Do you think this is a good PPL package?

[midiman]

Warrior instruction (45hrs), books, and pilot kit for £6795.

If only my local school could offer this.

[Supersport]

Sounds OK to me

BUT

Money up front... maybe not the best idea... you can get stung pretty badly if you aren't VERY careful as I'm sure others will tell you.

[SkyCamMK]

Basic cost of dual training here at Cranfield is £130 x 45 = 5850 less discount if paid in installments which would pay for the Transair PPL pack or similar at £199ish and is still is a long way off £6795 but then if a Cessna 150 is not to your liking then you may have to pay for it...

[tangovictor]

have you considered the nppl ? rather than ppl
£3250 for 25hrs inc all you need
http://flycb.com/
a whole lot cheaper

[homeguard]

The JAA/EASA PPL is 45 hours which may include flight tests.

The NPPL is a minimum of 32 hours PLUS two tests which will bring the minimum hours up to nearer 35 hours. Most though will still do the same number of hours as the JAA PPL to complete, that is 50 - 65 hours. The written exams are the same.

Microlite is 25 hours but my Microlite instructor friends tell me that most microliters usually take in excess of fifty hours of flight training.

Looking at advertised prices the Microlite costs are 15-20% cheaper, at the very best, than the PPL/NPPL. You then have to purchase a Microlite, so be ready to fork out anything between £15 - 45 grand for something new. Shares are available of course, but not such a good deal really.

[toolowtoofast]

Good grief! In some places in the world, Archers are 65 quid/hr.........!

[Supersport]

Good grief! In some places in the world, Archers are 65 quid/hr.........!

Instructor has to get paid too :)
Usually bumps up the cost a bit.

[stocker]

why not check out Highland Flying School in Inverness, they have better than average weather and now offer accomodation at a very cheap price.
It may be too far away for you but you can do it in stages,

http://www.highlandflyingschool.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=15&Itemid=32

[xrayalpha]

"You then have to purchase a Microlite, so be ready to fork out anything between £15 - 45 grand for something new. Shares are available of course, but not such a good deal really."

No longer. Microlights are now legally available for hire for two seat use - the single seat restriction has now been lifted.

Very best.

Colin

ps. Microlight flying is very different from Warrior flying! (dare I say more fun due to the higher power to weight ratio!)

[tangovictor]

The JAA/EASA PPL is 45 hours which may include flight tests.

The NPPL is a minimum of 32 hours PLUS two tests which will bring the minimum hours up to nearer 35 hours. Most though will still do the same number of hours as the JAA PPL to complete, that is 50 - 65 hours. The written exams are the same.

Microlite is 25 hours but my Microlite instructor friends tell me that most microliters usually take in excess of fifty hours of flight training.

Looking at advertised prices the Microlite costs are 15-20% cheaper, at the very best, than the PPL/NPPL. You then have to purchase a Microlite, so be ready to fork out anything between £15 - 45 grand for something new. Shares are available of course, but not such a good deal really.

I took my nppl m, & only took ONE test, ( GST ) + the usual exams, so where you get TWO from I don't know !
+ a modern 3 axis microlights, will out perform most ancient american pump engined machines, at a fraction of the cost, ( to buy / rent / maintain / run )oh and there very very quite, so you don't annoy anyone

[mcgoo]

Or you could go to the US and get a full JAA PPL with night qualification, exams, housing and flights for £5-5500.

[172driver]

For that kind of cash, you could go to the US, get an FAA license (which you can use in the UK) AND probably put about 50 hours or so post-license in the logbook. At the current exchange rate a no-brainer, really.

[Treadstone]

45 Hrs training, C172, all exams, all landing fees, £5500. In the UK.

:ok:

[AlphaMale]

you could go to the US, get an FAA license (which you can use in the UK)

But only on 'N' reg AC's right?

I've seen FAA PPL's for around the £3k mark (excluding accommodation and return flights).

I did look down this route and was under the impression I could get my FAA PPL and say 50hrs (as said in the post above), come home and enroll on BGS's ATPL course after finishing the course going back out to the US clocking up a few more hours and doing an FAA IR and a JAA CPL.

Come back to the UK convert my FAA IR to a JAA ME-IR with only a MCC to do before having gaining my fATPL.

Would the above work? and if I can't fly 'G' reg AC then I can't really take up my friends and family for a flight and share the joys of flying :rolleyes:

[portsharbourflyer]

Alphamale,

On an ICAO PPL (i.e which a FAA PPL is) you are allowed to fly UK registered aircraft in the UK but are limited to day VFR flying only and I expect you are also limited to flying in UK airspace. So as for your plan to do an FAA PPL in order to commence ATPL Ground school, that should be fine. You will obvioulsy need to few hours to get used to UK airspace, but that shouldn't be a major problem.

