How much?
Upto The Buffers
Joined: Apr 2006
Aviation Qualifications: CPL
Posts: 1,112
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From: Leeds/Bradford
Cost me about £110/hr (plus any landing fees at £8 a pop) to learn at Leeds last year. Prices haven't gone up particularly since then. Perhaps it's an economies-of-scale thing, but £142 sounds a little steep to me (disclaimer: not an expert).
You don't say what type you're learning on, but my thinking was to learn on the cheapest (152), as it only takes a couple of hours to convert onto something different once you've passed. Never understood the whole "I want a share in a PA28 when I've passed, so I'm going to learn in a PA28" attitude.
Some places will give discounts for payment up front. I'm always wary of this, even with big organisations, so only ever paid for 10hrs at a time and usually flew those 10 hours within a month anyway.
You don't say what type you're learning on, but my thinking was to learn on the cheapest (152), as it only takes a couple of hours to convert onto something different once you've passed. Never understood the whole "I want a share in a PA28 when I've passed, so I'm going to learn in a PA28" attitude.
Some places will give discounts for payment up front. I'm always wary of this, even with big organisations, so only ever paid for 10hrs at a time and usually flew those 10 hours within a month anyway.
Fly Conventional Gear
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 1,600
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From: Winchester
What sort of plane is it?
£142/hour sounds about right of a Warrior or Archer but a little on the high side for a C150/2.
Having said that though the current dual rate at my home airfield is £147/hour in the C152 and £151/hour in the PA28 (I think the PA28 price represents an economy of scale though as the club has about six of them against only 2 C152s). That is in the south though
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£142/hour sounds about right of a Warrior or Archer but a little on the high side for a C150/2.
Having said that though the current dual rate at my home airfield is £147/hour in the C152 and £151/hour in the PA28 (I think the PA28 price represents an economy of scale though as the club has about six of them against only 2 C152s). That is in the south though
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 19
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From: Upwood
I pay £112 per hour for a C152. I can get a discount of 5% if I pay £1000 or more upfront.
Anytime with the instructor on the ground, e.g. ground school, is completely free. Thats probably the case for everyone but I thought it was pretty generous really!
Anytime with the instructor on the ground, e.g. ground school, is completely free. Thats probably the case for everyone but I thought it was pretty generous really!
Warning Toxic!
Disgusted of Tunbridge
Disgusted of Tunbridge
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 4,011
Likes: 1
From: Hampshire, UK
A couple of years back I went to Goodwood Flying Club to see about thrashing around in a PA28. The rate came in at about £200. I rapidly lost interest and went to work for someone who pays me to fly instead! I'm now in a share for a microlight sportcruiser that will come in at £30/hour tops (on top of share), including covering engine replacement.
How can anyone enjoy flying at UK rates?
How can anyone enjoy flying at UK rates?
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 128
Likes: 0
From: South East England
My school charges per tacho, and I'm based at an airport with separate landing fees, so my cost varies lesson to lesson. Generally I pay £135-157 per lesson incl landing fees. For that I get an hour in the air and as long as I like on the ground.
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 526
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From: Aberdeen, UK
Up here in Sunny Aberdeen you're looking at £169 per hour plus £16 landing fee, so £185 all in, per hour. The Landing fee applies for touch and goes also, so over the course of a PPL you're going to accrue a small fortune in landing fees alone!
From my log book, getting my PPL (45 on the nail, with 135 landings) would have cost me £8,986 approx over the course of probably 18 months as the weather up here can be irritating (£2100 landing fees approx, £6886 on hire approx).
So, I went to the US. £4,500 all in including a week's car hire, several piss ups (towards the end), living expenses, the whole shooting match and all done from 3hrs to PPL in 4 weeks (even did 5 hours hour building at the end included in the above).
Best decision I ever made. And thank god I've found an excellent share in a 172 otherwise I'd never be able to afford to fly!
From my log book, getting my PPL (45 on the nail, with 135 landings) would have cost me £8,986 approx over the course of probably 18 months as the weather up here can be irritating (£2100 landing fees approx, £6886 on hire approx).
So, I went to the US. £4,500 all in including a week's car hire, several piss ups (towards the end), living expenses, the whole shooting match and all done from 3hrs to PPL in 4 weeks (even did 5 hours hour building at the end included in the above).
Best decision I ever made. And thank god I've found an excellent share in a 172 otherwise I'd never be able to afford to fly!
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 104
Likes: 0
From: where the north starts
How much?
About £130/hr at Bonus at Cranfield in a Tomahawk.
Much cheaper on the continent - I pay about 120 Euros/hr (£85) in a DR400-140 Robin at Saulieu/Liernais (LFEW). The instructor speaks reasonable English, and I speak reasonable French, so we get by in a weird mixture of franglais!
Much cheaper on the continent - I pay about 120 Euros/hr (£85) in a DR400-140 Robin at Saulieu/Liernais (LFEW). The instructor speaks reasonable English, and I speak reasonable French, so we get by in a weird mixture of franglais!
Last edited by tow1709; 30th October 2007 at 20:45. Reason: To add comment that unlimited touch and go included at EGTC
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 376
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From: Grand Com f'Ort
A friend (ahem) tells me of a website where if you've got £142 per hour to spend, you can have an awful lot more fun that you ever will in a Cessna 152... 
That said, you won't get a bit of paper from the CAA at the end of 40 hours, though you might find you've learnt quite a lot!
That said, you won't get a bit of paper from the CAA at the end of 40 hours, though you might find you've learnt quite a lot!
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,443
Likes: 1
From: Cambridge, England, EU
Depends what you want.
If you want
(a) to book a lesson and turn up at the airport and expect to fly it without being told to go home because they don't have a non-broken plane left
(b) aircraft with all the electronics working (not that much of an issue for PPL training maybe, but you might well care a lot more when hiring after licence issue)
(c) home landing fees included
(d) a choice of instructors at least some of whom aren't hours building kiddies
(e) ect ect (other stuff along the "quality" axis)
then it will cost you more than if you fly 40 year old old bangers which are quite likely to go tech at no notice and don't have working navigation instruments even on a good day.
Your choice. Plenty here would choose one, plenty here would choose the other, there's no right answer that suits everybody.
If you want
(a) to book a lesson and turn up at the airport and expect to fly it without being told to go home because they don't have a non-broken plane left
(b) aircraft with all the electronics working (not that much of an issue for PPL training maybe, but you might well care a lot more when hiring after licence issue)
(c) home landing fees included
(d) a choice of instructors at least some of whom aren't hours building kiddies
(e) ect ect (other stuff along the "quality" axis)
then it will cost you more than if you fly 40 year old old bangers which are quite likely to go tech at no notice and don't have working navigation instruments even on a good day.
Your choice. Plenty here would choose one, plenty here would choose the other, there's no right answer that suits everybody.
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 302
Likes: 0
From: N.E. Derbyshire, UK
If time is less important to you than cost, and you don't mind the drive over the Pennines for a lesson, Pheonix Flying School at Netherthorpe charge £95ph dual for a C150 Aerobat (£75 solo). Quite a saving compared to £142, even allowing for the cost of petrol for the drive over! There are no landing fees, no joining or membership fees.
And no, I don't work for them!
And no, I don't work for them!
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 2,359
Likes: 0
From: Midlands
“I'm now in a share for a microlight sportcruiser that will come in at £30/hour tops (on top of share), including covering engine replacement.”
I was under the impression that the sportcruiser was a VLA not a micro? If there a micro version?
An increasing number of people are buying VLA aircraft, like the sportcruiser, MCR01 or Pioneer 300 and then learning in them, at £30 plus the cost of the instructor, which is often nothing at all.
Rod1
I was under the impression that the sportcruiser was a VLA not a micro? If there a micro version?
An increasing number of people are buying VLA aircraft, like the sportcruiser, MCR01 or Pioneer 300 and then learning in them, at £30 plus the cost of the instructor, which is often nothing at all.
Rod1
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 376
Likes: 0
From: The Front of Beyond
Rod wrote:
I was under the impression that the sportcruiser was a VLA not a micro
I was under the impression that the sportcruiser was a VLA not a micro
Brooklands
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 255
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From: just to the left of the filing cabinet
£120 per hour dual (now £130 I believe) for a decent PA28 at Wellesbourne - £85 pa club membership and no landing/t&g/go-around fees. Friendly bunch both at the club and the airfield generally.
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 2,359
Likes: 0
From: Midlands
So assuming a 60 hour PPL at £130 per hour the cost is about £7800.
Cost of PFA two seater £12000 (you get this back if you sell it)
hangar cost (in midlands) £1000
Insurance £1500
Fuel for 60h £1000
Instructor £600
Permit & Maint £500
Total operating cost £5100 or £85 per hour.
If you buy the aircraft you plan on getting anyway then you save the cost of conversion training.
Rod1
Cost of PFA two seater £12000 (you get this back if you sell it)
hangar cost (in midlands) £1000
Insurance £1500
Fuel for 60h £1000
Instructor £600
Permit & Maint £500
Total operating cost £5100 or £85 per hour.
If you buy the aircraft you plan on getting anyway then you save the cost of conversion training.
Rod1
