How Much does flying cost?
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How Much does flying cost?
When I pass my PPL and am able to fly, How much will it cost minimum to keep my licence. Would £200 a month cover it? How much is it to hire a plane per hour when u have ur licence?
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I think the 'minimum' to keep a licence would be a skills test with an Examiner once every two years, although this would be a rather strange way to fly!
Assuming that you are renting from a club, £200 would buy you somewhere between 2 and 3 hours, depending on where you fly (so 24-36 a year). I think most people would consider that fine, but personally I wouldn't be too happy flying much less than that.
Assuming that you are renting from a club, £200 would buy you somewhere between 2 and 3 hours, depending on where you fly (so 24-36 a year). I think most people would consider that fine, but personally I wouldn't be too happy flying much less than that.
Why do it if it's not fun?
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Really depends what you want to fly.
If you can find the cash to buy a share in a PFA aircraft, flying gets a lot cheaper. I paid £6000 for my 1/6 share in a Europa. I pay £50/month, £15/hour dry, and approx £10/hour for fuel. So, after you've found the initial payment, your £200/month would buy you 6 hours a month - more than enough to stay current, and more than lots of private pilots manage.
You can get even cheaper if you start looking into single seaters, such as the Luton Minor, Rollason Turbulent, etc. You'll have to hunt around, but I've seen 1/12 shares in these aircraft go for less than £1000, and typically cost around £15/month and £15/hour wet (i.e. including fuel). The only problem is that, being single-seaters, you won't be able to get checked out with an instructor, so the insurance company would probably want a reasonable amount of total time and/or time on similar aircraft first.
If you're looking at hiring, you'll be paying a much higher hourly rate, although it will probably be about £20-£30/hour cheaper (for the same aircraft) than you pay before you get your license, because you won't be paying for the instructor.
It's nice to see someone thinking about these things before they really get into the training, by the way! So many people are concerned with how much it costs to get the license, how many hours does it take to get a license, how many months does it take to get the license, then when they get their license they realise they can't afford the time and/or money to keep it current!
FFF
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If you can find the cash to buy a share in a PFA aircraft, flying gets a lot cheaper. I paid £6000 for my 1/6 share in a Europa. I pay £50/month, £15/hour dry, and approx £10/hour for fuel. So, after you've found the initial payment, your £200/month would buy you 6 hours a month - more than enough to stay current, and more than lots of private pilots manage.
You can get even cheaper if you start looking into single seaters, such as the Luton Minor, Rollason Turbulent, etc. You'll have to hunt around, but I've seen 1/12 shares in these aircraft go for less than £1000, and typically cost around £15/month and £15/hour wet (i.e. including fuel). The only problem is that, being single-seaters, you won't be able to get checked out with an instructor, so the insurance company would probably want a reasonable amount of total time and/or time on similar aircraft first.
If you're looking at hiring, you'll be paying a much higher hourly rate, although it will probably be about £20-£30/hour cheaper (for the same aircraft) than you pay before you get your license, because you won't be paying for the instructor.
It's nice to see someone thinking about these things before they really get into the training, by the way! So many people are concerned with how much it costs to get the license, how many hours does it take to get a license, how many months does it take to get the license, then when they get their license they realise they can't afford the time and/or money to keep it current!
FFF
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If you mean the absolute minimum to keep a licence then its 12hours every 24 months (in the last 12 months of the period!), so assuming an average of £100/hour wet then you are looking at £1200 (£600/Year).
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Julian
<pedent>
You don't need the 12 hours in 24 months, because can do it with just a proficiency check with an examiner in the 3 months prior to licence expiry. See http://www.flyer.co.uk/jar/ppl_valid...p#revalidation
</pedent>
but as I said, it would be a very strange way to fly.
<pedent>
You don't need the 12 hours in 24 months, because can do it with just a proficiency check with an examiner in the 3 months prior to licence expiry. See http://www.flyer.co.uk/jar/ppl_valid...p#revalidation
</pedent>
but as I said, it would be a very strange way to fly.
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Wow this seems cool and within my budget. Ill have to look into this sharing business. I want to get all the facts now so I know what to expect in the future. Im not planning this short term 
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FFF beat me to it, so I'll just agree with all of that, and add: the best answer when people ask you how much it costs to fly is "All of it".
When you know what and how you want to fly - and don't jump to conclusions, try as many types as possible first - the economics of a syndicate make a lot of sense, especially something on a PFA permit. You can choose either to:
a) fly something pleasant but modest for much less than club hire of a C172 / PA28, or
b) fly something with much higher performance for about the same hourly cost as a club C172 / PA28.
When you know what and how you want to fly - and don't jump to conclusions, try as many types as possible first - the economics of a syndicate make a lot of sense, especially something on a PFA permit. You can choose either to:
a) fly something pleasant but modest for much less than club hire of a C172 / PA28, or
b) fly something with much higher performance for about the same hourly cost as a club C172 / PA28.
