Is £140 an hour too much?

[BroomstickPilot]

Flying rates

Hi Guys,

In my experience, flying rates are always considerably higher in the London area and for about 50 miles around London. The same is true for hangarage.

They are always higher at a licensed aerodrome, not least because the aerodrome owners have to pay extortionate fees to what I consider to be a rapacious CAA. Training at an airport serving commercial air transport costs even more. Needless to say, by law all PPL training has to take place from a licensed aerodrome or airport.

Add to this the cost of American made spares imported into the UK for our increasingly ageing fleet of spam cans.

In general, rates are slightly higher nearer the Western seaboard rather than the East because weather there is poorer so aircraft utilisation is lower. Actually, perhaps the biggest difference between the UK and other countries is that because of our weather we always have lower aircraft utilisation then Florida etc anyway.

Put it all together and you have high flying rates. If you want to avoid them you HAVE TO go abroard.

Broomstick.

[Keith_P]

As has been mentioned, the latest 'Pilot' has their annual guide to schools with facilities and rates etc. which allows you to compare prices. While this allows you to compare the cost of flying time etc, one thing it does not help with is quality of either the flying training, the ground school tuition or the quality or maintenance of the aircraft. I would happily pay a higher price for quality tuition and aircraft. If you pay a lower rate and discover there are regularly lessons cancelled because of poor aircraft then it isn't any advantage. Worse still, you go for a school because they are cheap and discover that instead of a practice fanstop you get the real thing. Look at all the angles before making a decision.

I think the school I transferred to was probably in the middle of the price range but I never had any doubts over the quality of the instructors or the aircraft and, 8 years on, still rent aircraft from them and use their instructors for review flights etc.

Good luck with the flying

[invictaair]

£140 - £150 in the south east for 1 hour C152 is the going rate

I pay £142 per hour and the instructors spot on for my learning style.

[Mickey Kaye]

Full Sutton

C150 Hire 78 Quid
PA-28 Hire 85 Quid

Instructor 25 or 20 quid an hour on top.

All career instructors. One of which also teachers CPL elsewhere.

Must be the cheapest around.

[OneIn60rule]

Our rates

118£ for dual on a C-152

Hire I believe t'was around a 100£ with the landing fee included.

For a Pa-28-Warrior-- 145£ dual
Hire would be 120£


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[White Otter]

OneInSixty - notice your location is Derby ATM; you wouldn't be talking about the airfield of the same name would you?

[jollyrog]

£135/136 at Headcorn. Landings included.

[mary meagher]

Okay, this is very old experience, but possibly still valid. Good idea to visit any possible new flying school. Check out the quality of maintenance. What you are looking for is sound aircraft, not fancy premises. ( Wellesbourne seems to have some good operations, for example.)
Are the instructors just building time, or do they like what they are doing? Instructors do burn out, and start hating their students after a time. And yet some of the old boys are some of the best. For sure, you can't earn a living being a flying instructor.

Don't sign up for a whole package in advance until you have flown there a few times. Especially if you plan training in the US.

[Hyph]

CaptainTC,

I don't imagine there are too many places in the UK with those same landing charges... and therefore I suspect I know which school you're considering.

Personally speaking I think it most important that you get on with your instructor. Visit the school, get them to show you around, take a trial lesson. If you still like it, keep going back.

Feel free to PM me.

[OneIn60rule]

Reply.

No, not Derby.

1/60

[rich_g85]

I'm paying £165 an hour, dual PA-28. Includes landing fee, fuel & 1 hour's ground instruction.

[StOrMsCaTcHeR]

i've recently got my PPL few weeks ago. i got trained on pa28 and cesna 172, (whichever was available). i paid £150 per hour. that included everything. landing fees, dual instruction, pre ppl solos, night rating hrz. they charged me from brakes off to brakes on. also included ground briefing and full concentration of the instructor.

i got trained at EGHH.

[Readability5]

I'm in a syndicate of 7 operating a PA28 Warrior 2. With the fixed and variable costs we charge ourselves, including fuel, engine fund outside parking and home field landing fees, our price works out at £160 per hour if you fly 12 hours a year, falling to £120 per hour if you fly 24 hours.

We're in our 4th year without a cash call and have added some useful bits ranging from our own lifejackets to an engine management system.

R5