Weather for the summer

[norton2005]

Hey all, just a bit of a concern really, realistically speaking, is the weather this summer going to be any good for PPL lessons? My plan was to be done in a couple of months on a full time course, is this still a realistic goal?

[veetwo]

Oh mate. You ask the unanswerable. How long is a piece of string? All I can tell you is that it took me 14 months to do my PPL in the UK and I had roughly 2 or 3 lessons booked every week - and I'd say more than half of them were cancelled due to weather. Looking at the weather for the last week at my local airport, I'd suggest at least 4 of the 7 days have been unsuitable for PPL training.

I don't know what other chaps will think but I reckon 2 months in the UK is a very ambitious target. It does depend where you are flying from though - for example at Leeds which is built on a hill you will have more cancellations than somewhere on the south coast at MSL.

V2

[IO540]

2 months is an unrealistic objective for the UK. Not impossible, but you need not only great weather but also a well organised school, and neither is all that common.

However, now is a perfectly reasonable time to start. The time I would not start is the autumn (oct/nov/dec) because more often than not it's a wash-out.

The only way to guarantee 1-2 months is to go to Arizona.

[gcolyer]

The only way to guarantee 1-2 months is to go to Arizona.


Or Florida. I done my PPL with in 21 days and in that 21 days 4 were lost due to bad weather. So 1-2 months in Florida should easily be doable.

[airborne_artist]

I think it can be done in 60 days in summer given ready access to aircraft and instructors, a seven days a week availability from you, and no significant over-run in the hours you need. As IO540 says, you'll need a well-run school, but I think it's possible.

In June 79, in Yorkshire (Leeming to be precise) I flew 44 hours, all VFR, in the Bulldog when I was on RN EFTS. I only flew on 19 days, and never at weekends. The instructor ratio was high, but I was one of a course of twelve, all working at a similar higher work-rate, with no additional resources , so airframes were tight.

[norton2005]

Thanks for the help guys. Im doing it at stapleford, any opinions on that? But if anyone's got a crystal ball i'd sure like to know the weather for the rest of this month and august lol.

[kevmusic]

Im doing it at stapleford, any opinions on that? But if anyone's got a crystal ball i'd sure like to know the weather for the rest of this month and august lol.I have a similar timeframe in mind and an equally vested interest (though I'm doing it at Headcorn, FWIW) :)

[Andy_R]

As has been said, with 7 day a week availability (as you would in Florida etc), then it is perfectly possible.
I did my PPL in March (2004) in the UK in a month, at an ordinary flying school. I had done all my theory beforehand so could concentrate on the flying. Not boasting, just proof that it can be done if you are available to fly every day in the UK. There are too many who wish to see people rush off the the US.

[Mikehotel152]

There's just no way of knowing, but if the remainder of the summer is as bad as the last 3 months, you've got no hope!

For the record, I started the PPL in mid February and am about to do my skill test...That's a long time when you consider that I'm available 7 days a week.

I suppose I lost a third of lessons to weather. It's not bad weather that's the real problem, it's mainly weather that is marginal or simply inappropriate to the part of the course you're on.

For example you can't easily do climbing and descending in Spring Haze and you can't do your Qualifying Cross Country if there are any CBs forecast, high winds or low cloud...which rules out the last 8 weeks!

:ugh::ugh::ugh:

[norton2005]

My instructor is available 5 days a week. so doing 7 days a week would mean two different instructors and i always thought this wasen't a good thing?

[Mikehotel152]

Yeah, instructors need days off too...a pain isn't it?! :p

I mean that I am available everyday, but practically speaking I can only fly when my instructor is available...for now! As soon as I have my ppl this week I will fly on my own. :ok: