PPL in Hertfordshire

[24043013]

Hi,

I live in North Hertfordshire and I would like to do the PPL. I am looking for clubs or schools that offer it.

I know about Panshanger and Henlow Flying Club, but is there any more in this sort of area? I know there is an airstrip very close to Stevenage (Just west of the A1(M)) but I don't know if there is a club or anything there.

Does anyone know any clubs around this area? Unfortunately Google maps doesn't show me all the airfields/airstrips in the area! (Unless I manually find them)

Thanks

[Raiz]

Airfields in Hertfordshire

Hi 24041303

There is also Elstree (website here>>Home) and there is a microlight site at Graveley, just north of Stevenage. The one to the west of Stevenage is probably Rush Green but I think that is just a maintenance operation (i.e. no training).

A bit further afield you have Cambridge, Cranfield, Denham, Stapleford and North Weald.

A good aviation map can be found here SkyDemon Light. It's actually much more than just a map but it shows most airfields and almost certainly all the airfields with a PPL flight school.

Enjoy the PPL

Raiz

[Heston]

Plenty of other microlight schools in the area too, if that would work for you. It depends a bit on what you want to do with your PPL, but have a look here for a directory British Microlight Aircraft Association,UK Clubs & Schools

[24043013]

Thanks. I was thinking more towards the PPL for light aircraft but i'll take a look at microlights.

Elstree is a bit far from me. I've looked at that map but i'm a bit confused- i'll try and work it out!

[Uncle Paul Cat]

Henlow as a flight training organisation comes highly recommended. .

[piperarcher]

Both Panshanger and Henlow are excellent places to learn, fly from and meet helpful people who will share their experiences. Other than the places already mentioned, there is Stapleford as well. I'd go with the ones closest to you, then it's not too far to go home if the weather prevents your flight happening, or not too far when the sun comes out and you can get a last minute slot for a lesson or something.

[24043013]

Panshanger and Henlow are about the same distance from me.

Which one to choose (I've still got about two months to decide )

[VictorGolf]

Classic Wings do PPL training on Cessnas from Duxford. This has the benefit of a hard runway which is a big consideration after this year's lousy wet winter. Also you get to mix with the warbirds. "Victor Golf, join downwind behind the Spitfire" has a certain ring to it.

[24043013]

Duxford is a little bit too far from me, but i've been there before and it would be pretty cool to learn there!

Is anyone on here currently doing their PPL at either Harlow or Panshanger?

[piperarcher]

Pop in at the weekends and see which has an atmosphere, aircraft type that suits you. Both are grass runways. Henlow offers Pipers and Cessna's whereas Panshanger has a fleet of Piper Cherokees, Warriors and Archers. Both are different to each other but nice places in their own right.

[psmurali]

North London Flying school Panshanger

Be Aware !!!!

I was doing my PPL there from this January and I was very much frustrated with my experience there. Generally the school is excellent and all the instructors are fantastic. But the owner is not. When i went to the school early morning, he was in meeting with the instructors saying that "over teach the students". I didnt take it very seriously at that time but later on i realised that my training was keep on extending without any reason. When i asked for reason the instructors are struck and didnt answer me. I did almost 75+ hours. I decided not to waste any more money with them.

Ask yourself the following question:

* Did any of the student doing PPL left review here? All of them are trail lessons!
* In their website they given all the forum links but not pprune, why? Because pprune tells the truth.

If you are really looking to extend your training and if you have more money and wishing to finish your PPL in 90+ hours this is the ideal place for you.

I never seen anyone (from jan to September when i was there) there got PPL in less then 85+ hours. One of my friend got his license in august at his 114 hours.

They are absolute money suckers and stay away from them. If you need any more proof for my above statement, am more happy to send it. PM Me

[Jim59]

Don't forget Rural Flying Corps at Bourne, 8 miles West of Cambridge.

[Grayfly]

I was a member at Henlow for a good number of years, excellent place, never had any issues with the operations and had a great deal of fun. Very friendly place.

[inbound2land]

PPL at Panshanger/North London Flying School

Having done my PPL at pans hangar some time ago, I feel it s time to express my opinion on the place.

At the time i thought the service and tuition was pretty good, however since having experience at other airfields i can say that i would NOT RECOMMEND PANSHANGER TO ANYONE!!!

I finally completed my PPL with around 75 hours, yes 75! I was told this was uncommon although i am aware that this is sometimes the case elsewhere as well. However as i was young and quite capable i now feel that this was probably a money grabbing tactic.

I will say that the cafe is very nice and food on offer is good, the club house however stinks of cigarette smoke, and even though i am a light smoker, it wasn't always pleasant and i feel for those members who don't smoke.

I first went to panshanger after reading good reviews from curtain websites however after looking at them again, it seems they have been written by people who only flew trial lessons and not by PPL students, like me.

