Visiting the UK
 

Hello there!

Gonna be visiting London in mid-June and was hoping to go up flying.. Could you guys provide me with the names of the flight schools/flying clubs that do leisure flights? I don't mind going with a CFI considering that its my first time in London. I have an FAA certificate with instrument rating. I will be living close to the city center so anything within close reach by public transportation would be great.

Thanks
Jai

Hi Jai, try White Waltham, Fairoaks, Elstree, Stapleford, Bigginhill, High Wycombe and Redhill, all suround the London area, if you goggle them you can work out the transport.

Cheers Will.

The best club to try is White Waltham (EGLM www.wlac.co.uk ). Great atmosphere and top instructors. Best way to travel there is fast train to Slough from Paddington Station and then taxi to the club (good local taxi service: 01628 632000 ). Or try a slower train to Maidenhead, which is closer, if you have time to spare.

I am biased because I'm a member there . . . . . but with good reason. Other clubs around London are good (Wycombe, Elstree, Denham, Biggin Hill, Redhill, Blackbushe, Fairoaks, Stapleford) but if you want a good service AND a great bar/restaurant/hospitality etc then EGLM is the one.

There are good bed&breakfasts nearby as well if you want to make the most of your visit.

Have fun :)

Best club at Biggin Hill is the Surrey & Kent flying club
Google that for more info but i do know is to go London Victoria and take the train to Bromley South (approx 30 minutes ride) and then from out side Bromley South station take the 320 bus to Biggin hill airport (approx 30 minutes)

Oh and bring lots of dosh with you as flying in the UK ain't cheap!

Enjoy your stay:ok:

TBE

Drambuster is right - the nicest most atmospheric clubby club is White Waltham - and I fly from Fairoaks.

B

Or fly a real aircraft at

http://www.cambridgeflyinggroup.co.uk/

at Cambridge, or

http://www.tigerclub.co.uk


An advantage of Cambridge is you could combine it with a visit to Duxford

Southend
 

Get the train from Liverpool Street to Southend.

4 clubs, lots of instructors familiar with FAA/JAR conversion, long hard runways, ILS, Radar etc.

Have Fun

lol
 

Any of our US friends, who are used to the bargain basement flying in America, are going to be very pale when they are presented with the bill for flying in the UK!

haha.. tell me about it.. I looked at the rates and I realized its expensive when I saw 175 which is what I paid in dollars when I was learning, except this time, I'd be paying that in pounds!! To think I was complaining about the high prices in the US.. lol!

Thanks a lot for the various suggestions.. Will research and see waht suits me best.. Was actually hoping to take off and land on a grass field since I've never done so before so it'd be something new.. Actually give me a use to practice my soft-field landings :)

Have fun when you visit, White Waltham is a good club and has an interesting history. Three runways (it's a large grass field) and right on the edge of the LHR zone.

While we're discussing this, I would like to pose a question. I have a friend in the US who has many many thousands of hours experience and an IR. I was told that he could not use his IR in the UK unless he is flying an N reg aircraft. Can anyone please explain? Thanks.

Sorry, slightly tongue in cheek.... but will you have to go to the British Embassy in the USA and be interviewed for several hours, provide a full family history going back at least three generations, as well as finger prints etc etc not to mention getting a visa of some description before we allow you, a citizen of one of our greatest allies to come here and fly a thirty year old spam can?

No, I thought not.

Enjoy, but its bloody expensive compared to what you are used too!

Dont forget, if you have a 31yr old conviction for careless driving but a flawless record since you will have to apply to the convicting court for a memorandum which they can not find because of the time gap, then pay for an appointment with the embassy in London for a 10am interview which means a 600 mile round trip and a night in a London hotel only for the interviewer to ask why I declared such a minor conviction (it tells me to on the website) and then grant the visa anyway. Cost me more than the proposed return air fare to Florida. I hired in Spain instead.

Anyway, welcome. You could do worse than take a leisurely couple of hours train ride through the beautiful Chiltern Hills to Stratford-Upon-Avon and take a taxi to Wellesbourne airport. Prices ain't bad, good unrestricted airspace to the south and west and it ain't in the London area so the beer is good as well.

:ok:

Hi,

a have a similar problem. Visiting London (beacuse I like this place on the earth) in july and a lot of thanks for the useful information.

But... Is it possible to fly over London? Just a normal VFR?

Thank You very much
Ilja

"Is it possible to fly over London? Just a normal VFR?"

Unfortunately not.

I flew from biggin hill north in a twin and was asked to route to the west of London City to avoid IFR traffic.

I flew right over Parliament at 1000 feet so close you could look down the chimneys and over the city.

The only other aircraft was another "eye in the sky" Seneca. It was a trip to remember and so spectacular.

Mind you dont suppose you would get that in a single

Pace

You might want to consider Headcorn. I am training from there at the moment. Grass strip with lots going on (esp at weekends), parachuting, aerobatics etc. It's quite lively for its relative size.

From London you can get a mainline train straight to Headcorn from Charing Cross, Waterloo East or London Bridge stations. The airfield is about a 15-20 minute walk from the station.

Despite the fact that the major cities in Kent are typically overrun with obnoxious teenagers, the Kent countryside is quite impressive from the air. Not called the garden of England for nothing. :ok:

If you are interested, drop me a PM and I can get you some contacts.

White Waltham is the best airfield but Wycombe Air Park is easy to get to - you get the train from Marylebone direct to High Wycombe or from Paddington to Marlow and then its a short taxi ride. Try googling the following:-

Wycombe Air Centre
British Airways Flying Club
West London Aero Club (White Waltham)

Someone asked about using an FAA IR in the UK, I believe you can if flying in a N reg, otherwise you can get your FAA IR converted to a CAA IMC. But be aware that in the UK you get charged not just for landings but also for instrument approaches. Even at small airfields you can pay £15-£20 for each.

If you'd like to try a three-axis microlight Ikarus C-42, come to Chiltern Aero, grass runway, and a few minutes from Goring and Streatley station, which is on the Oxford/Thames Valley line. Direct trains from London Paddington take about an hour, slightly faster if you change at Reading.

60 minutes = £120.00 :ok:

Pace,

it sounds like a dream... But I really don't think to enjoy it in a single :*

Thank You very much.

Yes as long as the wings are above your head and move faster than the fuselage.

:ok: