PPL in New Zealand

[Orrism]

Hi, I am very much a newbee, wanabee and could frankly use as much advice as possible. I have always wanted to learn to fly and now have the opportunity! I am going to visit New Zealand in a few months time and hope to do my PPL whilst there. Could anyone recommend a good flying school in the Auckland area, I've looked at lots of websites but have no idea how good the schools are. Also there are other questions such as; do I have my medical here prior to going and will it be valid? And will a New Zealand licence be valid in the UK when I return? Any other pitfalls I should be aware of would be greatly appreciated. Thanks alot in anticipation.

[Southwestnewbie]

This school is in Hamilton just south of Auckland, my parents both used them and they come highly recommended.

http://www.flywaikato.co.nz/ (http://www.flywaikato.co.nz/)

Also with regards to the licence, once you have 100 hours i beleive you can convert it to a Uk licence after a skills test.

Check out the caa website to make sure though.

http://www.caa.co.uk/srg/licensing/faq.asp?faqid=208 (http://www.caa.co.uk/srg/licensing/faq.asp?faqid=208)

[LeadWings]

Hi,

my advice may well be dated since I did my PPL in 1994 but here goes anyway :

1) I did my training at Hawkes Bay and East Coast which is in Hastings, unfortunately not near Auckland but they were very good. The instructors were very well motivated and on the ball. They expected high standards on the assumption that you might degrade slightly when let off the leash! Partly the high standards are a function of the slightly unforgiving / sparsely populated countryside over which you will fly when there such that prevention of 'situations' is the best cure.

2) Before coming home, I had one last dose of flying at Ardmore which is near Auckland. From this brief experience they seemed pretty good also.

3) It your going out specifically to do the PPL would be wise to take some form of medical here first in case there are any medical show stoppers. There may be NZ qualified AME's (Aviation Medical Examiners) in this country. If you contact a Flying School out there, they would be able to help you.

4) The New Zealand license is an ICAO licence and you should be able to fly UK registered Aircraft on a day/vfr basis. Irv Lee's website has some info on this. Back in 1994 the NZ license was held in high regard and all I had to do to get a UK license was to sit a Human Factors exam. Things will have changed no doubt wrt the JAA license. I still have my non expiring UK license. If you could find an NZ Instructor over here to do their flight tests, you ought to be able to keep flying over here on their license indefinitely if Private Flying is your main interest.

5) There were no obvious other pitfalls when I did my license but that was a while back. Why things would have changed greatly I don't know. They were already pretty advanced (if you could call it that) in that ATC was privatised and would charge you airways fees for flying IFR, You need to contact a specific club to get info.

6) You may also need some form of Student visa to actually undergo training and this may take time to arrange . Contacting a club will answer that.

7) It's best done in a solid block rather than piecemeal unless your planning to be out there for a year or more. I did mine in 5 weeks. Should have taken four but there were delays with medical and a wrongly marked technical exam which was sorted fairly quickly by their own admission. Not before I had the micky taken out of me since they all knew I had an Aero Engineering degree!

Hope this is of assistance, even thought the info is vintage. It's the kind of place where if it ain't broke, they won't fix it so I'm sure the high standards are much the same.

Have fun.

[Tagron]

You will need a New Zealand medical for a NZ PPL. The authorities of each country do not recognise the other country’s medicals for use with their own country’s licences. The exception is when a UK licence holder first takes out a NZ licence on the basis of a UK licence, then it is valid to its normal expiry date after which a NZ medical is required. UK is JAA, NZ is ICAO !

A NZ PPL may be used in the UK without the need for any conversion or validation, unlike the reverse situation where a UK pilot can only fly in NZ after obtaining a six month validation or converting to a NZ licence.

There are drawbacks of using a NZ PPL in the UK. It is necessary to maintain a current NZ medical and a current Biennial Flight Review to keep your licence valid. These have to be conducted by a NZ qualified medical examiner and an appropriately qualified NZ instructor.

Also with a NZ PPL you need a type rating for each and every type you fly whereas with a UK PPL you are entitled to fly all single engine piston types (within certain limits) with your SEP rating. Though it’s worth noting there may be a grey area here...

If you expect to travel back to NZ regularly it would be easy to maintain your qualifications in NZ. But if not, you would need to establish the availability of suitably qualified NZ examiners (medical and flying) in the UK.

Failing that, I suggest get your PPL in NZ, use it in the UK while its medical and BFR are current, get your 100 hours in that time, then apply for a UK PPL, which by then should not be too arduous or expensive.

Hope that helps.

[mintpro172]

Hi I am an UK student currently studying for my CPL after doing my PPL at the Auckland Aero Club at Ardmore airport just outside Auckland. Me and an English guy are here both on student visas though and he did his medical over in England before coming here and it was recognized here because of the place he went to. I did mine here but had no problem starting to fly without it. It's cheaper here and its an hr/hr and a half exam tops. You only need it flying PIC here. There are a few schools on the airfield and I had the misfortune of dealing with another school before I had to change. I would seriously recommend the aero club. You fly when you want, the instructors are highly qualified and friendly. If you have any questions or queries PM me and i'll get back to you.

[moreflaps]

Email me for my experiences.

[stevelup]

Why not post your experiences here for everyone to share - that is somewhat the point of a public internet forum!