Since getting my PPL i've now started flying at a different club and it has since become clear how unprofessional north london flying school is. The instructors look very untidy i.e unshaven, muddy and scruffy uniforms, untucked shirts and dirty looking clothes etc. The instructors also use the frequency for general chat and although it is light hearted and jokey, its unprofessional and as a PPL student, i began to believe that this was common practice, until flying elsewhere. Also something else i that i have only seen at panshanger is the instructors responding to calls for 'panshanger radio' from other aircraft to give radio checks and advisory QNH, I'm not sure if this is within or against the law but i haven't seen it happen anywhere else, as far as i was aware, the 'radio' prefix should be a fixed ground-based station and not instructors pretending to be this from another aircraft!

Having read some other posts i can see that other people have had the same kind of experience, however nothing has been posted for some time, many of the other posts mentioned the owner and he's still the same by the sounds of it. Very egocentric, arrogant and actually quite unpleasant at times, not everyone's cup of tea.

My advice to anyone would be to look elsewhere for ppl training. If you can put up with the bad standards at NLFS then by all means consider it, but if you want to attain a good standard of flying then go somewhere else.

[Heliplane]

I'm not based at EGLG and have no connection to NLFS but occasionally transit their ATZ. I have generally found the people manning the radio (be they on the ground or passing details from other aircraft) to be helpful and pleasant.

Aside from your PPL taking a bit longer than average, which could be down to many different factors and possibly no fault of NLFS (eg I had 95 hours logged by the time I passed my PPL, but then again I was waiting for my 17th birthday to come along), nothing you have said makes the place sound particularly bad or justifies your sweeping generalisation of the school's "bad standards".

Yes, the owner may be an acquired taste for some, but my experience of the field is that it is generally friendly and not a badly run place.

[PTR 175]

I also live in Hertfordshire, just inside the M25. I fly out of Henlow and I can get there reliably in 35 minutes. Traffic permitting.

I learn to fly there and have had a very good experience. I could go to Elstree as I can get there on my bicycle in less than 20 minutes, but I stay at Henlow.

The facilities have recently improved and the instruction is good. A great deal of different people learnt there and continue to do so. The instructors are a great mix of characters from young dedicated instructors who have never done anything else to retired airline pilots.

The grass is well looked after and the place rarely closes because of flooding of the strips. The aircraft are well maintained locally and whilst not beauty queens they do the job.

[G-OE]

To the Defence

As someone who is learning to fly at panshanger, i feel that i owe it to them a defence. They are a caring school with some brilliant instructors, and yes the owners a bit of a shall we say 'get used to' kind of guy, they would never dream of take advantage of anyone. Panshanger has greatly improved from around a few years ago when it was a bit of a funny old place and it is now a truly delightful place to be and I have never known a club with an atmosphere like it. To all of you people stuck in the dark ages with their attitudes towards panshanger, go have another look before you put other off. And this utter bs about panshanger taking the mick when it comes to hours, i passed mine in 47 hours, i have numerous friends who have done it in under 60.
psmurali, please dont preach about things especially when you see them observe them through blinkers.
Any questions or doubts, pm me.

[piperarcher]

I agree with G-OE. OK, you can compare Panshanger to somewhere else local where you might get instructors all with white shirts and epaulettes, a shiny front desk and lots of PC's to get a weather briefing from, but for grass roots 'flying' and learning Panshanger is very good. All of the instructors I have come across have a passion for flying and really will teach you the best they can with passion. It is a place that is unlike others and some just wont get on there, that is true, but there is a passion for aviation there, it has well kept runways and club aircraft, and its very accommodating. Its rarely boring at Panshanger and there are lots of pre and post PPL's there who like a chat and will just talk aviation with you. I am also just a PPL, but in many years of being there I would also say that in the last few years it has been more and more accommodating to pilots and to public events.

[UAV689]

Cfs cranfield, great place to learn cranfield, full atc and become a lot more ga friendly than the past.

Full concrete massive runway, full atc etc etc.

I would be biased, i instruct there!

[146fixer]

I finished my ppl at panshanger a good few years ago. The instructors were all very good and I got on well with them. The owner of the school how ever was another case. Couldn't stand the guy. Obnoxious person. When he knew I worked on aircraft I even had fix the bloody plane before I flew it. I did my air test with the same guy as he was my examiner. We landed and he just got out the aircraft and buggered off. Myself and my instructor had to track him down. He had some thing else he fancied doing rather than tell me if I passed or not. Which I had. The instructor apologised. There were other things that happened also. But that didn't involve flight training.I haven't been back and never intend to.
The times I've been to henlow found it very nice and the people friendly. Try them both, you may have better luck with panshanger than me. You may never meet the owner