PPL materials packages
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PPL materials packages
Hi All,
I'm about to start my PPL, and am looking at buying one of the "complete PPL packs" from either Transair or AFE. The transair one has the Trevor Thom books & CAP413 with the CRP-1, the AFE one has the Pratt books & the AFE flight computer.
What are your opinions on these 2 sets? Which do you think is the best deal?
I'm about to start my PPL, and am looking at buying one of the "complete PPL packs" from either Transair or AFE. The transair one has the Trevor Thom books & CAP413 with the CRP-1, the AFE one has the Pratt books & the AFE flight computer.
What are your opinions on these 2 sets? Which do you think is the best deal?
Why do it if it's not fun?
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Rob,
Don't bother. To pick on the Transair one:
FFF
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Don't bother. To pick on the Transair one:
- It includes a CRP-1. Don't know if you have any intention of going on to commercial flying, but if you do, you'll want a CRP-5, not a CRP-1.
- It includes a 16" ruler and square protractor. There are a variety of different rulers and protractors out there, you might find you prefer a different one. I have a very nifty rectangular ruler/protractor that I like to use - just my personal preference
- It includes a kneedboard. This is something where personal preference is very important - we have had whole threads discussing which kneeboard people like to use. I seem to remember that someone - Genghis, possibly - has five different ones for different types of aircraft! Get your instructor to show you several once you get to the stage where you need one, and decide which one you like the best
- The pack includes a chart. The South of England charts are due to be updated soon... if you buy the pack now, you may find the chart is out of date before you get to the stage in your training when you need it
- The Chart Marker Set with Eraser - another area for personal preference. I like to use permanent markers on my chart, lots of other people prefer chinograph pencils
- Pilots Log Book - many schools will include this in the price of the "starter pack"
- Flight bag - yet another personal preference item. Once you near the end of your training, and you've bought everything that you're going to need to carry with you, you will be able to pick a flight back which you like, and which will contain all of your material. Most flight bags will be far too big for the limited amount of stuff you'll carry at the start of your course... and how much stuff you have at the end of your course will depend on how many gadgets you've bought along the way, which flight guides you use, etc, etc, etc.
FFF
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I agree with FFF. I bought the Trans Air starter pack and have now replaced nearly everything...except the ruler and protractor.
Once you need to start carying two headsets, a Pooleys manual, a hi-viz or two the bag gets too small as well.
However, this is a bit of a chicken and egg situation. You need the kit to do your solos and navigation flights, only when you have done these flights will have start to have a meaningful opinion on what equipment you would prefer to use!!
Once you need to start carying two headsets, a Pooleys manual, a hi-viz or two the bag gets too small as well.
However, this is a bit of a chicken and egg situation. You need the kit to do your solos and navigation flights, only when you have done these flights will have start to have a meaningful opinion on what equipment you would prefer to use!!
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Thanks for the response, chaps.
What then would be the things I need to buy straight away? Obviously the books (I want to get a head start on the theory), but will I need the protractor and flight computer before I've finished doing circuits and start nav training?
Also, do certain schools tend to do their syllabus by certain books, or is that down to the individual?
What then would be the things I need to buy straight away? Obviously the books (I want to get a head start on the theory), but will I need the protractor and flight computer before I've finished doing circuits and start nav training?
Also, do certain schools tend to do their syllabus by certain books, or is that down to the individual?
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Rob,
I would personally advise buying the equipment in stages, and buying it, as you will need it. Things to save till later on in your training include a kneeboard, an aircraft checklist, a logbook and a headset (in fact, I didn’t buy a headset until I’d actually passed my PPL!)
If you cannot wait to buy at least some of the goodies on offer, then I would suggest starting off with buying a 1:500000 chart covering the area in which you will be training (there are three areas to choose from). Study everything on the chart – noting the airspace around your chosen training establishment. Look for any nearby controlled airspace, and attempt to fathom out how it all works. Buy some china-graph pencils or marker pens so that you can write on your chart. You will need to draw lines on your chart when you begin your navigation studying – and if you have already bought the books as a precursor to flight training – then you can get on with this straight away.
