Guess what I FINALLY did today....

[knobbygb]

Thats right - skills test done. :D :D :D After 6 cancellations for weather we finally had one of those perfect winter days - made even better by me having a Pa28 booked for the entire day!

I'd not flown for nearly 5 weeks, so I told them I just wanted to do some refresher flying with an instructor. Knowing I get a bit nervous at tests and the like, they told me they'd arranged for one of the new instructors to give me a full mock test.

So we spent 3 hours going through the whole thing including full ground brief etc. and at the end of it he says 'Right, that's a pass'. Me, being a bit thick, says 'OK, so all I have to do now is repeat it all tomorrow'. 'No, that's a pass!' he says, and I finally cotton on to what he means.

Anyway, managed to do the best PFL I'd ever done, plus all the other manuveres no problem. The weather got a bit dodgy on the nav section due to the temperature inversion trapping all the crap from the industry around Scumthorpe and Grimsby - from being a completley clear sky with 20k vis at the start we were down to 1200ft with vis about 8k by the first turning point (couldn't actually see the grass field we were aiming for, but pretended I'd seen it and the examiner didn't notice :p He'd never flown the route before so probably worried that he hadn't spotted it himself). Nearly managed to fly into Humberside's ATZ on the diversion leg, and screwed up a couple of radio calls, but apart from that it all went quite well.

On the downside, the examiner didn't have all the paperwork with him, and he's off flying DC10's for the next couple of days so I'll have to wait until next week before I can send everything off to the CAA. More delays!!!

I know this next bit sounds a bit of a cliche, but I honestly don't think I could have done the whole thing in 46 hours if it hadn't been for the help and advice I've got from Ppruners. It's impossible to find the time to ask an instructor everything you need to ask, so a medium like this becomes priceless. Thanks.

So next thing is... more lessons. Hope to start a night qualification in the next couple of weeks, get checked out on the Robin and, in spring, learn to fly taildraggers. Then my first Pprune fly-in in April or May. But first..... BEER :cool:

[Edited] Sorry to anyone who lives in Scnthorpe - it won't let me spell it properly!

[EnglishmaninNY]

Knobby

Fantastic - well done. I just passed mine earlier in the year, and I'm sure the elation will never be forgotten. Enjoy your new licence and I wish you safe flying ;)

[HelenD]

Congratulations knobbygb sounds really good especially as it looks like you diddnt know you were actually sitting the test. I hope to do my GFT soon.

[groundbum]

and may I be the first to tip my golf clubs into the PA28's cargo hatch for a ride someplace?!?!?!

Simon

[Stella Taster]

Well done! Hope to get mine next year.

Who put the **** into S****horpe though?

:rolleyes:

[Saab Dastard]

Knobbygb,

Well done - I love that ruse! :D

Maybe I could use it the other way round, fly with an instructor practicing PFLs (got a partial - have to do a PFL) and if I get one right I'll say "You're an examiner, lets take that one!" :)

SD

[ratsarrse]

Yes, many congrats! It could be me next year or the year after, or the year after that *sigh*

Where have you been doing your training? Looks like you're quite near to me...I've been thinking about taking a look at East Midlands and mixing it with the big boys.

[Barney_Gumble]

Congratulations knobbygb,

Another ppl to keep private flying alive in the uk.

Good on ya mate

Barney

[Julian]

Nice idea about telling you it was a new instructor.

I am exactly the same when it comes to any exam - hate the bloody things!

[rocafellascunk]

Congratulations Knobby!
It must feel abosolutely brilliant to have your PPL. Hopefully I will get mine sometime in 2003. May I ask how long it took you to get yours? How often did you fly?
Well done and happy flying

[eveepee]

Congratulations from me too especially as you hadn't flown for some time : What a brilliant and thoughtful way to get round pre-exam nerves. :)

[aidanf]

Just to add my congrats and to echo your sentiments about this great forum - truly is the dog's b*****x!!!

[SuperOwl]

Well done mate!

Hopefully with the money I have saved through not flying recently (due to ankle surgery and then our wonderful weather) I intend to go balls out and get my PPL next year. I agree with the other posters that the deception with the examiner was a brilliant way to get round your nerves.

Again, well done.:D

[BRL]

Nice one mate, brillant news. Nice little story too, put a smile on my face that has. Well done indeed and see you soon..... :)

[knobbygb]

Thanks everyone. Just about sinking in now! In hindsight I must have been pretty daft to not realise what was going on - I'd met the guy before and knew he was an examiner as well as an instructor, and I knew that particular route was reserved for skills tests and the club never send you on it beforehand. Call me ungrateful, but I now feel a bit 'robbed' of the whole test experience - everyone tells me that the test is the most enjoyable bit of learning to fly, yet I didn't even know it was happening. There's no pleasing some of us, is there?

groundbum, as promised, you will be my first passanger when the lovely brown license arrives.

ratsarsse, I train at Sherburn - not too far away. Been to East Mids a few times, including the QXC. Seems like a good place to learn - I love 'mixing with the big boys' - and it keeps you on your toes. That'll probably be my first post-test trip. You could face a few delays though - I've always had to sit at the hold for at least 10 or 15 mins! Try Nottingham, Gamston or even Netherthorpe as alternatives.

rocafellascunk, training schedule was like this:
7 hours in May/June 2001 - first solo
Out of work for a while and didn't fly for 10 months.
39 hours between May and November 2002, so about 6 or 7 hours a month, followed by 5 weeks of weather cancellations before the test. At the start it was strictly one hour at a time, but towards the end I'd book 2 or 3 'slots' at once to speed it up. I tried to go no more than 2 weeks without a lesson - after that I felt quite 'rusty'.


If anyone's interested in the REAL cost of learning to fly in the UK, read on. If faint hearted, stop now:

£12 - Logbook, checklist, fuel tester
£50 - Club joining fee
£135 - Club membership (1.5 years)
£126 - 6 Thom books
£24 - 2 x charts
£160 - Medical
£4200 - 43.3 hours Pa28 + instructor at £97
£47 - 1 hr C150 + instructor in Arizona
£44 - 2 x no-show fees
£52 - Nav kit inc. CRP-1
£26 - PPL confuser, Pilots guide book
£74 - Land-away landing/handling fees
£84 - 7 written exams
£30 - RT practical exam
£224 - DC headset
£38 - Flight bag
£341 - Skills test hire/fee (3 hours)
£163 - CAA Licence application fee

TOTAL £5830. Wow, that surprised me, I would have guessed perhaps 1k lower! Out of that, you can probably deduct £400 for non-essentials, then add it on again because most tuition costs more than £97, so I reckon it'll cost the typical person at least £6k.

[Circuit Basher]

Well done, knobbygb - bet it felt at times like you wouldn't make it!!

Good record keeping for the costs - I had to hide all that from Mrs CB - she still thinks it cost £150 ;) ;)

[ratsarrse]

Cost is certainly one of the more terrifying aspects. I spend many a quiet moment indulging in a circular argument,
'Must fly.'
'How on the earth am I going to afford it?'
'Oh, just blow your savings. '
'I can't do that! What if I lose my job next week?
'Well, you could just sell your parents into slavery...'
'Hmmm. Maybe I'll just stick with Flight Sim a bit longer.'
'Frankly, that's not good enough.'
'You're right.'
'Must fly.'

After a couple of false starts, 2003 will be the year. Unless my deeply repressed voice of common sense intervenes again.

Edit: I forgot entirely the point of this post! Thanks for the info on East Mids - I haven't heard a negative report. Anyway, how bad can wake turbulence be? ;)

[Grim Reaper 14]

As always a bit late to one of these threads, but

TWF!!!! ;)

[PPPPP]

Congratulations, I bet all the frustration of waiting to take it seems worth it now!

[Tyke returned]

Congratulations Knobby. couldn't happen to nicer bloke.

(thought I was going to be your first PAX :) )

Cheers

Chris

[knobbygb]

Grim Reaper. I've asked before, as have others... What is TWF.

ratsarsse, for what it's worth, I'm unemployed, have no savings, and now have a huge credit card bill. So just go for it and count yourself lucky you have savings to blow!

[Hersham Boy]

Well done, Geez. Got mine a couple of months ago and I'm still amazed that I can actually call myself 'a pilot'. Hope the wx is better where you are! :)

Hersh

[G SXTY]

Well done mate!!! After all the false starts, it must be one hell of a feeling to finally get the PPL.

I've given up on ever passing mine, so I've found this new hobby - hanging around hotels in Gatwick, looking for pilots to get drunk with. It's cheaper than flying, but only just. :) :)