Gold Coast Flight Schools (PPL or RPL)
Hi guys,
I am not a pilot yet but am saving up to be one and hoping to start training in the next year or so. I have done countless hours of research but it seems like I only ended up with more questions than what I began with, so was hoping someone would be able to help me out.
I am a photographer/filmmaker living on the Gold Coast QLD, and have always been interested in aviation and would absolutely love nothing more than to become a pilot myself, and to be able to incorporate that into my filmmaking with the use of go-pros and such.
Because of that i'm not interested in becoming a commercial airline pilot at all, to me it would be more of a personal hobby. I might want to learn aerobatics in the future as well as instrument ratings and possibly even longer flights across country (not sure on that yet, but I would love to fly myself around scenic places like Uluru).
So my first question is, should I go for a Recreational Pilots License (RPL), or a Private Pilots License (PPL)? Or should I get the Recreational license first and then the Private license later? What would be the most cost efficient without also compromising my own safety just to save money?
I'm willing to pay the appropriate amount to become a pilot however I don't want to end up choosing the wrong flight school and paying thousands of dollars more than I have to! I've looked at a bunch of different ones in my area and i'm just getting more and more confused at what to choose, all the prices and fleets are so different. What is a fair price for this and at what flight school? And what are the safest planes to learn in that won't also cost me an arm and a leg to do so??
If anyone has any similar experience around the Gold Coast please let me know! Google isn't helping me at all and I really need the advice of real people with real experience.
Thank you!