6 weeks enough for PPL

[cityjet]

Hi Eveyone,

I'm finally going to be finishing my PPL next year. I really am just an amateur i only have 5 flying hours under my belt at the moment. I am going to take 6 weeks off in the month of May / June and complete my PPL. Is that enough time? Im not sure how many more flying hours i might do before now and then. My schedule is very hectic, i assume it would make sense to do the theory before i leave???
Is the weather in Florida ok during the month of May / June?
One final question, where would you recommend to do the training. Everyone gives such different options of training methods and approaches and of for sure which school you should go to.
A constructive option would be great!

Thanks all


Frank

[Mercenary Pilot]

Six weeks should be fine but I recommend getting the exams done before going.

Do a search on U.S. flight schools and have a look at the sticky at the top of this forum for more information. There is alot of information on PPRuNE about all these topics.

Have fun and good luck.

[BigGrecian]

Some schools offer a Fast Track PPL - 3 weeks - it's very tough going but for an above average student who did the ground studying and some/all exams before arriving - achievable - it has been done.

[Egnatia Instructor]

Ive found six weeks to be enough time to get the PPL and enjoy it at the same time, but as said, get the exams done first, that way once the flyings done, you can enjoy what's left of the day.

Enjoy
EI

[Hour Builder]

I agree with whats mentioned above. It took me 4 weeks having done no studying before I went. I would again, recommend doing all the exams before going.

In 6 weeks I bet you could go from 0--->FAA CPL at a push

[wheelyman]

I trained in Florida - Orlando Flight training in Kissimmee. I was out there for 3 weeks in March April 2003 and was pretty unlucky with the weather. Only did 43 Hours, with no time for Test. Also did all my exams out there in this space.

I came back (to Teesside) to complete, and had to do a further 4 hours to get used to UK weather/RT etc

I, personaly, would recommend doing about 40 Hous in florida (or wherever ) and completing in the UK.

I recently started som IMC groud school and quickly realised that there was a lot that those guys out there did not teach me.

But.. six weeks would be ample time, you are only talking about an hour per day!!

[tangovictor]

Frank, why spend your money in the US ? May / June / July the weather here in the UK should be just as good, infact not as hot as Florida, read all the previous threads re this, It would appear, its not as "cheap " as first thought in the US

[Hour Builder]

my not be as cheap as 1st thought, but i'd say its about 1/2 the price then the UK. Some schools quote a fee and include, accomodation, airport transfers, tsa/visa/sevis fees, £250 worth of study material....

[tangovictor]

they do, there was a thread similar to this some time back, all that glitters is not gold ! and, I can recall someone saying, upon returning from the US it took hours of UK flying to get up to speed here,
It doesn't bother me one way or the other, I just feel, if your going to fly here, learn here.

[Hour Builder]

ya i would agree to some point, but my thinking is...and this is based on what i did.

get ppl in usa for £2700..a few yrs back, has gone up since.
then do a few dual hours here when you get back. 5 hours will still cost less in the long run. I know the ppl in usa costs more then £2700 eg flights, food etc etc, but it still worked out cheaper.

HB

[IO540]

Yes, countless threads here on this subject...

The cost differential UK v. USA is a lot less than it used to be. Renting in the UK has been in the region of £100/hour (plus instructor time) since I started flying 5-6 years ago, and back then you could rent the same spamcan over there for £30/hour, but when I was in Arizona earlier this year it was about double that.

Factor into that your time, the hassle with TSA and Visa issues (allow 2 months of paper pushing to get that lot done; email me if you need a step by step guide), food, accommodation.... even if you are young single unemployed and nobody loves you, the only thing which the USA has going for it is the good weather (in Arizona or S. California).

However, if you are a professional/business type, with a decent flying budget and you are doing this for real, to eventually buy a plane and go places, then you should be be looking at doing a standalone FAA PPL and IR, and you can't do an ab initio FAA PPL in the UK (can't fly here on the US Student Pilot Certificate, not to mention other issues). Then you are better off doing the lot, or the FAA PPL initially, in the USA.

For everybody else, you would achieve the same rapid learning if you pick a decent school and shack up next door to it in a B&B and live there for a few weeks, in the summer.

[tangovictor]

I totally agree with I0540's comments, Im taking my nppl rather than ppl
and its working out much less than your going to pay in the US,
and no out of country expense's

[englishal]

If you have the time:

Flight to LA: £350
Hotel for 6 weeks: £1000
50 hours PPL package (all in): £4,051

(example taken from one well known outfit which includes everything you need, including ground exam, medical and flight test fee)

Total: £5,401 for everything......guaranteed not nuch weather standby time.

In the UK:

50 hour PPL course £6,500 including ground exams for a similar aeroplane
Landing fees ~£250
Club membership (?) £?

In reality not many people complete a PPL in under 50 hours.

Not knocking learning in the UK. However, the USA IS cheaper, and if you have the time can be a brilliant holiday. You may even learn to lean properly if you go to the west coast

[tangovictor]

Originally Posted by englishal

If you have the time:
Flight to LA: £350
Hotel for 6 weeks: £1000
50 hours PPL package (all in): £4,051
(example taken from one well known outfit which includes everything you need, including ground exam, medical and flight test fee)
Total: £5,401 for everything......guaranteed not nuch weather standby time.
In the UK:
50 hour PPL course £6,500 including ground exams for a similar aeroplane
Landing fees ~£250
Club membership (?) £?
In reality not many people complete a PPL in under 50 hours.
Not knocking learning in the UK. However, the USA IS cheaper, and if you have the time can be a brilliant holiday. You may even learn to lean properly if you go to the west coast

if your going to make comparisons, please do it fairly
I just looked at one school via the loop website, UK ppl £5500 inc g/school
landing fee's are usually included in the fee
the 50 hours would be the same UK or US
the original poster said May/June/July so the weather in the UK should be fine
the big worry, to me anyway, would be, not finishing your ppl in the US before
you have to return home, without completing it.
also £350 isn't a return flight
£1000 hotel fee, + when your away, every single thing you do, costs

[Leezyjet]

Try South Africa. No visa hassles, and still good weather. The exchange rate is pretty good too at the moment.