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Evo,
Yes there are a number of ways you could lapse your licence and revalidate it again but doing the 12 hours is the most practical way!
By the time you add the extra dual to get back upto speed and examiner costs you will more than likely find you have busted the £1200 anyway...personally I prefer to keep current and avoid all the hassle.
Julian.
Yes there are a number of ways you could lapse your licence and revalidate it again but doing the 12 hours is the most practical way!
By the time you add the extra dual to get back upto speed and examiner costs you will more than likely find you have busted the £1200 anyway...personally I prefer to keep current and avoid all the hassle.
Julian.
Holloway,
First thing, learning to fly is one of the most expensive bits, as a rule of thumb to get your basic license you'll need about £2000 for a microlight PPL, £4000 for a light aircraft PPL, and about £7,000 for a helicopter PPL.
After that, maintaining minimum legal currency, and being safe, are two totally different things. I'm sure most people will agree here that 2-3 hours per month is a sensible minimum to be a safe pilot.
Assuming that you can afford the initial PPL course, you've got various options:-
Hiring, expect about £50/hr for a microlight (not currently possible, but should be before too long I'm told), about £90/hr for a straightforward light aircraft, about £160/hr for a straightforward light helicopter. There's no effective upper limit.
If you can afford to buy (and you can get basic microlights or small shares in light aircraft for anything upwards of £2k) the running costs get better. Running costs will start at around £25/hr for a microlight, £40/hr for a syndicated light aircraft, £120/hr for a syndicated light helicopter (these are fairly rare mind you). Again there's no real upper limit, it just depends what you're flying, and on an element of luck.
Personally, I run a 2-seat microlight which at about 40hrs/yr works out at about £25/hr, and a share in a 4-seat middle-of-the-range light aircraft, which at a similar useage, works out at about £60/hr.
G
First thing, learning to fly is one of the most expensive bits, as a rule of thumb to get your basic license you'll need about £2000 for a microlight PPL, £4000 for a light aircraft PPL, and about £7,000 for a helicopter PPL.
After that, maintaining minimum legal currency, and being safe, are two totally different things. I'm sure most people will agree here that 2-3 hours per month is a sensible minimum to be a safe pilot.
Assuming that you can afford the initial PPL course, you've got various options:-
Hiring, expect about £50/hr for a microlight (not currently possible, but should be before too long I'm told), about £90/hr for a straightforward light aircraft, about £160/hr for a straightforward light helicopter. There's no effective upper limit.
If you can afford to buy (and you can get basic microlights or small shares in light aircraft for anything upwards of £2k) the running costs get better. Running costs will start at around £25/hr for a microlight, £40/hr for a syndicated light aircraft, £120/hr for a syndicated light helicopter (these are fairly rare mind you). Again there's no real upper limit, it just depends what you're flying, and on an element of luck.
Personally, I run a 2-seat microlight which at about 40hrs/yr works out at about £25/hr, and a share in a 4-seat middle-of-the-range light aircraft, which at a similar useage, works out at about £60/hr.
G
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With my group, as a student, you hire a C152 plus instructor for (I think) £85 an hour (Mike, can you confirm?). Darn Sarf you'd be looking at up to £120 ish I believe (average £100?). Big difference over a long time... 
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Hello Boys and Girls and fellow citizens of Wibble,
If you look around especially some of the smaller clubs, there is a place at shoreham that I have done some flying with called the Flying Hut, if I remember rightly it was between £70 and £80 per hour for a PA-28 and a bit cheeper for the C-152. But that was nearly a year ago. Don't know what they charge now.
If you look around especially some of the smaller clubs, there is a place at shoreham that I have done some flying with called the Flying Hut, if I remember rightly it was between £70 and £80 per hour for a PA-28 and a bit cheeper for the C-152. But that was nearly a year ago. Don't know what they charge now.
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Aerbabe,
£120 per hour sounds about right for a C152 with an instructor, and about £100 without.
It does get more expensive down this neck of the woods.
and it varies whereever you go.
£120 per hour sounds about right for a C152 with an instructor, and about £100 without.
It does get more expensive down this neck of the woods.
and it varies whereever you go.
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Yeah i think its £110 an hour. Manston is only about 5 mins from my house so its convineint. If I was to travel to get cheaper lessons it would cost me money in petrol anyway so it works out good anyway. Plus its a darn site easier when its round the corner My lesson yesterday was cancelled due to strong winds and bad weather coming in. Second lesson was fun
My lesson yesterday was cancelled due to strong winds and bad weather coming in. Second lesson was fun
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The Flying Hut is £92.50 per hour for a PA28. Try www.theflyinghut.co.uk