Thank you, I will definitely contact John at Newcastle.
Originally Posted by
Jan Olieslagers
Yes, clubs require membership, I see nothing unexpected there - nor should it be an issue. Expect them to require a check-out flight too, perhaps quite recent, so that you might need to fly with their instructor before every flight since you do not intend to fly every week-end, so to speak.
Mind you that, even if you could find a commercial rental operation that does not require membership, they would still require the check-out flight, and are likely to be more expensive too, both on the plane and on the instructor.
For as little as I know the Irish private flying environment, Weston is indeed the place to go.
Yes, I think it's rare when a club or training organization let outsider pilots fly their planes. I am doing occasional flights in my home country (Hungary) where I found one, so at least it's not impossible
I am not against paying a membership (doing it already in Sweden, where I live, being a member of the local club) it's just makes those flights in Ireland a lot more expensive if I have to fork out 50-100 euros each month even when I am not even in the country.
Higher rental rates are perfectly fine, if I can skip paying a membership...
A checkout flight I'm also okay with, at least the very first occasion, also to familiarize myself with the local regulations, airspaces etc... But as I'm an active pilot, flying at least 3-5 hours a month (just not in Ireland) so would actually mind if they require me a checkout flight before each and every private flights there.