Want to do PPL in Dublin

[philchirl]

Hi There,

Im looking for advice on where is best to do a PPL in Ireland, Dublin specifically.

To my surprize there seems to be loads of schools within an 1 1/2 drive time from Dublin.

I only plan to fly for enjoyment and have no plans on becoming a commercial pilot. My criteria would be as follows:

1.) quality of training
2.) cost of training (i hear the total cost are 10-15k is that correct) can i do it over say 2 yrs or does it all need to be in aconfined block.
3.) Good club. i.e. friendly enviroment where you could seek advice from other members if necessary.

My goals are to first learn who to fly for the fun of it progressing to being able to say fly to the UK for the weekend.

Your advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks

[pplal]

Best bet is to visit the schools/clubs . Don't take for gospel how great a place is from the guy who is after your money . Spend some time hanging around and talk to as many pilots/students as u can , this way you'll get a taste of the atmosphere and see would it suit you.
10-15k sounds about right if u are doing it over 2 years as you won't be current and regular learning your new skills in the plane . It can sometimes feel like 1 step forward and 2 steps back especially if any length of time occurs between lessons .
Weigh up everything . Weather in Ireland is sh1tty at best so factor in drives to the airfield only for your lesson to be cancelled due to low cloud or vis or anything else Mother Nature will throw at u . Also winter can be long and wet for irish aviation so grass runways may be closed for a considerable length or unusable 9 out of 10 days from September till February .
All in all jump on in and enjoy and remember you could be at the best school in the world but if u don't put in the work yourself it all means squat .

[philchirl]

Thanks for the post. The goal would be to do it much quicker but it would be dependant on available funds.

Where did you do yours if you dont mind my asking.

Thanks

[Fionn101]

Hi Phil,

There are a number of good schools out in Weston aerodrome (Leixlip) but I would like to ask also where you are located ? this will help with trying to find somewhere best suited to your needs.

I can't help but get the impression you may be more suited to Microlight flying if you are just doing this for fun (and keep costs low)

So ,
Where are you located ?
Do you have an aversion to microlight flying ? (have a look at http://www.nmai.ie/ for more info)

this should help us Irish fliers to help find somewhere suitable for you .

just to note : Our weather is great for practice as it is so varied , and I have heard of the odd waterlogged runway but I have yet to experience one firsthand and I'm no spring chicken.

Keep posting your questions and enjoy the wisdom of the other pilots here.

Rgds,
Fionn

[philchirl]

Hi Fionn,

Im based in Donnycarney. Very close to DUB airport actually. Thanks for your reply. Despite the cost i think i would prefer to go for a fully fledged PPL as the ambition is to travel to the UK etc.

However if microlight training and hours count towards a PPl i would defo go for it but i dont think they do to my knowledge.

I was thinking Weston due to proximity. I was thinking the NFC of flightowl. NFC i think is more, judging but the cost of there intro flight vouchers but they have a sim which i think would be good if a lesson was cancelled. I gather sim hours do not count.

Do you or does anybody else have direct knowledge of either of these schools.

Thanks Again

[cockney steve]

Microlight does not mean "flexwing"

There are several perfectly conventional aircraft," tube and rag" as well as smooth shiny, sleek Composite, that either fall naturally into the Microlight category, or are a variant of a Group A (conventional Single Engine Piston (SEP) ) aircraft that usually has a bigger wing, smaller engine to get it into the correct ballpark for wing-loading and stall-speed .

I'd say, if you can afford to do the full PPL course, go ahead, but aMicrolight license would be a lot cheaper and you would be well on your way to owning one, with the saved cash! (well, a damned good down-payment, anyway!)
Have a look at the BMAA website, also the LAA might give you a few ideas!

[Jan Olieslagers]

That's correct, but even so a microlight is less than ideal for touring. The main problem is the limited MTOW: this is legally limited to 450 kg, or sometimes 472,5. Few of them weigh in at less than 270 kg, leaving awfully little load capacity; actually with two average grown-ups on board, there is even little allowance for fuel - and yet that is such a useful amenity to carry, when touring far.

Myself fly a two-seater alone, and that works well. Still I feel reluctant to even cross the English channel with it, being unable to legally climb high enough to always be within gliding distance of terra firma. I don't even think of crossing the Irish sea.

[Jan Olieslagers]

Another argument against microlights is the slow speed. Mine cruises at a meagre 80 kts, and that makes for long flights, especially against a 20 kts headwind.

