PPL Hire in Essex

[JAJW]

Hi everyone. I would appreciate any advice anyone can offer me on this.

I passed my PPL A skills test in 2012 and have been enjoying flying in a family friend's 172 since. I now no longer have access to the 172 and need to hire from elsewhere.

I now live approximately the same distance from two airfields which offer PPL hire (Stapleford and Andrewsfield). I would like to hear people's experiences of these and any suggestions of which one might be best for me to get my hours up with the intention of training for a CPL.

Thank you

James.

[4Screwaircrew]

I fly from Andrewsfield, it's a well run and friendly place; I don't use the club machines having a share in a Cub which lives there.

They have a group of experienced instructors both career and retired airline types and seem to me to offer a high standard of training all the way through F.I. and CPL. The rental fleet is a reasonable size with Cessnas and Pipers on the fleet, and with only one training establishment on the airfield delays getting onto the runway are few.

The atmosphere is friendly and welcoming, more so than Stapleford, wander along to both and see how you feel it might be that you feel happier at Stapleford.

[SidT]

I know you specifically asked about those 2 airfields ... but you might also want to consider North Weald...

I fly out of North Weald as part of an equity group in an arrow, but there is a good, active club on the airfield...
North Weald Flying Group (http://northwealdflyinggroup.co.uk/)

The North Weald Flying Group has three c172s, a c150 and a Piper Archer II which are all well maintained and in good condition.

Fuel at North Weald is very competitively priced (last I checked, cheapest in Essex), which keeps the club hire prices down.

If you want to get involved in Fly-ins and Fly-outs these are run on a reasonably regular basis.

The atmosphere at The Squadron on the airfied is warm and friendly and has a good cafe (always a plus!).

The airfield is quite active with a variety of aircraft based there so you will often find yourself in the circuit with all sorts of aircraft from a Hurricane, Spitfire, Mustang to Jet Provosts and Gnats.

As 4Screwaircrew said.. best thing to do is visit a few airfields and see which one you warm to....

[JAJW]

Thank you for the replies, I went to Stapleford yesterday and although it seemed like a thriving airfield, it did seem very much a cold business. I haven't been to Andrewsfield yet, but have heard good things.

As for the North Weald suggestion, I have flown in there several times but I didn't realise that they had club aircraft to hire. I like the idea of North Weald as it has a hard runway and therefore won't be shut for weeks after heavy rain.

Decisions decisions.

[cecilthecat]

Another vote for North Weald Flying Group, I became a member just after getting my PPL and found the planes always well maintained with good availability. I think they currently have 5 x 172's, an Archer and a C150 most of which have just been resprayed. As already said the Squadron is a nice place to hang out watching some of the more interesting planes that are based there.

[dn88]

I went to Stapleford yesterday and although it seemed like a thriving airfield, it did seem very much a cold business

You've hit the nail on the head. Not to mention their C152's are pretty shoddy.

Another vote for North Weald Flying Group

Ditto. I did all of my hour building here and I can thoroughly recommend them. Simon who owns the company is an airline pilot and runs the business very professionally, he'll do anything to help out where he can and the whole fleet are maintained very well on site. They have a sole C150 which works out around £90 an hour (it's difficult to know exactly as it's based on tacho time, but on my experience £90 is about right). The C172's I think work out around £110-120 an hour.

There's the monthly membership as well to consider so the value for money depends slightly on how often you fly. However, even considering the membership fee you'll be hard pressed to find better hire rates.

[piperarcher]

If it was a choice between Andrewsfield and Stapelford, I'd go for Andrewsfield. I have only been there a few times but it just has a nice 'club' feel about it, and has highly rated instructors from what I have heard from other people. Stapleford is probably very good for the CPL / IR cadets, but the reception staff (not any individual instructor mind you), are a little unwelcoming in my experience. It depends on what kind of scene you like and what facilities, training or aircraft you need.

[JAJW]

Thank you for all the advice. I visited Andrewsfield today and feel it is a much friendlier environment than Stapleford. I have booked my check flight and will be a member as of next Monday.

North Weald looked like a good option until I saw that they wanted £60 per month for insurance, maintenance etc. Thank you for the suggestion none the less.

Happy Flying

James.

[TractorBoy]

True, NW charge £65 a month, however the aircraft are £30 p/h cheaper.... plus thats tacho hours so you can usually get 1.1 : 1, improving the price even more.

Fly 2 hours a month and you're ahead.