Hour Building Where?

[linzi320]

Hi All,

I am looking for suggestions and reviews from anyone who has done hour building on a budget anywhere! I have my JAA PPL and I have done the first half of my ATPL exams and I am looking to organise my hour building of about 60 - 80 hours in preperation for my CPL. I had picked out a school in California but I am keeping a really open mind. Flying in a JAA country would be great but the weather is a concern. I don't mind some challenging weather, it's all part of the fun, but i have very limited holidays from work so need to do blocks of hour building somewhere reasonably reliable . I really do intended to get as much out of my hour building as possible. I am looking to do it in May '09.

Any feedback will be gratefully recieved,

ATB - Linzi320

[Mikehotel152]

Much as I would like to plug flying in the UK, if you have very limited time due to work commitments, a strong likelihood of good weather must be your first prerequisite. The USA is probably the cheapest place for flying where you can be assured of good weather. Sure, you could get lucky with the weather in the UK and fly every day. But, Sod's Law is likely to come into play!

If your employers are kind, have you considered hour-building in the UK with a non-equity group, taking the odd day off at very short notice when the weather mid-week is unexpectedly fair?

[mech500]

Hi Mike,
This is probably my ignorance but what do you mean by non-equity group?

Linzi,
Im currently doing some hours building in Canada. Like you, i only have a limited number of days i can take off from work. Unfortunately, ive not been able to fly for the last 4days due to low cloud base All the info i had before hand suggested that it would be clear crisp skyies at this time of year in CanadaInstead its been overcast and wet ... just like home.
So for the second stint of hours building i think i will try Florida - i.e. somewhere where the weather is more predictable.

Good Luck - let me know where you decide to go in the end

[overclock25]

I've flown in Florida and got my 100 hours in 16 days! I rented the aircraft at a very cheap price, requested the validation for my JAA licence and now I can also fly with N aircraft....if you want more informations about my experience and infos and contacts send me a PM...


Bye!!!

[acuba 290]

I was in USA doing 3 weeks HB, found great place where you can get aircraft for 3 weeks for you only, flown from California to Texas and Oklahoma, had great experience. Place called Southbayaviation at Torrance airfield

[Mikehotel152]

A non-equity group is a collection of like-minded souls who want cheap flying. Your membership gives you no equity share in the aircraft because you are not asked to make a capital investment. You simply pay a monthly sub and then an hourly rate for aircraft hire. The group usually has an online aircraft booking system.

It usually works out cheaper than hiring from a flying club, good groups have excellent aircraft availability, and it's hassle free.