Training at Bagby N.Yorks

[dgutte]

Hi all,

I am considering starting my PPL (or NPPL - not sure yet) and am looking for recommended schools in the N East or N Yorkshire. Teesside is my local and I know I have a choice there.

I like the look of St George's and Bagby, to very different places I know! My questions is, what are the relative merits of using a grass stripped based airfield than an International Airport and does anyone have expereience of using either or both schools?

Thanks

dgutte

[FlyingForFun]

Dgutte,

Have no experience of either place, but thought I'd comment in general terms about the difference between a grass and an international airport.

The simple answer is that neither is better than the other, and in the ideal world you'd split your training between the two. At an international airport, you may have to wait a while for take-off clearance if it's busy (don't know how busy Teesside gets), which could be expensive depending how the school charges. On the other hand, you will become very good at dealing with air traffic control, and all the associated procedures. The down-side is that you can become so used to air traffic control that when you go to an un-controlled airfield you feel lost, and a little uncomfortable knowing that no one is looking out for you, whereas if you were to train at a grass strip, especially a busy one, you would quickly become very confidant at spotting traffic around the airfield.

The list of pros and cons goes on, but my personal feelings are that they all balance out in the end, and I'd advise you to pay far more attention to the general feeling you get around the school, whether you think you'll enjoy the training there, whether they appear to be efficient and not cancel lessons all over the place...

Personally, I trained at White Waltham, a very busy grass strip. When I got my PPL I'd only visited a controlled field once, and was very uncomfortable with the whole idea of air traffic control. I then logged around 100 hours out of a busy controlled airfield, and very quickly got the hang of it. It's only after spending a moderate amount of time in both environments that I became happy with both of them.

Hope that helps.

FFF
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[expedite_climb]

dgutte - check your pm.

[dgutte]

Thanks for the above - very helpful

dgutte

[flyingwysiwyg]

Hi Dgutte,

Two years ago I was having the same thoughts as yourself, Whether to train at Gloucester or Shobdon, both of which are airfields near me. Gloucester is ATC and Shobdon is A/G.

In the end I opted for Shobdon, because I was happier with the feel of the place, and it seemed slightly less formal. I personally feel it is much more important to feel comfortable with your training environment than whether the field is ATC or A/G.

I did quite a bit of flying to ATC airfields from Shobdon during my PPL training and did find it a little daunting on the first couple of times, but after a bit (like all things) you get used to it.

FlyingForFun makes a good point with the "busy" issue. At Shobdon I hardly ever have to wait for streams of aircraft landing or taking off, which does mean you get more hour for your hour (if that makes sense)

Very best of luck with your PPL (or NPPL) and be happy.

flyingwysiwyg :ok: