Welshpool Flying?

[CASHMONEYMILLIONAIRE]

Just wondering, if anyone has been to Welshpool Midwales for training recently and if the school is still open? I heard they were getting kicked out of the place ages ago over some dispute over the lease on the land. Is the place still open? and if so How much are PPL''s these days? used to be £2,995 + about 500 squid for books/exams/landing fees/ tripod/ camera/ naked photos/ adult magazines/ etc etc
share some details chemosabi.
Bonjour in advance
xx

[Mini mums]

CASHMONEYMILLIONAIRE - I'm sorry but I can't give you a definitive answer, but I have visited Welshpool recently.

I did notice someone wondering about looking "instructor -ish" but didn't think more of it.

I visited as a GA pilot and was treated with contempt and rudeness by an arrogant individual who made me and my friends feel very unwelcome.

Flying should be fun and if you're after somewhere to do your PPL, then I can suggest any number of places that will welcome you with open arms. I particularly like Sleap - which might be geographically convenient.

Good luck with your PPL - costs now are more like £4500 for a PPL, but there is now an NPPL - which may interest you, and it's a fair bit less.

Here are a couple of numbers:
Ravenair - 0151486 6161
Sleap - 01939 232882

Regards,

Mini mums

[SpiralDive]

The old Pool aviation school at Welshpool is no longer there, last time I was at Welshpool before Christmas there was a 172 available for rent but that was about it. I got a business card off the guy running the place so if you want to call and find out what the story is you can try him at:

01938 555560

I've heard Pool aviation have moved elsewhere but cant remember where. Sorry can't shed more light on it.

[Wee Weasley Welshman]

The large and busy flying school at Welshpool was run by Pool Aviation which have left the airfield by about a year following a long running legal dispute between them as Operator and the chap who Owns the airfield. He now runs a quite different operation at the airfield centred around a small helicopter training school, 3 aircraft for private hire and one or two instructors doing some ad hoc instructing. He himself operates a business aircraft from there and is extending the runway to upgrade it to a Bizjet.

Pool Aviation moved to Tatenhill and were tied up with Pilot Assist at one point I heard. Their current status is unknown but I see no adverts. The owner is possibly still trading as a leasor of light aircraft as he had dozens on the UK register. Probably much less hassle than flight training.

It was a very good place to do a very cheap PPL. Alas Welshpools future now lies down other avenues. Hopefully resulting in my retirement years Captaining a Gulfstream-V out of there :-)

WWW

[Bodie]

Try

http://www.welshpoolairport.co.uk

I dropped in there a couple of months ago- found it to be a very friendly, tidy and scenic little airport. Night facilities too.

Bodie

[swervin'mervin]

Like bodie I also dropped in there not so long ago and found them all very welcoming. As far as i could tell ther was both a heli and fixed wing school with R22's and C152's.

One thing to think about at welshpool is possible problems with the weather - as its situated in a valley i think i'm right in saying no solo flying if the cloud base is less than 2500ft - although this may have changed by now.

[Wee Weasley Welshman]

The cloudbase restriction was one imposed by the old school owner for the purposes of flying training in his aircraft.

I have done bad weather circuits there with cloudbases of 800ft without problem. It is a mildly challenging airfield which makes it an interesting place to go. It should scare any PPL though. They are removing the 800ft masts at the North end of the valley this year as well which will help.

WWW

[itchy kitchin]

I did some flying there when it was run by pool aviation. Can't say what it's like there now, but if you want a recommendation, I can give no higher praise to EFG at biggin hill. I have been doing an IMC there and they have bent over backwards for me. I have been treated like a VIP there which makes a nice change...

Can't give too many details about PPL prices, but i will say that the instructors are excellent, and anyway as we all know, getting the cheapest PPL isn't always the best idea. If you are planning to take it further, i would look for quality training.

As i said, EFG are an excellent outfit and i wholeheartedly reccomend them.:ok:

[Circuit Basher]

WWW - It should scare any PPL though Was there a 'not' missing somewhere, perchance??! ;)

[Pilotage]

The current Flyer "where to fly" guide says Welshpool flying school has just started up, has a C150 at £90/hr dual, and a C172 at £100/hr dual, £15/hr less for hire. It also lists the website www.welshpoolairport.co.uk

P

[Wee Weasley Welshman]

Yes - ahem, Meant "shouldn't scare any PPL though".

Cough.

WWW

[Keygrip]

I heard that cough. Was that your final answer?

[rotormad]

I did some flying out of Welshpool a couple of weeks ago in their C172 and thought that it was a nice set-up. I must admit that i was under the same impression as most other people on this forum and thought that training at Welshpool was none existent. However, i met the 'new' CFI while i was there and he said that they were offering PPL, IMC, etc training, so all i can say is just give them a bell. I think the CFI name is Ian Smith, appologies if i got this wrong!!

RM

[Whirlybird]

Welshpool is definitely up and running, with both f/w and rotary trqining. The phone number given earlier in this thread is correct, so just give them a call and get the details. However, with 1400 foot hills around, in a valley with a tendency to get mist, and floods after heavy rain...I learned there but might have had less lessons cancelled due to wx at nearby Sleap. But it is a lovely place to fly out of. I'd suggest checking them both out.

[IO540-C4D5D]

It would seem to me that with the clouds often below the MSA (below 2400ft) the only way to get into Welshpool a lot of the time is from the NE, along the river. Especially if the vis isn't great. Comments?