Granted it won't be a JAA PPL, but you can still fly here just fine on an ICAO PPL with no restrictions providing you stay within the UK. It gets a bit more complicated if you want to go over the channel, not impossible just more complicated.

I did my PPL 0-42 hours in 19 days. 15 flying days and 4 days ground school, although I did have a good understanding of the groundschool stuff and had flown powered gliders when I was younger so knew all the basic straight and level and what the controls do malarky.

Cost £3300 including accomodation and all the bits and bobs I needed.

[englishal]

if your going to make comparisons, please do it fairly
I just looked at one school via the loop website, UK ppl £5500 inc g/school
landing fee's are usually included in the fee
the 50 hours would be the same UK or US
the original poster said May/June/July so the weather in the UK should be fine
the big worry, to me anyway, would be, not finishing your ppl in the US before
you have to return home, without completing it.
also £350 isn't a return flight
£1000 hotel fee, + when your away, every single thing you do, costs

I did. I used a "well known flight school" which quoted as you say around £5500 + VAT which when pro-rated to 50 hours (The US course includes 50 hours, theirs is a 45 hour course) actually gives more like £7,000. Plus landing fees at £20 per pop which are not included, reduced to 33% for a "touch and go". Away landings are charged at cost.

6 weeks is plenty for a PPL. £350 could be a return flight depending on exact dates, I have just bought a BA return to LAX (in November) for £250 return. The Long Beach Guest House Hotel costs $40 per night on the special deal many of the flight schools at the airport have with them (significantly discounted rate) which equals ~$1700 which is less than £1000 at todays rate. As the rate is per room, the room can be shared (normally have 2 double beds in each room) and you still pay the same price. Transport is free, so no hire car needed. I haven't bothered to include food, as you have to eat whatever country you are in......though food may well be cheaper in the USA anyway.

[Kangaroo89]

You'll be able to do the theory quickly enough. I only started reading the PPL theory book on Tuesday, fitting that study around my Year 12 work, and I managed to pass the test on Saturday no worries.

If time is more of an issue than money, then I'd pay more attention to where good weather is, than the cost. Then again, no one can predict the weather...

[ChrisVJ]

Better still get together with a couple of other people from the flight school and rent an apartment. Most have nice pools. May June is cheaper than July August too. You can cook but it is also easy to get take out food cheap around Kissimmee so save on meals.

Makes a great holiday too. If you have not been before treat yourself to a pass for Disney,

The very worst kind of American glitz and I love the place!

[Monocock]

Most have nice pools

treat yourself to a pass for Disney

Six weeks in the USA to do a PPL and I think it's unlikely that "cityjet" will have time to laze by the pool and go off cuddling Mickey.

My view on this echoes tangovictor's. If your weighing up the differences between the the US and the UK I do believe the benefit of cost has gradually eroded away over time in the US. The UK's clubs are offering some great deals in certain places and you will be doing it at the time of year with the most daylight hours and the likeliest chance of some good weather.

Does it HAVE to be done in six weeks. If it crept into seven or eight would that be a disaster?

[IO540]

A comparison will always be difficult because people that go to the USA have set aside 6 weeks or whatever, whereas people doing it in the UK are trying to slot it into their lives.

Sure the USA will be cheaper than the UK; the question is whether it's worth the extra trouble, and that has to be an individual decision. Some people will go to any hassle to save 10%. I would be suprised if it was more than 20%, by the time one has allowed for food (most American food is absolute trash and they are ahead of even the UK for obesity; for a 6wk stay you probably will have to go shopping and buy your own stuff; self catering).

The average PPL in the UK is probably about £8000 nowadays. This is based on the average time of about 60 hours. Younger people will do it in less (few, very few, do it in 45); older (50+) people often take 80 and I have met loads of 100+ hour students, mostly people in their 60s and over. I've met some £20,000 PPLs although I suspect a crooked school/instructor in those cases. Mine took 66 (early 40s and probably average natural flying ability) and cost £8500.

In the USA, this will definitely cost less, but then you can't mess around out there because your airline tickets and the Visa will expire You have to get your head down and get on with it. It will not be a holiday. One cannot take the risk of taking it easy and not completing; if that happens you will probably never come back. If I had failed my IR I would not have gone back and done it again (too hard and too much peripheral hassle).

A South African PPL is indeed an ICAO PPL but unless you just want a plain PPL it is a dead end. Once not doing a UK/JAA one, the FAA one is the only one worth doing because you can find FAA CFIs for the BFR relatively easily, etc. And the route to the IR is also well defined. Let's say one day you do the IR - are you going to be flying a SA-reg plane in the UK, to get the privileges of the IR? In flying, one needs to think ahead.

The real challenge if doing a rapid PPL, UK or USA, is to find a well organised school. It will have to be a bigger school with plenty of instructors and planes, so there is always a way to fly that day. My experience is obviously limited but I bet it's a lot easier to find such a school in the USA. The UK flight training business is for most part pretty dis-organised.

I would also go to Arizona or S California - guaranteed weather.