I would personally advise buying the equipment in stages, and buying it, as you will need it. Things to save till later on in your training include a kneeboard, an aircraft checklist, a logbook and a headset (in fact, I didn’t buy a headset until I’d actually passed my PPL!)
If you cannot wait to buy at least some of the goodies on offer, then I would suggest starting off with buying a 1:500000 chart covering the area in which you will be training (there are three areas to choose from). Study everything on the chart – noting the airspace around your chosen training establishment. Look for any nearby controlled airspace, and attempt to fathom out how it all works. Buy some china-graph pencils or marker pens so that you can write on your chart. You will need to draw lines on your chart when you begin your navigation studying – and if you have already bought the books as a precursor to flight training – then you can get on with this straight away.
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I disagree. The packs provide everything you need, and offer a substantial saving. You probably save enough to make up for the fact that you may well end up replacing some of the stuff. But at least you'll have all you need, and at the start you can't possibly know what sort of kneeboard etc you'll end up preferring. And if/when you replace stuff, sell the old ones on Ebay, and you'll get good prices for them.
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As Whirly says there is all manner of PPL equipment and study material on eBay.
I would come at it from another angle though - rather than buy a complete package and then eventually sell off all the bits you don't need or like on eBay, buy the stuff second-hand on eBay in the first place.
There are always a few Thom books, kneeboards, CRP-1's for sale.
Thom books that are an edition or two out of date often go for very little, but (with the exception of the Air Law where you need a fairly current JAR updated book) the content is no different.
Mr. W
I would come at it from another angle though - rather than buy a complete package and then eventually sell off all the bits you don't need or like on eBay, buy the stuff second-hand on eBay in the first place.
There are always a few Thom books, kneeboards, CRP-1's for sale.
Thom books that are an edition or two out of date often go for very little, but (with the exception of the Air Law where you need a fairly current JAR updated book) the content is no different.
Mr. W
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If you do go for a pack, I don't think you can go wrong with a CRP-1 and Trevor Thom. A lot of schools have these and most instructors are familiar with the contents.
However, if you do buy stuff piecemeal, all of the mailorder businesses are v. quick with delivery (Pooleys, Transair, AFE, Flight Equipment etc etc). Check the saving made, it may not be worthwhile to buy everything in one go and use up "capital" but, then again, costs of postage may be such that by buying bit by bit you'd pay more but spread over a length of time.
Personally, I did it piecemeal since I could only study one subject at a time and, as I spoke to other pilots and students, they had different and valuable opinions on some other books that were not Thom or Pratt.
'sup to you but I like shopping even if it is from a catalogue
Cheers
Whirlygig
However, if you do buy stuff piecemeal, all of the mailorder businesses are v. quick with delivery (Pooleys, Transair, AFE, Flight Equipment etc etc). Check the saving made, it may not be worthwhile to buy everything in one go and use up "capital" but, then again, costs of postage may be such that by buying bit by bit you'd pay more but spread over a length of time.
Personally, I did it piecemeal since I could only study one subject at a time and, as I spoke to other pilots and students, they had different and valuable opinions on some other books that were not Thom or Pratt.
'sup to you but I like shopping even if it is from a catalogue
Cheers
Whirlygig
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Hi Rob,
After a recent visit to a local Waterstones to buy a book (what else!) I stumbled across the aviation section which to my delight stocked the full range of Trevor Thom books. I don't actually need any but nonetheless its nice to see them being sold in a high street shop.
Personally I'd recommend buying bit by bit. The mail order companies stock most items and are normally delivered to your door within one or two days max even on the cheapest delivery option.
If you are going to go commercial then you'd probably be better off getting the CRP-5 as that has a few additional functions that aren't present on CRP-1. The CRP-5 is also bigger and therefore easier to read than its smaller cousin.
When I started I bought a normal ruler and protractor. Now I use a ruler with a rotating protractor attached to it. So much quicker for flight planning on the chart.
Kneeboards... A4 are great for IFR and long VFR cross countries. I use one of these for flying in the Warrior etc. But for bimbling around the local area or even cross countries in the Pup I use the folding A5 kneeboard. The A4 one gets in the way of the stick when the board is flat on my lap... the A5 one is perfect and has a band which you put around your leg to stop it falling off when doing aerobatics or tossed around in turbulence...
The packs are pretty good value for money but the logbook will probably be redundant until you fill your first one up, the CRP-1 may need to be upgraded, the chart maybe out of date when you use it (as someone else has already mentioned). But it does come with a nifty bag which will hold all of your equipment bits and bobs in.
One thing I would seriously recommend you buy though is your own headset. Try a few out first and see which one you prefer. Having your own with nice cloth ear covers to protect the seals sticking to your head does wonders for the concentration level that you can obtain in the aeroplane.
Best wishes,
Charlie Zulu.
After a recent visit to a local Waterstones to buy a book (what else!) I stumbled across the aviation section which to my delight stocked the full range of Trevor Thom books. I don't actually need any but nonetheless its nice to see them being sold in a high street shop.
Personally I'd recommend buying bit by bit. The mail order companies stock most items and are normally delivered to your door within one or two days max even on the cheapest delivery option.
If you are going to go commercial then you'd probably be better off getting the CRP-5 as that has a few additional functions that aren't present on CRP-1. The CRP-5 is also bigger and therefore easier to read than its smaller cousin.
When I started I bought a normal ruler and protractor. Now I use a ruler with a rotating protractor attached to it. So much quicker for flight planning on the chart.
Kneeboards... A4 are great for IFR and long VFR cross countries. I use one of these for flying in the Warrior etc. But for bimbling around the local area or even cross countries in the Pup I use the folding A5 kneeboard. The A4 one gets in the way of the stick when the board is flat on my lap... the A5 one is perfect and has a band which you put around your leg to stop it falling off when doing aerobatics or tossed around in turbulence...
The packs are pretty good value for money but the logbook will probably be redundant until you fill your first one up, the CRP-1 may need to be upgraded, the chart maybe out of date when you use it (as someone else has already mentioned). But it does come with a nifty bag which will hold all of your equipment bits and bobs in.
One thing I would seriously recommend you buy though is your own headset. Try a few out first and see which one you prefer. Having your own with nice cloth ear covers to protect the seals sticking to your head does wonders for the concentration level that you can obtain in the aeroplane.
Best wishes,
Charlie Zulu.
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A few points from my experience.
Firstly, go with the Trvor Thom books. I have volume one (ppl course) and the detail is superb. Nothing is missed out. I got this as part of an intro pack from my school.
Then I went and did something silly, and bought the rest of the course manuals in Jeremy Pratt. Don't get me wrong, he does explain things well, but appears to concentrate on humour rarther than a complete explanation of the topic. Come the day of your air law exam you will go through it thinking... now where was that in the book? I did.
For example, one of my air law questions was about what material should the aircraft id plate be made of? (something like that). The correct answer is fireproof metal. I couldn't find any reference to that in a Pratt book, and only knew the answer from working in a related industry.
As for the all together packs, they do show a good cost saving against buying it all seperate, but then again, it is a chunk of money all at one go, money that could be spent in the air. I have been learning for a year now ( just gone first solo) and have only just bought the nav tools.
I would recommend that first of all, you buy Thom Vol1, a headset (Pratt does say that there are several hundred ear related infections available from a shared headset), a knee board and paper, a good pair of sunglasses, and an air law book. That will do you until you are getting somewhere near first solo. Remember that that wont happen over night, the average is 15 hours so I'm told, I took 22 as I was weathered off a lot of lessons in November and December, and had to get the hang of it again!
Save the rest of your money to either go flying with, or to pay the rarther large doctors fee for your medical. Set yourself a goal ( mine was first solo) and take it from there. New editions of books come out every year, so all the complete set I bought last year are now probably out of date. I will get by as I have done air law, but I do wish that I had waited until I needed each one.
