Life story
Hi there
Apologies in advance for the life story!
I have been in exactly the situation that you are in currently. My ambition got the better of me when I was 18 and I took out a loan for £4500 for my PPL that took years to pay off. I rushed headlong into completing my PPL ASAP, with no thought whatsoever about how I was going to afford to keep current when I finished.
My successful flying test just so happened to coincide with meeting my now wife and moving into our first house. Not the ideal time to pay £100 per month in flying, plus associated costs! I had a strict budget of this amount for flying, meaning I would either squeeze a few circuits in once a month, or take family up for sightseeing trips, even managing a flyin at Hucknall on one occasion. This was all we could afford, just once a month, and if the weather was bad on that date then I had to pay extra to get current with the school again.
Inevitably, after a year or so it was just so expensive and it was easy to give it up, giving us an extra £100 per month (an awful lot when you're in your first house!).
To start with it was nice having the extra cash, not having to worry about the weather. After a year or so I started to regret giving up, and now a few years later have decided to start again. This was after hunting high and low for cheap rental, and differing options. I tried the gliding route, but not really practical never knowing where you're going to land next. I seriously considered Microlighting, but not being able to hire them made it an expensive outlay to purchase one.
Last month we moved further north within 15 mins of cheap flying at Netherthorpe, at £75 per hour and no annual membership. I have taken a better paid job after searching high and low, giving us more money per month. Converting to an NPPL will save on medical expenses, and I'm hoping to cost share with somebody there to allow further trips.
No more family outings, but I learned to fly for my own enjoyment and that's what I intend to in the future. I have my first revalidation flight on Saturday all being well! :-)
So I will say please please please look at the options before giving up. I seriously regret giving up in the first place and am glad that with everything as it is I am able to revalidate before the 5 year threshold. You probably won't miss it initially but given time you really will regret it.
Cheers
Noel