Warnervale (Central Coast Aero Club)
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Warnervale (Central Coast Aero Club)
I live on the Central Coast and am about to undertake the quest for my PPL. Warnervale aerodrome is a closeby (and quiet) place and would like to hear any comments (good, bad and the ugly) about the flying school or the aerodrome in general. I would really prefer to not have to travel to Sydney or Maitland.
Cheers
BigDaddyDave
Cheers
BigDaddyDave
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Dont know much about Warnervale but I have a mate who got his PPL there and he now flies there on a semi-regular basis. He seemed to indicate that it was a OK flying school (and by that I mean nothing special, not great but not bad either). I am assuming that you have been in and talked to the people at the airport. I think your best bet to start off with is to go around to the different airports (bankstown, warnervale, maitland, cessnock) if you havent already and see for yourself what you think of the facilities. HVA at Cessnock is owned by Basair which is a good flying school with a good reputation (its very clear however that they are orientated towards getting your money. they wont credit you with any hours if you go to them after having done training elsewhere for various reasons, bs! the examples go on and on....). Royal Newcastle Aero Club at Maitland has a long history and has good facilities. Their training is excellent (Russ Evans is closely tied to the club). The only downfall is that they are a bit unorganised, however; the general manager changed a while ago and now its running a lot better. I heard through the grapevine also that they were looking at changing a building there into accomodation, so it would be possible for you to go up for the weekend or days at a time and train rather than drive up for a lesson. I dont know much about the training facilities at Bankstown, they seem to change so rapidly. Clamback and Hennesey would be good, they are good operators although I can only tell you that from reputation. I couldnt tell you anything else about the other schools at Bankstown though. To be completely honest, I would give Royal Newcastle a go. I hope this has helped you anyway, good luck with your flying!
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Warnervale
Go to Warnervale, their a good bunch of operators, Wayne the CFI is hard but fair and as an Instructor from another flying school at Bankstown I have found them to be quite professional. You can normally judge the Instructors from the CFI. Why travel to Maitland or Cessnock when you have a good school on your doorstep.
A.H.
A.H.
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ok..having done some more research, it appears that Cooranbong is actually the Avondale Aviation School (part of Avondale College). I am visiting them on Friday so will see what they offer.
Thanks to all for your advice.
Thanks to all for your advice.
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Hi, I am learning to fly at Avondale School of Aviation. I have done 15 hours so far with them. I have found them to be very professional and well organised. I always get called if the weather is unsuitable or if my trianer will be delayed which is rare. I have also completed a 12 week PPL theory course with them that was extremely thourough and well delivered.
In summary I am very happy to recommend them highly
regards
John Waring
In summary I am very happy to recommend them highly
regards
John Waring
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Cooranbong is alright as long - as you dont want to fly on saturdays. I've visited most of those places. Warnervale always strikes as quite professional and well organised. Would agree with Comments re RNAC and Cessnock. I would avoid BK at all costs (which are quite high and will not improve whilst Airservices and Bankstown Airport Ltd continue to talk twaddle on their apparent mission to destroy the industry.) Stick with the locals. that's probably where the future is for the industry as a whole.
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Cooranbong
if you want to do ur training in a decent environment dont choose either cooranbong or warnervale. they both suck. the facilities are crap and so are the planes. yes in sydney u may pay a little more but u have more exposure to controlled airspace and greater amounts of taffic. i have trained at both of these institutions and believe that they have thouroughly f**ked up my training so i went to sydney its only an hour
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Have flown with both organisation as well.
Did not "
" up my training, Both were good to deal with. At Cooranbong planes may not be the newest on the block but are well maintained (lame there to sort out any issues) Its up to the student to make their training work, where ever they are any idiot can pay a fortune to be hand fed during their training. If you show some initiative Cooranbong is a great place to learn and is not like the factory YSBK can sometimes be.
Did not "
" up my training, Both were good to deal with. At Cooranbong planes may not be the newest on the block but are well maintained (lame there to sort out any issues) Its up to the student to make their training work, where ever they are any idiot can pay a fortune to be hand fed during their training. If you show some initiative Cooranbong is a great place to learn and is not like the factory YSBK can sometimes be.
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What's the go...
Hey all,
Firstly Cooranbong is not closing down yet. Although talks are in the process. As for Cooranbong sucks, it all depends on how much effort you put in. Pull your head out and stick to the game plan and youll find things will work out. Anyone can hand you a PPL, but its another thing to be made to deserve it. Just being a plane lazy arsed pilot will make any flight school . Be persistent and stuff will get done right. Take it from me i was in the situation. I totaly agree with 152 passenger, and i think you'll find he agrees with me.
In a nutshell, pull your head out and stop about, and take responsibility.
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Inverted water landing in a 152, crazy!!!
