Recommended London flight school for PPL on weekends?

[csvpa]

Hi,

I have decided to start getting flight lessons towards a PPL (will start with an introductory flight though) and am looking at flight schools around London. I was wondering whether anyone had a recommendation? The prices seem to vary quite a bit. Transport wise, I live near London bridge so wouldn't vary that much in difficulty to get to any of the training schools I have looked at. Apologies, I'm sure this has been asked before but I couldn't find the topic with the search.

Thanks for any advice,

James

[taxistaxing]

Hi James.

I revalidated my ppl at stapleford flight centre earlier this year and would recommend them. The reception and admin side of things is a little chaotic and disorganised at times but the instructors I had were all excellent. They also have a fleet of c152s which are cheaper than other types you may be offered, and no landing fees are charged which adds up to a huge saving when you consider some airfields charge £25 plus per landing.

It's a radio field with a very busy circuit which is intimidating at first but definitely good experience. If you can cope with the stapleford circuit you can cope with anything!

I also live near London bridge and found the journey very easy - northern line
to bank and then central line to Debden. The airfield is a short cab ride from the station. I would say visit a few schools and get quotes - although watch out for hidden charges like landing fees and fuel excess charges. Whatever you do don't pay upfront for training as some high profile schools have gone bust over the last couple of years!

[jollyrog]

Direct trains from London Bridge to Headcorn, plenty of good instructors there and no landing fees. No brainer.

[dash6]

Denham.15 min.walk from the mainline station.
Happy Airfield,not too busy.
Check out "the pilot centre" or Denham website.

[Valias]

Fairoaks, nr. Woking. Give them a call and ask for Marcus. Great club, great instructors, and very friendly. 01276 858075.

[A and C]

Wycombe Air Park is also within reach of public transport and The Airways Flying Club has always been highly recomended.

One of the good things about learning to fly at the moment is that you won't get sucked into the very worst training providor in the area because they have gone bust ! Unfortunatly taking a lot of good peoples money with them.

[500 above]

I'd go to the West London Aero Club at White Waltham Airfield. By far it has the best atmosphere of any flying club/school ive ever seen. You can walk there from Maidenhead train station. The clubhouse is friendly, there is great food most of the day, wifi, a great place to meet other like minded people. They host a lot of social functions for members.

Welcome to West London Aero Club - West London Aero Club (http://www.wlac.co.uk/wlac/)

Compared to the school 'up the road - no comparison!

[lenhamlad]

Direct trains from London Bridge to Headcorn, plenty of good instructors there and no landing fees. No brainer.


Thanks for the plug jollyroger. I work at headcorn James so pm me if you want further info.

[TomNH]

+1 for Stapleford. Busy, but lots of planes and the choice of 152 or PA28 for basic PPL. Charges are transparent and there are no home landing fees.

But I suspect that one's experience is coloured more by the instructor than the school and equipment: shop around for the right one, and by that I mean one who suits you and your style of learning.

[Cows getting bigger]

I think most of the "M25" schools are pretty good. My thoughts (based on the occasional visit as a PPL examiner) about some of those mentioned so far:

Denham - TPC. Good reputation, expanding due to the demise of CABAIR. Not overly complex althout the proximity of Heathrow/Northolt can intimidate. Cafe OK, tarmac runway useful in the winter. C152s are well maintained.

Stapleford - commercial backbone. Not sure about the personal-service aspect of PPL training. The times I have been there the place seems to be rather 'rushed'.

White Waltham - good club atmosphere, almost too much. Variety of aircraft. Grass runways, some of which have interesting bumps that can be rather mischievous.

Wycombe/Booker - Tarmac runway and ATC (can put some off). 152s and Warriors. Warriors (ex-BA flying club) are very smart for training aircraft. Seem to be quietly professional.

As someone has already said, Darwinian theory has played its part in the past few years. As far as quality of training is concerned, I would say that all provide a good quality test candidate. Best bet is to go to a few and get the feel.

[pudoc]

Stapleford get my vote.

[Ianp83]

I'm currently doing my PPL at Stapleford weekends only. Did my first solo last weekend - I'm about 15 hrs in. I am very happy with my choice after spending a lot of time looking at the options. I live near CanW and drive so it's very easy for me to get out there (around 30min). I've never had a problem with aircraft availability (c152), I have on a couple of occasions struggled to get a suitable slot with my instructor, but only when I haven't booked in advance. There's a decent clubhouse, the circuit traffic is busy enough to keep you on your toes but not so much that you have to hold for 15mins before take off. It's also good as going east out of the circuit immediately puts you into contact with Southend which now they have EZY there means there's a bit more radio traffic so you get used to listening out for callsign/squawk codes etc. Best of luck with your choice.

[csvpa]

Thanks for all the advice - I've gone for a trial flight at Stapleford on 9th Sept (first available time on weekend). One thing I was wondering is it normal for people to use more than one club to do the training? I thought doing that might help to ensure there is availability. I'm guessing that isnt so go for the instructed section of the PPL as you would want continuity of instructor but maybe for the solo sections it might actually be an advantage to have trained out of a few airfields. Does anyone else do that?

[taxistaxing]

You wont be able to do use more than one club as all your pre ppl solo will need to be signed off and "supervised" by your instructor. Plus no other school is goin to let an unqualified student being taught somewhere else loose in one of their planes! Definitely stick to one club and preferably one instructor in your initial learning as you need to have as much continuity as possible.

Enjoy the trial flight !!!