RPL to PPL via RA-Aus?

[Brenchen]

Greetings!

I am currently doing my RPL (plan to get it by Xmas this year) in a C152 at YBAF. Thinking ahead, the cost will be much greater than now when I start to progress onto PPL. I am exploring pathways to try to cut down on the cost and eventually still reach PPL, and I am considering to convert my RPL to an RPC with x-country endorsement (or any others that can be recognised/contribute towards PPL).

My question is, if I convert my RPL to RPC to cover as much PPL-syllabus contents on an RA-Aus aircraft, and only use a GA aircraft to cover the materials that I can't with RA-Aus, when the time comes I'll do a conversion flight to PPL:
Will it be more cost effective that way?
How does the RA-Aus hours count towards GA hours?
Or is it more cost effective to just plot along in GA?
Thanks in advance :)
Brendan

[Okihara]

Will it be more cost effective that way?
Maybe, in theory. That is to say, if you do everything by the book you might be able to save a penny or two at the expense of red tape. Will it be worth it in the end? Probably not. There will be red tape involved. At the end of the day, you might be able to save a couple thousand dollars I reckon (if you make no mistake) but that will be the proverbial drop in the bucket of what you're facing if you contemplate a life of flying.

Tips on avoiding double spends:

If PPL is your ultimate goal, why not shoot straight for this from the start? Skip RPL and its endorsements (and by that I mean, just skip the flight test altogether) and carry on with navigation exercises once the RPL training syllabus is done.
If CPL is your ultimate goal, you can also skip the PPL theory exam and do all 7 CPL subjects instead.


Or is it more cost effective to just plot along in GA?
Hands down, the most cost effective way will be to commit yourself to obtaining your licence in as short and compressed a time frame as you can possibly afford and endure. The smart way to do it would be to have your theory and medicals done and then line up flights back to back. This way you'll minimise the need to remediate and your "muscle" memory will be as fresh as can be.

Also, be smart and keep your ground time to the bare minimum to pinch every minute of flight time out of what you're being actually charged.

[gchriste]

The only thing I would say is, what is your long term goal? If you are working towards a CPL and a job in the industry, all the chopping back and forward may look a little detracting. It may not and I may be speaking out my ar*e, but if I was interviewing, I would be looking for a solid pathway.

However if you just want to get your PPL for the fun of it, work out the costs. I cant help but feel though you may end up spending some extra dollars on conversions and revisions moving between them all that would not be spent just sticking to the PPL stream outright, so may negate some of the benefit.

And last thought, flying is bloody expensive, if you are scrimping on the training now, it wont get any better later when you are still paying $300 per hour wet tacho time for rental for fun,

[Cloudee]

Greetings!

I am currently doing my RPL (plan to get it by Xmas this year) in a C152 at YBAF. Thinking ahead, the cost will be much greater than now when I start to progress onto PPL. I am exploring pathways to try to cut down on the cost and eventually still reach PPL, and I am considering to convert my RPL to an RPC with x-country endorsement (or any others that can be recognised/contribute towards PPL).

My question is, if I convert my RPL to RPC to cover as much PPL-syllabus contents on an RA-Aus aircraft, and only use a GA aircraft to cover the materials that I can't with RA-Aus, when the time comes I'll do a conversion flight to PPL:

Will it be more cost effective that way?
How does the RA-Aus hours count towards GA hours?
Or is it more cost effective to just plot along in GA?

Thanks in advance :)
Brendan

You will have an RPL by the end of the year, All you have to do to get a PPL is the theory exam and then to the nav and airspace training followed by the flight test. You can stay in the 152. You may have been able to save a few dollars if you started in RAAus and then converted that to an RPL but you haven't done that so stick with the 152. Once you have your PPL maybe get an RAAus licence if you can find a significantly cheaper aircraft, and build hours on that towards CPL. We've had students who have used RAAus to get 100 of the 200 hours required for CPL.

[Brenchen]

Thanks all for the replies!

I just spent the lunch hour visiting a couple of GA + RAAus flying schools, and what I gathered was it will cost a tad less to go via RA-Aus route (about $2k). However, what I didn't think about, and it is now became a part of my things to consider, is the cost of hiring RA-Aus aircraft will be significantly cheaper than GA. Since my goal is for recreation, I would like to be able to do cross country, and have the ability to take more than one pax on remote trips or scenic flights occasionally, having the appropriate privileges to operator in both RAA and GA is desirable.

And last thought, flying is bloody expensive, if you are scrimping on the training now, it wont get any better later when you are still paying $300 per hour wet tacho time for rental for fun,

Yes I understand, but rental doesn't happen every week, it happens occasionally, so $300/hr may only happen once or twice a year, and $200/hr can happen more frequently.

[Horatio Leafblower]

If you go the RAAus route you will save a few dollars on the hourly rate, to be sure. However.....

.....to validate your RPL you need to do a flight review with an instructor who needs to see you perform all the same manouvers but to PPL standard. If you have changed types to validate your PPL, typically you will not be able to do this on your first flight on the new type.
RAAus instructors will tell you it will be "just one flight" or "just a flight review" but when you're starting out you don't really know what that means. Unless you are Chuck Yaeger, you will take 3-5 hours minimum to get used to the VH-registered aircraft. at $300/hour that adds about $1500, which is what you thought you "saved" by going RAAus in the first place.

By all means learn to fly RAAus... but go in with your eyes open.

[Brenchen]

If you go the RAAus route you will save a few dollars on the hourly rate, to be sure. However.....

.....to validate your RPL you need to do a flight review with an instructor who needs to see you perform all the same manouvers but to PPL standard. If you have changed types to validate your PPL, typically you will not be able to do this on your first flight on the new type.
RAAus instructors will tell you it will be "just one flight" or "just a flight review" but when you're starting out you don't really know what that means. Unless you are Chuck Yaeger, you will take 3-5 hours minimum to get used to the VH-registered aircraft. at $300/hour that adds about $1500, which is what you thought you "saved" by going RAAus in the first place.

By all means learn to fly RAAus... but go in with your eyes open.

So my current options are:

Convert RPL to RPC, do training, then convert back to a bigger GA aircraft so I can do my PPL flight test
Continue to plot along the GA route and head straight for PPL (bypassing all the endorsements), then do a conversion to RPC + endorsements

The reason for this is so I can hire 4 seaters for longer routes every year or so, and cheaper RA-Aus aircraft more frequently if I don't need the seating capacity. This is for recreation only of course.

[Stickshift3000]

If you’re intent on doing a CPL then you wouldn’t do a ‘conversion’ of PPL to RPC with endorsements. RPC does not allow you to fly in controlled airspace - you would need to this if you’re considering CPL.

My advice would be to finish the RPL, get more solo hours & experience (at a cheaper hire rate: no instructor). At the same time work on completing your PPL exam, it will be a good foundation for the CPL exams. When time & money allows, get your PPL.

There are various ways it can be done, the limitation I mostly see from students is the speed at which various students learn. Saving up your money for a block of lessons is the best thing I could have done to progress more quickly. Oh, and go get a Class 1 medical - this May show up unknown issues that can prevent you from obtaining a CPL.

Don’t forget to have fun during the journey.

[Brenchen]

Thanks for the advice. I don't intend to do CPL or even IR, the most I'd do is probably PPL + night flying as this is purely for recreation. Either way, I suppose your approach would remain valid?

There are various ways it can be done, the limitation I mostly see from students is the speed at which various students learn. Saving up your money for a block of lessons is the best thing I could have done to progress more quickly.


I currently fly once a week or twice in some weeks (when I feel like it). How much (if it were to be put into a percentage) are we losing for not doing back to back flying? I have my first solo scheduled for the end of the month if I were to keep up with one flight a week, will I benefit much from the progress if I were to increase my frequency of flights now?

[Stickshift3000]

Yes, then my suggestions above may still suit you (but go for a Class 2 medical if no intention of CP)..

I can’t put a figure on the dollars saved if you do lessons in a block. However, I found the early stage is where it would benefit me most regarding retaining muscle memory, knowledge etc. People learn through different means, you’ll need to find the method that best suits you and you’re life position - there’s no wrong answer!