Starting my PPL....

[rriisshhii]

This is my first post in this section of pprune...the rest have been in the professional flying section as I eventually want to go down that route.

But this is now, and at the moment that concerns my PPL. Having just turned 20 this is hopefully the first part of a long and illustrious career in Aviation :confused: .
I am starting my PPL at Stapleford with my first flight on 30th March and I am so excited. It probably sounds oh so cliché, but I really am. Though I've got my Class 1 medical this Friday, something I'm not looking forward to!

I've had one half hour trial flight in a C172 at Redhill aerodrome well over a year ago and loved it, with a close friend of mine sitting in the back, probably thinking that his time was up!

I do need some help though, I'm currently collecting equipment and books etc for my PPL and have yet to find a definitive list of everything I need for my training. I've looked on the Pooleys, Transair and AFE websites and all of the student starter kits have different things.

So far I have all the books and CDs I'll need for the theory, CAP413, a CRP5 computer and a kneeboard. So by my knowledge I need a ruler, protractor and logbook? Would appreciate help on this.

Thanks :)

Fellow soon-to-be PPL-er,

rriisshhii

[Mickey Kaye]

"So far I have all the books and CDs I'll need for the theory, CAP413, a CRP5 computer and a kneeboard. So by my knowledge I need a ruler, protractor and logbook? Would appreciate help on this."

Firstly don't buy too much. You won't need the ruler, protractor till you get onto Nav.

I also think is better to have just enough books to cover the PPL syllabus and have actually read them rather than the whole PPL series from 3 different authors but know bugger all.

Yes you will need a log book and you will also need a checklist. Logbooks can be had for under a tenner and the instructor will advise you which checklist he would like you to use.

There are also a few websites kicking about that have checklists you can download and print off frankly they are just as good as the commercial equivalents.

Enjoy your first lesson. I can still remember mine.

[BackPacker]

A good pair of sunglasses and a comfy headset should be all you need right now - and the headset can usually be borrowed/rented from the school although at some point in time you will want to have your own. The rest will come in due time and your instructor will advise you.

Don't fall into the trap of buying goodies because you have money to spend and think that that particular goodie will make you a better/smarter/better looking/professional/proficient pilot/aviator. Save your money for flying - that's going to be expensive enough as it is.

If you bought CAP413 that's your first money down the drain, since it can be read online. In fact, the student starter kits from Pooleys, AFE etc. are specifically designed for poor folks like you who have money to spend and don't know what to spend it on. About half of the stuff in them is either not needed at all (two rulers?), can be found online (LASORS, CAP413, A4/A5 nav log pads), can be bought at Tescos for far less (a bag), or will be outdated by the time you need it (charts and flight guides).

[asyncio]

A good pair of sunglasses and a comfy headset should be all you need right now - and the headset can usually be borrowed/rented from the school although at some point in time you will want to have your own. The rest will come in due time and your instructor will advise you.I agree, save your money for the headset for now.
Stapleford don't rent out headsets, all the instructors will have their own spare set which you can use, but you are generally expected to get your own sooner rather than later.

And definitely don't buy a chart now, since the new edition is due out next week.

[Pilot DAR]

I support the foregoing... Aviation must be the most gadget centered industry ever! With one exception, everything you will need, you wll come to understand why you need it before you really do! That exception, a good quality headset. Your flying will be much more pleasant, and safer on your hearing, if you have a good headset. Though there are many good quality headsets, you will never go wrong with David Clark. There are a lot of junk headsets too, avoid them! I'd buy a used one on ebay, long before I'd buy a new junk one for the same price. It will take you a little bit of flying before you realize the merits of a good headset, va the headache of a poor one. I've known several pilots who are effectively deaf, from years of flying with inadequate hearing protection. There has been lots written on PPRuNe on headsets, so I won't repeat it...

Otherwise, forget the gadgets. Your instructor will assure that everything you must have, will be aboard - it's his legal responsibility. Don't waste your flying dollar sitting in a plane, zooming around the sky, while you try to figure out some wire sprouting, display flashing expensive thing you bought. Enjoy flying the plane, that's what you are up there to do. When you are much further into your flying, the need for certain cockpit equipment will become apparent, then the time will be right to go shopping.

Keep it simple, you'll get more out of the flying. You certainly won't become a better pilot because you bought a lot of stuff!

[rriisshhii]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

Mickey Kaye - I might have overstated on my list of bought items. I have all of the books and a CD with exam questions on it, essentially the confuser on disc. Everything else I have has been a hand me down from a friend who flies commercially now so has no need for anything of it. Believe me when I say this but I have been searching high and low for a bargain on PPL equipment! The exam prep discs normally retails at £60, which I snapped up on ebay for £15. Bargain! Looks like I'll be ebaying myself a logbook fairly soon. How was your first lesson? Nerve-racking?


BackPacker - Yeah I also have a pair of sunglasses, forgot about those. I've been looking at a pair of David Clark 10 13.4s on ebay [again] but will most likely wait until I have had some experience of flying and testing out headsets before I part with my cash. But as I said, I have been searching for bargains for all of my equipment, and taken as much free stuff as I can get! Oh and I definitely didn't buy the CAP413, the CAA will be taking enough of my money in the foreseeable future so I decided to keep £20 or so in my pocket.

asyncio - Invaluable advice about the charts; I would've likely gone out and bought an outdated one fairly soon. Thanks!

Pilot DAR - What sort of gadgetry are you talking about? The most 'gadgety' thing I own for flying is a CRP5 and it's secrets are currently unfathomable at present!