Cheap flying schools?
But to put it into perspective, I did a 6 hour flight from Hampshire to Lincolnshire and back off a winch launch in July, dinner was the most expensive thing that day!
That is great, but how many days did you spend hanging around on cold, windy airfields to get to your current skill level?
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But the one thing teenagers have (even if they don't realise it) is bags of time... if the OP spent the whole summer holiday* hanging round the gliding club he'd get quite a lot done.
*full disclosure - I'm a teacher. Which is how I found the time, if not the money, to do an intensive PPL course...
*full disclosure - I'm a teacher. Which is how I found the time, if not the money, to do an intensive PPL course...
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Much easier for the OP in this case who is a similar age to me to therefore spend some time hanging around on cold, windy airfields learning some valuable non flying skills along the way than having to work multiple jobs to get anywhere near the same amount of hours and fun in power. The only teenagers with hundreds of hours either have rich parents or are glider pilots! For the record I'm not one of these people who dislikes the power world, I just believe at times some see gliding as some sort of dead end when there's far more opportunities than you think!
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Luke
As others have said ‘The Gliding Centre’ is the place for you, one of the larger clubs in the UK and does have professional staff though mostly volunteer based to keep the costs down, it’s a 7 day a week operation for most of the year and the airfield is exclusively for them.
Tugs are still very much in demand, quite a few airfields cannot support winch launching, we are seeing a move from older towplanes to microlight tugs but that is a slow process, quite often jobs are advertised worldwide for towplane pilots at large clubs but glider pilots expect high quality tows so the jobs nearly always go to people with at least a dozen or so hours gliding over someone with a tad more power experience.
As for how it’s charged, you are charged for the method of launch and then your airtime. Many clubs, and I believe The Gliding Centre is included, charge reduced rates for people under 21. An example cost therefore would be £7 for a winch launch which’d get you to 1000-1500ft (Primary method for training) and then 35p a minute airtime. An hours flying therefore would be just £27 in that case! Going up behind the towplane gives you more height and more chance of catching a thermal but fuel isn’t cheap so it’s £27 for a tow to 2000ft. Obviously if you go higher you’ll pay more, release lower less. Remember also that as a club you pay a membership fee of up to £200 per year. But that’s cheap compared to golf! And if you’re lucky you’ll apply and get a scholarship to do most of the training for free anyway!
Try it out, if it isn’t your cup of tea at least you can say you’ve seen another side to aviation, be aware though that like the power world, Gliding Clubs always charge a lot more for trial lessons as it’s a big income earner so don’t judge gliding by the price of the trial lesson, but you will get some temporary membership alongside it to try more Gliding out before deciding to commit. PM me if you get stuck.
Planesandthings
P.S I wrote an article which you may be interested in about Gliding for beginners. Gliding, the cheapest and most fun way to fly. | Get Into Flying
As others have said ‘The Gliding Centre’ is the place for you, one of the larger clubs in the UK and does have professional staff though mostly volunteer based to keep the costs down, it’s a 7 day a week operation for most of the year and the airfield is exclusively for them.
Tugs are still very much in demand, quite a few airfields cannot support winch launching, we are seeing a move from older towplanes to microlight tugs but that is a slow process, quite often jobs are advertised worldwide for towplane pilots at large clubs but glider pilots expect high quality tows so the jobs nearly always go to people with at least a dozen or so hours gliding over someone with a tad more power experience.
As for how it’s charged, you are charged for the method of launch and then your airtime. Many clubs, and I believe The Gliding Centre is included, charge reduced rates for people under 21. An example cost therefore would be £7 for a winch launch which’d get you to 1000-1500ft (Primary method for training) and then 35p a minute airtime. An hours flying therefore would be just £27 in that case! Going up behind the towplane gives you more height and more chance of catching a thermal but fuel isn’t cheap so it’s £27 for a tow to 2000ft. Obviously if you go higher you’ll pay more, release lower less. Remember also that as a club you pay a membership fee of up to £200 per year. But that’s cheap compared to golf! And if you’re lucky you’ll apply and get a scholarship to do most of the training for free anyway!
Try it out, if it isn’t your cup of tea at least you can say you’ve seen another side to aviation, be aware though that like the power world, Gliding Clubs always charge a lot more for trial lessons as it’s a big income earner so don’t judge gliding by the price of the trial lesson, but you will get some temporary membership alongside it to try more Gliding out before deciding to commit. PM me if you get stuck.
Planesandthings
P.S I wrote an article which you may be interested in about Gliding for beginners. Gliding, the cheapest and most fun way to fly. | Get Into Flying
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Hi Luke,
How far into your training are you ?
30 miles from Anstey gives you Stoughton, Tollerton, Derby at a push. But your driving past East Mids to get to Derby, which is pointless. Not sure who is still at Cov. If your parents don't like running you up the A50, I doubt they'll fancy a further jaunt down the M69 or up the A46 to Tollerton.
