PPL hire - avoiding the £100 cup of tea...

[big.al]

Off to Florida in April to do the long-awaited PPL. I realise that upon my return I'll need some 'realism' training with regards to UK weather (and also some experience on getting in and out of Netherthorpe's grass runways, the smallest licensed UK airfield which will no doubt be a little different from 2km of tarmac).

But once I have the PPL 'ticket', what is the usual number of daily minimum hours a flying school will require me to pay for if I actually want to go somewhere, and have a look around when I get there, rather than paying for a round-trip to another airfield just to enjoy a different brand of tea?

Say for example I wanted to fly to Jersey and stay for the weekend, how many hours minimum do your flying schools charge you for a day if you don't return the plane immediately? Or will they just charge for the hours on the Hobbs meter getting there and back?

Thanks, and let's all pray for a happier New Year in aviation...

[Chilli Monster]

Clubs differ - You'll only get charged for what you fly , but if you're taking an aircraft away, especially if it's normally used for training, then they'll like a reasonable number of hours put on it. 3-4 per day seems to be the norm, especially over a weekend. They may be more amenable over weekdays.

The best thing to do is ask at Netherthorpe or, if touring is a criteria that you feel is important, then ask at other clubs nearby (Gamston, Sandtoft, Nottingham) and see what they say.

CM

[QNH 1013]

Big.Al,

You asked how many hours per day you will normally have to pay for if you want to take an a/c away for a whole day or weekend. As C.M. says, what you pay for is normally what is on the hobbs meter or tacho, however, in practice you won't be able to hire an aircraft for the whole day on a fine Sunday unless you are prepared to pay for 3 or 4 hours. At most clubs, you will also have to book several weeks in advance to have something for a whole Sunday, and perhaps even longer ahead to have an aircraft for the weekend.
These "minimums" vary from place to place, from aircraft to aircraft, and obviously vary according to the weather and time of year. Typical minimums (in hours) I have been quoted have been 2-3 for weekdays, 2-3 for Saturdays, and 3-4 for Sundays.

Solutions:

1. Negotiate with whoever holds the purse strings. They make money by keeping the a/c in the air. It is better to get 1.5 hours on an aircraft than have it sitting on the ground all day. This works well at short notice if the weather is unsuitable for most students.

2. Get conversion training for a four-seater. These are used for training less and often sit on the ground for days at a time during the week.

3. Make an offer: If you are prepared to be cancelled at any time up until the day this can work extremely well. I often used to say " Can I take the Cessna 182 to XXX airshow for the day for just the hobbs time if no-one else has tried to book it for longer than one slot by the morning of the flight. In my case this enabled me to get a Cessna 182 for the whole Sunday for 1.2 hours of hobbs time about one time in three.

4. Join several clubs. Most are much cheaper than S.A.C at Netherthorpe. You then have several places to try when you want an a/c.

5. When you have a little more experience, join a group. You will get fantastic availablity in a well-run group for lower costs than hiring. However, this is too big a subject to cover here.

6. After you have been flying some time, you will discover there are some owners who put their aircraft on the Public Transport C of A so that they can hire them out and reduce some of the annual fixed costs. This often gives you even better availability than a group aircraft but the costs will be between group costs and normal hire costs. These opportunities are rarely advertised and introduction is usually by word of mouth. Feel flattered if you are asked.

7. If there is somewhere you really want to fly to there is usually a solution somewhere. Talk to people, the answer is out there somewhere.

Good luck with the training.

[Julian]

As a rough rule-of-thumb I have found they expect 2 hours weekdays and 3 hours weekends.

Julian.