Netherthorpe Training

[HeyPresto]

Is any one learning to fly at Netherthorpe with Sheffield Aero Club? I've heard that one of the instructors has a bad attitude. I've been down and TBH wasn't made to feel very welcome. Before I spend lots of my money I'd like some feedback, positive or negative.

[KingCooky]

i think that it could be said that every club has an instructor with a bad attitude at some point, but more often this is probably down to the perception of the student particularly if they have just had a bad lesson etc. However, i'd say that ill experiences are few and far between. From personal experience, i think netherthorpe is one of the friendliest airfields i've been to. It might also be noteworthy to say that there are two flying schools on the airfield so shop around...

[Katamarino]

I have flown with Nick (Riddin I think was his surname...?) from SAC, and he was very good; haven't met any other instructors. The restaurant at Netherthorpe is certainly great, and you'll definitely learn to land well there!

One or two of the club members are certainly best avoided though :}

[Rod1]

You might want to look Tony Hather up at Gamston. The longer runway will get you up to PPL std in less hours and at lower cost.

Rod1

[Noah Zark.]

One or two of the club members are certainly best avoided though
Care to name anyone? :E

[Katamarino]

Not publically :} No need to start drama in the open forum :ok:

[liam548]

Why use SAC when Phoenix is cheaper and at the same airfield?

Just been checked out at Phoenix today on one of their 150s by the CFI, I'd suggest you speak to him rather than SAC.

:)

Phoenix Flying (http://www.phoenix-flying.co.uk/)

[HeyPresto]

Thanks for the advice, I wasn't aware there was another school - went to Phoenix yesterday and signed up. Cheaper and seemed to be a very freindly bunch.

[ShyTorque]

Liam, Well done but if that was you doing glide circuits in a Cassna over a certain village yesterday, do the locals a favour and close the throttle a bit less rapidly - the backfiring was causing consternation. :E

[liam548]

Liam, Well done but if that was you doing glide circuits in a Cassna over a certain village yesterday, do the locals a favour and close the throttle a bit less rapidly - the backfiring was causing consternation. :E


Not guilty. But I did look up at said aircraft and think the same ;)

[much2much]

I learned to fly at netherthorpe sac many years ago and without wishing to give myself away ,spent time (years)there in various forms,Committee run clubs always seem to have problems
i visited a few years back, nostalgia!! and was asked if i was a member i explained i live 300 miles away i used to be i was told in a officious way it was a members club
i was rescued by a old flier and former student of mine who new me/and some of the Phoenix boys. hardy the attitude for my first visit in 15 years my flying there been between 20 and 35 years ago
but all in all i understand they are not a bad bunch #
the phoenix guys i know to be very hospitable and no committee s**t
Tony at Gamston is a great chap
your choice! still a great airfield

[ShyTorque]

There's been political difficulties at EGNF for years; it appears that some of the more recent issues revolved around a competitor setting up and rather cheekily expecting their staff/students to be able to use the other members' club facilities, without providing any facilities of their own.

This has made some "traditional" club members rather "overprotective". I have been told a few times in the last few years that I could not use the clubhouse facilities or order food without being signed in by a club member. On one occasion I produced my own membership card and asked where the signing in book was. :rolleyes:

[much2much]

yes i gathered that but i was a genuine visitor a member in the 70/80s and instructed there on and off for several years , and hired the odd aircraft later ,it seemed a little in -hospitable as i had looked forward to the visit ,as it was ,once idented i had i lovely evening with old acquaintances, and made some new ones something i would hope to be able to repeat :ok:as i hold/ held some affinity for the place
perhaps a return to the tinned ham sandwich,s in the old club house would elevate the problem:\ although the beer was awful only improved i recall by the temp time in a shed with bottled ale,

[terryp]

I flew into Netherthorpe a few months back after it was recommended to me by a friend for somewhere good to go for a Sunday lunch. My thoughts....I can certainly recommend the Sunday lunch, however, was slightly put off by how unwelcome I was made to feel by those that were clearly "locals/members". Needless to say I have not flown there since, which is a sad thing to have to say!

[funflier44]

Like many of the previous comments I have found SAC to be unfriendly, it was as if they didn't want my business the instructors being very off hand and SAC members being unwelcoming. The approach at Phoenix was totally opposite but the atmosphere from SAC spreads over the whole airfield. I went to Gamston for my re-validation.

That was some time ago but subsequent visits have shown no change and the current correspondence seems to back this up.

Gamston is far more friendly and very good to fly from.

