Elstree Aerodrome
 

I am looking to start flying and obtaing a PPL. The nearesr place is Elstree which is just 5 minute drive. I took a test flight at cabair elstree and went pretty well.

However the prices are steep, works out to be about £10,000 for everything. Is it worth doing and are there other schools in Elstree aerodrome?

£10,000? most PPLs in the UK will cost 5-6k. How did you work out the 10k figure?

Try Firecrest aviation, had a trial flight there and they are great !



They are in a big blue hangar which should have a sign saying firecrest aviation on the side. :ok:

I got the figure from their package deals and included prices for extras and 5 extra hours.

AreFirecrest aviation good?? i know they are much cheaper but are they better than cabair?

Have a chat with Fly Team aviation, in the foot of the control building just infront of the club house/bar!. Much better value than Cabair.

do fly team have better instructors than cabair?

flyteam only hire from Elstree

they train from Cranfield

Cabair are young journey boys .........
I did my PPL with them in the 90s and went through several instructors as they are mostly out to gain sufficient hours until they can join an airline.
The last one (he was also the most mature but he went off to fly for fly-be after having been the Sunday Times cricket correspondent) was the best.
Flyteam - you get mixed reviews about them. You either like Amir or you don't. Personally I like him a lot. But he has a strong character and puts up with no bull. Might not be everyone's cup of tea.......

if you do go for cabair, you may pay more than elsewhere, but you will get your PPL. If you don't mind going to Cranfield, then I would chose Flyteam.

Sorry i forgot Flyteam only hire from Elstree, thats all i use them for:p. But i must like their particular variety of tea, as i find them great blokes. Sheesh123, if you do a thread search i think you will be able to find other opinions of Cabair instructors, you will most likely find they generally confer with D SQDRN 97th IOTC. Firecrest use the Flyteam chap to do there exams i think? Anyone like to confirm or otherwise?

Definitely put me down in the not liking him category.

No personal experience of Firecrest, but based on reputation they are the only school at Elstree I would hand my money over too.

FFF
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I still think maybe your best bet is Firecrest. The instructor i had was superb and very helpful. :ok:

what do you mean by "D SQDRN 97th IOTC"? Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

when doing a search about cabair elstree i found opinions half which were positive and half negetive so not too sure.


who has used Firecrest and what do people think of them? why do you think they are better then cabair?

Is there any problems with using many instructors as i know cabair do?

Cabair has a very "corporate machine" feel about it.
There's nothing wrong with the instruction or the aircraft per se, it's just that learning to fly with them wasn't a great deal of fun (JMHO).
Other places I've been to since have had a much more friendly feel about them, but then again I'm just not a corporate animal.
Maybe you'll like it that way?
Are you on a greater journey of some kind, or just out to have fun in aeroplanes?
If the latter I'd look for the school that has the more interesting kit, rather than the usual Cessna/Piper stuff.

Im not on a greater journey than to get a PPL and just have fun with aeroplanes.

I am looking for a place with a friendly enviroment and somewhere to have some fun. I will go and check out firecrest and see what happens.

Strong charactered is a nice way of putting it - if he gets a bee in his bonnet about you, you'll be on his black list and you're pretty much done. Now that doesn't really seem right does it, when you are the student / hirer and the company are taking your money.

Firecrest seem quite laid back and approachable - definitely worth a try. Cabair are expensive in comparison.

doesnt seem to be many people who have used firecrest in elstree. what do people think about firecrest?

I did my PPL with Cabair in Elstree, getting by licence in February. While there are obviously a few instructors hour building there, others who have been around a good while. It took me about 18 months to get my licence, and during this time, I only flew with 3 instructors - one due to a circuit check prior to a solo navex, while another was an hour prior to the GST. I may not have been typical, but I basically did all my training with one bloke. Mind you, he's now flying with the airlines . . . however, there are still some cracking instructors there.

Cabair seems to have a bit of an unfavourable reputation, but they did fine by me.

Shy_one is not a fan of Flyteam or its CFI. I don't believe Elstree is a good place to train due to its silly circuits and its one very grumpy FSIO.

Why not travel a bit further and get a better environment in which to train.

Try Stapleford www.flysfc.com not far round the M25. I'm learning there, quality of training is excellent.

I like Amir, he will teach you until you got it and will never let you off if you are not safe. The aircraft are fine albit not as shiney as Cabair's. As for Firecrest all I can say is that they are good people but as I never flew with them I can't say much more.

Cabair are professional and has large fleet of aircraft, therefore they always have another aircraft to give you if the one that you had to have went tech. smaller schools might send you home even if it is a nice day. Cabair are expensive but it is only you who can decide if you are willing to pay the extra money or not. I never flew with them so I can not attest to the standard of instructing.

thanks for your opinions.

Why would smaller schools send you home even if its a nice day? surely they want the customers so would only send you home if they had to?