Right - here we go. NPPL

[HeathrowAirport]

Hello,

Before anyone asks, I don't meet the Class 2 and 1 requirements but I have been signed off for a NPPL.

First off, were do I go? I have got 3hrs30minutes, 2 on the PA28, and my first landing on 3rd flight and first flight in PA38 I completed my first landing, with 1hr 30 minutes. With about 4000 in the FS toy.

1) So I need a club/airfield that has PA28s and is near London and is very cheap, I am not looking to travel to New york and back so anything Surrey, Essex, Kent, Sussex etc

2) What do I need to buy to complete the NPPL? Please list what Is required for me to complete my training, examinations etc, and if possible please point me to them on transair or pooleys. Charts probably wont be an issue, I have Jeppesen.

3)Is spinning compulsory, now I know those will probably say just do it - becuase if further on in my flying I hit a spin and I am on my own, It will kill me becuase I won't know. I feel a bit scared doing it.

4) Can I get my current hours logged onto my NPPL as hours, I've got the dates somewere that I flew - so I could add them to a logbook when I get that, and get them signed off by the Instructor/pilot.


5) The additional ratings I can get with further training what are these? Anything I could fly like a twin prop that flys over London every sunday? Or am I beating on the wrong track?

Kindest Regards,

Robbie

[jonkil]

Robbie,
I think you are quite confused regarding the NPPL license.
First of all, all the info you need on the NPPL is HERE, a simple google would have got you that.
4000 on a FS wont count for anything other than give you some idea what instruments are for, there is no feedback or stimulation like flying a plane for real.
Do you NEED to fly a PA28, if you are constrained by a budget then look at the microlight scene, some fast,efficient stuff out there at the moment, you did say all you were going to do was bimble around the SE of the country so it would fit the bill.

You will get a student pack when beginning your training, you should not need much more than that to obtain your license.

Jon
www.RuskeyAirfield.com

[Fake Sealion]

What Jonkil said

If you don't believe you will ever NEED to carry more than one passenger then the NPPL M should be seriously considered. 3 axis aircraft such as the Eurostar/Ikarus offer a great flying experience at roughly half the self fly hire cost of a PA28 or similar.

Go take a look at one and judge for yourself.

[Intercepted]

1) So I need a club/airfield that has PA28s and is near London and is very cheap, I am not looking to travel to New york and back so anything Surrey, Essex, Kent, Sussex etc

Where in London do you live/work? Some of us can give you recommendations based on your location. C152 is cheaper than PA28. If you want to fly PA28 after training you can combine both during training.

2) What do I need to buy to complete the NPPL? Please list what Is required for me to complete my training, examinations etc, and if possible please point me to them on transair or pooleys. Charts probably wont be an issue, I have Jeppesen.

Most flying schools provide a starter package, but compare this with pooleys, transairs packages for price. Don't buy a package before you have decided what school to join (if you wan't to join their ground school you might want a particular set of books) .

3)Is spinning compulsory, now I know those will probably say just do it - becuase if further on in my flying I hit a spin and I am on my own, It will kill me becuase I won't know. I feel a bit scared doing it.

I never did spin training and some schools can't offer this since they don't have any types cleared for spinning. You can always add an hour of acrobatics after you have finished your ppl to get the experience of spins and more...

4) Can I get my current hours logged onto my NPPL as hours, I've got the dates somewere that I flew - so I could add them to a logbook when I get that, and get them signed off by the Instructor/pilot.

Yes, get them signed of by the school/instructor you flew with.

5) The additional ratings I can get with further training what are these? Anything I could fly like a twin prop that flys over London every sunday? Or am I beating on the wrong track?

No additional ratings are available for NPPL

With about 4000 in the FS toy.

I stopped playing with FS when I started to fly.

[HeathrowAirport]

Hi Guys,

Some very Imformative posts here. Well I thought becuause I have done my trial/experience flights in 2008/09 in a PA28, I thought it would be best to continue with that - becuase I want to take a few family members up all together around the country once I get my license.

