How long a ppl in UK

[2gud2btrue]

how long will it take one to get a ppl in the UK weather permitting?
I intend to devote an average of three days in aweek.

[cessna l plate]

Hi there and welcome to the club!
Time is a very funny thing, plenty to spare, go by air!!

Reality, flying 3 times a week, given the weather in the UK you will be looking from 6 to 12 months I would think. Remember that although you might have 3 bookings a week, that will not translate into the air 3 times a week. Some weeks you will, some might get 1 trip and others none at all.

It is hard to give a figure, this is a rough guestimate based on averages. Flying once a week means a ppl in about 18 months, 6 to 12 on 3 a week seems reasonable. But we aren't all average. Some people take the first solo at less than 10 hours, the average is 15-20. I took 22 and I have heard of pilots who solo'ed at nearly 80 hours. You might be a natural born stick and rudder man and take 45 hoursto ppl, but again, the average is about 60 to pass the skills test.

Hope this helps.

[Red Top Comanche]

Weather is the killer

Good luck

Weather is the fly in the ointment (or water in the avgas).

I did mine in 12 months but I sat around for weeks sometimes with weather.

Others times I was lucky.

One of my freinds did it in a month.

What airfield.

RTC

[QDMQDMQDM]

I did mine in April 1983 in 1 month in Bournemouth. I was lucky with the weather. It took 45 hours and I am no way a natural pilot, so I think 45 hours is a reasonable time.

If anyone can't solo until 80 hours they should have given up long before. That is a heinous time to solo and implies zero aptitude.

QDM

[L'aviateur]

Originally Posted by QDMQDMQDM

If anyone can't solo until 80 hours they should have given up long before. That is a heinous time to solo and implies zero aptitude.

QDM

Or a lack of currency over short a long period of time due to commitment/met conditions.

[Shunter]

Did mine this year, took 4 months.

I started off booking 1 lesson a week, and it quickly dawned on me that in reality I was only going to be flying once a month at the most! Strategy quickly changed to booking one every day which worked. I was getting up 3 or 4 times a week.

Biggest tip is to get the exams done early.

[Whirlybird]

If anyone can't solo until 80 hours they should have given up long before. That is a heinous time to solo and implies zero aptitude.

Or lack of regular flying, as has been stated.

Or poor instruction, leading to loss of confidence and/or a need to change instructor and/or flying school.

Or problems in a particular area that aren't picked up and dealt with.

Or a school giving up on you, but taking your money, when a change of instructor or similar might sort things out.

Or....a whole host of other things I haven't experienced or heard of or thought of.

Cheers,

Whirly (48 hours to f/w first solo, 90 hours to PPL, marginally better with rotary, instructor who never gives up on slow learners since rate of learning proves bugger all)

[3 Point]

Hear Hear! Well said Whirly.

Most pilots can be got to a solo standard by a decent instructor in far less than 80 hours but, not all instructors are competant, not all students have the motivation/aptitude/finance/desire and there are many other factors.

It's nobody's place to suggest that anyone should "give up", that's hardly the spirit which developed aviation into the major industry it has become in the last 100 years!

3 Point

[Whirlybird]

It's nobody's place to suggest that anyone should "give up",

On the whole, and in the context in which we're discussing this, I would entirely agree, 3 Point. But one type of student does worry me. This is not the slow learner, far from it. It's the person with the wrong attitude, the know-it-all, the one who won't listen, who's dangerously over-confident. Such people can change, and often do....particularly once they try to hover an R22. But if they don't appear to change, I might be inclined to suggest they give up flying...I'd certainly think it anyway.

But the slow learner with the right attitude. No problem at all, except possibly for their bank manager!

[egbt]

In my case I flew on 25 days over 4 months (Apr-Jul), I found that early on more than 2 hours a day was counter productive (brain dead) especially when there was a problem. Later on 3 or perhaps 4 hours was OK but frequent breaks are needed.

Don't gauge to much on the first few hours, some people start slowly and speed up, others (like me) start quickly then hit a mental or physical block and slow down before getting the hang of something.

Doing it reasonably quickly will definitely save money and frustration having to relearn things.

[gingernut]

Good luck mate & welcome to the wonderful world of flying.

I'd say 3 lessons a week is pretty good going, I didn't focus to much on the time thing as I was in it just for the ride !

Recognise and build a network of fellow learners at an early stage- it's amazing what a bit of peer support can do.

[QDMQDMQDM]

Oh fercrhissake. Yes, yes, of course if you have a completely incompetent instructor or there is some extenuating circumstance, perhaps, but let's not get carried away with being PC here.

If a student has a reasonably competent instructor in a reasonable time frame, I don't think we should call him or her 'differently abled' or 'special needs' if they can't get to solo in 80 hours. Instead, I think we should call them 'unsuited' and advise them to stop wasting their time and money.

Not everyone can drive a car, fewer can drive a fixed-wing aircraft and fewer still can drive a helicopter. That's life.

[gingernut]

gravitationally challenged perhaps ?


nah, I think unsuited sounds far better

[Lister Noble]

Started lessons August 2005 and got licence June 2006.
3 days a week booking two slots a day.
Solo around 17 hours.
Total time 53 hours for PPL.
Was originally going for NPPL but changed over to PPL around 40 hours into course.
Quite a lot of booked time not utilised due to poor weather.
Most important to knock the exams off one after another non stop,some students wait around to finish exams before they can do skills test.
Read the books and do the quiz after each chapter.
Used the flying school tutor for an hour before each exam,well worth it!
Also www.airquiz.com is excellent value.

Age 63 ,so quite pleased with my progress for an old 'un!

Lister

[helicopter-redeye]

If you take control of the situation and manage it like a project, then 2 cal months, subject to doing it between April and start October, UK based.

h-r

[Whirlybird]

Oh fercrhissake. Yes, yes, of course if you have a completely incompetent instructor or there is some extenuating circumstance, perhaps, but let's not get carried away with being PC here.

Absolutely nothing to do with being PC. And unfortunately there are quite a lot of incompetent instructors, or ones who are unsuited to instructing anyway. There are even more who have personality clashes with their students. And how come I know quite a few people who got stuck, changed schools or instructors, and hey presto, they got through the problem? And how come I know THREE instructors who were at one point told they would never make it to PPL level, let alone further?

Not everyone can drive a car, fewer can drive a fixed-wing aircraft and fewer still can drive a helicopter. That's life.

Really? I've so far not met anyone who can't fly a helicopter. I've met some people who think they can't. I've met some who learn far slower than they'd hoped. I've met some who require great patience on the part of their instructor. But I suspect almost any fool can fly a helicopter, given enough time and a patient instructor. We rotary pilots like to keep up the myth that it's difficult, but to be honest, that's a load of codswallop.

OTOH, I've met some people who shouldn't be allowed near a car, aeroplane, or helicopter, or even a kiddy pedal car, whether they can drive them or not. But that's a different story.

[MyData]

Cessna L said

Flying once a week means a ppl in about 18 months

Which mirrors my experience. May 04 to Nov 05. At least one lesson booked at every weekend (except my hols of course). Lots and lots of cancellations due weather or aircraft availability.

If you can afford 3 lessons per week in time and money then perhaps six months is feasible.

Time of year also has a bearing on when you can have lessons due to the weather. My worst period was last August time waiting to go for my solo XC. Day after day after day of cancellations due to the hazy weather. If you read the From Zero to 45 PPL diary on here you will begin to understand just how many times things get cancelled so be prepared. On the other hand you could get very lucky and wrap things up quickly.

Whatever you do, have a great time!

[3 Point]

QDM and Whirly,

Yes, of course some take more time than others and some have the potential to do great things in a flying machine while otherrs will never get above just adequate but, it's not right to make blanket statememnts that, at a certain point people should be advised to give up.

Of course some students should be advised by their instructors that they may have limited potential but, how they proceede from that point is their decision, some enjoy being a perpetual student. Of course a good CFI will keep an eye on the progress of his students and switch them to different instructors if he thinks it's for the best.

I think we are having a heated agreement here; no two students (or instructors) are the same and the skill of an instructor or CFI is to make sure that the combinaiton is producing the best possible progress for the student.

Whirly, I hovered an R44 last week; not easy, hats off to you rotary types!

(PS, don't tell my fixed wing buddies I said that!)

3 Point

[foxmoth]

Some people seem to gave got hold of 3 lessons a week, 2gud2btrue said 3 days a week which can translate into about 9 hours a week (any more will be very tiring), given the weather (unlikely I know, but possible) this means that you are looking at 5 weeks if you manage it in the minimum number of hours. Whilst many take more than minimum, much of this can be caused by lack of continuity so 45 hours/5 weeks is not too unreasonable given average ability.

[neilcharlton]

where do you people get the time to go flying so much! i work full time finish work at 6. on the weekend i'm lucky to fit in a lesson on saturday and sunday and do my washing, shopping pay bills go to the gym etc.
maybe i'm just cr@ p at time management ! haha