Clubs in Kent...
 

Hi all...

I recently passed my PPL in Florida and am now looking to sign up with a club to do about 1 hour a month. I also did about 20 hours in the UK back in 2000.

Since I live in SW London, I am considering flying out of Biggin Hill Airport (or Kent area), as it is the closest to me.

Does anyone have any thoughts on some of the clubs based there i.e Cabair etc.

Also, I did my PPL training on C172 but am also interested in flying the PA-28.

How big is the transition from C172 to PA-28 Warrior?

Is it possible to obtain certification on PA-28 in the 1-2 hours of the standard club checkride?

Thanks

:D

For clarification, are you sure you mean SW London and not SE? If you live in SW London then Fairoaks may be a better bet than Biggin.

If really SE:

Not sure about Biggin, though you may find the landing fees etc. dear. Otherwise suggest clubs in Rochester or Headcorn. The latter's prices at the collective of mini schools known as Weald Air Services are very reasonably priced.

As for conversion from C172 to PA28: a 1 hr checkout should do it. Lots of debate on here about pros and cons, so you may well be sparking off an inadvertent flame war ;) . Still IMHO the trickiest thing about Warriors after C172s is that they can float longer due to the increased ground effect from the low wings. Just a matter of experience getting used to it. In flight, they pretty much handle the same - ie docile.

Have fun

KCDW.

Thanks for the reply.

I live near Wimbledon, which is SW London.

Have you tried White Waltham, nice field and lots of PA28 shares for sale.

Headcorn is fun for the Tiger Club and closer to France (the default desination for most aircraft on a saturday).

Biggin is good if you like miles of hard runway.

Visit the schools and see what you like.

Have you thought of Redhill?

I live in Sutton and have just got my PPL from Redhill. Very competitive prices, very friendly and easy to get to from your area. The only downside is that occasionally due to wet weather the runways can be closed when it is good flying conditions becasue Redhill has grass runways. This doesn't happen that often but when it does it can be a pain.