I have to tell someone.....
Thread Starter
I have to tell someone.....
...or else I'll burst.
Today I popped into the CAA offices at Gatwick and picked up an envelope that contained my logbook and .... a poo-brown rectangular plasticky wallet thingie - with the words "Private Pilot Licence (Aeroplanes)" printed in faux gold lettering on the front!! I guess you all know what that means.
Well - it took me two years, to the day, from my Trial flight to the Skills Test, I've logged 50h25min which included the 2h20m Skills test (a total which I didn't think was that bad for someone doing it part time).
It cost me a whopping £10,712 (but that's everything - lessons and flights in a PA28-161, medical, books, headphones, CAA fees, club subscriptions, exam fees, VAT etc). Thankfully I did most of my circuit bashing before Shoreham started charging for go-arounds. And I was lucky enough to wangle 50 hours of free ground school.
Anyway - I've told the girlfriend, and while she is genuinely excited for me (I think she wants me to take her to L2K for tea), I felt I just had to share it with you folks who have already got your PPLs, and with those who are still working towards it. It's a WONDERFUL feeling !!!!
Thanks to Ian my instructor, Angie the ever-suffering FTO keeper of The Diary and to Toon & Mark my RT & Skills Test examiners...let the real learning now begin!!
Nik
Today I popped into the CAA offices at Gatwick and picked up an envelope that contained my logbook and .... a poo-brown rectangular plasticky wallet thingie - with the words "Private Pilot Licence (Aeroplanes)" printed in faux gold lettering on the front!! I guess you all know what that means.
Well - it took me two years, to the day, from my Trial flight to the Skills Test, I've logged 50h25min which included the 2h20m Skills test (a total which I didn't think was that bad for someone doing it part time).
It cost me a whopping £10,712 (but that's everything - lessons and flights in a PA28-161, medical, books, headphones, CAA fees, club subscriptions, exam fees, VAT etc). Thankfully I did most of my circuit bashing before Shoreham started charging for go-arounds. And I was lucky enough to wangle 50 hours of free ground school.
Anyway - I've told the girlfriend, and while she is genuinely excited for me (I think she wants me to take her to L2K for tea), I felt I just had to share it with you folks who have already got your PPLs, and with those who are still working towards it. It's a WONDERFUL feeling !!!!
Thanks to Ian my instructor, Angie the ever-suffering FTO keeper of The Diary and to Toon & Mark my RT & Skills Test examiners...let the real learning now begin!!
Nik
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Well done!
Most private pilots give up after a year. Dont let that happen to you. Remember all the things you enjoyed about gaining your license, enjoy having it for the present, but challenge yourself to treat it as a stepping stone to discovering those aspects of GA that will provide you with life long satisfaction - be it touring, aeros, perhaps tailwheel or instructing. You will get bored with flying around the local cabbage patch eventually.
Most private pilots give up after a year. Dont let that happen to you. Remember all the things you enjoyed about gaining your license, enjoy having it for the present, but challenge yourself to treat it as a stepping stone to discovering those aspects of GA that will provide you with life long satisfaction - be it touring, aeros, perhaps tailwheel or instructing. You will get bored with flying around the local cabbage patch eventually.
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Nice one beatnik. Congratulations - maybe catch you north of the border at some point!!
I have just completed my 1st year as a PPL holder and have amassed just shy of 30hrs pic time. Not aiming for anything in particular at present but things can and do change without notice...
Enjoy your new found freedom of the skies and remember - keep learning...
I have just completed my 1st year as a PPL holder and have amassed just shy of 30hrs pic time. Not aiming for anything in particular at present but things can and do change without notice...
Enjoy your new found freedom of the skies and remember - keep learning...
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One more pilot
Congratulations, Captain Beatnik - Welcome to the brotherhood of flyers.
Like my mother said when I did my PPL "don't go too high and not too fast"
Happy contrails
Like my mother said when I did my PPL "don't go too high and not too fast"
Happy contrails
Couldonlyaffordafiver
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Congratulations and well done. Now, sit down and decide what you want to do with it. Touring? Aerobatics? Instrument flying? Racing? Precision Flying? Formation? The list goes on..... enjoy!
The only reason I suggest this is that an awful lot of PPLs give up after a couple of years as all they do are circuits and the odd flight to the next door airfield for a bacon butty. Don't waste it.
The only reason I suggest this is that an awful lot of PPLs give up after a couple of years as all they do are circuits and the odd flight to the next door airfield for a bacon butty. Don't waste it.
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Congrats. Happened 27 years ago for me (Oct. 25, 1981 to be precise), remember it like it was yesterday. Passed my PPL in a C-152, and within less than an hour, started my checkout on a C-172, and my night rating a few days later. I can still remember the flight test in vivid detail.
Took me about a year and a few months start to finish. I had one down period of a couple of months with no flying due to truly awful winter weather. Any downtime in early training is a real setback, you get real rusty real quick.
Now the fun starts: more learning! It never stops. At least, it should never stop. May your flying career always have a tailwind!
Beech
Took me about a year and a few months start to finish. I had one down period of a couple of months with no flying due to truly awful winter weather. Any downtime in early training is a real setback, you get real rusty real quick.