So, it leaves you with Stoughton. My advise is biased and despite the great fry ups at Stoughton, I would pay the extra £10 for the pleasure of GO, GP and Michael Charles. Spent many an hour training in them
How far into your training are you ?
30 miles from Anstey gives you Stoughton, Tollerton, Derby at a push. But your driving past East Mids to get to Derby, which is pointless. Not sure who is still at Cov. If your parents don't like running you up the A50, I doubt they'll fancy a further jaunt down the M69 or up the A46 to Tollerton.
So, it leaves you with Stoughton. My advise is biased and despite the great fry ups at Stoughton, I would pay the extra £10 for the pleasure of GO, GP and Michael Charles. Spent many an hour training in them
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Update
Hi again all,
I have today been for a flying lesson and have had a chat with my intructor about it. He told me that im progressing well (hopefully thats good considering it was my third lesson) and as such I have decided to stay at Donair. As for the membership fees, we concluded that I could pay £10 for a month as £85 a year is a waste of 40 pounds. The club are brilliant and after hearing about where all the money goes and what it covers has helped me understand most of your points - that if your paying cheap you get cheap back. Hence i decided to stick with Donair whom are brilliant and have once again helped me out as much as possible. I will also be trying gliding at some point, however I feel it is essential to get my PPL done asap and as such i probably may not continue with gliding.
Thanks all who contributed as once again in the aviation community i have learnt much from this thread.
Luke.
I have today been for a flying lesson and have had a chat with my intructor about it. He told me that im progressing well (hopefully thats good considering it was my third lesson) and as such I have decided to stay at Donair. As for the membership fees, we concluded that I could pay £10 for a month as £85 a year is a waste of 40 pounds. The club are brilliant and after hearing about where all the money goes and what it covers has helped me understand most of your points - that if your paying cheap you get cheap back. Hence i decided to stick with Donair whom are brilliant and have once again helped me out as much as possible. I will also be trying gliding at some point, however I feel it is essential to get my PPL done asap and as such i probably may not continue with gliding.
Thanks all who contributed as once again in the aviation community i have learnt much from this thread.
Luke.
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Thanks all who contributed as once again in the aviation community i have learnt much from this thread
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Local Variation: don't forget Tango Golf! That one holds a special place in my heart after it carried me safely through my QXC and performed beautifully during my skills test 
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Luke.
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Sorry both, never been in TG.
GO, GP and Michael Charles are all ex EMFS (East Midlands Flying School). As am I. ZP and RY are also ex EMFS. I did my PPL at EMFS and TG was at Donair.
EMFS were located where the relatively new hangar is, adjacent left to the holding point M4 at the top of the maintenance area.
Gill will tell you all about the history of EMFS and Donair and how they came to be one.
Glad to see your enjoying your flying. You are in very safe hands. Get yourselfs on the list for a Tower visit. You'll enjoy that and the bods in their have their own interests and licenses in GA and will make you feel most welcome. You will be surprised how far you can see from the room at the top.
PM me if you ever want a natter.
GO, GP and Michael Charles are all ex EMFS (East Midlands Flying School). As am I. ZP and RY are also ex EMFS. I did my PPL at EMFS and TG was at Donair.
EMFS were located where the relatively new hangar is, adjacent left to the holding point M4 at the top of the maintenance area.
Gill will tell you all about the history of EMFS and Donair and how they came to be one.
Glad to see your enjoying your flying. You are in very safe hands. Get yourselfs on the list for a Tower visit. You'll enjoy that and the bods in their have their own interests and licenses in GA and will make you feel most welcome. You will be surprised how far you can see from the room at the top.
PM me if you ever want a natter.
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If you're time-rich and money-poor, then gliding would certainly equip you with useful skills that won't be wasted when you go to powered and Husband's Bosworth is not far away.
Motor gliding is another less costly option. Enstone operate a T61 that's about as cheap as it gets. You may find others nearer to home, though I can't think of any.
Motor gliding is another less costly option. Enstone operate a T61 that's about as cheap as it gets. You may find others nearer to home, though I can't think of any.
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Local Variation: Ah, understood! I'm also ex-EMFS... started my training there in 2004 for a year or so before issues forced me to give up. ON is the first plane in my logbook, then there's also a lot of RY in there too
Resumed (and finished) training with Donair this year
Resumed (and finished) training with Donair this year
Last edited by Nick T; 22nd Dec 2016 at 18:16.
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Hi Council Van,
Pete is still around, see him now and again. Not sure to what degree he is involved nowadays. His wife trained me. Both incredible aviators, particularly Pete. A true legend in these parts, as I'm sure you know.
Out of curiosity when did you work for Bill ? We have probably met.
Pete is still around, see him now and again. Not sure to what degree he is involved nowadays. His wife trained me. Both incredible aviators, particularly Pete. A true legend in these parts, as I'm sure you know.
Out of curiosity when did you work for Bill ? We have probably met.
