Where should I go to get a PPL ?

[Whoopedo_STALL]

Hello everyone,

Im 22 and have been interested in flying since I was very young and have thought that it is now finally time to get a PPL.

The question is, where should I learn. I live in south manchester (near stockport) and dont really like the idea of travelling to the USA for learning as I havent the time for it (even though it is cheaper there?). Can anyone reccomend a decent school near me?

Eventually, one-day I would like to get to the point where I could be even getting payed to fly , but I do realise that is a very long way off/long shot, there are hardly any jobs and I might not even like flying when I try it!! also I would need to pay for all my training as I have only a HND in I.T. and 1 a-level in geology, which means scholarships are out of the question :(

So peeps, any help would me much appriciated ,

TIA,

Jon. :)

PS: Does anyone know how much it would cost in total?

[Andy_R]

First things first. I may be wrong but you dont appear to have flown in a light aircraft as yet. So first step, find a local flying school and go for a trial lesson which will give you a good idea of what it is all about.
Secondly get the Medical Class 2 sorted out, just in case (!).
Then go for it..... Total cost if you're of average ability in UK with extras you dont get told about and if you pass in average hours is around the £5500 mark.

If you decide from the start that you may not want to progress further than PPL look seriously at NPPL.

Finally the costings you will get from flying schools are the minimum costs. Please bear that in mind. And try to fly little and often, it keeps your skill level up to scratch far better than lessons seperated by weeks.

[Whoopedo_STALL]

Cheers for that,

Your right, Ive never flown a real plane, only a cessna in fs2002 a few times.

Does practising on fs2002 make it easier for real flight or does it buggar everything up?

Im good at FS2002/IL-2, although I struggled to land the cessna at over 40 knot winds, I got blown right into the sea - lol!

cheers,

jon.

ps. I might try that GAPAN test to see if I have the right hand eye co-ordination for flight.

[Andy_R]

I understand a lot of pilots use sims for keeping up to date but more for instrument practise than for flying in visual conditions.

Having played FS2002, it could well help you to have more of an appreciation of flying and an understanding of the instrument stack etc, though if you choose the Cessna 152 to start your flying you will find it has an airline style yoke rather than the joystick that your flight sim probably has.

As for flying in 40 knot winds in a small Cessna, bear in mind that the crosswind limit for a 152 is 13 - 15 knots (depending on who you believe), so unless the wind is directly down the runway and guaranteed to stay there (unlikely) it would be irresponsible to fly. It hurts a lot more in the real thing remember:) :eek:

If you still have the bug after your trial lesson then it may well be worthwhile to undertake the GAPAN tests, if nothing else it will give an indication of how well you will respond to flight training. As you will possibly have read elsewhere on this forum, you can pass your ATPL's with little aptitude if you are prepared to throw enough money at it!! But as a FS2002 addict I'm sure you will have a fair amount of hand/eye/foot coordination and it would give your confidence a boost.

If you only plan to do your PPL initially and in my opinion that is the best option, especially as there is no rush at the moment bearing in mind the employment doldrums, leave the GAPAN and put the £150 towards your flying. And do the PPL in UK if you can, it will stand you in good stead learning in the UK weather systems.

Cant recommend a school up your way but try Flyer, Pilot and other aviation publications. All are a good source and do do do go and check the school out, and their aircraft and NEVER pay money up front.

Go and get that intro trial lesson, til you do you cant experience "that" feeling....... enjoy

[LFS]

Barton is probably the nearest school to you, go and see them and have a chat about the course. Ask for a guy called Bob Knight, he did his IR with us and by all accounts is an excellent instructor.

[Whoopedo_STALL]

Cheers for that :), I'll check out barton, im just gonna see if they have a website.

[knobbygb]

whoopedo, I like not too far from you, in Glossop, and am just about to complete my PPL. I considered Barton, but travel over to Sherburn in Yorkshire for my training - about 55 miles/1 hr each way. This was initially because I worked over there, but although I no longer do, I am still very happy with the place and consider the journey worthwile.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with Barton, far from it. (My ex-instructor Francis Wolff teaches there and she is very good - try to meet her if you go there.) I guess all I'm saying is that it's maybe worth a long journey to find somewhere you're really happy with rather than always choosing the nearest school.

Check out the Flyer website which has a county by county list of every school in the country along with which/how many aircraft they use and approximate cost.

You'll then have loads of other questions which you'll want answered. What type to fly, how much to pay, what books/kit to buy etc. etc. There are loads of past threads on here which may answer most of your questions - I certainley learnt loads from them.

Whatever you do, start flying as soon as possible. I, like you, have been interested for years but waited much longer than I should have done before taking the plunge. I wish I'd done it 10 years ago so don't put it off any longer than you have to.

Drop me an email if you want to discuss further.

[Whirlybird]

1) Get a trial lesson; you may not like it!

2) Visit a few schools. If you're in South Manchester, Barton is probably closest, but there are schools at Liverpool, Hawarden, Sleap, and probably a few places I haven't thought of. Visit them all, talk to instructors and students, and try to get a feel for how well they're run and how much they consider the student, and just which you'd feel happiest at. Don't necessarily go for the cheapest; it'll take you less time at a good school with a good instructor, so that's more important. It's well worth the time involved - I wish I'd done it. :(

3) Read as much as you can on here. Do a search; see which schools people speak well or badly of.

4) As mentioned before, make sure you can pass the medical. If there are any problems, you can probably sort them out, but the CAA has never heard the word "hurry", and you don't want to be waiting to go solo while they drag their heels.

5) Aptitude tests? Might be worth it if you ONLY want to fly if you can get your ATPL. If you want a PPL anyway, you'll almost definitely get it regardless; it just might take you longer if you don't have much natural aptitude.

Go for it and have fun! :) :) :)

[OnTheBug]

I would recommend Barton as well, fantastic instructors and a variety of aircraft at reasonable rates. I think you can also get your Class 2 medical done there as well.

I would ditch flight sim though until you are doing instrument flying. It can teach you bad habits and can do more harm than good e.g staring at the instruments instead of looking outside. I only useful when doing an IMC rating and studying the ADF etc.

Pop along to Barton and get a trial lesson in one of the Grobs. If you decide to go further I would aim to fly at least once a week if you can, which can be a bit difficult at Barton especially during the winter months as in previous years the grass runways have got rather soggy but I've heard they are taking steps to try and alleviate this.
Plus if you start now and get all the written exams out of the way over the winter you should have lots of fine weather come spring and summer in which to complete your cross country flight and skills test.

All the best,
OTB :)

[gingernut]

the link to Barton's web page is www.lancsaeroclub.co.uk/index.asp[/URL]

[paulo]

Other things in choosing a school.

- Time to get there.

The longer it is, the more likely you are to burn personal time for wasted trips (unflyable weather) or simply not go (possibly unflyable weather).

- Financing

Anyone who insists/incentivises around block payments should substantiate the security of the advance payment. If your payment isn't secured (e.g. into a distinct account secured by a trusted third party such as an accountant), then you are effectively lending a business money. You probably want to fly, rather than 'invest' (and fly or maybe not dependent on your investmetn). Do make the distinction.

[Miss Bigglesworth]

I must have had too much time on my hands when I did this but I did a quick calculation of how much in total it cost for my PPL, including away Landing fee's, equipment (headset, pooley's, etc)and even the petrol cost in getting to the lessons.
Bearing in mind that I took 58 hours in a C152, block booked most of my lesson's in advance with discounts, and had MANY wasted trips up to the school due to weather (35 miles away), my total cost was in the region of £7,500. Don't get caught by the 'minimum cost in minimum hours' trap. It rarely works out that way!! Do your budget, and then add another 20%.