[dynamite dean]

I learned there on/off from 1994-1998 whatever happened to Les Antrobus, Harry Anderson who used to hit me with his ruler, and Geoff er hum...Terry, Martin, the days of skipping over to Gamston to get fuel because of the politics (boy were those intense days) then start the flying lesson memories of coming on my two stroke cz125 at night for the nav lectures in winter - great:ouch::E

[7of9]

I learned there on/off from 1994-1998 whatever happened to Les Antrobus, Harry Anderson who used to hit me with his ruler, and Geoff er hum...Terry, Martin, the days of skipping over to Gamston to get fuel because of the politics (boy were those intense days) then start the flying lesson memories of coming on my two stroke cz125 at night for the nav lectures in winter - great

Harry Anderson is my Uncle & i flew with him a few times out of Netherthorpe. I also resurfaced the Pool table there once & my payment was a two hour instructional flight with Harry. He told me then i was a good pilot & should start learning but i didn't have the money then, Now i am an 85 hour, PPL having learnt last year at Sandtoft.

Harry emigrated to Canada over ten years ago now, & him & Mary used to do Volunteer work ferrying patients to hospital for appointments, Now ill health has stopped that.

Harry never carried on his flying when he left for Canada.

I always found Netherthorpe OK in them days but haven't been since Harry left.

Cheers Trev

[sammypilot]

Visited Netherthorpe a couple of years back. Bit of a grunt when taking the landing fee but no further communication from anybody. As my fellow aviator said as we left "Good old Yorkshire hospitality. Don't think I'll bother visiting again".............and we haven't.

[kindupnorth]

i am training at netherthorpe currently, not sure which instructor you are refering to as far as the bad attitude. The instructor i am training with is excellent, he also runs ground school sessions which i have attended and cant fault the training! SAC is more expensive than phoenix, i cant comment on what phoenix offer as i havent spoken to them over there. I do beleive the phoenix a/c are better kept as they belong to them and are maintained in house which is why the hourly rates are lower than SAC. I suggest you come down and have a chat to both and make your decision. The staff that work at SAC are a friendly bunch and always open to questions or a general chit chat. On a few occasions i have been waiting in reception for my instructor to land and they have offered to make me a coffee while i wait!!

hope this help's

[HLJHLJ]

I've also trained at Netherthorpe fairly recently and I enjoyed it a great deal. I think relations have thawed a little with Pheonix, but SAC never seem to have got a handle the stupid politics there. It imploded again fairly recently, and between that and various other reasons they seem to have almost completely changed their instructors in the last few months.

On the plus side that probably includes the one with the 'bad attitude'. There was only one instructor there who I avoided flying with, as I had a lot of issues with his teaching style. But there is no question that he knew stuf, and I know other students who loved him, so horses for courses and all that.

Nick Riddin is still there as far as I know, but he was very PT anyway. He's great and I would have liked to fly with him more but the schedules and the weather meant it never worked out that way.

I've also been to Gamston (half the old SAC staff seemed to be based there now anyway), and I did find it really friendly and welcoming. However, for me, the best thing about learning at Netherthorpe was the confidence it gave me. I felt that once I'd mastered landing there, I'd be ready for anything, and I wouldn't have got that from Gamston.

Kindupnorth: who's doing ground school there now?

[kindupnorth]

The new cfi trevor!!!

[much2much]

sad to here of Harry Andersons ill health; i learned at EGNF in the 70,s and hung around for a decade or so,only recall him playing with magnets in the tower,great place once upon a time,not just the tower,:O

[L'aviateur]

You've got quite a choice with flying schools at the following airfields all within a reasonable range.

Netherthorpe
Sandtoft
Doncaster Sheffield Robin Hood
Gamston

With Netherthorpe being the closest, you'll be in safe hands with the instructors and if you intend to go further it would probably be a good start going somewhere local and then seeing how you get on.
Doncaster Sheffield would give you the big jets experience (or more likely no big jets, just a vast expanse of concrete as they seem to be very quiet these days).
Sandtoft is a very friendly and active airfield, so you can easily absorb the aviation atmosphere whilst waiting to fly.
Gamston, a little more corporate, but a friendly airfield nethertheless.

[mad_jock]

Don't worry about the hedges at Neitherthorpe.

The local instructors are well practised at missing them.

[Gene Genie]

As a 450 hr PPL holder I can thoroughly recommend Pheonix at Netherthorpe. You will get good continuity, its friendly and the rates are competitive. Like Mad Jock said, the instructors will look after you and the size/layout of the strip will help make you a better pilot.

