a flying buddy?

[flyfish]

I am about to start my hours building, before i commence a CPL course.
Its only going to be in a 152 (as thats the cheapest) and i wondered if anyone else out there ,hours building or not, wanted to join me.Ive done all the "friends over houses stuff" and want to start going further afield.

I am renting from 2 airfields , Stapleford and Bourne.
If anyone is interested they can PM me.

While I have you here, anyone have any suggestions for good places to visit that are in striking distance from the above airfields in a C152?

many thanks in advance.

[LowNSlow]

flyfish join the PFA and in their mag Popular Flying you will find quite a few groups that will give you cheaper (and more entertaining) hour building than you'll get in a C152. Don't forget it's the number of hours that count not which SEP you did them in ;)

PS Jodels generally make better tourers than C152's.

PPS The PFA are here (http://www.pfa.org.uk)

[flyfish]

LownSlow thanks alot.
i had never considered it as i thought it was for aircraft owners and wouldnt entertain an hour builder like myself. i will go and investigate. cheers.

[Charlie Zulu]

Hi Fly Fish,

Places to visit in striking distance of Stapleford?

North Weald although it won't put many minutes in your logbook!
Le Touquet - what are you waiting for?
Duxford - Er well lots of interesting exhibits.
Bembridge or Sandown for the Isle of Wight.

Or for a little further afield...

Jersey - very cheap landing fee and free parking for seven days.

St Marys (Scilly Isles) - very picturesque I've been told and I am going to find out one day this year (hopefully).

If going to St Marys then use Lands End for fuel.

Perranporth - take a taxi into the seaside town.

Cardiff - just because its a friendly International Airport and its my home base - great bacon sandwiches at the flying club bar (don't go to the north side as you'd be charged a fortune for handling).

You could use Cardiff as your staging post for a trip to Ireland - Cork, Dublin or Waterford spring to mind.

Compton Abbass - annoy Madonna on final approach. Very nice grass field and good food to boot.

Old Sarum - another nice grass field.

There are plenty of others but that'll give you some hours in the logbook!

Hope this helps.

Best wishes,

Charlie Zulu.

[BEagle]

For your first international flight, just pop down to Dover and then over to Calais aerodrome for the 'plat du jour' lunch in the little aerodrome retaurant.

[flyfish]

Thanks alot for the ideas, and it seems I may have found someone to enjoy it with. Ah the wonders of PPRUNE. Once again, thanks.

[LowNSlow]

flyfish the PFA is for anybody with an interest in aviation. More than one CPL / ATPL out there has a significant number of their early flying hours in PFA aeroplanes.
The only restrictions are that flight over built-up areas and IFR flight is prohibited. I think these rules stem from when the PFA was set up to cover basic homebuilts which used sometimes unreliable engines and had very basic instrumentation. These regs are daft when applied to something like a Vans which cruises around at 180 mph behind a Lycoming 0-360, is aerobatic and is usually very well equipped with modern instrumentation!

A basic Kitfox or Avid comes with folding wings so you can take it home, cruises at around 75-80 knots and seats two. They both have good short field capability and can be had for around 12-15k. When you are done with it you can sell it on for pretty much the same amount or probably a bit more assuming it has been well looked after. :ok: