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Thread: Ppl --> Cpl
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Old 5th Dec 2002, 08:12
  #5 (permalink)  
FlyingForFun

Why do it if it's not fun?
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
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Have to agree that Wannabes is the place for this one - Private Flying is up to and including PPL/IMC. No need for flaming, though - I'm sure BRL will move this post if he agrees.

Gus is pretty close. The initial Class 1 medical costs £400, though. It can only be done at Gatwick. Get that done before anything else - there's no point wasting time and money if you can't get the medical.

After that, you need to do the ground-school, and the hour-building. You can do these in whichever order you want.

Hour-building requires 150 hours minimum (not 200) to start the CPL. You need 200 hours for CPL issue, though, and the course is only 25 hours (plus a bit more because no one ever completes the course in minimum time, plus the time for the test). So 170 hours is really the minimum sensible amount to start the course. You also need a 300nm cross-country which must include two landings at airfields other than the airfield you started from. You need either a night-rating or an IMC rating. And the 10 hours of instrument flying that gus mentions is required for license issue, but is part of the CPL course, so don't worry about it.

The ground-school: you have a choice of two sets of exams. You can either do the CPL exams, or the ATPL exams. If you're going to do an IR, or there's even the remotest possibility that you might decide to do an IR in the future, then do the ATPL exams. If you do the CPL exams then decide to do an IR, you'll have to do the IR exams, which will duplicate some of the CPL exams unnecessarilly. Do the ATPL exams, though, and you can then do the training for both the CPL and the IR. Also, there aren't very many schools who do a CPL ground-school course.

Next you have to decide between a residential course and a distance learning course. Residential is best... you'll get far more support, you'll be other students full-time, and everything will be much easier. If you really can't find the money for that, or you have to hold down a job and can't spare the time to study full time, then do distance-learning. It is possible, but it's pretty tough.

Overall, I'd suggest doing the studying before the hour-building. That way, when you come to do the CPL training, you'll be current, having just done your hour-building. Of course, personal circumstances might dictate that you need to do the studying first, and I don't think that's a really big problem, especially if you can manage to fly while you're studying (which is what I'm doing).

Hope that helps. Good luck!

FFF
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