Wherever you decide to go, good luck and I hope you enjoy it.

Gene

[ShyTorque]

Learning to fly from a short strip makes you very aware of your aircraft's performance and will help you fly accurately from day one. As Netherthorpe is one of (if not the) shortest licensed airfield in England, it will help you when operating elsewhere from private strips in the future. :ok:

[Aspiring Pilot Alex]

I will second Phoenix flying school, they have great instructors there. I did my PPL there and i'm currently doing my IMC training with them. I have never had a complaint about that school nor the airfield. As previously stated you do get to know your aircraft's performance better. It's also good practice for very precise landings. I can say that I can comfortably land the aeroplane, where I want to land it, and that it is a skill that doesn't come too easy (at least for me).

Alex :ok:

[liam548]

^^what Alex said^^:ok:

[Sir George Cayley]

Is Sherburn-in-Tin Hat not included? Not been there recently but worth a visit, shurely.

SGC

[L'aviateur]

haha Doncaster Robin Hood has a PA-28 and a C-150 if I recall, it's probably an ideal place if your intending to go onto the airlines. But as mentioned before, if your in it for a Hobby, Netherthorpe is very close to you and will give you very enjoyable flying with a social scene to partake in.

Sir George, whilst Sherburn is a great place to fly into, it's probably over an hours drive, if not more from the OP unfortunately.

[sherburn2LA]

what a load of tosh.

Sherburn an easy 35 minutes from Maltby most of the time. No 150s there any more though.

[mad_jock]

Some people like C150's and others (myself included don't).

Personally as an instructor who has given hundreds of trial flights its worth the extra to have a 4 seater and to take another 2 people along to share the experence. It gives another 2 people a share of the views but also give quite a bit of scope for banter. They can also take photo's of the trip.

You do need a med cert but it all depends on which license you want to go for.

If you are going for a day only flying in the UK licsense (NPPL) your doctor can do it.

If you want the international license which you can add to you need to go to an approved medic. (PPL)

If you are only learning to fly as a hobby you need to do a fair bit of reading to work out what you actually want to fly. The PPL will cover you for most things with very little hassle but is more expensive than some of the other options which are more restrictive.

Now not implying anything about the schools that have already been mentioned but a recuring theme with flying schools is they have a habit of going bust. Please don't pay anything up front for a discount unless you can afford to loose the lot. Cessna schools (ie ones that use cessna as there training aircraft) I would be very wary of because there has been some compulsory engineering work been issued for most cessna types which is very expensive.

Other aircraft types you need to have a look at are microlights weight shift where you sit in a bath under scaffolding polls and canvas (but great fun apparently and very cheap in the grand scale of things)

3 axis microlights which are diddy fixed wing aircraft but can out perform the lower spec fixed wing aircraft.

To be honest sitting down with a "new" student interested in flying going through all the options would take an hour with a whiteboard.

[liam548]

sherburn has got to be one of the best in the north in my opinion but depends if you think its too far.

I dont buy in to this whole if you want to fly airlines fly from an international airport thing. You can get your licence and go land at manchester ringway if you want. It makes no odds.

Yorkshire has some great flying and all the places mentioned will suit your needs. To learn to fly. Go visit a few.

I think sherburn has it all, sandtoft has fewer aircraft and is quieter but its still a great airfield. Netherthorpe has the most challenging runways but phoenix have a great set up too there. You just need to visit a few and see which clicks with you.

[goldeneaglepilot]

Thats rather cryptic of your Uncle's trainer - I presume that it might reference Sandtoft in its old ownership of 52nd Street - the guy behind that made money installing sound systems into night clubs.

Sandtoft now is a nice place, great club and cafe.

[mad_jock]

I certainly do not want to be in a bird with a dodgy MOT

Well thats the first command call well made. And that carrys outside aviation as well ;)

Fine by me, the microlight boys on here have offered to shoe horn my fat arse into one of thier baths and its on my list of things to do as well.

Gliding is also cracking fun if you get the chance.

I think your main issue is going to be finding a school with an instructor with a dry enough sense of humour.


Enjoy!!!

[mad_jock]

Don't blame him.

Tell him about the "jesus nut" that keeps the mechanical palm tree bit on top attached to the bottom bit.

[goldeneaglepilot]

Mad Jock is safe from the fun of gliding, sadly the love of food and drink (plus being tall) helped me achieve a response of muted laughter followed by - "your too fat, we can only fly up to 16 stone and 6' " when I inquired at my local gliding club a few years ago. I suspect MJ may get the same response.

