Passed Skills Test

[Holloway]

Whooo hooooo, I passed my skills test. Just got to wait for my licence to come through the post :rolleyes: Any ideas on how long ill wait?? weeks???? :(

[Tall_guy_in_a_152]

Congratulations!

I'm not sure what the current CAA turnaround time is. I waited about 8 weeks (outrageous!), but that was several years ago so hopefully things are better now!? I'm sure a fellow ppruner will provide a more recent estimate.

Don't forget you can still fly while you wait, under the supervision of an instructor. No passengers though!

TG

[HelenD]

Congratulations think my licence took about 3 weeks to come back

[28thJuly2001]

I waited 3 weeks for mine, which was 2 years ago.
You are still a 'student' until your licence comes through and still have to pay student rates.. SCANDALOUS ..Why is this?

28th,

P.S. Well done,

[charlie-india-mike]

Holloway

Congrats!!!!


Mine took less that 10 days to arrive in December 2002 . But make sure that all the parer work is correct.


C-I-M

[TheKentishFledgling]

Well done mate.....nice one!

You've got through the course quickly as well!

Enjoy it!

tKF

PS Isn't it possible to drive up to Gatwick and pick your licence up in person?

[iainpoll]

Nice one!:ok:

So, tell us all about it then:cool:

My licence was five weeks, it was hell:uhoh: However I did find out that there was a small error on the paperwork, the CAA had to confirm somthing, so check yours properly before you send it off. Apparently the CAA have a 10 working day charter, so get on the phone if it takes any longer...

enjoy:ok:

[Saab Dastard]

Holloway,

Well done - seems like only a few months ago you were starting out!

As far as I am aware, the CAA charter is to turn the licence application around within 10 working days of receiving the CORRECT (error free) paperwork. If they cannot process it due to an error or omission, the clock starts over.

You can bring the application and supporting documentation in yourself (I did), but this just helps to ensure that the paperwork is correct - you can't get a licence issued there and then. It still took 16 working days to get my licence.

It probably isn't worth going to collect it as they send it out recorded next day delivery.

Cheers

SD

[AerBabe]

Welcome to the club. We'll see you at the next fly in!
Now your learning really starts... :ok:

[CPilotUK]

Well done Holloway :ok:

Looking forward to hearing the details.

I am a couple of flights away from doing my cross country, a couple of revisions and then the dreaded skills test; The thought sends shivers through my spine. :eek:

[Mr Wolfie]

Nice One..... Congrats.....

I hoped to do mine at the end of last week but the wx let me down. I am away on business next week, and the next 2 weekends I've got Weddings to attend, so I am slowly going mad with anticipation & frustration - I'm practicing PFL's in my sleep!!!

Mr. W

[Bootlegger]

mine took about 8 weeks to arrive....everyone said it would take about 3 weeks.....so i was more than worried.....i thought i had a hidden
police record or somethin'.............i hated explaining to the CFI why my license had not arrived....and to my family why i couldn't take them flying for so long after i'd passed my GFT....but it turned out ok......................................;)

[KCDW]

Well done! Don't know if it's the same department that does it, but it's been 4 weeks and counting, waiting for my logbook to come back with my IMC. :ugh:

[Holloway]

So its gunna take at least a couple of weeks! Im off to New York with the girlfriend on the 14th of May and wanted to have it before then but maybe it will arrive for when I get home????

Its totally a bummer that I cant take people up and im getting the family etc askin when and why I cant take them flying yet:rolleyes: Its still sinking in what I have acheived since my first flight was in August and how people do these courses in 21 dys or somthing I really dont know because I learn so much over a period of time and spenting and getting involved with the flying club. People think its just a course and when I went to the club the first day and was given all the information I honestly thought, im smart, very technical minded, I understand all the aircraft general parts because id been in to planes etc for a while with model aircraft because Ive got a plane and helecopter so I knew a lot of the foundations. Only a month into it I realised how hard I was going to have to work. Im not sure how others feel about it but me personally I had to really work hard and give a lot of time to passing all my exams. The flying side of it really wasnt a problem I did really well. I felt like I was back at school and I studied harder and worked hard than I ever did at school and sixth form! I also struggled with the RT the whole way and I did the RT oral exam the day before the skills test and I came out of there sweating and brain overload and paper with so many notes. I think it was more difficalt because it was all names and places ive never heard of and maybe thats just an excuse :O Out of all the exams I found Nav, Met, and Flight planning difficalt and of course the RT Oral

