Fastest Way to Get PPL

[Corkonian]

Hi,

I'm based in Ireland and have dabbled with flying over the years, but it's always hard to book time and then even harder to have the weather go your way.
I'd like to go and get my PPL as fast as possible in somewhere like Florida.
Anybody got any advice or suggestions?

Thanks,
Ger

[ShamrockF]

Hi Corkonian,

Just take a little bit to think through what's more important to you, learning fast or learning well.

I started studying for my PPL last year in a flying club with good instructors, all airline pilots. There were delays due to weather and roster availability, but the standard of tuition was excellent. Like you, I wanted to get the PPL quicker so I went abroad to get my PPL put away. The standard of tuition was much lower than what I was used to. We were practicing maneuvers which I consider dangerous. That said, the school delivers on its promises and students get their qualifications. I chose to leave and go back to the flying club where it took me a few months longer but I feel I'm a better-trained pilot as a result.

If you want to do it quick, have a look at schools in the US or Spain. If you're going for a US school just make sure they're currently registered as an EASA ATO. You can Google the list of training places that are currently EASA registered. You can do your full PPL there and come home and fly away in Europe. If you go to purely FAA school you'll have to do some conversion work when you get back which will be a bit of hassle.

[Genghis the Engineer]

Talk to a flying school anywhere in the world that has reasonably reliable weather book continuous lessons for about 4 weeks - about 2 per day, knuckle down and do all the written exams before you go there - stay VERY nearby, make sure there's absolutely nothing else in your diary for those four weeks.

Parts of the USA have particularly consistent weather, and schools geared up to exploit that. At the same time, you'll then need to learn how to fly in Ireland with its own weather, terrain, air traffic services and local regulations - so I'd say, do it in Ireland - but if you have a lot of commitments - go to the other end of the country, stay in a B&B, do it about August when the weather's most likely to be good and tell everybody you're not contactable.

G

[Sam Rutherford]

Yes, you can do it in four epic weeks - but...

...keep some time/budget to then have lessons wherever you will actually fly (presumably Cork?), as whilst you'll have the paperwork, you'll not have the depth...

Go for it!

[Pilot DAR]

Just take a little bit to think through what's more important to you, learning fast or learning well.

This.

It's fine if you want to commit yourself to a compressed, continuous learning program, but anything you do to shortcut, or be "fast" will really jeopardize the quality of your learning. The minimums to earn a PPL are just that - minimums. Do you want to be airborne, and perhaps carrying passengers knowing that you only achieved the minimum training. It is a certainty that learning to fly involves building new skills upon recently learned skills. If your foundation learning has gaps, or was not well absorbed yet, the next steps will by ineffective/incomplete. It's your learning cost, and ultimate skills which will suffer.

Plan, commit, and pace yourself....

[PelicanSquawk]

I feel qualified to comment on this, as I had exactly the same plan in mind when I first started. In the end I opted to fly as intensively as possible every weekend 2/3 lessons per day, and every day during the week I was studying the theory. I then took 2 weeks off block and planned on flying 3 times a day every day, but in the end this was too much , and I didn't feel I was learning well, so I cut it back to what I was happy with.

I would not recommend doing all the theory before, and then the practical, as there is no context. I found that as I flew more, I required more of the theory knowledge, and perhaps the choke on progress was the lack of all the theory, but I felt learning the relevant bits as I went along was much more constructive for practising and getting what I wanted out of my time in the air. This is especially true for Navigation.

The benefit of learning intensively is that you have an opportunity to build on your mistakes/learning in quick succession, and there isn't so much an element of re learning each time. I would also say it is much better to learn in Ireland, if that is where you plan to fly, it'll make you a much more confident when you do have your license.

All in I took a little over 3 months, and completed in just over 45 hours (so minimums), this was learning in the winter, in the UK! I felt this was fast paced enough, and I wouldn't have gone for any quicker, as you need time for things to sink in, time to research what didn't go quite so well, and apply the theory you are learning along side. I really would make a point of saying that the theory isn't just a tick in the box, and you will learn and understand much quicker in the air, if you're learning the theory first. I did find the 2 weeks of flying every day in the run up to my test was very good at this stage, but before that flying on Saturday and then Sunday, with the rest of the week off felt perfect...if not a little quick, as ultimately it was my theory exams which slowed down taking my test earlier.