Avoid doing any JAA approved training in the US, there is nothing wrong with the training standards, it is just in the US schools also tend to charge extra for the JAA approval compared to the equivalent FAA course. So do the FAA CPL as well then convert both the CPL and IR back in the UK. Remember converting the FAA ratings isn't necessarily cheaper but there are still a number of N reg aircraft in the UK so it is useful to have both JAA and FAA ratings. Also in your position you could get a J1 visa and work in the US as an instructor, so do FAA CPL, IR and FAA CFI, instruct FAA stuff in the US for a year. That way you could be working as an instructor while studying for your JAA ATPL thoery ( I do believe Naples offer ATPL thoery course in the US or did). That way at the end of the year you could have a 1000 hours, ATPL theory passed and ready to convert to the JAA CPL and IR.

[AlphaMale]

Hmm ... Brain starts ticking :E

No real restrictions but instead of the quoted £8k for a PPL over 6 months part time I could get it done for half price in a month :cool:

Thanks portsharbourflyer.

[Whirlygig]

On an ICAO PPL you are allowed to fly UK registered aircraft in the UK but are limited to day VFR flying only and I expect you are also limited to flying in UK airspace

But any school or club from whom you self-fly hire may want a check ride and possibly additional training.

Cheers

Whirls

[Julian]

On an ICAO PPL you are allowed to fly UK registered aircraft in the UK but are limited to day VFR flying only


Do a search but I seem to remember this not being the case, various people had contacted the CAA and you could in fact fly at night as well.

J.

[portsharbourflyer]

Whirlygig, very valid points, it has not been unknown for those that have completed four week ppls (either FAA or JAA approved) in the US to need anything from 10 to 20 hours training to get them up to standard.

The problem with completing a PPL in four weeks is it doesn't present the opportunity to expose the student to a range of weather conditions, also the nature of the schools offering these four week packages (especially the JAA approved ones) in the US are more often than not of a dubious nature.

Don't get me wrong there are plenty of good schools in the US, but also remember when I was doing my CPL in the US, the PPL students at the same school were taking 6 to 8 weeks to complete a "fast track" four week ppl.

[midiman]

America seems a good option if you have the time to spare.

There is no way I could get a month off work.

[AlphaMale]

I've been told I can take up to 6 weeks off and so far I have built up around 5 weeks (rolling them over from last year).

Feels like I'm going around in circles :bored:

[172driver]

very valid points, it has not been unknown for those that have completed four week ppls (either FAA or JAA approved) in the US to need anything from 10 to 20 hours training to get them up to standard.


To which standard, please? Saying something pompous like 'pass your message' ? :ugh:

Seriously - the four week course in the US IS doable, but only if:
- you've done your homework, i.e. arrive with the theory already well studied
- you don't treat is as a holiday, which it isn't.

As for the FAA privileges. Valid in any G-reg. There are numerous threads on here about this being applicable worldwide or not (AFAIK it is). Not sure about the NQ though. In any case, you can then convert quite easily to a JAA license after having acquired a certain amount of hours (from memory 150 PIC, with a certain amount x-country).

IMHO the much better way to go, rather than spend a year driving to and from the airfield and only occasionally flying.

[portsharbourflyer]

To a standard where I can send them off on their own without worry they are going to infringe any airspace etc.

For most 5 to 10 hours UK familiarisation is needed. But I certainly know that people from a certain US based school that needed complete retraining.

As said there are plenty of schools in the US training people to a good standard; however there were also a few offering four week courses of suspect standard.

[172driver]

Agreed, the airspace issue is the big one here - but that's a UK problem rather than a US training issue. (I have never, ever, anywhere else encountered such a ridiculous carve-up of airspace, nor the difficulties transiting through CAS - but that's another thread).

[portsharbourflyer]

As said FAA training is generally to a good standard; the problems in flight training standards normally lies with the JAA approved schools based in Florida or California with the big glossy ads in the main flying magazines.

[Sam Rutherford]

Sorry, it was never a great line, but...

As the dollar drops, going to the US for ANYTHING aviation is only making more and more sense. Whether you want to learn it, fly it, refresh it, upgrade it, wear it, upload it...

I was there in Jan at 1.5 to the Euro, I'm going back in 6 weeks, at 1.6, perhaps even 1.7!!

This is as good as it has been in the last 15+ years against the European currencies, and best ever for the newbie Euro!

Sam.

[172driver]

FWIW I just (10 days ago) rental a nicely kitted out 172 in Santa Monica for the grandiose sum of USD 129.-/hr wet. Yep, that's right: GBP 65.- :ok:

Ah, and before I forget - no landing fees :D