Now the fun starts: more learning! It never stops. At least, it should never stop. May your flying career always have a tailwind!
Beech
Life's too short for ironing
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Congratulations!
Now you've got the licence, why not come to the most amazing general aviation airshow in the world
You'll have a blast
EAA AirVenture Oshkosh - The World's Greatest Aviation Celebration
Now you've got the licence, why not come to the most amazing general aviation airshow in the world
You'll have a blast EAA AirVenture Oshkosh - The World's Greatest Aviation Celebration
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Like my mother said when I did my PPL "don't go too high and not too fast"
Congratulations.. echo what everyone else has said. (pssst... do aeros! too much fun
)
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Like my mother said when I did my PPL "don't go too high and not too fast"
Anyway, congratulations beatnik - well done!
JD
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Congrats
Very well done and I hope you enjoy every minute
Hopefully in about a months time I'll graduate to having mine. Work gets in the way of flying
. 4 exams, pres skills and skills to go. So Close, yet so far away!!!
Have fun and stay safe
sollas
Very well done and I hope you enjoy every minute
Hopefully in about a months time I'll graduate to having mine. Work gets in the way of flying
. 4 exams, pres skills and skills to go. So Close, yet so far away!!!Have fun and stay safe
sollas
Thread Starter
Thanks for all the supportive comments, guys and gals.
Fuji Abound - I certainly don't intend to let my licence lapse - it is something I've wanted for far too long. With the daylight hours rapidly shortening, I think I'll do the night rating next, followed by the IMC thingie before EASA manages to strangle it into oblivion.
A couple of you mentioned "aeros" - is that short for aerobatics? Certainly this is something I may look into more seriously. My instructor owns a Tiger Moth and has been threatening to take me up for a few gentle rolls. Sounds like fun. My club has a Pitts S2A that they use for training.
Fuji / Human Factor - What is "touring"?
Jaycee58- I'm not sure if dropping off/picking up from Gatwick saved that much time. Certainly it took one day less to get there (by dropping off), but it still took them 10 working days (as promised) to process, and although I'd included a note saying I would pick it up, when I phoned on Day11, the chap had to rescue the envelope from the mailroom - but in the end I saved another day there.
Stickandrudderman - I read the post you mention back when you originally posted it, and I remember I stared at the photos with a combination of slack jaw & green envy. I was still a "lurker" in those days, and didn't leave a comment - but I was certainly inspired.
sollas - You sound like you've cracked most of your ground exams, but I took a deliberate 3 months break from flying last winter (the weather was pants anyway), and cracked my exams - I did 5 in that time, and it made such a difference. If I hadn't done that, I think I would probably have reached the end of my training ready for the Skills test, but have been a few exams short. That would have been very fustrating. I also found airquiz.com to be most useful, but the Oxford CDs not so. As G-EMMA mentioned on another thread - the chaps voice is quite soporifc.
Thanks once again to everyone for your support and encouragement.
PS: Jumbo Driver - shouldn't you throttle up in a turn? Or is it different in a seven-forty-seven?
Fuji Abound - I certainly don't intend to let my licence lapse - it is something I've wanted for far too long. With the daylight hours rapidly shortening, I think I'll do the night rating next, followed by the IMC thingie before EASA manages to strangle it into oblivion.
A couple of you mentioned "aeros" - is that short for aerobatics? Certainly this is something I may look into more seriously. My instructor owns a Tiger Moth and has been threatening to take me up for a few gentle rolls. Sounds like fun. My club has a Pitts S2A that they use for training.
Fuji / Human Factor - What is "touring"?
Jaycee58- I'm not sure if dropping off/picking up from Gatwick saved that much time. Certainly it took one day less to get there (by dropping off), but it still took them 10 working days (as promised) to process, and although I'd included a note saying I would pick it up, when I phoned on Day11, the chap had to rescue the envelope from the mailroom - but in the end I saved another day there.
Stickandrudderman - I read the post you mention back when you originally posted it, and I remember I stared at the photos with a combination of slack jaw & green envy. I was still a "lurker" in those days, and didn't leave a comment - but I was certainly inspired.
sollas - You sound like you've cracked most of your ground exams, but I took a deliberate 3 months break from flying last winter (the weather was pants anyway), and cracked my exams - I did 5 in that time, and it made such a difference. If I hadn't done that, I think I would probably have reached the end of my training ready for the Skills test, but have been a few exams short. That would have been very fustrating. I also found airquiz.com to be most useful, but the Oxford CDs not so. As G-EMMA mentioned on another thread - the chaps voice is quite soporifc.
Thanks once again to everyone for your support and encouragement.
PS: Jumbo Driver - shouldn't you throttle up in a turn? Or is it different in a seven-forty-seven?
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Jumbo Driver - shouldn't you throttle up in a turn? Or is it different in a seven-forty-seven?
Touring is as it says. Now get off to France and tour round some nice castles in fine weather.
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Weldone I havn't felt this feeling yet but hopefully will do quite soon. At the moment im getting as many exams out of the way before I start, hopefully 5 exams by the end of this month.
G-XO
I havn't felt this feeling yet but hopefully will do quite soon. At the moment im getting as many exams out of the way before I start, hopefully 5 exams by the end of this month.G-XO