Warrior Class Rating

[Boing7117]

Anyone have any recommendations on a decent flight school in the UK that can sort me out a class rating on the PA28?

Having completed an integrated course with OAA, with all the bells and whistles, it'd be great to enjoy some GA flying with friends and family during this trying time to secure a job.

Realistically I'd probably need a hour or two to get familiarised once more with the Warrior and the local area and then the checkride as required by the CAA.

BTW - when I said "decent" flight school, I think what I really meant was "good value for money".

Location - Anywhere in England really. Preferably Midlands / North - but quite open to suggestions.

[bri1980]

Well surely you already have the single engine piston class rating on your licence? In which case you'd probably only need a check out at a club.

I'm sure many schools/clubs operate the PA28: Caernarfon have a nice new one which I've got quite a few hours on and Sherburn-in-Elmet have a about 6 of them. Pretty sure Ravenair at Liverpool/Barton operate the type, as do a couple of schools at Blackpool.

B

[Piper.Classique]

PA28

Shobdon, Herefordshire have got quite a nice one at a sensible price. They have a web site at http://www.aeroclub.co.uk

[Shunter]

Does going integrated mean you end up with a CPL/IR/MEP, but no SEP rating? Where the fun in that?

[moggiee]

www.hgfc.co.uk - Wolverhampton

[phone]

[XXPLOD]

Did my PPL at Western Air, Thruxton, Hants. Their solo hire prices are very competitive and great location.

Not midlands though...

[Mikehotel152]

You won't need a class rating specifically for a PA28 except in the unlikely event that your SEP Rating has lapsed. IIRC a sign-off via a check-ride from an instructor is not legally required but is a good idea if you're unfamiliar with the PA28 or low-wing aircraft in general. A check-ride and sign-off would be required by most aircraft owners considering entrusting their baby into your hands! But let's face it, you could go and buy a PA28 of your own and nobody but your conscience would force you to do a check ride!

[Malt]

Tatenhill have a couple of PA28 variants. Dave Wood converted me on to one, didn't charge the earth & taught well. Tried the school at EGBO & then never bothered to call me back.
Mal

[tacpot]

Donair

Donair at East Midlands have taken over at last one of East Midlands Flying School's Warriors and has an Archer as well. Cost look reasonable from their website and you get to fly in & out of a Regional Airport with full ATC, Radar & Class D airspace. Should keep you on the boil.

Good luck

tp

[Mariner9]

Presumably an integrated course with OAA doesn't include air law

[Boing7117]

Mariner9

My licence has two entries under the "ratings" part.

MEP(Land)

IR-SPA-ME

According to several local schools I've already contacted, a quick checkride is not enough. I need to get the SEP rating on my licence before I can legally hire something like a PA28.

To answer the above questions, an integrated course from OAA does not get you a SEP rating - even though you have an MEP IR.

Madness.

But if that's not true, I'm sure Mariner9 can put me right.

[BackPacker]

Boing, in what sort of aircraft did you do your PPL skills test then? Or did you do that skills test so long ago that your SEP(A) class rating has expired?

[Boing7117]

The OAA integrated course didn't have a PPL skills test as such (I started the course with zero hours). We did the in-house "PT1" flight test which was essentially the PPL test out in the states.

So in reality, even though I've clocked up over 100 hours on the PA28 - I haven't got a SEP rating on my licence. Only the MEP and IR.

It's crazy I know. The more I think about it - the more robbed I feel.

[vanHorck]

pa28

Talk to Derick Gunning at Fowlmere (EGMA). He s an excellent instructor/examiner and runs the best kept fleet of piper in the UK including several Archer III's but also bigger stuff like Seneca, Saratoga and even Colemill Conversion Navajo

[BackPacker]

The OAA integrated course didn't have a PPL skills test as such (I started the course with zero hours). We did the in-house "PT1" flight test which was essentially the PPL test out in the states.

But isn't the entry requirement for a CPL an ICAO PPL? In other words, you have to submit some form of PPL (even if it's an FAA PPL or one issued by Burkina Faso) before you can obtain the JAA CPL? Or is that requirement lifted on an integrated course?

Also, how did you do your hour building towards the 250 (?) required for CPL? Or was all of that spent on the ME and IR? Or did you get a signoff from an instructor every time you went, and did you fly solo?

Even an FAA PPL with a SEP class rating (assuming it's current in every respect: BFR, medical, landings) would be good for Day VFR flying in a SEP in the UK. But if you never did a *formal* (FAA or JAA) flight test in a SEP, then you indeed need to do a SEP class rating exam. And since it's a class rating that you want to add to a CPL with IR, I think you can expect that the SEP class rating needs to be flown to CPL/IR standards.

To be honest, it might actually be cheaper to rent a MEP and fly around in that with your friends, instead of going through all the hoops of getting the SEP class rating.

[Shunter]

If you go integrated there is no requirement to do a PPL (although if you already have one you get some hours credit). You start with zero, then train and hour build right the way through to your CPL. It's all in LASORS.

[wet wet wet]

to get back to the question .....

In the Midlands there is the Coventry Flying School / Coventry Aeroplane Club. Their Warriors are only a couple of years old and are fully IFR equipped (including twin Garmin 430s). www.covaero.com

[madlandrover]

HGFC (1 of the schools at EGBO, and the one that normally calls back!) has a decent fleet of PA28s, all converted with Thielert TAE-125 diesel engines (FADEC, CSU, etc...). The CFI there is impressively/annoying knowledgable about conversions so can answer any of your questions about adding an SEP rating to your licence.

[BeechNut]

But let's face it, you could go and buy a PA28 of your own and nobody but your conscience would force you to do a check ride!

Nobody except your conscience and your insurance company. When I bought my Beech Sundowner, the insurance company insisted on a check ride with a qualified instructor.

Interestingly I let a friend fly it and he's named on the insurance. They required a check ride for him from a qualified instructor, but since he had no Sundowner experience, I had to check the instructor first, even though I was not required to do so. He didn't feel he could check out another pilot not knowing the machine himself.

Another friend also is on the insurance (I also fly his C150); he also required a check ride, but he did it at the same time as I did, and as the bird belonged to a flying school before I bought it, we were both checked out by the chief instructor as I flew him back to his home field.

Beech

[Shunter]

With your experience I'm sure you'd have absolutely no problem with an SEP class rating test. Multiflight at LBA have some Warriors and plenty of examiners. I'm sure if you gave them a bell and arranged something you'd be able to just show up, flash your paperwork, do the test and be home in time for Neighbours.