Definative List of Essential Equipment

[scameron77]

Hi All,

Just been looking through some previous threads via the search function regarding essential equipment needed to start out in this industry. Some of you may be aware I started a thread with respect to outlining what schools were out there and creating a thread that could be used as a resource for those starting out to get as much info as possible. I'm pretty sure now where I'm going and now I have to look at buying the essentials to get me started. However as a novice I (and I imagine other hopefulls out there too) would appreciate any advice form those people who already have done it and now proudly wear the t-shirt.

I wish to start this new thread up to give people starting out an idea of what they need to beg, borrow or steal (more often buy) at the begining of their career.

Essentially I don't really want to buy anything at the start of my career that I won't use in future. From what I understand if successful and I get to where I want to I will require a CRP 5 rather than a CRP 1 which is the required standard for PPL. Don't really want to double up.

Information I have found out so far from other threads include:

BAGS AND BOOKS

As far as I can ssee, don't go out and spend big bucks on a leather flight case at the start, how you gonna fit into a Cessna easily? Best to go for a simple little backpack and save for when you pass your APTL.

There is confilicting information on here regarding the Thom books and if you require all of them. I've seen comment where people say that 5, 6 and 7 are all really surplus to requirment especailly when you buy a PPL confuser. Also is the Oxford CD ROM's good enough to stand on their own or do you need hardcopy books to back them up? I'd personally be interested to know from anyone who has used them.

NAVIGATION TOOLS

Square Protractor
China Pencils
2 Compasses
Ruler
Knee Board
Log Book
Scale
Charts

(What specs should us novices go for to ensure we don't have to buy a superior one when we progress through out training)

SUNGLASSES

Make sure they are not going to interfere with instuments therefore go for non-polarised. However some smaller aircraft you will use for PPL's will not have polarised windshields so look at a cheaper pair initially. Also opting for a neutral lens such as grey seems to get mentioned quite a bit.

Serengetti Drivers Gradiated
Oakley A Wire 2.0
Randolf's

HEADSETS

General consesus from what I can see is not to shell out your hard earned until you are well on your way to completing your PPL. However headsets will be along with sunglasses one of the most important purchases you will make.

Peltor 8006
Dave Clark 13.4's

(Can anyone suggest other specific models and why they stand out)

If I have missed anything I'd appreciate if people would post additional information. Also if anyone knows of places where any of these products can be purchased cheaper than the two market leaders (details below).

Relevant websites include:

www.transair.co.uk
www.flightstore.co.uk

[WX Man]

Cat + pigeons

OK I'm going to rub some people up the wrong way here, but if you're going to go and do ATPLs pretty soon after your PPL, then you MIGHT want to consider just getting the bare minimum in terms of Trevor Thom books and the PPL confuser. Most flying schools have got a load of TT books kicking around that you can borrow.

Yep, get a CRP-5 straight away: check eBay for these useless pieces of plastic. Don't bother with the CRP-1, it's even more useless than the useless and horrible CRP-5, which is useless (or did I mention that before?)

I'm a firm believer for doing everything on a shoestring (Michael O'Leary eat your heart out), so again look at eBay for things like your square protractor and knee board. You're right about the leather flight case: leave it until you've got serious amounts of kit to transport.

I use, and swear by, a Pilot PA11-20 headset with Oregon Aero ear seals. Headset is worth buying new... or s/h unused if you can find one. I also use some sunnies I found in Blacks (Outdoor shop): Stone R-67, which fit perfectly my head with my headset. It's a very personal thing, so find a headset you're comfortable with, and then find some sunnies that fit nicely with that headset. Remember: headset first, then sunglasses.

If ever I need to buy stuff new, I use www.pilotwarehouse.co.uk because they always tend to be cheaper. AND they give a 10% discount to BALPA members (I think).

