Grand Central or Rand ???????

[al_renko]

hi all,
now i am going to be coming down to South Africa to finish(PPL) of what i started a couple of years ago on the south coast.after some research,phone calls,emails etc i have come to a short list of two,Grand Central or Rand,i am swaying towards rand for a couple or more reasons,No 1= the two runways,No2=the museum,the airshow! No3=the harvard cafe,although i believe they got one opening at Grand Central(maybe opened).
grand central for the SACAA and the pleasant chap i chat to from the now Grand Central based L.F.C.
so with 50+hrs towards the PPL,last flight flown round gran canaria(el berriel)it is time to wrap things up,so anyone out there with any thoughts on Grand Central or Rand airports?anyways i guess it really comes down to the instructor?cheers,

[N1 Limit]

I personally recommend Grand-central to you for so many reasons.Airfield is very friendly for flight training,general flying area is close-by meaning you needn't to fly longer to get there,the proximity of Rand with OR TAMBO always keeps you into a narrow zone so as not to disturb the traffic on 03R,the circuit pattern on the longer runway 06/24 if my memory is correct is tighter because it disturbs the glideslope for the big planes on final 03L/R.We used to have dinner at Harvard café almost every evening after doing night cross-countries on the way back to FAGC,that was good memories

[scalci]

I agree Grand Cenrtal ...

[eagleflier]

Grand Central

I'd say Grand Central. Closer to CAA amongst other reasons already stated. There's much more open field around FAGC in case of EFATO. Sounds far Fetched but it's something to consider and Midrand is a nicer area than Germiston if you ask me.
Did my training at Babcock in GC and loved every bit of it.

[eagleflier]

Coastal School?

The wx is known to be s**t around d coast and youll definitely get less cancellations due wx in Joburg than along d coast

[eagleflier]

I'd prefer a coastal school. Aptrac or 43 if you can afford it.

Are you saying you prefer d schools mentioned or any school along the coast.

[N1 Limit]

Gauteng's weather is ideal for flight training,whereas down to the coast you might be stranded a whole blody week because of weather,don't get me wring the schools at the coast aren't bad.FTS in FAGC is a top quality flight institution

[CharlieVictorSierra]

Also depends on whereabouts you stay. They are on opposite sides of Johannesburg. All the reasons stated above are totally valid but i did my training at Rand because I stayed out that way. You don't want to have to contend with Joburg traffic and fuel cost by having to drive from the East/South all the way to Midrand.

I actually loved doing my flight training at Rand...many good memories. I would recommend Rand purely because that's all I know with regards to training. There are some good training organisations there but also some not-so-good ones!

There's much more open field around FAGC in case of EFATO.

Was always a 'heart in mouth' moment at Rand in a Cherokee 140 There are zero options so must agree with you there.