JAA-PPL
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JAA-PPL
Hi there,
Im wondering if anyone has any advice on the best / cheapest place to do the JAA-PPL? I have always wanted to do this and now finally have a budget of £9000 with a back up of £1000 to get the licence. I am based in scotland but considering going to USA or elsewhere if it will bring the cost down and / or help me get the licence quicker.
Any thoughts / advice would be appreciated!
Regards
Im wondering if anyone has any advice on the best / cheapest place to do the JAA-PPL? I have always wanted to do this and now finally have a budget of £9000 with a back up of £1000 to get the licence. I am based in scotland but considering going to USA or elsewhere if it will bring the cost down and / or help me get the licence quicker.
Any thoughts / advice would be appreciated!
Regards
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That amount ought to be ample. You won't save a deal going to USA, RSA etc. when you add in flights, accommodation, time off work and conversion costs, but you may get better continuity of weather and training.
If you really want to keep costs down, consider an upgrade route through gliders, motor-gliders or microlights before upgrading to EASA PPL. It has the added benefit of acquiring skills on a wide variety of aircraft and a broader base to move on to other post-PPL options.
If you really want to keep costs down, consider an upgrade route through gliders, motor-gliders or microlights before upgrading to EASA PPL. It has the added benefit of acquiring skills on a wide variety of aircraft and a broader base to move on to other post-PPL options.
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It depends how much time you can devote to it.
If you're able to get a full month off, you'd be just as well doing it in Scotland. The key thing would be to get all the ground exams out of the way before you started the practical flying. This can be done at home, for free, with the books, and just take the exams when you're ready. Then take the time off and hit the flying course hard in Scotland.
Otherwise, you start the flight training, and your practical flying gets way ahead of your groundschool. Typically a school will not send you first solo until you have air law, will not send you solo nav without the nav exam and possibly Met and Comms, and by law you cannot take your practical test until you have completed all 7 written exams.
Once you have your licence, if you are planning to fly in Scotland, I would just get the licence in Scotland. If you get a USA licence, any money you save will simply be spent at a flying school in Scotland getting used to the local area/radio/airspace stuff. May aswell just do it here from day one.
If you're able to get a full month off, you'd be just as well doing it in Scotland. The key thing would be to get all the ground exams out of the way before you started the practical flying. This can be done at home, for free, with the books, and just take the exams when you're ready. Then take the time off and hit the flying course hard in Scotland.
Otherwise, you start the flight training, and your practical flying gets way ahead of your groundschool. Typically a school will not send you first solo until you have air law, will not send you solo nav without the nav exam and possibly Met and Comms, and by law you cannot take your practical test until you have completed all 7 written exams.
Once you have your licence, if you are planning to fly in Scotland, I would just get the licence in Scotland. If you get a USA licence, any money you save will simply be spent at a flying school in Scotland getting used to the local area/radio/airspace stuff. May aswell just do it here from day one.
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Lots of flying schools around Scotland. I suspect there isn't a lot of difference in price between schools. I'm enjoying learning in Prestwick - but that's a little far from you.
If you are interested in doing an intensive course - it is certainly possible in Scotland, and at one time was quite normal. Yes you could be unlucky due to the weather, with lessons cancelled, but I've had very few lessons cancelled during my training, and it does depend which airport you're based at. Mind you - I'm enjoying not having to hurry through the learning process!
Have a chat to some of the schools, some of which will be able to organise an intensive course for you.
You might be able to organise a better deal than what's advertised, but be very wary of paying up front as large numbers of schools have gone bust, taking student money with them. If you do pay up front, pay by credit card, so you can claim back the money.
To get the best value, most people do the ground study on their own from books. If you aren't doing an intensive course, you can then ask your instructor any questions you have as you do the practical training in parallel with the book learning. The law of averages suggests that you will complete the course in less flying hours if you do an intensive course.
When deciding where to learn, it is worth thinking about what you want to do with your licence once you have it. If you are likely to mostly fly in Scotland it would be best to learn in Scotland as you will be familiar with local procedures and geography from your instruction. If you do the course in the USA then you really need a series of lessons in the UK afterwards to familiarise yourself with the differences.
If budgeting, remember
PM me if you would like a chat about the club I'm at - but its probably a bit far from you and since all the instructors are part time, you wouldn't be able to do an intensive course there.
Best of luck making decisions - ENJOY!!
