The hard part of flying.

[JoeDavies]

Very fair statement, and I think your right. Unfortunately though at my club, all of these jobs have been taken. Mowing the apron, Fire service, Valet services! Unfortunately they are all there.

Kind regards, Joe

[sternone]

The easiest way is : Start a business, earn money and buy your own plane.. enjoy life!

All other ways will leave you frustrated at the end.

[Pilot DAR]

Hey Joe,

It's looking to me like you should hook up with Sternone. It sounds like he started a business, earned money, and now has a Twin Comanche, and King Air. They get dirty!

[JoeDavies]

Haha, Ill pop down to brussels every day.

[FREDAcheck]

Well I hope Gertrude didn't mean to be rude, but it's a fair point: you are lucky to be able to learn to fly while still fairly young. That's not dig: good luck to you! So don't be disheartened if you can't afford all the flying you'd like. As others say, if you're determined and single minded, you'll find ways.

And I'm sure you'll avoid the hazard of some single-minded flyers: to be so narrow that one can get a bit, shall we say, uninteresting to normal mortals. My wife's favourite joke about pilots: How can you tell when you're half way through your first date with a pilot? He says: "Enough about me, let's talk about flying".

[JoeDavies]

Yeah, I am incredbly lucky to have a PPL at this age. I need more experience now. And I have already found out how uninteresting flying can be when me friends in school explained to me. Thanks Joe

[Gertrude the Wombat]

Well I hope Gertrude didn't mean to be rude

No, I didn't.

It's possible I might have slipped into parent mode - I do from time to time feel the need to give my teenagers some information about what the real world is like. Most of the real world not being anything like they're used to, as we've got more money than most.

[tmmorris]

Do you have any connection with the RAF? (Any at all... family? are you a cadet?)

If so PM me with your location... there are some excellent RAFFCA clubs where the rates are a bit cheaper...

Tim

[JoeDavies]

Unfortunately not, My granddad was an RAF Engineers if that counts......Doubt it will though.

Thanks once again, Joe

[JoeDavies]

Ahhhhh thanks for that. I live about an hour away from Tilstock the parachuting base. They have a Gippsland Airvan, may see if they need any voluntary work.

Joe

[Pull what]

Joe- i can assure you that Gertude wasnt being rude but you are very lucky to be at the position you are in at 17, the positive side of this is you have plenty of time even if it becomes a finacial struggle. I had a receptionist (17 -19 years age) that worked for me once that built his hours up by using two weeks dole money to buy an hours flying, sadly he endeded up impaled into a mountain flying below safety altitiude while doing a dubious charter flight to build up hours- he undertook a flight outside of his ability while trying to build up hours- so be careful!

[JoeDavies]

Ohhh no offence taken . I just want to concentrate on the thread. I guess when building hours I don't want to go too far out of my depth. Stick to the hour building on the 152's.
Joe

[mad_jock]

Have you had a look at the various grants you can get out there.

Air league
GALPAN

etc

[Put1992]

unfortunately, the bulk of new PPL students who aspire to be pilots can only see the shiny jet at the end

Very true, as you wont get very far in the pursuit of that jet without a PPL.

Slight generalisation though, at no point through my PPL training did I have it easy financially, and with the work I had to put in to even get to the airport. It's alright saying "Get a job sweeping hangar floors, washing aircraft etc etc" but that will not pay for a PPL, nor to maintain one. It may have back in the good old days, but not now. If it means working somewhere externally to pay for the hours, but having to put up with the rather ironic flying club snobbery of people pointing their noses up at young people learning to fly, then so be it.

But what do I know, I'm just a young kid with a poo brown book

Cheers, Put

[Falz]

Hi Joe,

I know a lot of people are offering the "go around and ask" at the clubs/pilots/syndacates route but as you'll find out most of them have already been mined dry.

The other option is too look into getting more money. I know people here may jump down my throat but if you can swim have a look at getting your NPLQ (lifeguarding) qualification. On average you are looking closer to £7.00 an hour as opposed to bar work which is around £6.00. Also with the better hours you'll do in the swimming pool, ok you'll lose some weekends but a little bit of planning will leave you loads of time to fly, you should also have time to look at doing your swimming teaching qualification which can be around £10.00 an hour.

And that's more than some instructors make!

Anyway you include extra time and paid holidays with lifegaurding (or something similar) then you may be able to afford three houurs of flying a month as opposed to two.

Good Luck

[Whirlybird]

Things may have changed, but when I flew from Sleap you couldl help out with the A/G radio and get paid in flying time. Have you tried that? Good experience too.

[Hannah222]

Sorry Joe:(

Hi Whirlybird. I'm 14 and am really eager to have flying lessons but like everyone we don't have the money. When you say Sleap, do you mean the one in Shropshire and if so, is there an age limit for the job you mentioned? Also, what does paid in flying time mean? I know this doesn't really help Joe's search but at least he's old enough to get a job unlike me so that could maybe cheer you up haha x

[Gertrude the Wombat]

Also, what does paid in flying time mean?

Well, one can guess by doing the sums.

If you're an adult minimum wage is around £5/hour (I think for 14yos there's no minimum, but it would seem reasonable to pay around the same if you get the same standard of work from a kid, I know people round here who do). Flying is around £150/hour (all very round approximate numbers these). So that would suggest that one hour's work might buy you around two minutes flying time, or work nearly full time for a week for one hour's flying.

But ... "paid in flying time" does sort of suggest some sort of "oh dear what a pity I accidentally seem to have forgotten to tell the tax man about this arrangement" sort of deal, so if you were otherwise on 40% tax (unlikely of course if you're earning minimum wage) and going to pay VAT on the flying that'd take it up to around four minutes flying per hour's work.

So, slog your guts out all weekend and get half an hour flying (which means twenty minutes in the air and ten minutes pissing around on the ground), assuming you're actually supposed to be at school during the week. That'd sound like a good deal to some people, actually; less fine perhaps for others.

[JoeDavies]

To Whirlybird, I was down on the list for the A/G but I was pulled out at the last minute because I was too young to do the training. Which I think is a new rule or they have tightend up on stuff like that.

As for Hannah222, if you give sleap a call 01939232882 they will tell you all about the costs. I know someone who paid for they're lessons through a paper round and had one 1 hour flight every 3 months or so. I'm sure if you call them up they will help you.

Cheers Joe

[Hannah222]

So what you're saying is that it's basically impossible to get enough money because I'm bound to be too young for that a/g? Thing and because of the minimum wage I won't be ableto make enough money for lessons. Also I looked up directions and it's about 20 miles away so Im going to have to get mum or dad to drive me which they're not going to want to do. They've still not said yes to lessons yet- I'm hoping they will let me for my birthday then I can talk to the people there about doing some odd jobs. It would show mum I really want to do it I guess. Thanks for explaining things though. X