British Aiways Flying Club (or formerly known as), High Wycombe.

[monkeytribe]

Hi,

Did a search but the threads dated back a while, so just wanted to gauge the opinions of people with experience of the school for PPL training.

Thanks

[wsmempson]

If you do a search on this site, this topic seems to come up pretty regularly and, having posted at length on this in the past, I am going to simply re-paste what I put before.

"I learnt with BAFC in 2003/4 and, having visited various schools on nearby fields and taken trial lessons with at least two others (including one national chain that seems to feature lots of hour building teenaged boys in white shirts and gold braid) and came to the conclusion that BAFC were the best outfit around, by some degree.

The fleet of Warriors is immaculately kept by the in-house engineering department (I can't remember any of the fleet going 'tech' during my course) and the instructors are either career instructors or semi-retired airline pilots trying to give something back to GA.

Dick Thurbin was the instructor taught me, and his common-sense, relaxed style got me through the course very effectively indeed. I'm sure the other instructors are great, but I took the decision early on in my course to try to stick with one individual - for the sake of consistency.

At Booker, there is a full tower, rather than information or radio - so the r/t is more of a challenge; this is great preparation for the future as, if you can cope here, you'll cope anywhere!

My advice to anyone about to embark on a PPL is to do the rounds of the various schools and have a good look around before committing yourself to one school - take a trial lesson at the final three you're considering, as this will be money well spent in the long run.

I like White Waltham very much (I'm a member down there and enjoy the bar and club atmosphere a great deal) but reckon, as a school, BAFC are still the 'gold standard'. "


PM me if you want further advice or info.

(BY THE WAY, I'M NOT ASSOCIATED WITH BAFC OR ON COMMISSION...!)

[smarthawke]

I may be a bit biased towards the British Airways Flying Club (http://www.bafc.co.uk/) but please PM me when you're likely to be visiting and I'll be glad to show you round, introduce you to the staff and the aircraft - including the rather splendid engineering facility....

[A and C]

Those who just look at the headline price will miss out on probably the best PPL training establishment in the UK.

BAFC run a totaly transparent pricing policy, when they quote an hourly rate that is what you pay, others will quote an attractive rate but will not tell you about VAT, landing fees, briefing charges and other things they invent up to load the price.

BAFC will never be the cheapest option due to the quality of service but it is without doubt the best value for money for PPL training (inclucing night & IMC)

[Wrong Stuff]

That's very true. I've done all sorts of training at various places and the IMC rating I did at BAFC a few years ago was by far the best value. The headline price might seem high, but it includes absolutely everything. For the price of one hour's flying (measured from takeoff to landing, from what I remember) I got an hour's pre-flight briefing, an hour's flying and an hour's post-flight briefing. Three hours with by far the best instructor I've ever flown with, all for the price of one hour's flight.

John Hartill got me through the IMC in about 20 minutes over the 15 hours minimum, with training that was better quality than anything I experienced doing my IR.

[stickandrudderman]

I flew the chipmunk a couple of times and was made to feel like it was a real privelege for them to allow me to fly it.
Haven't been back since.

[smarthawke]

Stickandrudderman, perhaps you could PM me with further details - BAFC don't like unhappy customers!

[stickandrudderman]

I like my flying to be fun, and fun appeared to be a bit thin on the ground at BAFC at the times that I visited.
Look, others seem quite satisfied with the club and you can't please all of the people all of the time. As long as I'm in the minority you shouldn't worry about it.:)
I spend most of my time being in the minority; the only people who seem to agree with me on anything are the people whose wages I pay!!:rolleyes:

[lelolo44]

I also flew their chippie...last year un july in fact ...people should also have a look at tony bianchi's company PPS, where such good work is done on real museum aircrafts ...tony is someone well known in france with such a strong reputation !! Booker was my first airfield in UK wher i based my aircraft while training 747 by " Quadrant" burgess hill
BAFC is one of the few clubs to still have a chippie...

[sprthompson]

BAFC seem quite good, but I am not doing my PPL there because i had a bad first impression..

I'm doing my PPL up at Wycombe Air Centre (across the apron from BAFC) - I chose WAC over BAFC because when I went to get information, WAC was very friendly and helpful, offered to show me around the planes, and was full of people chatting and having a laugh. I walked over to BAFC and it was dead and the receptionist looked pained to have to answer my questions.

I went to the BAFC stand during Aeroexpo and it was completely different, I told them I was doing my PPL at WAC and they were happy to chat to me, show me around the planes (sat in G-ODAK, and one of the instructors showed me the new glass-cockpit thingy...)

Might not be doing my PPL with BAFC but intend to join once I am qualified to fly :)

[smarthawke]

sprthompson

Sorry to hear your first impression wasn't as good as it should have been or indeed normally would be - AeroExpo would have been more like the norm (and the G600 Dakota has to be one of the best touring aircraft around). Call in to the hangar sometime whenever you're around and say hello.

Stickandrudderman

Come back and have another go in the Chipmunk and likewise stop by and say hi.

Flying should be enjoyable fun - that's why we all do it and for those who are lucky enough to work in the business it's a great way of life - and saves us from getting a real job!

[bucket_and_spade]

I'm afraid I had a very similar experience to a couple of other posters at BAFC quite recently, after visiting Wycombe Air Centre across the apron on the same day. The difference was stark.

I'm already licensed up and was just tagging along with a friend interested in doing the PPL. WAC had a nice, welcoming reception with lots of flying pictures/memorabilia and quite a few instructors/students milling around. It reminded me of the relaxed club I trained at. So far, so good. The receptionist found a very approachable instructor who had a bit of time before a flight and so he took us in to one of the briefing rooms and went through everything very thoroughly over the space of about 20 minutes. We walked away very impressed and there was complete transparency in the pricing.

When we visited BAFC we walked in to the reception area to be greeted by two surprised looking instructors at desks. It was very quiet - apparently no students were flying because of the wind, we later found out. Anyway, when my friend asked about PPL info, the nearest instructor to us went to grab some leaflets but had to be prompted to give anything away. While a number of WAC aircraft were missing or taxiing, what looked like all of the BAFC parking spots were full with a PA28. It was mentioned that groundschool sessions were offered but no one showed up and so they were quickly discontinued. The place just came across as quite depressing and not very lively. As a flyer myself I know what a great bonus it is to be at a club with approachable, friendly staff and other students to meet and chat to, especially when just starting out with flying.

Granted our experience was largely down to the person we spoke to but it's still a first impression (and you know what they say!) and so WAC can expect a new student enrolling soon...

I got the impression, and bear in mind it is only MY impression, as a visitor and a flyer, that there was a distinct air of pretension at BAFC and, dare I say it, a basking in past glory?