More questions regarding PPL

[d747]

Hi,
First I would like to say thanks for answering some questions I had last week

I am about to start the mission to get my PPL. This is a fairly big investment for me and a tad daunting (I should pay the money of the mortgage but that's no fun). One thing I am fairly big on in life is before committing to any outlay are what advantages it gives me. The PPL had a few advantages in my limited knowledge so I have some questions (some may appear silly) I hope can be answered by you fine chaps. (flame suit at the ready )

Assuming I get my PPL with night rating and instrument rating whats the next step? Twin engine? What can I fly on a PPL? Could I go and fly a spitfire for example? If not why/how could I get to do that? Is there a max number of passengers (family so non paying)?
Could I fly for example small jets (is there a jet engine rating that could go in a PPL?) IE corporate say to take the family for a holiday? again if not how could I?

I do understand that to fly for £££ I would need CPL I guess Im just trying to work out what I can fly and have fun with without outlaying a load of dosh.

Also is going to see the chaps in ATC at my local airport a good idea?

Again sorry if questions appear daft this is all new to me.
Thanks in advance for any answers and wish me luck for Sat.

[b.a. Baracus]

It really depends on what you want to do, you could get a Multi rating but would have to meet the requirements before starting the course (all these can be found in LASORS publication from the CAA). LASORS has lots of useful information - I suggest you have a read through it.

Yes you could fly a spitfire on a PPL, you would have to do differences training for a tail-wheel type and also find someone mad enough to give a spitfire to a new PPL.

Max number of passengers, well that depends on what you are flying... how many seats it has etc (and sticking to the weight & balance restrictions for your aircraft).

You can also fly small jets on a PPL, again with the relevant training. I have seen shares going in a Jet Provest before.

You could try and arrange a trip to ATC, all the ATC guys/girls I have met are very friendly and willing to give advice etc.

[Duchess_Driver]

d747,

There is no set order in which you have to do the ratings/qualifications - you don't need to have a night rating to begin the IR - you don't need to do the IR before the twin rating and so on.

Each qualification has a set of pre-requisits, detailed in LASORS - search the CAA website to download a copy.

In essence - you do a class rating or a type rating. You need a specific type rating for anything with a maximum take off weight above 5700Kg or that has a jet engine (some exceptions). For each type within a class (Single engine, multi engine, land, sea....) you would be expected to do training as required to be safe. If there are differences that you're not familiar with (tailwheel, retractable gear, CSU/Variable pitch prop, presurisation, single lever power, EFIS/Glass) then you will also need to be trained to fly with these differences.

Flying a Spitfire - long road and lots of money, but yes it can be done on a PPL. (Guessing) there would be very stringent insurance requirements in terms of number of hours on certain types before they'd cover you to solo one.

[BackPacker]

Important to understand the difference between a license and a type/class rating

License = PPL, CPL or ATPL
Type/class rating: the type of aircraft you're allowed to fly. And for convenience a bunch of similar aircraft are sometimes thrown together into a "class", for instance Single Engine Piston (SEP) or Multi Engine Piston (MEP).

Theoretically the license is independent of the type/class rating. So technically you can have an ATPL with a Single Engine Piston class rating only, or a PPL with a B747 type rating. But it's fairly typical to progress to more advanced licenses as you progress to more advanced type/class ratings.

Further to that, most type ratings, particularly for jets, actually require you to fly to ATPL standards, even if you only hold a PPL.

A typical progression path would be:
PPL SEP
PPL SEP with night rating
PPL SEP with IMC rating (UK only)
PPL SEP with IR rating
PPL SEP + MEP with IR rating
CPL SEP + MEP with IR rating
CPL SEP + MEP + some type rating + IR
ATPL (an ATPL implies a CPL, Multi Engine, Multi Crew Cooperation and IR) + some type rating

But to be honest, most people not flying for a living are perfectly happy flying on a PPL alone, maybe with the addition of an IMC or IR. Only very few PPLs progress to multi engine just for the fun of it. And if you're about to embark on your PPL and are worried about having enough dosh already, then forget multi-engine, Spitfire or jets. Either the operating costs or the insurance requirements will break the bank.

[d747]

thanks

Once again many thanks

The pointers towards the LASORS publication will be helpful. I will have a read tonight or if not busy at work tomorrow.
I am sure by then I will have more questions.


Cheers

Dave