dilemma

[jeroen_kim]

I recently had a nice tax break and thought why not after years of just talking about it let me do it, the elusive PPL.

here is the dilemma, I don't care what I fly as long as it flies, but what is the best route to take...

take the cheaper option, and go micro lighting
take the quieter option, and go gliding
or take the more expensive option, fixed wing

any suggestions

[Sayagain...?]

The ultimate- choppers.

[Sultan Ismail]

I Say Again - Choppers

To gain the maximum gloat :O from the taxmans :yuk: largesse

"Look what the taxman :yuk: bought me :O "

Can only be a helicopter licence :ok:
http://www.oldleigh.com/images/animated/helicopter.gif

[jeroen_kim]

I totally agree, but the cost is going to really hit me hard in my beer stash

[B Sousa]

Cant speak for RSA, but here in the States you can fly and drink Beer. Get your Fixed Wing License and then a Helicopter Add-On. It saves a bunch of money as you do some of the basic requirements, ie. Cross Country in Airplanes. Not necessary to repeat them all in Helicopters.

[chuks]

Helicopters are merely a crude form of levitation. All those bits whizzing around in a continuous argument between mechanical integrity and that powerful tendency for things to continue in a straight line... scary!

Go for a glider rating is my advice. At least then you don't have to worry about having an engine failure... unless the string breaks during launch.

[Sayagain...?]

Hey chuks


You solo yet?

[Rhodie]

G'day J-K

Dont listen to Bert and the other 'fling-wing' boys..

(actually, I'm just very jealous)

but - did my glider licence about 24 years back at a little club outside Gwelo, starting on a Bergfalk..
progressed (finally) to fixed wing with a fan up front (also, come to think of it, thanks to the tax-man and a small bonus), and somewhere along the line managed to pay for an hour or three on a fling-wing, then had to buy the beers, so...:sad:

Long story short - the sailplane experience has not only proved invaluable over the years (probably saved my life on one occassion), but is still the purest form of flight you can ever enjoy (it beats hang-gliding too), only problem I found in JHB is that the glider clubs actually seem to discourage new members..(?):confused:
To save on costs, micro-light is a good learning curve and 25 hours to the PPL.

Either way - you'll love it. :D

[fireitup]

J-K

Congrats on the tax....flying a fix-wing around Afrika is awesome, but us boys up here still wish it could be helo's in and out of the areas.

Best of luck & happy landings.
fire:ok:

[square leg]

Gliding is the ultimate flying experience, especially if you do so over Rawsonville (Du Toits Kloof mts) in wave at 10'000 ft (as long as you have ATC permission) or over the Alps at 14'000 ft.

Gliding will teach you to use the rudder pedals properly.

[the wizard of auz]

I fly both fixed and fling wings........ If you really want to know about peddles, fling is the go. If you want to get in the air cheap, then fixed is the go. I enjoy fling wings more than fixed and although a bit more expensive, Its more fun than a bath full of belly dancers.
Don't even entertain the idea of ultralights, they'll kill ya! (those that disagree with this statement just havn't been killed yet).
pleasure in the aviation world is directly proportional to the amount of dollars/pounds/rand spent.

[mutt]

Why dont you spend some of the money on trial flights in each type of machine, then decide which one suits YOU!!!!! I would also suggest that before you invest your money, go do the flight medical to check that you can pass it.

Mutt.

[the wizard of auz]

And if ya fail the medical, go and have a look at one of them ultralight thingys....... your gunna die anyway.:E

[chuks]

To the fling-wing fraternity I must confess that I have all of about two hours rotary-wing time, mostly courtesy of a friend who was doing sling-loads, when he let me fly his Bell 212 on the empty sectors.

Boy, oh boy, that thing sure seemed like work to me! Everything in sight was jumping up and down in synch with those big blades whizzing past while this noise from overhead, like a washing machine full of nuts and bolts provided the soundtrack. Plus all that, it was about 35 degrees C. in there and I had to hunch over the controls like Quasimodo, which let the vibes really get to work on the old spinal column.

I was never so glad to get back in a Twin Otter in my life. If flying a helicopter is your idea of pleasure then you must spend some of your drinking vouchers on sessions with Miss Whiplash!

I will stick with glider flying. I have an FAA Commercial Glider license, so that I know a little bit more about gliders than helos, of which I am blissfully almost completely ignorant. Sorree!