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Firstly Cooranbong is not closing down yet. Although talks are in the process. As for Cooranbong sucks, it all depends on how much effort you put in. Pull your head out and stick to the game plan and youll find things will work out. Anyone can hand you a PPL, but its another thing to be made to deserve it. Just being a plane lazy arsed pilot will make any flight school
. Be persistent and stuff will get done right. Take it from me i was in the situation. I totaly agree with 152 passenger, and i think you'll find he agrees with me.In a nutshell, pull your head out and stop
about, and take responsibility.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Inverted water landing in a 152, crazy!!!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
closing
Invalesco,
Your comment"although talks are in progress" implies a threat to Coorinbong and with the previous comments by I think Counciller Bell regarding his wish to sell Warnervale this is a considerable threat to GA in the area.
Does anyone know anything?
Your comment"although talks are in progress" implies a threat to Coorinbong and with the previous comments by I think Counciller Bell regarding his wish to sell Warnervale this is a considerable threat to GA in the area.
Does anyone know anything?
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Talking...
Yes talks are in the progress about shutting down cooranbog but as far as i know the talks do not involve the local council (LMCC).
It is the church (Seventh Day Adventist) whom owns the aerodrome and are talking to sell / close the aerodrome due to financial difficulties (as Avondale College, Avondale College School of Aviation, Corranbong Aerodrome and the Seventh Day Adventist are all related).
This is my knowledge if anyone knows any better or anything new let me and us know.
It is the church (Seventh Day Adventist) whom owns the aerodrome and are talking to sell / close the aerodrome due to financial difficulties (as Avondale College, Avondale College School of Aviation, Corranbong Aerodrome and the Seventh Day Adventist are all related).
This is my knowledge if anyone knows any better or anything new let me and us know.
Avondale College has been threatening the school of aviation with closure for a while now. At first it was because the aerodrome was struggling to make a profit (they have been ripped off a few times by students who didn't pay their debts). Now it seems to be because the sale of the land would net them something like $10 million in profit.
As far as I know the college has a... I forget exactly what it's called... an investigation notice or something... in with LMCC, so that the council can assess whether the area would be ok to rezone and therefore let the college subdivide and sell. That's the last I heard and that was almost 12 months ago. We are fighting to keep the aerodrome open though, if anyone knows the area then they would also know that 1. the infrastructure for so many new blocks of land just isn't here and 2. the aerodrome is a big part of the local community.
OK that's my soapbox
BigDaddyDave check your PM's means check your private messages. Right under the PPrune logo at the top of the page there is a link called 'user cp' click on that.
As far as I know the college has a... I forget exactly what it's called... an investigation notice or something... in with LMCC, so that the council can assess whether the area would be ok to rezone and therefore let the college subdivide and sell. That's the last I heard and that was almost 12 months ago. We are fighting to keep the aerodrome open though, if anyone knows the area then they would also know that 1. the infrastructure for so many new blocks of land just isn't here and 2. the aerodrome is a big part of the local community.
OK that's my soapbox
BigDaddyDave check your PM's means check your private messages. Right under the PPrune logo at the top of the page there is a link called 'user cp' click on that.
aerodrome closure
I would guess with the ownership of a church they may have a differing sense of prioroties than aviators.
Again this is a private asset rather than public and so you cannot blame them if funds are stretched.
However Warnervale is owned by the council and therefore more "public" and there should be a plot to warn councillers that they may not be re-elected if sufficient support can be gained from the community.
Open space is important for drainage, wildlife etc and traffic considerations etc.
These thoughts of closure should be stopped at an early level or we will get to the stage as is in Sydney of monopoly and exclusion by price.
Again this is a private asset rather than public and so you cannot blame them if funds are stretched.
However Warnervale is owned by the council and therefore more "public" and there should be a plot to warn councillers that they may not be re-elected if sufficient support can be gained from the community.
Open space is important for drainage, wildlife etc and traffic considerations etc.
These thoughts of closure should be stopped at an early level or we will get to the stage as is in Sydney of monopoly and exclusion by price.
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Warnervale
Hi All,
Thanks for the 'interesting' feedback.
Well I chose Warnervale and have logged 7 hrs to date.
The guys are friendly and professional. The aircraft may be a bit long in the tooth, but they are well maintained and besides..at the moment I am just so excited to be doing it, I pay no attention to the age (of course I do pay attention to fuel, oil, etc, etc :-)
So far, I have no regrets about choosing Warnervale. My instructor (Andrew) is very good and a good instructor. My training is progressing well and as its been said above...its what you put into your training that determines what you get out of it!
cheers
Dave
Thanks for the 'interesting' feedback.
Well I chose Warnervale and have logged 7 hrs to date.
The guys are friendly and professional. The aircraft may be a bit long in the tooth, but they are well maintained and besides..at the moment I am just so excited to be doing it, I pay no attention to the age (of course I do pay attention to fuel, oil, etc, etc :-)
So far, I have no regrets about choosing Warnervale. My instructor (Andrew) is very good and a good instructor. My training is progressing well and as its been said above...its what you put into your training that determines what you get out of it!
cheers
Dave