So the skills test, well to be honest I found it really relaxing and I was really confident. The Examiner is the owner of my local flying club so we had met on a few occasions so it wasnt like I was gettin into a plane on just meeting him. We took off on a sort of misty morning and traveled down near southend, then up to Thurock with a diversion to southend which I had all the wind etc planned so all I did was draw the line and work out the Track T then add the wind that I had drawn on my chart and I was off. We did a couple of PFL out in the country and stalling and steap turns etc and then headed back to Manston for some circuits and did some differnet approach's and bad weather approach's and then a PFL to finish with and I had to swing the plane right round and about 400ft to the runway and we had a X Wind and I landed it wing down and greased it on the runway. The Examiner said "You can definatly land an Aircraft" and he was definalty impressed with my landings and flying in general. I really did well on the test which I was really happy about considering all the aircraft ill be flying belong to him :D

A good tip off the subject to people doing there PPL is to do the instrument and radio nav in say a warrior if your doing your PPL in a Cessna or something because when you get your licence you will already checked out in the 4 seater so you dont need to spend three hours or so doing a change over learning the differnet switches and landing techneques etc etc and save urself some money!

Any way, glad its all done now and cant wait to get my licence back. In the mean time im learning some aerobatics so im checked out for it when my licence arrives. Ill have so much to do when it arrives ;)

TFK, heard you did some fanstops the other day and did quite well considering you hadnt practiced them before. Im Bobs first PPL student to pass :)

Best of luck with everyone on the way to there PPL, the day does come EVENTUALLY :D

[Kolibear]

My I add my hearty congratulations Holloway - it doesn't seem 5 minutes since you were first posting in here as an new student! Well done, look forward to meeting you at a fly-in. :)

The difficult bit now is staying current.

[Holloway]

Thanks Mate :)

It wont be difficalt staying current :) I got a que of people who want to go flying and the guy who owns my company will want me to take and pick him up from home fortnightly down near cheltnem :) plus im doing work for the flying club and doing them a website for them so the free hours should come in nicley :)

[TheKentishFledgling]

Yup, the fanstops were a hoot!

The last one was the funniest - the aeroplane somehow seemed to yaw through about 80 degrees just before I applied full power....I think I was glad Bob was there to "give a helping hand" ;)

How much time did you fly with Bob? I've flown with five or six of the guys, and I think I enjoy flying with the two Bob's the most.

As for the aerobatics......
You'll love em! I've done some in 'ED and also quite a few in other aircraft.

Are you going to fly the Stearman of the 152 Aerobat?

tKF

PS The new TG site looks great - certainly an improvement on the old one ;)

[Holloway]

From 7hrs on I did my whole PPL with Bob, hes a really good instructor and a really good bloke. I felt with Bob I was relaxed and could get on with the learning plus we got on on a personal level too :) Its deninitly better to stick to one instructor because you make miles more progress and he will learn ur weaknesses and help you with them. I got all my flying done before the hours and had to go over stuff again to meet the requirements. I think if I had used different instructors I would of needed more flying. But who nows and who cares im done now :ok: he he he he

Ive done some Aero's in ED a couple of weeks ago and I need one more hour to get checked out and then I can do em on me own :)

Its quite cool cause as soon as my licence comes through Ill be checked out to fly the 152, warrior, and do Aero's and also Ive done a couple of hours in the Arrow so I only need another hour in that too! My uncle has got a few pennys and I took him to le touquey in the Arrow and hes up for going places when my licence comes through the post. Just waitin nows a right git!

Andrew :)

PS Glad u like the site! looks so much better and professional, the other one was done in frontpage and the club and some others did it and it was nasty considering they were using the site in press for business! www.tgaviation.com :)

[oli carley]

i sent an e-mail to the caa to see how long it takes, they replied with a turn around time of ten days
so far its been 4 week (so much for that)
although now i got my passport back a day ago and this morning got a receipt for the check, so at least there doing something with it.

anyway, congrats mate

[Holloway]

That would really hack me off!!! I hope i dont have to wait that long. I might call them everyday till they get sick of me and send it out! :) :)

[Evo]

My licence arrived a couple of days after the invoice (which arrived two weeks after they debited by credit card!). Took 3 or 4 weeks in total.