Which reminds me. Contact BALPA for student membership- there are LOADS of benefits to joining. And ask them for details about your loss of Flight Instruction Fees insurance: it's cheap (about £10/month for someone under 30), and if your medical goes the way of the dodo the day before your IR test, you can claim some or all of your flight instruction fees back. BUT you need to take this insurance out BEFORE you start training, otherwise you can only claim 75% of your training costs if you lose your medical.

Can't comment on the Oxford PPL CDs, never used them. However if the Oxford Met CD is anything to go by, they should be pretty good.

[willby]

Hi Scameron,
Dont forget to include a non-programable calculator for all those calculations you will be doing during your atpl theory study.
The casio FX-85MS is one which is widely used by students and is not expensive.
Good luck
Willby

[kilobravo]

china graphs?

Hi Scam77

I found that chinagraphs were useless and messy. Lines are smudgy and fat! Get a laminated map, harder to fold maybe, but get a set of Staedtler permanent Lumocolor 'S'. They can be wiped off the map with a bit of nail polish remover or any solvent like that, even after shave. During flight when your hands are nice and sweaty, your important track,drift lines, way points etc will not be wiped off by accident.
Small/medium bag is all you need. A watch with very large and clear readable nos. A shirt or jacket with handy pockets so you dont loose your pens/protractor/ruler/crp5 when you most need them ie. when you have to plan your divertion quickly. How many times did I loose stuff under the seat when I most needed it because the aircraft did not have handy pockets to hand. GPS not necessary, for now,as it is only an aid and you should be very proficient at nav. with map and watch. Good knee board with plastic pockets so you can look up frequencies and other useful info you may want to have with you at all times. I found all the TT books great and ended up buying loads more to help with bits I wasn't sure of, especially met. but that's just me. Jeremy M Pratt books for PPL are quite good I found. PPL confuser is a GREAT revision aid, did it 5 times before test.
Only got a pair of Avcom Headsets after PPL, as the school always have some to use, so not strictly necessary, but the school ones are not always reliable, even though they should be!

Hope this hepls a bit
KiloB

[BigGrecian]

Get a laminated map, harder to fold maybe, but get a set of Staedtler permanent Lumocolor 'S'.

Definetly the way to do it - its the way we do it in Nav training in the military - although there have been a few incidents of tracks rubbing off etc!

[traumahawk71]

If your looking to progress past PPL then i would suggest:
~ buying a professional log bog from the start. It has more
columns in for all the variation of flying and its not much dearer.
~ Once PPL started consider getting 1ST class medical done
No point in spending thousands on flying only to fall at this hurdle
~ Head set is a must since you'll get loads of use out of it during your training and hour building.
~ i prefer to use those permanent pens rather than chinograph pencils. don't rub out during flight and lines easily removed using board cleaners, aftershave, elbow grease or non permanent markers.

The rest of the list seems ok.
Two other things you require are DETERMINATION and plenty of CASH. Remember when costing your flying etc add at least an extra 10% to this total as things will inevitably run over the minimum requirements.
Good luck to all those budding new Commercial pilots out there

[G-DANM]

Little tip, on laminated maps you can rub out permanent markers using a rubber. (This is alot cheaper than using After Shave although it won't smell as nice)

[PPRuNe Towers]

As well as the rubber, errr, eraser to stop the Yanks sniggering, there's another tip that works on maps or whiteboards.

Run over the permanent marker line or writing with a non permanent one of the same brand. Different solvent but same colour dyes and pigments so everything is wiped straight off.

Regards
Rob

[scameron77]

I just want to avoid buying a load of crap feom one of those "Starter Pack Bundles" you see advertised on all the supplies websites. Right so from what I've read so far on this thread and others:

Thom books over Pratt Books, drop out 5, 6 and 7 (Anyone got any comments on Oxford CD ROM's or the above)

PPL confuser a deffo (Again, anyone checked out some of the online software and CD ROM's opposed to the paper version)

Charts should always be laminated and avoid pencils or chinagraphs, opt for Overhead Projector pens in a variety of colours and thicknesses and a mix between permament and non.

