Is my flying school being a little unfair?
Hi everybody, Im Nathan, i have recently started to learn to fly. I have been taking lesson towards my PPL, I have been saving and saving to get myself in a position where im able to afford it. Now i knew from day one that flying is an expensive hobby/career path.
I visited my flying school last week for a lesson i had previously arranged, the lesson was at 9am and was the first of the day. which made me unable to contact them before i set off to query the weather situation. I arrived and after speaking with the person involved with taking payments and organising lessons at the reception desk, she told me to go and have a chat with my instructor. We chatted for about 20 mins. he was giving me tips and advice and areas i could improve my flying.
I returned home and thought very little of it. A week later i returned and went for a lesson in the air with my instructor, i know the price of my lessons are £130 per hour. When i landed i was informed that id actually been 70 minutes, 10 minutes over my arranged time and was liable to pay an extra £21 for the time i went over, she also said i forgot to ask you for the payment of £30 for the groundschool i recieved last week. I was'nt made aware i was going to be paying for my chat with my instructor and was a little frustrated as i am flying on a strict budget as most of us are. I guess what i find worse is that i have read nearly all of the groundschool books back to front, over and over. So the £30 i spent on groundschool i actually gained nothing from. I did not have the extra money with me at the time and was told to bring it to my next lesson.
I guess really i just want to know if this sort of situation is common practice and i just need to make allowances or as my dad keeps telling me "they've had my pants down"
Thanks for your advice guys
Nathan
(also it was my instructor who kept track of time, and there was no traffic)