And finally, on topic of ground exams, don't forget that there are time limits for taking the exams, so don't be in a rush to take them, wait until your instructor tells you that you are nearly ready for solo until you start with air law. Nothing wrong in reading up on the topic, that would be sensible, but a bit like pringles, once you start, you can't stop!
All that negativity aside, this is a great pastime, and the feeling associated with it are wonderful. I wouldn't do anthing else!!!
One last piece of advice, I have book at home that I bought years ago, called "the funny side of Flying" by a great pilot and writer called Alan Bramson, it is a book of jokes and observations and indeed is very funny. In one part there is a statement that I always take into the air with me " even amateur pilots have to act like professionals, if they want to grow grey hair"
Good luck!
Firstly, go with the Trvor Thom books. I have volume one (ppl course) and the detail is superb. Nothing is missed out. I got this as part of an intro pack from my school.
Then I went and did something silly, and bought the rest of the course manuals in Jeremy Pratt. Don't get me wrong, he does explain things well, but appears to concentrate on humour rarther than a complete explanation of the topic. Come the day of your air law exam you will go through it thinking... now where was that in the book? I did.
For example, one of my air law questions was about what material should the aircraft id plate be made of? (something like that). The correct answer is fireproof metal. I couldn't find any reference to that in a Pratt book, and only knew the answer from working in a related industry.
As for the all together packs, they do show a good cost saving against buying it all seperate, but then again, it is a chunk of money all at one go, money that could be spent in the air. I have been learning for a year now ( just gone first solo) and have only just bought the nav tools.
I would recommend that first of all, you buy Thom Vol1, a headset (Pratt does say that there are several hundred ear related infections available from a shared headset), a knee board and paper, a good pair of sunglasses, and an air law book. That will do you until you are getting somewhere near first solo. Remember that that wont happen over night, the average is 15 hours so I'm told, I took 22 as I was weathered off a lot of lessons in November and December, and had to get the hang of it again!
Save the rest of your money to either go flying with, or to pay the rarther large doctors fee for your medical. Set yourself a goal ( mine was first solo) and take it from there. New editions of books come out every year, so all the complete set I bought last year are now probably out of date. I will get by as I have done air law, but I do wish that I had waited until I needed each one.
And finally, on topic of ground exams, don't forget that there are time limits for taking the exams, so don't be in a rush to take them, wait until your instructor tells you that you are nearly ready for solo until you start with air law. Nothing wrong in reading up on the topic, that would be sensible, but a bit like pringles, once you start, you can't stop!
All that negativity aside, this is a great pastime, and the feeling associated with it are wonderful. I wouldn't do anthing else!!!
One last piece of advice, I have book at home that I bought years ago, called "the funny side of Flying" by a great pilot and writer called Alan Bramson, it is a book of jokes and observations and indeed is very funny. In one part there is a statement that I always take into the air with me " even amateur pilots have to act like professionals, if they want to grow grey hair"
Good luck!
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Really it isn't worth the srtess. Two hundred quid vs agonising about the details. Although I think that you will end up replacing everthing, seeing how complex the advice in this thread is getting you are better off just getting the pack getting going
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If you do decide to go for a kit there is one on eBay for £150. As new apparently.
Complete PPL Study Kit
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HaM
Complete PPL Study Kit
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HaM
Guilty as charged, at-least 5 different kneeboards, and three different headsets, depending upon what I'm flying. For that matter, 3 different flight computers, several rulers, a couple of stopwatches - it's amazing how these things accumulate.
Not sure personally I'd recommend buying anything straight off, except a local 1:500,000 chart (personally I prefer the Jeppesen charts, but virtually all schools use the CAA chart so that's what you should probably go for) and a logbook.
Headsets are expensive, if the school has decent ones spend a fiver on a couple of cloth earpiece covers - they will help your general level of comfort and hygiene. If the school ones are truly awful then the reasonably inexpensive Harry Mendelsson HM40 sets are good enough for most purposes and match virtually anything else in the other seat.
