[greentea84]

Thanks for the info guys. I might look in to regional flight schools. There dont seem to be many around Canberra though unfortunately.
I was just talking to a student at Brindabella on his CPL who mentioned that I could expect to pay $25-30k for a PPL. That price seems a bit crazy.

[OpsNormal]

Two things:

Jeff and Lara (great people and salt of the earth types who would give you the shirt off their back if they could) are in aviation to make money, not (just) for the love of it.

You can thank the current situation IRT operating costs for the local operators at the feet of the incumbent airport operator and his grand design for the Nation's capital city aerodrome. These unfortunately are only recouped by passing these on to the end user. Unfortunately you're it unless you decide to go elsewhere where these coasts are not as great.

That's it in a nutshell, nor is it the 1980's and 90's anymore where aircraft were in plentiful supply for peanuts.

Regards,

OpsN.

[Bidgee13]

I did RA-AUS first and am converting to PPL now. By the time I'm finished I expect it will have cost about 60% of your quote. Be less if I had done it in a more condensed block but that's not possible and I fly when I can which means I've had plenty of revision to do.

Try Temora. 2.5hrs from Canberra, good value, good weather and excellent instructors.

Scott

[LeadSled]

greentea84.

Forget Canberra, and you have quite a few alternatives not too far away.

If you can, do the who thing to GFPT in one hit during a vacation or whatever, this will probably save more $$ than the difference between hourly rates, and the end result will be better. This way, you don't spend half the time getting back to where you were at the end of the last lesson. It's a long time ago, now, but I did my PPL in 30 days flat, from start to finish.

Try Temora, Albury, and anywhere west of Canberra. The Temora Aero Club are a good bunch.

Then again, there is always "Canberra-On-Sea", aka Moruya.

Tootle pip!!

[gkja]

Doesn't Moruya sell fuel out of a drum for around $2.60 per litre? I know someone who needed to get fuel there and that was what it cost him. That would have to bump up the hourly rate!

[Horatio Leafblower]

No - the council has a real fair-dinkum bowser there now.... a tie-up with ARCAV from Albury I think. :ok:

[RWD5]

'I did read it wasnt compulsary to complete a GFPT'
that's correct, GFPT is a bit of a waste of time/$, though i hear some schools make it compulsory.

also,like others have said, you get what you pay for, so check potential schools' aircraft condition etc and quality of instuctors.
:cool:

[greentea84]

Cheers for everything guys. Im looking in to the Temora option for now. It seems quite feasible for me to do a Recreational License in Temora then head over to Moruya to work up to the PPL.
Unless of course there is some kind of bad stigma on doing it this way? :}

[jcorney]

I thought I would post in this one (finally a thread where I can contribute something). I am currently doing my PPL with Brindabella on the way to a CPL eventually.

$218 an hour for the C150 includes the lesson briefing, the $750 cost is about what they charged for the BAK ground school so I'm taking a guess thats what it is.

I have been more than happy with the instructors I have flown with and I have flown with most of them. Yes I will agree they aren't the cheapest but some of that I have no doubt is the Snows needing to be paid. The only reason I have had lessons cancelled is due to weather, never due to aircraft being taken off the line or a lack of instructors. I will also agree that it might be cheaper elsewhere in the capital region but by the time I took travel time/fuel and accommodation expenses in to account I couldn't make other places make sense.

Other than not being allowed to fly circuits after 4pm (I think this might be lifted in Summer once all the public servants make it home around 6ish) I haven't had a problem with the tower pushing me around to clear RPT, there might be an orbit here and there but that is it.

[Bidgee13]

Cheers for everything guys. Im looking in to the Temora option for now. It seems quite feasible for me to do a Recreational License in Temora then head over to Moruya to work up to the PPL.
Unless of course there is some kind of bad stigma on doing it this way? http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/src:www.pprune.org/get/images/smilies/badteeth.gifGraham White, the CFI from Moruya, is instructing PPL at Temora every other week now.

You will find a lot of rancor directed at RAA pilots on this forum. Some justified, some not, plenty just plain ignorant. I'm happy to ignore it, save the money and do more flying.

Scott

[Flyingblind]

Agee with heading west of Canberra, the costs and delays at YSCB at rather extreme, Canberra airport are not a GA airport, management dont want em and dont like em.

I seriously looked at flying from there but the $$$'s the owner is chrging just make it unfeasable.

By all means go back when your training is completed and conduct jollys outta there.

[greentea84]

I actually got in touch with someone who flys from Goulburn, thinking I might go up to have a chat with an instructor.
From what ive heard, the prices seem much more inline with what people on this forum believe you should pay for a PPL. Somewhere in the vicinty of $12k. He admitted he could be wrong by a few thousand but it does sound better than $25k :)