I am currently studying for my ATPL, and will be selecting a school for the CPL MEIR etc ratings, I am actually looking at schools which take a bit longer as a good thing...I don't wish to spend 1000's of pounds to just be rushed through a course...I want to enjoy it, and take my time.

Any way thats my 2 pence. To summarise I think intensive is good, but not to the extent that you're trying to do it all in X amount of days...just fly as frequent as you feel like it, take your test when you're ready, and when you're not flying use your interest to study up on the theory. This all worked very well for me.

Good luck whatever you do.

[ChickenHouse]

Hi,

I'm based in Ireland and have dabbled with flying over the years, but it's always hard to book time and then even harder to have the weather go your way.
I'd like to go and get my PPL as fast as possible in somewhere like Florida.
Anybody got any advice or suggestions?

Thanks,
Ger
Yes, one simple advice - forget it.

I frequently come across people from that kind of fast track and it is almost never a pleasure. Your learning comprehension is limited and if you stretch it to the limits, you may get along to the very license on a fast track in sunny regions. BUT, you may qualify yourself as 'a person able to handle an aircraft at 77F, standard pressure, blue sky, no wind' - only. Yes, I know people with a license and only that specific knowledge. For theory, no discussion, anything can be done to pass the exam and get the paper, but not for the skills to command an aircraft. The usual student is able to understand about 2 to 3 lessons per 45 minutes per week in the beginning, at the end of the training you may stretch to 3 times 1.5 hours max. You can go faster, but it will neither build up real piloting skills nor a basis for good airmenship.

Do yourself a favor and go for the proven 'fast' track, which usually requires about half a year from zero to pilot, trains you in a way your brain is able to build up the necessary sustainable structure and brings you from consumer to understander.

[chevvron]

I did it in 6 weeks (weekdays only) at Cambridge one October/November so lots of days lost due to bad weather.

[Maoraigh1]

First flight 20.15 on 27 July. Finished PPL 19.45 on 21 August, 1964, with previous gliding experience, 23 years old. On Jackeroos at Thruxton, so no radio, no electrics, no brakes to distract. The PPL course began immediately after a 3 week post graduate zoology course, with exam, so study was not unfamiliar.
Go for it, as long as you hire after getting your PPL.
You'll get checked out for the conditions where you're renting.
Buying your own plane immediately wouldn't be a good idea.

[rarelyathome]

I feel qualified to comment on this, as I had exactly the same plan in mind when I first started. In the end I opted to fly as intensively as possible every weekend 2/3 lessons per day, and every day during the week I was studying the theory. I then took 2 weeks off block and planned on flying 3 times a day every day, but in the end this was too much , and I didn't feel I was learning well, so I cut it back to what I was happy with.

I would not recommend doing all the theory before, and then the practical, as there is no context. I found that as I flew more, I required more of the theory knowledge, and perhaps the choke on progress was the lack of all the theory, but I felt learning the relevant bits as I went along was much more constructive for practising and getting what I wanted out of my time in the air. This is especially true for Navigation.

The benefit of learning intensively is that you have an opportunity to build on your mistakes/learning in quick succession, and there isn't so much an element of re learning each time. I would also say it is much better to learn in Ireland, if that is where you plan to fly, it'll make you a much more confident when you do have your license.

All in I took a little over 3 months, and completed in just over 45 hours (so minimums), this was learning in the winter, in the UK! I felt this was fast paced enough, and I wouldn't have gone for any quicker, as you need time for things to sink in, time to research what didn't go quite so well, and apply the theory you are learning along side. I really would make a point of saying that the theory isn't just a tick in the box, and you will learn and understand much quicker in the air, if you're learning the theory first. I did find the 2 weeks of flying every day in the run up to my test was very good at this stage, but before that flying on Saturday and then Sunday, with the rest of the week off felt perfect...if not a little quick, as ultimately it was my theory exams which slowed down taking my test earlier.

I am currently studying for my ATPL, and will be selecting a school for the CPL MEIR etc ratings, I am actually looking at schools which take a bit longer as a good thing...I don't wish to spend 1000's of pounds to just be rushed through a course...I want to enjoy it, and take my time.

Any way thats my 2 pence. To summarise I think intensive is good, but not to the extent that you're trying to do it all in X amount of days...just fly as frequent as you feel like it, take your test when you're ready, and when you're not flying use your interest to study up on the theory. This all worked very well for me.

Good luck whatever you do.

great post.

[RatherBeFlying]

My suggestion has been 2 hour lessons twice a day with a good break in between.

​​​​​A lot of time is consumed with start-up, taxi, run-up and transit to practice area; then back Yes, all this has be mastered, but with 1 hour slots it becomes a major part of the hour$ u$ed up.

Flying once a week allows stuff to be forgotten. Frequency enables reinforcement.

Bottom line: an intensive course maximizes the efficiency of the flying hours.

Be very careful of paying large sums of money up front Flying schools do go bust from time to time and students can end up losing money on deposit.

If thinking of the US, have a look at Canada. Exchange rates may be advantageous.

That said, Spain pre Brexit may be the best solution

[MarcusH]

My experience was it took 2 years, including all exams. Yes you get good experience learning in Ireland, but the most important thing is to get that basic qualification.
When I got mine I was told by a wise examiner at the time “this is a qualification to learn more”. After you qualify, you can join a club, here you start taking giant strides in experience. In my first year in my club a group of us went to Spain, I couldn’t believe how much I was doing.
Whichever way you go keep focused on your goal, and enjoy the journey.

[rudestuff]

A PPL, as stated above is a licence to learn. Anyone who says you should spend ages getting it is talking nonsense. There are minimum hours and tests required - that's it. To say that there is a difference in ability or understanding between someone who did it in 45 days and someone who did it it 45 weeks is ridiculous - we're all different. There is only one good reason to spread your training out longer than you need to - because that's your only option. If you can afford it - do it in as short a period as you can. The main reason for this is skill fade - you'll forget less in a day than you will in a week. Of course, if you go abroad to do the course, quicker=cheaper. My advice: get all the exams done first then concentrate on just the flying. If you plan to fly once a week, you probably end up flying once a fortnight. Much better to plan twice a day and make hay while the sun shines.

Now for the FAA bit: The cold hard truth is that the weather is generally better for flying in Florida and Arizona then the UK. In the UK a lot of your lessons will be cancelled due to weather (more likely of you did it all over a year). Everyone wants to fly on the sunny days. People will tell you that you need an EASA licence, so train in Europe. People will tell you that if you go to the US, you need to train for an EASA licence at an EASA school. Again: nonsense.
If you go to the US, just get an FAA certificate - the whole point of going is better weather and cheaper flying, so don't limit yourself to the most expensive schools! The UK CAA will (for about £45) validate your FAA certificate to give you exactly the same privileges as an EASA one. Remember: it's just a licence to learn.

[alland2012]

If you go to the US, just get an FAA certificate - the whole point of going is better weather and cheaper flying, so don't limit yourself to the most expensive schools! The UK CAA will (for about £45) validate your FAA certificate to give you exactly the same privileges as an EASA one.

Close but not a question of simply handing over £45 to the CAA and taking off into the wild blue yonder.
There is a couple of exams to pass (albeit easy ones after doing a bit of revision) 1.Air law 2. Human Performance
followed by the skills test with an examiner.

[foxmoth]

2 hour lessons twice a day
Unless you are including briefing, walk round and debrief two hours is too long for a lesson, after about 45 minutes you start to lose concentration.
I am amongst many that did a PPL on the Air Cadet flying scholarship, this was (meant to be)a four weeks intensive course, in fact due to weather it stretched to five, but immersed in the course like this I would say you actually get a better quality of training than a stretched out one where you are dipping in and out and losing continuity.

[RatherBeFlying]

2 hour lessons twice a day

Unless you are including briefing, walk round and debrief two hours is too long for a lesson, after about 45 minutes you start to lose concentration.

Yep, booking is done in slots. It takes repetition to get maneuvers right and it's better finish a flight knowing you've got it right than having to break off while still floundering.

[rudestuff]

Close but not a question of simply handing over £45 to the CAA and taking off into the wild blue yonder.
There is a couple of exams to pass (albeit easy ones after doing a bit of revision) 1.Air law 2. Human Performance
followed by the skills test with an examiner.
The exams are optional actually. You can choose to have a chat with an examiner and show knowledge of Air Law and ATC procedures, but I assure you there are no exams or skills test required.