[swervin'mervin]

i've gone in from the south east before in poor vis - which was interesting. The airfield does have DME and NDB but due to surrounding mountains i didn't pick anything up until six miles out - by which time you're over the biggest of them. Narrow runway too i seem to remember?

[ariel]

We, (Welshpool), have on a number of occasions found it necessary to defend ourselves on this board, and yet again the same situation has arisen.

For the record we ARE DEFINATELY up and running, consider ourselves to be a friendly establishment, and YES, do offer flight training.

Fixed wing school offers training on Cessna aircraft, (which are also available for self-fly-hire), at £90 per hour (£85 per hour if 10 plus hours are booked). We also offer substantial discounts on fully paid up courses. Obviously, I can't advertise on here, so call us on 01938 555560 if you require details.

The rotary school offers training from PPL up to commercial standards, plus self-fly-hire, charter operations, and flights for special occasions. They are also celebrating their first PPL(H) success stories - a couple of their students have just qualified as helicopter pilots. They can be contacted on 01938 555860.

Both schools are doing well, and now that summer is approaching, bookings are increasing significantly.

WWW The future of Welshpool may well 'lie down other avenues', but flight instruction training is very much alive and kicking down here, and that forms at least ONE of those avenues. What you should have mentioned is our DIVERSIFICATION - before, under Pool Aviation everything was centered around the flying school. Now, we offer much more, so ultimately will appeal to a larger percentage of the flying population, and obviously business organisations.

I don't know why, but Welshpool appears to consistently take much more of a battering on this forum than any other airfield, with people only too willing to 'put the boot in'. Hopefully, we've (again) now set the record straight.

Don't judge us on what other people say - check us out YOURSELVES if you are interested in flight training, corporate hire, sightseeing, or just want to fly in - you might be surprised!

ariel

[Circuit Basher]

Ariel - no vested interest myself - have flown out of Welshpool for an hours circuit detail under the old regime and found no significant problems (other than the fact that I wouldn't like an EFATO off 22!).

I see nothing in the thread that requires you to defend yourself - just normal PPRuNe banter. Maybe you need to take some 'chill pills' before venturing out into the badlands of PPRuNe Private Flying. Having been using PPRuNe for about the last 2 years, I would not say that Welshpool has had a particularly hard time compared to other airfields on the forum, when the background legal issues are taken into consideration.

As they say, there's no such thing as bad advertising!!

Once again, I'm just observing from a neutral position - not trying to start a flame war.

[Evo]

I would not say that Welshpool has had a particularly hard time compared to other airfields on the forum


e.g. Elstree and Wolverhampton! :)

[Whirlybird]

Airfields being given a hard time...Well, let's think. What can I remember being discussed on PPrune......

Welshpool: Are they open? Do they have a flying school? Are they fogbound or flooded?

Sleap: A/G radio, but have delusions of grandeur and try to behave like ATC.

Elstree: Ditto, and unfriendly with it.

Wolverhampton...Intergalactic, while being in the wilds of rural Staffordshire; need I say more? Wins the prize for delusions of grandeur, perhaps.

Caernarfon: Do they have fuel? Who's running them, and should he be? Are all the people complaining about it actually one person?

And that's only what I remember, and I have a bad memory. ariel , thanks for putting the record straight, but Circuit Basher is right; this is normal PPRuNe chatting. ;)

[Starwing]

Can I please try to dispel some of the myths and ill-informed opinions about Welshpool (Mid Wales) Airport. It is a wonderful and beautiful part of the country to fly in and around. There is a fixed wing and a rotary wing school at the airfield and their aim is to provide first class training at an affordable cost using very experienced instructors. Pool Aviation is dead, deceased, joined the choir invisible...it is an ex-flying school! The new Welshpool flying School is a friendly place to be, for both students and PPLs, who are most welcome. If you fly in at weekends, bacon rolls are available. Why not place your order in flight to ensure that they are ready when you have landed! Many pilots are already doing so! There is always a friendly face here to answer your questions and give advice if required, and several local taxi companies are available to take you into town. They are Yellowcabs on 01938 553311 or Ambercabs on 01938 556611, and are well used to picking up weary pilots from Welshpool International! All I can say to the perpetrators of some of the garbage I have read on this forum is either they have not been here and are working on the basis of heresay, or they have been listening to "sour grapes" from the previous operator of the airfield. Please come and visit soon. You will not be disappointed.

[Whirlybird]

Wow, as blatant a piece of obvious advertising as I've ever seen survive for 12 hours on PPRuNe - even if true. :) And he/she registered on PPRune specifically to put this post too, from the looks of it!!! CPL/instructor/examiner...at Welshpool, perhaps? Starwing, I'm not getting at you, and I'm sure I must know who you are, though I haven't quite worked it out from your profile....yet. ;) And I'm not a moderator, or a self-styled PPRune policeman. It's just that I think people should know that maybe, just...maybe...you aren't completely impartial. :)

[WelshFlyer]

Last time I was down at Welshpool, I wasn't very inpressed with the place, and there has been a lot of debate about it's future, (Like loosing it's license a couple of years ago - but i think they've got it back again)

Of course you could come up to Mona or Caernaforn, Mona has training at £80/hour in a 150, £90 in a PA28 (I think)

WelshFlyer

[IO540-C4D5D]

I've been to Welshpool very recently a few times - a very nice friendly place every time, so don't knock it.

A hard runway big enough for me to see and land on, easy parking on tarmac (no getting stuck in mud on some radio's orders) and nice cakes - what more can one want??

I have been told to practically p**s off by somebody so it does happen but that was in N Devon.