Starting a PPL

[QPD]

Hi,
This is my first post.
I've always wanted to fly from a very young age, and now I am seriously looking at doing my PPL training.
I live in Brighton UK and I want to find a good training course which doesn't cost the earth. I've already done an introductory 2 hours flying, and have some questions about what to do next.
* Does anyone have any recommendations about courses/schools within an hour's drive of Brighton?
* Is there anyone local actually doing their PPL now who could share their experiences (good & bad)?
* Do my introductory hours count towards my PPL flying hours?
* How possible is it to study & take the exams independently and just pay for the actual flight training?
* Lots of people have said pay as you go rather than upfront for training - I'm not sure exactly what that means - can anyone explain?

Sorry about all the questions - I'm sure there'll be more.

[glorygal]

Hi,

There are previous threads on this topic, you may want to look back. I'm not local to Brighton, so cannot answer those specific questions. However here are answers to your generic questions:

* Do my introductory hours count towards my PPL flying hours? YES. All flying training does, even if it was several years ago, as long as you have it logged.

* How possible is it to study & take the exams independently and just pay for the actual flight training? YES. Most people, in my experience, study at home for the ground exams using one of the various series of textbooks which are available. I certainly did. Some flight training organisations offer ground school but I managed to pass the exams perfectly well, along with my fellow students, on self-study alone. I then sat the exams at my school (from memory it was £38 per paper).

* Lots of people have said pay as you go rather than upfront for training - I'm not sure exactly what that means - can anyone explain? YES. Schools often offer discounts if you buy "blocks" of training in advance, rather than paying lesson by lesson (many seem to offer 45 hour blocks for example). However, given the hand to mouth existence of many flying schools, I don't recommend signing up for blocks of more than 10 hours at a time. If the school goes bust, you would need a miracle to get any money back.

Good luck, it's a tough journey but very rewarding! :)

Glorygal

[jpoth06]

Brighton is a stones throw from Shoreham airport, there's many companies that do PPL courses there. Sussex Flying Club is the major one there I believe.

[airborne_artist]

Lots of people have said pay as you go rather than upfront for training - I'm not sure exactly what that means - can anyone explain?

It means do not lend money to a flying school - pay on the nail, too many schools have gone bust owing students £1,000s of pounds that they never see back.

[QPD]

Appreciate your information, its really helpful.

Thank You.