There certainly are faster microlights, especially from Italy and Czechia, but they are neither cheap to acquire or operate, nor easy to fly for a beginner. Been there, tried that, thought better of it.

[Fionn101]

Hi Phil,

Yes you are very close to Dublin airport but alas there are no longer flight schools running from there.
Weston is your best bet and there are a few threads over on boards.ie about the various schools out there and reviews of each.

I myself flew with Flightwise and DublinPilot (who will be along shortly I imagine) went Skytrace , and neither of us have had an issue. The are both excellent schools with great instructors and I have rarely heard a bad word spoken of each outfit.

I did do a few hours with NFC at the start to help choose a school , and you seem to have very good skills at deduction.


If you have any questions at all then please post here and one of us will help you.

oh and NFC do have a sim , as do flightwise (pc based flight yoke).

Hope this helps ,

Fionn

[philchirl]

Hi There,

First of all thanks for all the input and keep it coming if you have anymore. Just an update:

Based on the fact that eventually i want to take trips with my family i have rulled out microlighting However i have spoken to 2 schools and rulled out a third:

Flight Wise: Rulled out due to there being a membership. I dont want to be paying money monthly as i expect it to take me some time and €40 per month for 2 or more years will really add up.

NFC: Spoke on the phone. Nice guy but to be honest i didnt really get answers to the questions i asked. It was more a case of take a lesson then we will explain, whereas i want more info before i decide so from that point of view I wasnt to happy.

Newcastle aerodrome: By far the best of the bunch so far. Answered all my questions straight and provided more info than i asked for. Good hourly rates (plane + instructor) and the added benifit of the sim. i know the others have sims too (although they didnt tell me that on the phone) but John explained that I will need to do 65 hours to be competent but only need 45 for the PPL so 20 can be done in the sim on the presumably many occations that i cant take to the skies. That means for me fewer wasted trips, time and money. Mostly i just liked his attitude. (thanks for the into jhill165).

I wont be doing anything for a couple of weeks yet so still plenty of time for directions from you kind people but so far newcastle is the front runner.

Thanks

[VORTIME]

Avoid

NFC is not somewhere I would train. It's when you experience training abroad you realise the difference in attitude and customer service aspirations. Another school at the airport 'invented' ground time that didn't happen on first flight so won't fly there either. Go abroad, or Atlantic in Ireland. I do hope someday someone will setup in Weston with aspirations of running a good ship.

[unusualAtitude]

I like NFC

Sad to NFC knocked.

I've done my PPL and CPL there.
They trained me to be an aircraft commander. If you expect to be taken by hand, you're going to be disappointed.
Horses for courses....
Left seats for captains.

[flyingpony]

If you're worried about spending 40euro a month then I'd forget about the 20 simulator hours you mentioned. You can only count 5 FNPT hours towards your PPL and if the device isn't approved (check the IAA site) you can count none of it.

[philchirl]

Sorry i must not have been clear in my post.

I know none of the sim time counts towards the 45 hours, however is usefull for proficiency. All schools seem to be in agreement that much more than 45 hours is required. sim hours would only be used for proficiency not formal training. Instructed sim hours are about half of that of instructed flight time or so im told.

the €40/month is an unnecessary extra cost not somthing that would put me off the ppl.

thanks

[logie101]

I did my PPL at NFC and found the standard of instruction to be first class. I would definitely not rule out training at NFC or perhaps the new crowd at weston (Skyways).

Training at Weston has its advantages as you don't have to worry about the condition of the runaway(lots of airfields in Ireland are unserviceable for half the year) and in my opinion you are better equipped with flying in controlled airspace and all the radio work. Professional flight schools like NFC have an abundance of instructors and aircraft enabling you to fly when you want.

Ironically now that i have the PPl i dont think Weston is the best place for general aviation flying post PPL.

[cockney steve]

All schools seem to be in agreement that much more than 45 hours is required.

Well! knock me down with a feather! I'm abolutely stunned by that. totally gobsmacked, iI tell ya!

[philchirl]

Thanks for that Steve!!

[philchirl]

Havent rulled them out Logie. They are closer to me so just that reason alone keeps them on the list but for sure there facilities must be among the best.

Im going to go to them and Newcastle prob on the same day in a couple of weeks as im tied up this weekend.

Thanks a mill