Microlight's? Can I then convert to a PA28 at a later date?

Fake Sealion - Does Biggin hill have a club that has microlights? Might be worth me to take a visit.
Intercepted - I live in Camberwell. 15DME 27R ILS if that helps.
Can I go out and buy a logbook though, so I can affectively get my hours transferred onto it, once I go to Filton again.

I rather not go spinning but if it's really worth it, then I might.. I understand FS doe's not provide anything, It did help me when I went flying to have a basic understanding of what you can and can't do - but then again.

Regards,

Robbie

[kestrel539]

There are also a couple of gliding clubs not that far from you, who may well offer NPL with SLMG.
These are probably as cheap as microlights per hour.
You will be able to convert to SSEA at a later date. ( LPL allowing of course )

[tangovictor]

if you decide on nppl m, you can later convert to nppl sep,( to fly a spam can) few hours extra and one further exam, re your 3 hours, 99.9% of people never qualify within the minimum amount of required hours, so is it worth the hassel ?

[HeathrowAirport]

Hi Guys,

I've had a look around and clacton aero club, Looks pretty good. I understand Its It's also a radio service, not a normal ATS. This would not affect anything right?

Any thought on this?

Regards,

R..

[funfly]

This discussion is weird.
Just visit a local flying club and TALK to the Chief Pilot - or indeed any instructor.
easy...

[Cusco]

I need to watch this thread a bit longer before I make my mind up..........

Cusco

[julian_storey]

Just visit a local flying club and TALK to the Chief Pilot - or indeed any instructor.

This is your best advice.

I'd add to that though and say go to SEVERAL clubs and speak to some instructors. Learn to fly with the one you get on with the best.

[mary meagher]

Hey, kid, you are 16 and want to fly your family around in a PA28?

Check out the gliding clubs. British Gliding Association has details of the ones nearest you. That's where the real fun starts, and it doesn't cost so much, most clubs do special deals for juniors, and the big party scene when you get good enough is the highly subsidised JUNIOR NATIONALS - if you are good enough! And you will learn weather, learn not to be worried about field landings, spins, aerobatics, this is real flying. We do rock polishing in the Black Mountains, climb to 30,000 in wave over Scotland, clubs everywhere if you pitch in and help out, you will become part of a special family who all look out for each other.

Or you can pay lots of money to fly a spam can, which makes a noise, and you can talk to a controller which is nice, but when the chips are down, you are on your own, no matter what kind of aeroplane you are flying.

A lot of airline pilots began in gliding, and now that they fly the Boeings and airbuses around, for real fun, you will find them flying gliders.....

You mention you don't qualify for a class I or class II, but for a NPL medical, which should not be a problem in a glider.

[Piper.Classique]

You don't mention transport to the airfield. You obviously can't drive yourself at 16, so how are you planning on getting there? Poor long suffering parental units? Give distance and travel problems some thought please....
Maybe a couple of weeks at a time on site would work out for you. And a bit less time posting on PPrune might help, too. Get your hours signed up anyway. Despite the doom merchants a PPL in 45 hours is possible if you are reasonably talented, work hard, and use a lot of self discipline about when you fly. I suppose the poor old folks are paying for this, so try to save some of their money for touring later on, eh?

I understand Its It's also a radio service, not a normal ATS. This would not affect anything right?

How could it? The radio does not fly the aeroplane.

[Stephen Furner]

Have you visited your local airfields to see what they have to offer? A quick look on my maps showed the following as potential training schools for someone located in Camberwell.

Miles from Camberwell/Airfield
13/Biggin Hill
19/Redhill
24/Rochester
25/Fairoaks
25/Damyn's Hall

They all have www sites but these are no substitute for going there and speaking to a few people and seeing for yourself what is going on.

But most of all hang loose and enjoy the experience it’s all part of aviation and discovering how to evaluate relevant information and then plan and act on it. This is something you will be doing a lot of as you progress with your flying.

Stephen

[seymour beaver]

Why not consider Headcorn at your age your still prepared to slum it as there is a campsite alongside, you could stay overnight and get the feel of the place.On a nice day theres always something going on at Headcorn either biplanes doing aeros or clubs doing training, pilots flying in or nutters jumping out of aircraft in the overhead.Ive always enjoyed the atmosphere at Headcorn a true enthuasiasts airfield.

[tggzzz]

Microlight's? Can I then convert to a PA28 at a later date?

Be aware of an issue with microlights "mixed with" conventional aircraft with sticks. In a conventional a/c pushing the stick forward increases the airspeed, whereas in a microlight it reduces the airspeed. If you learn on one they you may have the wrong instinctive reactions - an extreme form of "reverting to type" pilot error.

If you are interested in flying conventional aircraft then you might like to consider sticking (pun not intended to conventional aircraft

I rather not go spinning but if it's really worth it, then I might.

It is worth it. Firstly it is exhilarating. Secondly and more importantly, you need to have practiced recovery before you need to do it for real. Most pilots won't have the right reactions during their first spin, even if they have been told what they ought to do.

Consider going gliding - spinning is mandatory before going solo. All gliding clubs have some aircraft that are designed to predictably enter and exit spins. As an example, just before going solo I had a flight where I recovered from three spins (three revolutions each) starting at about 1500ft.

[rans6andrew]

there are plenty of microlights in which "stick forwards" makes the cows get bigger.

CT, Rans S4 & S5 & S6, Icarus C42, Eurostar, Twinstar, 601ul, 701, Savannah, Thruster, 2 types of X'Air, Skyranger, Escapade, some of the Shadow series, Foxbat A22, Pioneer 200, Renegade Spirit etc,,,,,,, Sorry if I missed some.

AND with an NPPL microlight licence you can fly to France without having to apply for permission already (and we do!).

Oh yes, and the training can be done from un-licenced airfields and generally costs less than Gp A aircraft as fewer hours are required and those hours are often cheaper.

If you are flying for recreation why would you want to make it more expensive than it needs to be.

[cats_five]

Originally Posted by tggzzz

<snip>
Consider going gliding - spinning is mandatory before going solo.
<snip>

Spinning isn't necessarily compulsory before going solo in gliders - it depends on what type of 2-seat glider you fly, and where. My club has K21s and I know several folks who have gone solo without spinning, but they are not allowed into the Junior (spinnable single-seater) until they have. If the 2-seater is a Puchatz or a K13 then I imagine spinning before solo is required.

[tggzzz]

Spinning isn't necessarily compulsory before going solo in gliders - it depends on what type of 2-seat glider you fly, and where. My club has K21s and I know several folks who have gone solo without spinning, but they are not allowed into the Junior (spinnable single-seater) until they have. If the 2-seater is a Puchatz or a K13 then I imagine spinning before solo is required.

I'm surprised, but I can see how that can occur if K21s are used as pre-solo trainers.

I wonder how many clubs have the same "problem" (yup, that's my value-judgement showing

[chris 68]

can i please ask of the back of this:-

after going 20 hrs ppl trainning soloing and 2 schools going to the walls on me and my company going to the recivers, was a tough year financal (for alot of people also)

so i am very reluctant to pay a large amount of money up front, im very cost aware like most at the the moment, but its the only way to keep the costs lower in my budget (ie reduced rate= but high risk)

so my question i am thinking of doing nppl(m) to keep costs down, also as alot of schools use the same aircraft for ppl(a) and nppl(m)

what or how difficult is it to enjoy my flying 3 axis microlight then convert to ppl later as a flying school adviced me to do this but i was a little unsure of what i was being told, sceptic im affraid as they where are a micro light school.

how ever i do feel it is now the right way to go but i would as has allways been my goal to take my family flying eventually.

sorry if that was long winded but was the only way i could think to explain my situation.

sorry about the sppelling also not my strong point oh and a HAPPY NEW YEAR SAFE FLYING 2010 EVERYBODY.

CHRIS