Ditch the CRP-1 for CRP-5

Get a kick ass calculator

Logbook with plenty of columns

And finally, Incriminating pictures of the CFI in dodgy scenarios of an adult nature for bribery purposes.

If anyone would like to add to the above or suggest any other additions to my own "modular" starter kit please feel free.

Stephen

As for American's, they are precious and in time will see sense and return to the busom of the British Empire and the Crown. PPRuNe Towers, Just make sure you don't tell any Americans you get through 20 fags a day

[Tinstaafl]

Don't like laminated maps & the ensuing carry-on with 'special' writing impliments.

Use uncovered charts & a 2B pencil. Soft enough to write on a whiz wheel or paper chart and be erased without damaging it, and hard enough not to need sharpening too often and also quite suitable for PLOGS/flight plans etc. Use a soft rubber.


Forget the large leather pilot case bull. A slim satchel/back pack job works well in light a/c for carrying the stuff you need without taking up one whole pax. space.

Good headsets ONLY after you've determined flying is definitely a long term investment. Don't buy headsets early......unless someone is offering a secondhand set for a very good price. My second hand David Clarks are still going strong after 20 years with me.

Scale ruler. Not too long. 80-150 nm on a 1:1 000 000 scale chart is usually ample length.

Protractor. I like the ones that are about 80nm square on a 1:1 000 000 chart.

A not-too-large clipboard or folder. Nothing larger than an A4 folder (turn the folder so it's inside out. The side with the spring clip becomes your working surface. A couple of plastic envelopes clipped inside can hold various maps etc) . At first a slightly larger surface is easier but often over time a smaller surface becomes more convenient and you adapt to the smaller working area. I use an aluminium A5 clipboard I removed from one of those strap-to-your-leg things. Less room needed in a cramped cockpit.

If you can withstand the pressure of the UK establishment: a Jepp. CR type whiz wheeln instead of those ludicrous CRaPs.

Other bits & pieces:

A press-to-talk switch. Not all a/c have them built in to the control column. Sometimes the built in one fails...

A fuel tester. Again, not all a/c have one. I like the type with the screw driver head. The daft plastic spike to open the fuel drain valve always goes missing so I bent some clothes hangar wire into a corkscrew to retain it in the tube with a short, straight piece protruding from the open end. Just long enough as needed but offset & short enough to be out of the way for other fuel drain types.

Some sick bags (for passengers! ) can be handy.

[Send Clowns]

In the UK only use CAA charts. Jeppesen ones not common and not as good. All I have ever seen are pre-laminated.

If you buy a kneeboard, make it a small (A5-ish) one. When you need the A4 (IR it is handy), go to Staples and get a clipboard. Mine cost me £1.28.

Do not listen to Tinstaafl about the flight computer. I teach ATPL general navigation. The JAA exam answers are calculated on a Pooley's CRP-5. Some of the other brands get different answers. Not sure about Jepp, but the ARC-2 (the AFE equivalent) has used slightly different scales for some of the functions, enought o get the wrong answers in the exam! Get a CRP-5. Correctly taught with the wind-down method it is also the easiest to use, as there are a lot of good memory aids written on the face. Unfortunately they have just changed the material for the vector-calculator transparency, so it does not take pencil as well, but it still works and when you do use HB not 2B, as the latter too soft gives a mark that is too big.

[Tinstaafl]

Send Clowns, if you've never used a CR type whiz wheel then you're not really competent to judge its merits (or lack of them), are you?

My experience has been that CRs consistantly gave answers with a smaller spread, clustered around the median achieved by those using CRPs. Your argument about '...examiners using....etc.' falls apart on that point alone. If anything it's an argument supporting the use of a CR.

They are at least as accurate as a CRP. In fact, I argue more so. I've used a 3 3/4" CR for Oz, US & UK ATPLs. This is the least accurate of the type due to its small size but still gave answers that conformed as I stated above.

