Desperate to fly...cheaply
 

How can I maintain a PPL within 50 miles of Surrey without paying prices resembling telephone numbers?

Are you adverse to:
1. open cockpit flying
2. taildraggers
3. flying slowly

Don't forget that 1. above means you can have a reason for wearing a leather Biggles helmet and matching jacket.

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I can fly for free, I can fly for free. CubTrek, to slowly go.....

Although Biggles jacket's aint cheap these days, and they're not all particularly resilient to open cockpit flying. (That said I have, do, and love it)

If you want cheap flying buy a microlight and join a BMAA club ( http://www.bmaa.org/ ) or join the PFA ( http://www.pfa.org.uk/ ) and join a syndicate on a quiet airfield or farmstrip.

Redhill has a club (Cloudbase) with a stack of Shadows and a Jabiru, if memory serves me correctly it's about £2000 to buy a club share, then £25pm + £25ph.

G

[This message has been edited by Genghis the Engineer (edited 24 September 2000).]

If you join a group you will find things a lot cheaper provided you fly enough. even with a large group you will often find the availability good as lots of members don't seem to use the a/c much - they just subsidise your flying.
try the pfa web site - www.pfa.org.uk or
the flyer forum - http//forums.flyer.co.uk

[This message has been edited by foxmoth (edited 24 September 2000).]

[This message has been edited by foxmoth (edited 24 September 2000).]

[This message has been edited by foxmoth (edited 24 September 2000).]

Group flying works for me.
Agree that in a large established group there are usually a number of almost dormant members for whom the initial buzz has probably died off.

Concerned regarding the "desperate" bit...
Groups really are like marriages and you must go into it with your eyes open because if things are not right then the initial love will wear off and you will be unhappy wanting an expensive divorce.

Just be careful... especially if it is a new group without any established history, there are some real sharks out there.

Even with established groups find out why the share is on the market... engine on an extension? Big bill on it's way?

I have heard stories of the same share being sold to half a dozen buyers and of aircraft that were really scrappers!

Good advice Beagler, Group flying can be a very good cheap way to build up hours. I`m in a C150 group paying £25 a month fixed, and £30 an hour wet. I expect to make a profit on my share too when I sell it.

However there are pitfalls, our engine went pop yesterday, so no flying for a month and a new one we are informed will be around £12k, we knew it would need doing sooner or later and had the money put by, but many groups wont. It`s not unusual for 2 or 3 members to bleed a group dry, so anyone interested in buying into a group should take a look at the group accounts, look also at the diary and see when the aircaft is mainly being used.

Are there any mega hour builders in the group ?
Is there a limit to how many hours a month you may fly ? (not a bad thing, we have a 20 hour a month limit per member)
How many bookings can you make in advance ?

Are there any insurance stipulations ? (I had to fly 10 hours accompanied by another ppl)
Cheapest isn`t always best. A well run group with an aircraft that is used regulary will probably be better than one which is left unused for weeks. Also as someone has already said, many members don`t use the aircraft very often, some just to keep current, so don`t be put off by a group with a lot of members. Ours has 20 members and it`s rare that we get diary conflicts. So be careful before buying that quarter share with a big initial outlay and a quarter of all the costs that come with it.