PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - cheapest flying schools in UK for PPL
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Old 5th Dec 2011, 11:05
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everythin seems to be a little expensive
Understatement of the year? In any case, welcome to aviation.

On a more serious note, if your first question is "what is it going to cost?", are you sure you want to get involved in aviation?

If you're going onto the professional track, the cost of your PPL (which, by the way, implies you're going modular) is only a tiny fraction of the total cost of your ATPL training. Of course it pays to be looking for a good deal, but the quality of training and stability of your training provider is probably more important. And in any case, you might want to do some aptitude tests and get a class I medical first. Otherwise you might be sinking money into an undertaking which is never going to generate any money.

If you are going to fly privately, it's not just the cost of the PPL that's going to matter. Sure, 6K for a PPL is a big amount of money but you've got to consider that you're going to spend *at least* 2K annually after that, just to remain reasonably current. That is 2K, at least, that has to be available, no questions asked, each and every year, in the family budget.

And honestly, 2K per year will not pay for a lot more than a local bimble each month. If you want to go further than the three or four nearest airfields, plan on a lot more.

If you want to fly for fun but a 6K PPL is already a problem for you, then you seriously need to consider some alternatives. An NPPL on Microlights, for instance. Or gliding. Equally rewarding, but a lot less expensive.
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