If you are interested in doing an intensive course - it is certainly possible in Scotland, and at one time was quite normal. Yes you could be unlucky due to the weather, with lessons cancelled, but I've had very few lessons cancelled during my training, and it does depend which airport you're based at. Mind you - I'm enjoying not having to hurry through the learning process!
Have a chat to some of the schools, some of which will be able to organise an intensive course for you.
You might be able to organise a better deal than what's advertised, but be very wary of paying up front as large numbers of schools have gone bust, taking student money with them. If you do pay up front, pay by credit card, so you can claim back the money.
To get the best value, most people do the ground study on their own from books. If you aren't doing an intensive course, you can then ask your instructor any questions you have as you do the practical training in parallel with the book learning. The law of averages suggests that you will complete the course in less flying hours if you do an intensive course.
When deciding where to learn, it is worth thinking about what you want to do with your licence once you have it. If you are likely to mostly fly in Scotland it would be best to learn in Scotland as you will be familiar with local procedures and geography from your instruction. If you do the course in the USA then you really need a series of lessons in the UK afterwards to familiarise yourself with the differences.
If budgeting, remember
- Flight charges
- Instructor fees
- Exam fees
- Medical
- landing fees
- equipment / text books (hint - ebay)
- Club Membership
- security pass (depends on airport)
- accommodation / food / transport to / from airport
- ongoing training / actually using your licence!
PM me if you would like a chat about the club I'm at - but its probably a bit far from you and since all the instructors are part time, you wouldn't be able to do an intensive course there.
Best of luck making decisions - ENJOY!!
I learned to fly in Inverness, and was extremely happy with my training there. It took me around 2 months spread from November to January, and there were only a few days that were completely unflyable in the local area, though several weeks of that time were spent waiting for good weather for my qualifying XC. I could also have sped things up by getting my medical in advance.
Since moving to London then Wales, I've come to appreciate the learning environment at Inverness even more. There are several runways which means that you have good facilities for practicing crosswind landings. It's a controlled airport so you get good practice on the radio, as well as being close to grass strips. There are MATZs close by, so you do lots of MATZ crossings. The landscape is stupendous, and the qualifying cross-country is generally to Wick and Kirkwall.
I found the flying school friendly and well set up. Prices at the time were very competitive, especially as the landing fees were included.
Since moving to London then Wales, I've come to appreciate the learning environment at Inverness even more. There are several runways which means that you have good facilities for practicing crosswind landings. It's a controlled airport so you get good practice on the radio, as well as being close to grass strips. There are MATZs close by, so you do lots of MATZ crossings. The landscape is stupendous, and the qualifying cross-country is generally to Wick and Kirkwall.
I found the flying school friendly and well set up. Prices at the time were very competitive, especially as the landing fees were included.
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Prices at the time were very competitive, especially as the landing fees were included.
Perhaps they should, but when I was searching around for a flying school, I found that many didn't. Perhaps I was concentrating too hard on the cheaper end of the market, but as I recall, quite a high proportion of the 'good' deals weren't so good by the time you'd factored in 150 take-offs and landings.
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Thank you all very much for your responses, you all gave me a lot to think about and great advice. I have decided to stay in the UK and pick a school early next year and take it from there.
Kind Regards
Craig
Kind Regards
Craig
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I don't suppose I need to remind you not to pay up front any more than you can afford to lose, or pay by credit card in case the school goes bust?
No, I didn't think I'd need to do that
No, I didn't think I'd need to do that
Last edited by znww5; 14th Dec 2012 at 08:46.
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Hi m8, I am currently training for my NPPL at Former RAF Kinloss Now Kinloss Barracks. They are one of the cheapest I have come across. They are open to Military personnel and Civillians. (like me)
They are charging £4754.50 for the JAR PPL. This includes (Club membership, 45 hrs C152 and 7 ground exams included) All landing fees are free too.
I also hear Tayside aviation offer a good service in Dundee.
They are charging £4754.50 for the JAR PPL. This includes (Club membership, 45 hrs C152 and 7 ground exams included) All landing fees are free too.
I also hear Tayside aviation offer a good service in Dundee.
Last edited by stewsam2k; 17th Dec 2012 at 15:15.
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I did pay up front....Had no issues so far and they have been around for a while. It is a non profit organisation with very little overheads as the site is miliary. The Fuel is cheaper as it comes from the RAF and no landing fees. I had a trial flight with another company locally at a cost of £155 per hour, these guys charge £99. If your after penny pinching this is the way to go.
However I did find Inverness very professional too.
However I did find Inverness very professional too.
Last edited by stewsam2k; 18th Dec 2012 at 12:20.