[mad_jock]

Don't know I will tell you when I find out. I presume much the same as when your to fat and sit on a shetland pony.

Fixed wing pilots have for years been advising folk of the inherent danger of getting in one of those contraptions nobody listens.

Gliding is cracking, no need for an engine, the folk that are good at it can keep them up for hours (alot long than my bladder can last). Only issue with thermals is when an eagle or something big objects to you being in thier's. Last time I went gliding a buzzard shat on my canopy which I reckon shows great skill on the part of the buzzard being able to hit a moving target like that.

[goldeneaglepilot]

My feet touched the ground when trying to sit on a Shetland pony - no good...

I started off my flying with gliding, fantastic fun but then I discovered food and at the time I could not afford both (or at least in the quantities which seem needed) Got a Silver C though

[mad_jock]

Don't worry uranaus a silver C is a qualification not a medical condition.

[Mickey Kaye]

...........

[7of9]

52nd st aviation left Sandtoft nearly two years ago & set up at Doncaster Airport.

Sandtoft is now run by the airfield owners & is doing great!

52nd St have nothing to do with Sandtoft now.

Anything that went on before has nothing to do with the way sandtoft is run now.

Come down & check it out yourself.

[7of9]

52nd st Aviation changed their name to the name they now have at Doncaster.

Nothing to get upset about.

Sandtoft has nothing to do with them now.

Sandtoft is run by the owners of the airfield who USED to rent it to 52nd St.

The owners have a manager called Nikki who you will speak to if you decide to ring & make enquiries.

I fly at Sandtoft & enjoy my flying there. :ok:

[Jan Olieslagers]

To call MJ a very wise man is quite a courageous statement - for myself, knowing him only from these pages, he seems quite ok as a pilot and as a contributor, but apparently suffering from dyslexia and/or too much flying. Rumour has it he is also under almost permanent, err, imbibing the fumes of certain distilleries for which the North is famous.

Seriously, though: don't despise microlights, especially if hedge-lined short runways are worrying you. My 3-axis, Rotax powered, leaves the ground after a much shorter roll than a C152, which means I am a lot higher over the hedge. Even if and when going into one, damage need not be bad, see the photograph linked below. Even the fibreglass engine cowling and nosewheel pant were unbroken, though scratched. http://users.skynet.be/fa348739/image/post_crash_3.JPG

But there is much more to that argument, a microlight can never be flown outside VMC, is cheaper on maintenance and fuel burn, offers less payload, &c. It all depends on what you want! With my budget and learning limitations, my Apollo Fox suits me very well, and a C152 does not offer me any advantage.

The day I can afford flying like Peter's, i.e. a full blown IFR, and sufficient budget to apply it regularly, I will consider the PPL route - but it seems unlikely in this lifetime.

[piperboy84]

I see a bollocking coming !!!!

[tggzzz]

Gliding looks fun but not too sure about the thermals. No engine either. http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/src:www.pprune.org/get/images/smilies/worry.gifLast time I saw a glider prang, it was because the glider had an engine. The blasted thing wouldn't start and then the workload in the circuit became too high. No major harm done, though.

Thermals are fine and fun - just look for a circling aircraft or buzzard, then go and play with them.

In a strong thermal with another glider at the same altitude, you check where it is by looking upward to see the top of the pilots' head (well probably his beany hat, actually) because you're both at 70 degrees from the horizontal. If you get too close to the buzzard, it'll show you its talons.

[piperboy84]

Right on the money, but tame to what I expect is to come when somebody reads the previous post

[mad_jock]

Jan has it about right apart from the distillery bit. Do have the occassional blow out though. Just getting 48 hours clear of duties only happens twice a month and even then the local beer seems to give a huge hangover everytime and screws with the sleep patterns.

O well another week of earlies.

[riverrock83]

I'm sure I've just missed it but has anyone said to the poster to not pay up front?.
There is a real danger to paying for the full course in advance at any flying school as if it goes bust you will lose all your money. That is unless you pay by credit card (or maybe visa debit). You are better to pay in small chunks or as you go, even though it might be a little more expensive.
Also check small print. Most inclusive packages are for 45 hours (most people need more) and don't include examiner fees. Some don't include landing fees away from home base.
Anyway -good luck finding a school that you are comfortable in - perhaps do a trial lesson in a few!
RR

[mad_jock]

Naughty your not allowed to mention names.