Some Mach No problems are more easily solved with fewer steps using a CR than using a CRP.

There *is* a down side to using a CR in the UK: Instructors who are ignorant about them. Even that's not exactly a show stopper. The instruction book is clear, concise & easy to follow.



WRT pencils, I prefer to use a 2B propelling type for exams. They have a fine tip that never gets blunt. The softness means it's easily erased from a whiz wheel with your thumb (dampened slightly with a bit of saliva can help too).

[Send Clowns]

Students have enough problems with CRPs which the instructors teach. There is no time to teach two techniques. The CRP is known to give the same answer as the examiners' CRPs (different from accuracy, much more important!). There is no need for any other instrument. Never have any problems rubbing HB pencil off with a finger, either!

I'm sure you are a good pilot, Tinstaafl, but have you ever lectured in use of a flight computer? I have to say that in trying to get a class of 10 people with a variety of experience from 50 hours to 4000 hours and academic background from leaving school 30 years ago with no qualifications to passing a degree last year (not always clear which is easier to teach!) then it is a lot simpler if everyone has the same equipment. This is particularly the case as there are a lot of reminders on the CRP-5 as to how to use it, which I always point out, the students use them as memory aids, and because I have a large-scale CRP-5 as a teaching aid. It is more difficult to teach if people have different versions of the conventional flight computer, impossible to teach effectively if people have radically different computers.

[redsnail]

WRT to the UK JAR exams I borrowed a CRP5. For work I use a small jeppesen style whizz wheel.
The smaller one is a lot easier to use in a real world situation whereas the CRP 5 would be cumbersome. I used a CRP1 for my initial navs in Australia and I found in a small cockpit it's just a bit big to use easily. I find it's far easier to slot the jep style whizz wheel into my pocket and as opposed to having to rummage around a nav bag when the instructor gives you that inevitable diversion.

Actually, that's probably the one major difference I have noted with the pilots in the UK. The Aussies have their little jep whizz wheels in their pockets, the Brits have their CRP somewhere in their nav bag.

If you're really cluey you'll check eBay UK for deals. Try "Pooley flight computer" in "All categories" and you might be lucky.

[Send Clowns]

Flight computer in the cockpit?? What happened to good old mental ded reckoning? Never let a student of mine use anything in the cockpit that brings him or her heads in more then absolutely necessary. Never been taught it or seen it done in the UK (in the US I was taught it).

[redsnail]

Absolutely nothing wrong with dead reckoning. I navigated quite successfully in the Australian bush for a few years without the use of navaids. I did however, make sure my navigation was as accurate as I could make it. That required the use of a whizz wheel. Didn't have GPS and very few DMEs and VORs on the stations out there. ADFs were often rendered useless by the thunderstorms.
It seems that we've hijacked this thread. For that I apologise to the originator.

Scameron and others, check ebay for deals but know your prices first. Be sensible with purchases such as nav bags, clipboards and the like. As for a calculator? Find a nice cheap simple one that can fit in your pocket. That's all you'll need. Go the simple option first while you figure out your own personal style. Don't skimp on things that have a protective function, ie sunglasses and head sets.

[scameron77]

Thanks Redsnail,

Much obliged for you doing that, you just beat me to it. Its scary how many threads start off with good intentions and then get into a dispute between a few people with different views.

Anyhow, this thread was started so those starting out who might want to avoid going for the "starter bundles" offered by some of the schools or online pilot supplies websites.

The way I look at it I'd rather spend that little bit more now and use a half decent piece of equipment from the start than learn using one and progress and incur future costs.

However I would appreciate it if anyone reading this thread can shed any light on some of the other stuff I brought up, such as the headsets (I'm aware there is another thread however no mention of peltors and also ideas of places to buy them cheap/get special modifications made to suit you own need)

Anyone who now makes a smart arse comment because I'm Scottish is for it. I'll pursue you more vigourously than a Florida based flying school that feels its been misrepresented

[TwoDeadDogs]

Hi all
Fine thread, scammeron.

