PPL in Holland
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1
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From: Netherlands
PPL in Holland
Hi All,
Hope you can help me.
I want to obtain the PPL ........ and today in the Hilversum Airport they told me that they only have lessons in Dutch and that the exams are in Dutch....... My levelo of Dutch is 0.
Does somebody knows a way to get the PPL?...... Or any other academy that gives lessons and exams in english....... Online coursers........
Thanks for your help!!
If its near Hilversum, better.
Nicolas
Hope you can help me.
I want to obtain the PPL ........ and today in the Hilversum Airport they told me that they only have lessons in Dutch and that the exams are in Dutch....... My levelo of Dutch is 0.
Does somebody knows a way to get the PPL?...... Or any other academy that gives lessons and exams in english....... Online coursers........
Thanks for your help!!
If its near Hilversum, better.
Nicolas
Pompey till I die


Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 779
Likes: 0
From: Guildford
Not sure
Can't help but think it's a bit rude to go and live in a country and not learn the lingo.
Ja, Nederlands is heel moeilijk dat klopt maar jij woont bij Nederland nu! Veel success.
A year of living in the country should get you fluent. Sorry I can't think of anything more productive! Is it not possible to do the exams in the UK and have them count? I suspect probably not?
Ja, Nederlands is heel moeilijk dat klopt maar jij woont bij Nederland nu! Veel success.
A year of living in the country should get you fluent. Sorry I can't think of anything more productive! Is it not possible to do the exams in the UK and have them count? I suspect probably not?

Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 1,113
Likes: 2
From: Iraq and other places
You could ask at my flying club, Rotterdam. I don't speak Dutch (and have been here four years) but the instructors I have flown with have all had great English.
Learning Dutch is pointless for some people. I always knew I would be here for a short time (4 years is longer than I expected), and everyone speaks great English. Once one moves on to a new country, Dutch is entirely useless as no-one else speaks it. I'm learning Chinese and that is more than enough to keep me busy without upgrading my basic level of Dutch. Obviously I learnt enough to get by, and be polite, but when I do speak Dutch, everyone just switches to English right away anyway!
Learning Dutch is pointless for some people. I always knew I would be here for a short time (4 years is longer than I expected), and everyone speaks great English. Once one moves on to a new country, Dutch is entirely useless as no-one else speaks it. I'm learning Chinese and that is more than enough to keep me busy without upgrading my basic level of Dutch. Obviously I learnt enough to get by, and be polite, but when I do speak Dutch, everyone just switches to English right away anyway!
Last edited by Katamarino; 14th May 2012 at 09:12.
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 4,598
Likes: 0
From: Amsterdam
I did my PPL in Florida, at a CAA-approved school so I can't exactly comment from experience on the situation in the Netherlands.
However,
CBR - onze diensten - CCV - Luchtvaart - Examens -
The PPL(A) exams are indeed in Dutch. From CPL and IR onwards they're in English however.
If you would like to do the exams in English, or if you would like to do the English exams of a school that operates under the UK CAA, and have them recognized by the Dutch authorities (so that you can do the flight training and PPL exam in the Netherlands), I suggest you contact the CBR directly. They might have dealt with those types of requests before.
CBR - onze diensten - CCV - Luchtvaart - Examens - Bijzondere verzoeken -
Nobody cares how you gain the knowledge for the exams. There is no requirement for classroom courses, or specific books to read in JAR-FCL or EASA-FCL. So the fact that the lessons are in Dutch is irrelevant, as the lessons are not required. You can just as easily study the books. (Or use the lessons to get proficient in Dutch...)
A flight school will obviously not tell you this (out loud) because theory lessons are a nice source of income for them.
Having said that, if you do want to do classroom courses, I suggest you simply phone around. There are a lot of flight schools in the area, particularly if you're willing to travel to Lelystad for your lessons. There has to be one that can do the lessons in English. (My first suggestion for a school to call would be Wings over Holland.)
Another alternative would be to study the books on your own, and simply book an hour or two of private tuition with an instructor just before going to the exam. You can then go over all the material with him/her, and discuss anything you don't completely understand. This might be more effective, and cheaper, than spending evening after evening in a classroom.
... woont IN Nederland nu...
However,
CBR - onze diensten - CCV - Luchtvaart - Examens -
The PPL(A) exams are indeed in Dutch. From CPL and IR onwards they're in English however.
If you would like to do the exams in English, or if you would like to do the English exams of a school that operates under the UK CAA, and have them recognized by the Dutch authorities (so that you can do the flight training and PPL exam in the Netherlands), I suggest you contact the CBR directly. They might have dealt with those types of requests before.
CBR - onze diensten - CCV - Luchtvaart - Examens - Bijzondere verzoeken -
they only have lessons in Dutch
A flight school will obviously not tell you this (out loud) because theory lessons are a nice source of income for them.
Having said that, if you do want to do classroom courses, I suggest you simply phone around. There are a lot of flight schools in the area, particularly if you're willing to travel to Lelystad for your lessons. There has to be one that can do the lessons in English. (My first suggestion for a school to call would be Wings over Holland.)
Another alternative would be to study the books on your own, and simply book an hour or two of private tuition with an instructor just before going to the exam. You can then go over all the material with him/her, and discuss anything you don't completely understand. This might be more effective, and cheaper, than spending evening after evening in a classroom.
jij woont bij Nederland nu!
Last edited by BackPacker; 14th May 2012 at 09:15.
Pompey till I die


Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 779
Likes: 0
From: Guildford
Dat klopt
... woont IN Nederland nu...
Not wishing to thread drift, but this was pretty spectacular:BBC News - How do you become fluent in 11 languages?
Last edited by PompeyPaul; 14th May 2012 at 12:07.
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 460
Likes: 0
From: Milano
His Italian is pretty awful. 
To get back on topic, the issue the OP will have is not with instruction per se, as I'm pretty sure most Dutch FI are at ICAO Level 5 or above.
What he will definitely have problems with is actually taking the exams, especially the written ones. I'm not personally aware of any country where you can take such tests in any language other than those officially recognized by that country's government.
For example, in Switzerland you can pick either Italian, German or French, but English is still a no go as it's not recognized as an official language in the Swiss constitution. The best way would be to do the PPL in the UK, but apart from the logistics it remains to be seen whether the UK CAA will let you go that route on a non-resident basis.
Ciao,
DG800

To get back on topic, the issue the OP will have is not with instruction per se, as I'm pretty sure most Dutch FI are at ICAO Level 5 or above.
For example, in Switzerland you can pick either Italian, German or French, but English is still a no go as it's not recognized as an official language in the Swiss constitution. The best way would be to do the PPL in the UK, but apart from the logistics it remains to be seen whether the UK CAA will let you go that route on a non-resident basis.
Ciao,
DG800
Last edited by Dg800; 14th May 2012 at 13:27.





