Where to fly in East Midlands
 

Hello I am wanting to get back into flying after a 3 year break, recently moved down to the Leicester/Nottingham area and trying to find the best place to fly from.
Had a look around at Leicester Airport and it looks very impressive, also went to Nottingham which was hard to judge as they were shutting up for the day, would flying from EMA be more hassle than its worth?, does anyone else on here fly GA from here, does it take ages taxiing about and having to give way to the big boys? The prices all seem similar between the 3 and im after some local knowledge really if anyone can help?

Leicester is by far your best option!

Rod1

I've flown out of both Leicester and DonAir at East Midlands, and they're both great places that I'm happy to recommend. The main differences relate to the club aspect - Leicester has a really strong and friendly club atmosphere while DonAir is friendly with good people but isn't really a club.

The other big difference is the operating environment - big controlled airport or basic uncontrolled airfield. The former develops confidence from the start in dealing with controllers and big traffic, but can also mess up lessons with delays and long taxi times, plus you're spoilt with a huge runway. The latter is much more dependent on you making your own decisions, circuits can be nice and tight if necessary and you'll be much more confident going into smaller strips, however you might be less confident with dealing with controlled airspace. None of these issues are insurmountable...

I don't really know Nottingham that well, it always seemed pretty quiet when I've been in there. It's probably worth a look to get a feel for yourself. There is also Tatenhill to consider, again not flown there but I have flown with the guys from Central Flight Training and they seem to be very professional in their approach to aviation.

I'm biased, since Leicester is home turf to me. But I've tried to be as fair as possible. Bear in mind your commuting distances too.

Welcome back to flying...

I don't know what the instructors are like at Leicester, but the airfield is pretty decent...have flown in many times - The breakfast is topnotch!

If not Leicester, you could try Nottingham City Airport (Tollerton) or Tatenhill.

I fly from Tatenhill and there is a good bunch of instructors there. Taybird, I think CFT are only doing post-PPL training.

Leicester is suberb. I have been a member for a decade and even though I am based at another airfield I still maintain my membership.

The CFI Dave Biddles is a cracking Instructor and a nice guy. Give him a shout.

Scott C, thanks for that! I thought they did both pre and post. I guess the point still stands that Tatenhill seems to be a place worth considering, although I don't have any relevant personal experience to go by.

Donair
 

I can give you a first hand experience of GA at East Midlands, although bear in mind my current experience levels are that of someone approximately half way through the PPL.

I've had to hold for a max of about 10 minutes, and that was during the lunchtime rush so it really is quite bearable. During circuits I would average about 6 in an hour. Once I only got 3 in, and once I managed 7.

Everyone I come across is very friendly, but there doesn't seem to be much of a club. Having said that I have very little to compare it with other than a trial flight at Derby and Tatenhill. I picked Donair because it was fractionally cheaper, fractionally closer to home but more important to me was that I got on well with the instructor.

Obviously I have no idea how much it would be to base an aircraft there, or if any shares, etc. are available.

Another place to consider would be Derby Airfield at Egginton.

Well I learned to fly In New Zealand at an airport slightly smaller than East Midlands so dealing with ATC etc isnt really a worry, actually found it helped my confidence much more, It's really somewhere just to fly from im after rather than a club I think so will pop up to Donair and have a look around, I was actually suprised to see that the prices there were slightly cheaper for C150 hire, plus the membership fee at Leicester seems a little on the steep side!! Thanks for the Info!

Good man!!

We look forward to welcoming you. :ok:

If your looking for a flying buddy then check the flying buddy book, plenty of experienced guys willing to offer some advice and company!

Is Jim Marren still at Tollerton?

No - now working for the Campaign Against Aviation as an inspector.

Anyone doing a PPL near Nottingham who could update this thread please.Thanks

I'm doing ppl h in nottingham with central helicopters excellent school! Fly out of tollerton not had any dealings with the fixed wing crew/ school but all appear friendly

They all have their good and bad points
 

I spent a very happy 12 years flying from Nottingham but have since moved house and haven’t flown from there for the past three years – so things may have changed. There are (were) two fixed wing schools – Sherwood Flying Club and Truman Aviation. Sherwood is a flying club in its own premises, run on an amateur basis by retired professional pilots and volunteers. Truman, which until recently also used to own the rights to the airfield is a flying school with paid instructors. However, both clubs organise events such as fly-ins, barbecues, trips abroad etc. Both as far as I could tell had high standards and I took refreshers, revalidations etc with both clubs and had no complaints. The atmosphere at both Leicester and Nottingham is very different but I would not like to say which is better. There used to be no food at Nottingham except at weekends (may have changed recently as the new owners are thinking ambitiously) whereas Leicester has a licensed facility and we used to go there for lunch. Leicester is bigger, a better choice of runways and a more interesting mix of planes on the field. If it does not matter to you which to choose from the point of view of convenience of access, then I suggest you visit them both on a Saturday morning and speak to a few folk. I have always found I got as much enjoyment from a club environment and shooting the breeze with fellow members (some of whom are extremely experienced) as actually committing aviation.

One thing to bear in mind if you are also considering East Midlands. I originally took my PPL at an international airport and although I learned air traffic procedures and was comfortable being able to mix it with the big boys, I spent hours at the hold or in downwind orbits. However at Nottingham Air Ground, you are on your own, which teaches decision making. As for landings practice, I could easily get in at least 6 landings an hour at Nottingham with tight circuits and very little traffic whereas where I learned I was lucky to get in three landings per hour and my circuits were necessarily of the cross country variety. And If the Nottingham circuit is empty you are permitted to do glide approaches to the runway from the overhead which is amazingly valuable as PFL practice.
{Please bear in mind that all my comments reflect my experience as of three years ago – more recent members may have corrections.]

Many thanks . Much appreciated.

I would agree with Oscarisapc in the aspects of flying away from an international airfield although at East Midlands it does give invaluable experience of working with full ATC in class D airspace, mixing with big traffic and professional air traffic control.

In saying that, there is really only one option for a flying school at East Mids now which is Donair. They have good prices. :ok: Membership is around £80 payable in April irrespective when you join. The place is a bit 1980s, needs updating and the welcome you receive varies depending who is working. In my experience, the owners, Eric and Erica, are superficially nice but Erica will tell you off like a child at any given opportunity. Eric will reluctantly help you if you ask. Gill also works there who is very friendly and helpful. :D

Donair is worth joining but really doesn't make the most of the club. It needs modernisation in decoration, attitude and thinking.

I would recommend it though. :ok:

Where to fly in East Midlands
 

I did my PPL at Nottingham in 2000/01 and found it a good club overall but stopped using it after I gained my ppl as the admin and organisation started suffering - I understand the CFI has changed since then. Its a nice airfield with good facilities for the aviation side - runways, fuel, hangarage, lit runways - is the NDB still working?

The club side was a bit basic - food etc was hit and miss, flyouts a bit infrequent and mostly to Skeggy - which is OK but not very adventurous.

I then went to East Mids and flew with East Midlands Flying School which I understand is no more as Bill(?) sadly passed away and they merged with Donair. I found it a great learning experience flying from a large airport with the R/T and procedures - gives you lots of confidence landing after one of those orange jets.

As stated above it was very professional and seemed geared towards producing commercial pilots - not a criticism at all but thats what it seemed like.

Leicester I only ever visited but looks like a very nice club with great social facilities as well as very smart and comprehensive flying facilities.

I lived in Loughborough so was lucky to be able to reasonably choose any of them. I think if I'd stayed down there (am in Manchester now so Barton is Hobsons choice) I would have given Tollerton another go as I think that suited me best.

djmgw

Bill has definitely not passed away! His health took a big knock, which meant he could no longer carry on with the school and so it did close, but he is still very much alive.