how long to do ppl?
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Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: nz/aus
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how long to do ppl?
Hi all,
Just wondering how long it would take to do a ppl in australia full time? And could anyone recommend a good school in SE queensland?
thank you.
Just wondering how long it would take to do a ppl in australia full time? And could anyone recommend a good school in SE queensland?
thank you.
3 weeks? 
I would have said 4 - depends very much on the student.
I am thinking Cam is coming from overseas?
You will need to get your ARN, Australian Class 2 Medical and Student Pilot Licence sorted out and in your hand before you make any bookings.
Security checks for foreign citizens can take 6-8 weeks minimum
You would also need to get the Australian textbooks and have your theory all sorted out before you arrive, ready to do the exams.
Finally, you will need to do 2 flights/day for the first 2 weeks and 4 hours/day for the last week, which requires a bit of stamina.
Once you are over 30 it becomes a little harder to learn large volumes of new material and retain it. Once you are over 50 it becomes much harder.
So... over to you. How long do YOU think it will take?
...oh btw I can't recommend a school in SEQ but I can in Country NSW
I would have said 4 - depends very much on the student.
I am thinking Cam is coming from overseas?
You will need to get your ARN, Australian Class 2 Medical and Student Pilot Licence sorted out and in your hand before you make any bookings.
Security checks for foreign citizens can take 6-8 weeks minimum
You would also need to get the Australian textbooks and have your theory all sorted out before you arrive, ready to do the exams.
Finally, you will need to do 2 flights/day for the first 2 weeks and 4 hours/day for the last week, which requires a bit of stamina.
Once you are over 30 it becomes a little harder to learn large volumes of new material and retain it. Once you are over 50 it becomes much harder.
So... over to you. How long do YOU think it will take?
...oh btw I can't recommend a school in SEQ but I can in Country NSW
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Thanks guys. 
I am australian but have lived in nz for a few years. but I think I am better of doing it back home.... I really have no idea on how long it would take, I have from feb till end of may off and was thinking of doing it then but wasn't sure if that would have been long enough. I will research a few places I guess and go from there. thank you again for the help.
I am australian but have lived in nz for a few years. but I think I am better of doing it back home.... I really have no idea on how long it would take, I have from feb till end of may off and was thinking of doing it then but wasn't sure if that would have been long enough. I will research a few places I guess and go from there. thank you again for the help.
Full-time (if you are deadly serious) is 6 days per week at the flying school, from opening till 4 or 5 pm, then going home to prepare for your flight(s) tomorrow and/or the nex quiz or exam.
Surprised no one has mentioned "weather permitting". It took me thirteen (yes 1-3) attempts at doing my last solo nav so I could do my PPL flight test all due WX.
Obviously that was probably an extreme scenario, but does happen.
Obviously that was probably an extreme scenario, but does happen.
.. Working full time, paying a mortgage, getting married, honeymoon etc... oh yeah and weather
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It depends on your commitment, the availability of Aircraft (& instructors) at your chosen flight training school or aeroclub, and if you're self-funded (no HACS or Student Loan scheme) the size of your wallet... plus all the paper work that was mentioned previously...
Best to ask around at the flying schools & aeroclubs to see what types of responses you get, but make sure they answer all the questions, many will promise you that you'll get it done in no time, but in many cases people are still there weeks or months later due to the weather being awful, instructors too busy or planes unavailable because there are too many students or because the planes are in and out of maintenance.
If you're in NZ, have a look at NZ as well as Australia and see how timings & price compare, and when you hear the stories of people who went from the flight training school to a B747 within 3 years, be very cautious.
Unfortunately going from NZ PPL to Aussie PPL isn't just an exercise in paperwork, but you'll find more about that on the CAA or CASA websites.
Good luck & PM me if you want to find out more about some of the options in NZ.
Best to ask around at the flying schools & aeroclubs to see what types of responses you get, but make sure they answer all the questions, many will promise you that you'll get it done in no time, but in many cases people are still there weeks or months later due to the weather being awful, instructors too busy or planes unavailable because there are too many students or because the planes are in and out of maintenance.
If you're in NZ, have a look at NZ as well as Australia and see how timings & price compare, and when you hear the stories of people who went from the flight training school to a B747 within 3 years, be very cautious.
Unfortunately going from NZ PPL to Aussie PPL isn't just an exercise in paperwork, but you'll find more about that on the CAA or CASA websites.
Good luck & PM me if you want to find out more about some of the options in NZ.
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Up to GFPT: Around 4 months of flying 1 day every weekend with the occasional skipped week due to weather. Each day consisted of two flights. Total 28 flights, 26.8 hours VDO time (probably around 23 actual "flying" due to engine runups and taxi/takeoff delays. Tme includes the GFPT flight test.
GFPT - PPL: This is where you get a check flight typically in a better aircraf then learn how to navigate/flight plan. 12 flights, 20.7 hours, typically one a weekend with a 6 week overseas holiday break. Time includes the PPL test. Completed this in 4.5 months.
So all up just over 47.5 hrs.(of these, 11 hrs command - i.e. solo) in 8 months.
You can probably do it in less if you compress the timeframe or typically more if you have bigger breaks in between flying.
Most other pilots learning to fly along the same length had around 50-55 hours before PPL so don't bargain on the minimum no matter what the flight school tries to convince you.
Lastly, learning out of a busy airport is not a bad thing. Makes you pay attention! It will cost you extra in taxi time, waiting in line to take off and landing fees.
GFPT - PPL: This is where you get a check flight typically in a better aircraf then learn how to navigate/flight plan. 12 flights, 20.7 hours, typically one a weekend with a 6 week overseas holiday break. Time includes the PPL test. Completed this in 4.5 months.
So all up just over 47.5 hrs.(of these, 11 hrs command - i.e. solo) in 8 months.
You can probably do it in less if you compress the timeframe or typically more if you have bigger breaks in between flying.
Most other pilots learning to fly along the same length had around 50-55 hours before PPL so don't bargain on the minimum no matter what the flight school tries to convince you.
Lastly, learning out of a busy airport is not a bad thing. Makes you pay attention! It will cost you extra in taxi time, waiting in line to take off and landing fees.
Gold watch PPL
It took me ages due to running out of money, personal setbacks and weather. I am not even gonna tell how many hours!
But my instructor(s) pointed out that every hour was a "good hour" in terms of general experience. It was also pointed out that the 3 week wonders sometimes used the same runway for the whole 3 weeks, if the weather was stable. In other words, a 3 week PPL really needs to quickly widen his/her experience.
But my instructor(s) pointed out that every hour was a "good hour" in terms of general experience. It was also pointed out that the 3 week wonders sometimes used the same runway for the whole 3 weeks, if the weather was stable. In other words, a 3 week PPL really needs to quickly widen his/her experience.
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Best thing you can do after a PPL is to go flying to the other side of the country.
You learn so much more this way (new airports, runways, windsocks (or lack of them)), different airspace etc.
If I had my time again I would actually hire an instructor to do this for my navigation exercises - i.e. go to the other side of the country and back in several days. Your brain will be fried and the AVGAS will cost more in the remote locations but the experience you get is worth it.
Take spare spark plugs, oil, aviation spark plug socket plus anything else likely to fail too (eg. rudder springs) and carefully plan with the aircraft operator regarding the maintenance release (50 hourly +- 5 hr oil change etc.) well before you go. And be flexible on weather (Nullabor Plain above Eyre Highway at 500ft isn't much fun... and watch fuel burn). So many lessons in such a short time!
You learn so much more this way (new airports, runways, windsocks (or lack of them)), different airspace etc.
If I had my time again I would actually hire an instructor to do this for my navigation exercises - i.e. go to the other side of the country and back in several days. Your brain will be fried and the AVGAS will cost more in the remote locations but the experience you get is worth it.
Take spare spark plugs, oil, aviation spark plug socket plus anything else likely to fail too (eg. rudder springs) and carefully plan with the aircraft operator regarding the maintenance release (50 hourly +- 5 hr oil change etc.) well before you go. And be flexible on weather (Nullabor Plain above Eyre Highway at 500ft isn't much fun... and watch fuel burn). So many lessons in such a short time!