I prefer the Jeppy flight computer meself. It got me thru the ATPLs. Reddo is right about the pocket-sized one,too.

A pencil with the scale marked along it's length,cut with a suitable knife,i.e, ten-mile notches.

A good small torch and spare batteries.

A set of Jeppy flip-type IFR training shades. To really economise, get a pair of safety goggles from a uniform suppliers, tape off the area on the lens thru which you expect to see through, and get the rest sandblasted. It's how they make them,btw.

I use a Cencal Aviation Products bag, which is a useful size. Jeppy and others make comparable bags and they are cheap, durable and have loads of storage space.

Spares pens and pencils. You will always lose the bloody things when you least need to.

Spare paper. See above.

A Leatherman multi-tool.Utterly indispensable.

Scholl toe-protectors. They are perfect for covering microphones when the original muff gets lost. Use the smallest size of cable-tie to secure them.

A small container of wipes. Other people's residue on club headsets? No thanks.

A cheap digital timer from an office supplies shop. No need to send money to Transair. Also, a bulldog clip, from same source, for holding Jeppy plates, etc...

A clipboard from any office supplies shop.

Headset boots, for sweat control.

Above all, learn to scrounge. Ask more experienced pilots for advice and they will invariably give you their old stuff or put you in the way of stuff.

If you can afford it, an ICOM transeiver.
regards
TDD

[Tinstaafl]

A timer? What's wrong with your watch?

For many distances you can use parts of your hand/fingers to measure your way across the chart. My thumb from tip to first joint when bent ( & most other people's) is ~20nm on a 1:1 000 000 scale chart, 10nm on a 1/2 mil, 5nm on a 1/4. Makes a very quick & convenient measuring device.

SC, to address your comments to me, I spent 10 years teaching people to fly, at all levels from ab-initio to instructor to multi engine/multi crew IFR including theory. My last instructing position was as the CFI of a PPL, CPL, night, IR, instructor, multi & aerobatic school with some examiner privileges.

I think you've missed the point re my comments about accuracy: I stated that in my experience the CRs had a tight grouping that clustered around the CRPs median. That makes it MORE desirable to use in the exam, not less. The user is more likely to get an answer that agrees with the examiner instead of being one of the unfortunate outliers. I've used & taught both slide & CR type whiz wheels. My experience is that CRs are a more effective tool.

[scameron77]

Additional Questions

Right,

Got a few nice glossy brochures from some of the flying supply shops.

Now I'm a little stumped, with respect to scale rules, protractors, ground speed calculators and plotters, what should I opt for at the start of my career to save further expense and re-learning their operation? I'm thinking in terms of durability (ASA do a aluminium E-6B FLight computer for example), scale rules, what do I definetly need (1:250k, 1:500k, etc) or portability (I notice Jeppesen do folding plotters and they also appear pretty robust).

I would also welcome any information regarding which brand they find is best all round (ie. for headsets DC's and Peltors get the nod, for sunglasses its generally the Oakley A Wire's and Serengetti's). I noticed on some of the posts some of these little plastic gadgets have nice little ready reckoner information and tips however some don't I'd appreciate a heads up.

Anyone ever went out and bought a GPS for a Pocket PC like a HP/Compaq withthe moving CAA maps? If so how was it, worth it, did you opt for NavMan or a bluetooth receiver? Thinking seriously about it as it would allow me to use it in my car for directions, little diary and word processor, sync into my PC, games for when I'm grounded through rain and MP3's in addition to the navigtion safety benefits and as a confidence checker.

Finally, PPL written exams, no doubt I'll get conflicting answers here but what learning materials are generally accepted as being the dogs danglies? J Pratt, T Thom or Oxford CD's. Obviously it would be nice if someone who has came into contact with all three to post a reply (possibly Alex at Bristol GS) but I'm a slut for knowledge so anyone feel free.

Also, another shop to add to the list is:

www.afeonline.com

Stephen