Textbooks, protractor, computer, ruler, etc. Your school or instructor will have their preferences - go with those. If the school on the other hand tries to sell you a complete set, I'd buy it - since presumably their teaching is based around that set of bits.
And don't let anybody sell you an expensive flight bag. For starters a Tesco carrier bag works fine, and after that even most professionals are using something that cost £20 from Argos.
Well that's my opinion anyway.
G
Not sure personally I'd recommend buying anything straight off, except a local 1:500,000 chart (personally I prefer the Jeppesen charts, but virtually all schools use the CAA chart so that's what you should probably go for) and a logbook.
Headsets are expensive, if the school has decent ones spend a fiver on a couple of cloth earpiece covers - they will help your general level of comfort and hygiene. If the school ones are truly awful then the reasonably inexpensive Harry Mendelsson HM40 sets are good enough for most purposes and match virtually anything else in the other seat.
Textbooks, protractor, computer, ruler, etc. Your school or instructor will have their preferences - go with those. If the school on the other hand tries to sell you a complete set, I'd buy it - since presumably their teaching is based around that set of bits.
And don't let anybody sell you an expensive flight bag. For starters a Tesco carrier bag works fine, and after that even most professionals are using something that cost £20 from Argos.
Well that's my opinion anyway.
G
Spoon PPRuNerist & Mad Inistrator
Have to agree with Whirlybird - just buy the kit!
FFF makes a good point about the chart, tho. The SE England chart is replaced about mid-March, you can check the others on the CAA website.
You can never have enough bags - I have a case (bought in a sale) for all my flying thing, and was given another bag that I use for passenger's kit (2nd headset, "lunchbags" and hi-viz) that gets left in the car if I'm flying alone or with another pilot.
16" ruler is very useful for flight planning on the ground, but get a shorter one (8"?) for flying, it's less prone to get in the way!
Enjoy your flying!
SD
FFF makes a good point about the chart, tho. The SE England chart is replaced about mid-March, you can check the others on the CAA website.
You can never have enough bags - I have a case (bought in a sale) for all my flying thing, and was given another bag that I use for passenger's kit (2nd headset, "lunchbags" and hi-viz) that gets left in the car if I'm flying alone or with another pilot.
16" ruler is very useful for flight planning on the ground, but get a shorter one (8"?) for flying, it's less prone to get in the way!
Enjoy your flying!
SD
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Do not buy Thom books assuming they will sort out your learning phase. They are the definitive reference for the PPL but for learning I'd favour Pratt.
Rather than feel obliged to buy a whole set of one or the other, decide your first topic, buy both, then decide what suits you. They are very different. I won't chuck my Thoms, but it was one or two Pratts that really helped my basic understanding.
Rather than feel obliged to buy a whole set of one or the other, decide your first topic, buy both, then decide what suits you. They are very different. I won't chuck my Thoms, but it was one or two Pratts that really helped my basic understanding.
We all know that one of the best things about flying is all the kit you get to have and all the gadgets available but it probably is best not to be in too much of a hurry.
If you're after saving money (after all, money saved is money you can spend burning holes in the sky) then I'd go for eBay. You should probably buy it bit by bit however if you buy everything your heart desires on Ebay you'll still have paid a third of the price you'd have paid to any of the companies mentioned (probably a quarter of what you'd have spent at one or two of them).
That's my theory anyway, put forward in full knowledge of the fact that if you try to save money in aviation you'll end up spending three times the number you first thought of.
Good luck.
If you're after saving money (after all, money saved is money you can spend burning holes in the sky) then I'd go for eBay. You should probably buy it bit by bit however if you buy everything your heart desires on Ebay you'll still have paid a third of the price you'd have paid to any of the companies mentioned (probably a quarter of what you'd have spent at one or two of them).
That's my theory anyway, put forward in full knowledge of the fact that if you try to save money in aviation you'll end up spending three times the number you first thought of.
Good luck.
