London flying schools: North Weald vs Stapleford vs Damyns Hall

[SteakAndAle]

Hi all,

I'm thinking of trying to get my PPL this year, because apparently I hate money. I'm based in East London, so my nearest schools are based at North Weald, Stapleford & Damyns Hall. I've googled each and read what I can find, but most posts area few years old - hoping I can get £0.02 from current flyers/learners..?

• North Weald (EGSX): Farthest from me (40 mins drive but traffic can suck). Seems to have a good "club" vibe and very focused on private flyers. Looks well set up in terms of facilities. Hard runways.
  
• Stapleford (EGSG): Seems very professional; their main business is commercial (Zero to ATPL) trainees. The posts I've found give mixed opinions - some people seem to like it, others felt it was a bit impersonal/like second-class citizens vs the commercial trainees.
  
• Damyns Hall (EGML): Closest to me, easy 25 mins drive. Haven't seen much about people getting their PPLs here; there is a flying school that seems like a 1 man band..? Suppose that could either be good or bad, depending on the instructor! Also home to the Tiger Club, which looks very cool. However looks a lot more basic in terms of facilities: grass runways only, so worried about being able to fly if ground is wet.
  

(other options would be Biggin Hill or Southend, but they're farther away so haven't looked into them as much)

Thanks in advance for any & all input

[possel]

You mention the Tiger Club at Damyn's Hall but I'm pretty sure they don't do ab-initio - certainly they never used to at Headcorn when I was a member (I left 2008).

[SteakAndAle]

Oh yeah, I just meant they were a bonus - the flight school at Damyns Hall is "London Air Sports"

[mikehallam]

Damyn's Hall training likely carried out by Deepak, who is a very experienced instructor. & one to one from what I hear.
Really you should drive down and meet him & make up your own t opinionas well as see for yourself the airfield. More personal and now Spring is round the corner field sate shouldn't be a worry.

mike hallam. West Sussex.

[Momoe]

You've done some research which is a good start, from my perspective it's more about how you feel with the instructors.

I took trial lessons at a few schools and ended up at Clacton, obviously didn't let on I wanted to learn to fly, just said I was in the area and saw the planes and fancied a flight.
I liked the vibe, loved the plane (Super cub), the package (3 week live in) and the instructors, I didn't get my PPL in 3 weeks, 2 days were non-flyable so I stayed another day for the GFT and passed. Best 3 weeks of my life.

If you choose an intensive course, revise the theory side beforehand to get the exams out of the way without worrying or retakes. You're there to fly, not study!

Good luck

P.S. I'd advocate learning on a taildragger, it's a bit like taking a car test in an manual, once you pass you can drive an automatic if you want to, but it doesn't work the other way round.

[pilotmike]

You have clearly done your homework, as you have summarised the schools very well. How refreshing to see that done before coming on here to ask the questions. Articulate and focused questions, you come across as someone who will make quick progress with your PPL (one of my more 'ideal' students, rather than one who expects the instructor to do everything for them, which quickly becomes tiring!).

I have flown extensively at both Stapleford and North Weald, and they are as you say. Do you intend to go on to CPL at a later time? That might influence your choice.

Have you visited these schools, or just done thorough research online? If the latter, perhaps visiting and taking a trial lesson at each will prove to be a good investment to halp make the decision easier. You'll be making many journeys to the airfield and back, as well as shelling out loads of coin, so it will be a small investment in the broader scheme of things. Good luck whichever route you take; it is fun but challenging at times. I believe you'll do well, just judging from your 1st post.

[rkgpilot]

Come to us at Damyns Hall and take a trial lesson. You'll not regret it. Fantastic modern aircraft. Deepak is a highly experienced instructor and it's not a 'one man band', with another highly experienced instructor there too. Plus there's me, but I'm a CRI so can't teach ab initio (but I can help with your groundschool studies).

PM me for more info if interested.

[SteakAndAle]

Thanks everyone for the input; this is really helpful! Especially re. Damyns Hall - as I say, I couldn't find any other posts about people learning there didn't have much to go on. I do like the idea of learning there, though, so given the vouches for it above I'll definitely check it out for a trial lesson as well as North Weald

Momoe how did you find doing such an intensive course? Did you have enough time for stuff to "sink in"? (getting the time off from my day job makes it a no-go for me, but I'm curious nonetheless!)

[meleagertoo]

I don't know if it has changed but when I used to fly out of Stapleford (some time ago) the RT was of a very poor standard and 'circuits' were short cross-countrys - partly due to an excess of avoid areas but much to do with sloppy circuit discipline. 6 an hour would be about the expected rate - hopeless.

[SteakAndAle]

Just for record, and for anyone googling the same question in the future:

I had a spin in a 152 at North Weald just before the coronavirus restrictions hit.

• Instructor was a nice bloke, also flies (flew?) for Ryanair - there was joke about hard landings!
• As expected, the airfield is well-equipped - the runway seems laughably huge for little GA aircraft. I discovered they have a grass strip too for practising field landings.
• The school seems professional, although not exactly cosy: easy to get in touch and (re)organise things, but a bit pay-your-money-next-customer. I wonder if it's different once you're signed up with a regular instructor?
• The plane seemed a bit beaten up, although I'm guessing that's pretty standard for a 152 used for training?
• One thing I hadn't considered was size - I'm 6'3", and it was OK when I was flying but difficult to avoid being in the way when the instructor had the controls. He suggested that it was probably fine for learning, but if it became a real problem one could always switch to a 172 during training.
• Would have been interested to see the flying club too, but didn't get the chance - although the school rents it's most likely them I'd be flying with post-PPL

I had a lesson booked with Deepak @ Damyns Hall too, but that got canned due to coronavirus - have promised to go up with him when this all blows over. Will be very interested to see what a Pipistrel is like - couldn't find many opinions on the internet..?

Definitely keen to crack on with the PPL when this is all over, but I'll probably be a little more cautious and see how the economy turns out rather than pulling the trigger on lessons the first day after the lockdown: I will need to be sure that I'll still have a job when I get my licence! In the mean time I'm thinking of picking up some of the Pooleys or FAA manuals as bedtime reading - I like the idea of getting ground school out of the way first and only having to think about skills when learning.

Thanks again for advice above; will report back re Damyns Hall when the time comes.

[A and C]

I have had some Business dealings with the outfit at Stapleford and have been impressed by their financial stability over the years and have flown with a few guys in the airlines who trained with them and it was clear that the training was a cut above the average.

over the years I have visited stapleford on a number of occasions and it is a bit of a cold atmosphere but it is the training you want, once you get the PPL you an move on to a place with more of a club atmosphere.

[Momoe]

Sorry about the delayed response.

As I said, cram the theory in your spare time before the course. You should be be able to pass meteorology, radio, nav and air law tests comfortably before the course, if not cram more.

Even with a demanding job, you will still have at least 1 hour a night to study. Try and get at least a weekend just flying, some folk just find it hard work, whereas others enjoy the flying experience and the learning. Agree about your size, we had a guy on our course who found 152's a bit cramped and he did most of his nav work in a 172, not much difference just add 10mph to take off and landing speeds iirc. 172 speed control needs to be carefully monitored when 4 up, if you're too fast they float forever, don't ask!