[AirJing]

OK I'll pipe up with this one. You can see my thread about what happens when you run out of time in PPL training due to weather.

Having limited time, I would suggest you go somewhere with excellent weather, very high probability of blue skies and low wind and just get the PPL. Get it, then you have it, you don't have to worry about it. Following that (this is my opinion as a low-hour only) you will not be good in adverse weather or crosswinds, but you can get more training on that at your leisure later.

If you follow the advice of get really solid training in marginal weather over a period of time etc etc, then you will be in my situation: you have allocated a large block of time and money to getting a PPL, but you do not quite get there because your flights keep getting cancelled, because you have chosen to do your training in a marginal climate location. You then have to have a break due to life, job, kids, your dog is ill, whatever and you regress. Then you have to devote even more time and more $$$ to finishing the PPL.

So just go to Florida or Perth or Spain, spend 6 weeks there full time and nut it out. Then go back home with a full PPL, hire an airplane and instructor and practice flying in crosswinds and dodging clouds.

[Piper.Classique]

Yup, I think you have it sussed.
it's supposed to be fun.

[alland2012]

The exams are optional actually. You can choose to have a chat with an examiner and show knowledge of Air Law and ATC procedures, but I assure you there are no exams or skills test required.

Not according to this information.
https://www.easa.europa.eu/easa-and-you/general-aviation/licensing-general-aviation

Check out the paragraph on non European Licence Holders.

I'm just going through the procedure right now,

[rudestuff]

Not according to this information.
https://www.easa.europa.eu/easa-and-you/general-aviation/licensing-general-aviation

Check out the paragraph on non European Licence Holders.

I'm just going through the procedure right now,

I see where you've got confused. I'll start again:
The UK CAA will validate (not convert) an FAA PPL - without the need for a flight test or exams. You need to demonstrate knowledge of Air Law and ATC procedures, but this can take the form of an exam OR a chat with an examiner.
This will result in an email from the CAA granting your FAA certificate the same privileges as an EASA licence.

This is obviously a better option as an FAA cert is cheaper, easier to maintain, gives automatic night priviliges etc; however if you actually want to convert and hold an EASA PPL, then yes - you will need to meet the requirements you refer to, including passing exams and a flight test.

But why would you want to do that?!

[Maoraigh1]

If you're intending living, working, and flying in EASAland, get an EASA licence. That way you won't be caught by law changes over your flying lifetime.
As your in Ireland, you don't have to worry about April 1 2019.

[alland2012]

I see where you've got confused. I'll start again:
The UK CAA will validate (not convert) an FAA PPL - without the need for a flight test or exams. You need to demonstrate knowledge of Air Law and ATC procedures, but this can take the form of an exam OR a chat with an examiner.
This will result in an email from the CAA granting your FAA certificate the same privileges as an EASA licence.

This is obviously a better option as an FAA cert is cheaper, easier to maintain, gives automatic night priviliges etc; however if you actually want to convert and hold an EASA PPL, then yes - you will need to meet the requirements you refer to, including passing exams and a flight test.

But why would you want to do that?!

Yes I understand now rudestuff, thank you.
When I came back to the UK I did try to get answers from the CAA via phone and was told to email their licencing dept.for the answer to my question,6 months later I'm still waiting for a reply ! So in the meantime I wandered in to my local flight school/flying club and asked what I needed to do to legally fly in the UK as a FAA licence holder.
They couldn't give me an answer from their experience alone but were very helpful and offered to look into it. They came back with the EASA conversion route of a couple of exams for air law, human performance and a skills test ride.
Now looking at it, obviously it was assumed that I wanted to convert my FAA cert to EASA, I have now done the exams and due to do a mock skills test ride next week in readiness for a ride with the examiner, the prospect of the checkride doesn't daunt me unduly, but I would rather keep my FAA cert just the way it is so I think I will put it too them that there is an alternative option open by just getting the CAA validation on my FAA cert.

[rudestuff]

http://publicapps.caa.co.uk/modalapplication.aspx?appid=11&mode=detail&id=7863

That's the form - srg2140

[Maoraigh1]

Getting a full EASA licence doesn't affect your FAA licence.

[rudestuff]

Getting a full EASA licence doesn't affect your FAA licence.
Just your wallet.