Flying in Thailand -Bangkok, Ko Samaui & Ko Panang

[Akuji]

Hi,

Im off for a holiday to Thailand, and was wondering if anyones knows of any flying schools where i can hire a plane from.

I will be going to Bangkok, Ko Samui and Ko Panang.
All i want to do is go see the islands by air, as i have a PPL licence. I don't mind having a instructor with me.

Please do let me know if any one has any information.

Thanks,

Akuji

[172driver]

I looked into this a little while ago and found (at the time) that the Thais didn't do a 'certificate of validation' anymore; you need to do the Thai license (or at least part of it) to be able to fly. Allegedly they had had enough of the antics of some xpat Brits :=

Double-check, though, this info is about a year old.

[Pace]

THAI FLYING CLUB - General Aviation and Sport Flying in Thailand - AOPA THAILAND (http://www.thaiflyingclub.com/)

This is an excellent site / I have not flown there but was in Koi Samui scuba diving and met some brits who had. They had FAA stand alone licences.

Pace

[Ultranomad]

I flew at Thai Flying Club at VTBT in September and was absolutely enchanted - I thought places and people like this became extinct 50 years ago. This is a really big club, with a tarmac runway and about 40-50 aircraft of all types, even an Extra 300. For non-members, they had a Cessna 150, a Cessna 172, a Piper Cherokee and a Beech Musketeer available. The prices are a bit lower than in Europe.
If you want to fly solo, be sure to contact them 4-5 weeks in advance for a validation, otherwise you will fly with an instructor. Phone them first - they don't always return their e-mails right away. I didn't have enough time to get validated, so I chose to be checked out in a new type (Musketeer) instead. We flew from Bang Phra out to the sea, then to Utapao International, made a few approaches there, then went back along the coastline behind the mountain ridge and circled to Bang Phra. Flying circuits at Bang Phra is an exotic pleasure in itself.

[172driver]

Anton_K, very interesting. As you have been a recent visitor, did you enquire about the validation procedure ? I note that on their website in the 'validation' page the latest update is 2006..... As stated earlier, I looked into this some time last year (probably Spring) and was told it didn't work anymore.

[PompeyPaul]

Flew with Chiang Mai flying club, but that is way away from where you will be. Some things that struck me:

Avgas has a red colour to it, rather than blue (or maybe the Thai instructor was having difficulty explaining what was in the Cesssna)
Quite a bit of RT was in Thai. Don't know about you but my Thai is a little rusty now days. On the other hand there was hardly any traffic about the place so I would've been happy to go solo and tell people "requesting basic service" etc
Density altitude was significant, 30 degrees @ 1500 feet made a notable difference to control of the aircraft.

Really enjoyed it, but overall, Thailand is so amazing it's better from the ground than air, IMHO.

[Ultranomad]

172driver, yes, the validation process does work the same way as written on their page, or so I've been told. Allow an extra week just in case. I don't remember precisely, though - you may have to sit an exam in Bangkok at the end ot the validation procedure.
Also, as I'm told, the old director of Thai CAA (or whatever it's called) was dismissed this summer, and the new one is into recreational flying himself and thus GA-friendly.
At VTBT (Bang Phra) and VTBU (Utapao), R/T was in English - and in fact better English than in some European countries.
Here is how you fly the circuit at VTBT: fly to the coast, turn crosswind, cross a little cove, turn downwind, fly inland to the middle of the lake, turn base, fly straight into the hill (a bit scary for those without mountain flying experience), turn final some 200 ft AGL, right above the roofs of the Buddhist monastery nestled on the hillside, then make a STEEEEEP descent on full flaps onto the runway that suddenly shows up at the foot of the hill.
The clubhouse is an old weathered wooden building sitting amidst the lush vegetation, a big veranda with a cafe counter and giggly girls behind it in one corner, a hammock with the sleeping chief mechanic in another, club members and their friends sitting at the tables sipping cola out of old-style tall glass bottles, hordes of thin cats accosting everyone to be fed and petted, an antique radio transceiver on one of the tables in case the operator is too lazy to climb the tower, and a big screechy electric bell to chase the local kids off the runway when a plane is approaching.