What type of flying do people do after their PPL?
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: England & Scotland
Age: 63
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I fly about 30hrs per year in EC120 (mostly) and R44 helicopters.
- Additional / refresher training (a real forced landing is unlikely to go well if the last practice was a year back)
- 2x LPC to complete each year
- Taking friends for a short flight
- Lunch / weekends away (landing at the hotel)
- Vacation trips (2+ days)
- Occasional transport for meetings elsewhere in the country
- Transport to a wedding (this year was a first)
- Air Search volunteer
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Midlands
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I am the sole owner of a PtoF aircraft. I spend about £4500 doing 75 hours a year including touring Europe. At £7k if you get a share you will have no issue doing 70+ hours a year, even if the fist year has to include the share cost.
Rod1
Rod1
Join Date: May 2001
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It's all relative Rod.
Hangarage alone at Leeds is around £8500 before you have even wheeled the bloody thing out on to the Apron , put any fuel in it, insured it, and paid for an annual and a 50 hour check, let alone actually flown it....
Hangarage alone at Leeds is around £8500 before you have even wheeled the bloody thing out on to the Apron , put any fuel in it, insured it, and paid for an annual and a 50 hour check, let alone actually flown it....
Join Date: Apr 2003
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You can spend an huge amount on flying. If I was lucky and lived in Yorkshire there are many strips at around the £1k a year - or I could keep it at Leeds. I could operate on a P to F and pay about £350 a year on maintenance all in (average over the last 9 years) or I could pay through the nose.
You can even get aircraft which you can take home every night and keep on the drive or in the Garage.
Rod1
You can even get aircraft which you can take home every night and keep on the drive or in the Garage.
Rod1
Join Date: May 2001
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Alas very few strips in Yorkshire compared to "dahn sarf," and most significantly of all, only one which is within remotely convenient travelling distance for me, and that also happens to be a regional airport.
Roll on retirement and a house move in the next year or two and I think I may well be in touch with you for advice Rod. Those sort of running costs are dreamworld figures for me...
Roll on retirement and a house move in the next year or two and I think I may well be in touch with you for advice Rod. Those sort of running costs are dreamworld figures for me...
Join Date: Apr 2003
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If you were to move to the midlands tomorrow I can get you in at the strip I am based at - 650m. We have one space available - preferably for an LAA type - £1000 for a two seater £1200 for a 4 seat (PA). Strip is near Tatanhil.
Rod1
Rod1
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Hey, Falcons 11, take a look at what Strollerweb has to say at the bottom of page one!
Most of those who replied to your question are straining pretty hard to keep current or interested. Alas, the pilot's license once obtained often languishes unused while the once keen and delighted pilot either runs out of money, takes up golf, or goes sailing...
Camargue tells the truth about weekends away by air!
So why am I still flying since taking up gliding in 1983? Every flight is a challenge. Using the elements instead of an engine.
Going solo is only the beginning. Going cross country the next step, get that wrong and you visit a farmer, and your friends come to get you with the trailer and you all stop off at a pub for a meal on the way back to the gliding club.
Then, adventure! Soaring to 20,000 ' in the Cairngorns! Rock polishing in Wales at the Black Mountains Gliding Club. Average flight along those hills is more than two hours. My longest flight in the UK, in a regional competition, was 8 hours and 52 minutes, to cover 511 kilometers. On that day, 50 gliders flew the task, 27 got round, I was the slowest! but what a sense of accomplishment! I have flown in France, in Russia, in Ireland.
Every where gliding clubs welcome another glider pilot.
I then gained the PPL, did flying in the US with power, got the seaplane rating, flew at night, over the Missisippi, in Florida in a J3 on floats. And became useful at the gliding club as a tow plane pilot.
Enjoyed instructing most of all, very sad to have retired from that now, also have to fly with a safety pilot owing to lapsed medical. Still flying, however. Forever and ever, a glider pilot.
Most of those who replied to your question are straining pretty hard to keep current or interested. Alas, the pilot's license once obtained often languishes unused while the once keen and delighted pilot either runs out of money, takes up golf, or goes sailing...
Camargue tells the truth about weekends away by air!
So why am I still flying since taking up gliding in 1983? Every flight is a challenge. Using the elements instead of an engine.
Going solo is only the beginning. Going cross country the next step, get that wrong and you visit a farmer, and your friends come to get you with the trailer and you all stop off at a pub for a meal on the way back to the gliding club.
Then, adventure! Soaring to 20,000 ' in the Cairngorns! Rock polishing in Wales at the Black Mountains Gliding Club. Average flight along those hills is more than two hours. My longest flight in the UK, in a regional competition, was 8 hours and 52 minutes, to cover 511 kilometers. On that day, 50 gliders flew the task, 27 got round, I was the slowest! but what a sense of accomplishment! I have flown in France, in Russia, in Ireland.
Every where gliding clubs welcome another glider pilot.
I then gained the PPL, did flying in the US with power, got the seaplane rating, flew at night, over the Missisippi, in Florida in a J3 on floats. And became useful at the gliding club as a tow plane pilot.
Enjoyed instructing most of all, very sad to have retired from that now, also have to fly with a safety pilot owing to lapsed medical. Still flying, however. Forever and ever, a glider pilot.
I think you'll find that the reality of the situation is that unless you are going on to do it professionally (gamblers/fools... who knows) or have a seriously realistic financial budget then the majority of those that qualify won't be doing much flying in the future. This has always been the case, nothing changes, only the fresh faced mugs turning up at flying schools.
