PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Where to do PPL training: big airport or small airfield?
Old 30th Jan 2003, 10:08
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Circuit Basher

 
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Dorset
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Fancy Navigator - I agree with Aerbabe, for the discussion of big / small, tarmac / grass, see some of the following examples (of the many which can be found by looking back a few weeks): PPL Training Discussion 1
PPL Training Discussion 2 PPL Training Dicussion 3

To try and add some local flavour, I'm not really sure where you're located, but as you suggest EDI / Fife, it kind of gives me a clue as to where to suggest.

Your options are:

EDI - probably expensive, lot of time on the ground or in the hold yielding to commercials. Good confidence builder for RT work and negotiating with ATC.

Fife - nice friendly club, good facilities and used to training ab initio. Single narrow / short runway and tricky little approach (but OK once you get used to it). I flew from there for a while before getting involved with a group that had an aircraft based at Perth.

Cumbernauld - Decent little airfield with reasonable facilities. Fewr training aircraft (I believe) than Fife / Perth, but is OK. Again, single runway (which may mean that crosswinds can be out of limits for some of your training, leading to cancelled slots).

GLA - another big airport!

Inverness - HelenD has already recommended it.

Dundee - small regional airport, so you'd get used to dealing with ATC. On the Forth of Tay, so possibly a bit prone to sea fogs / strong winds. No personal experience.

Perth - traingular runway layout (2 tarmac, 1 grass) and good friendly setup. Can be a tad chaotic regarding bookings, but if you're a patient kind of person, it's not a major problem.

My personal vote would be Perth, but I seriously countenance going to visit at least 3 possibles and talking to the CFI / getting a feel for the club and training environment. If you can afford it, pay for a trial lesson with each before committing.

HTH.
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