Constructive hr build
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Join Date: Oct 2000
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Constructive hr build
Finally I am about to start down the modular route, starting in the states and then back to the UK for ground studies and the cpl/ir. However after my trip in the states I will only have approx 100hrs, leaving me with 50 to gain while doing the atpl's.
I am just looking for some tips on how to use those hrs constructively?
I am just looking for some tips on how to use those hrs constructively?
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Dublin, Ireland
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Hey,
I'm from Dublin too so i'd just like to wish you the best of Luck with the ATPL. I'm hopeing to start the ATPL modular in June next year, providing i get throught College!
Are you a graduate of Weston? Also, did you decide on a School for the hours building in the US? Sorry for being no help whatsoever!
Good Luck
I'm from Dublin too so i'd just like to wish you the best of Luck with the ATPL. I'm hopeing to start the ATPL modular in June next year, providing i get throught College!
Are you a graduate of Weston? Also, did you decide on a School for the hours building in the US? Sorry for being no help whatsoever!
Good Luck
Why do it if it's not fun?
Join Date: Jul 2001
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Hi!
A couple of ideas. You could get an IMC rating if you don't have one already, which I'd imagine will make the IR a whole load easier once you get to it.
Or you could do some aerobatics - a bit pricy, but the tail-dragger experience could come in useful after getting your CPL, it could open up oportunities in glider-towing or banner-towing, for example. Not to mention that it's a whole load of fun!
Or how about hiring a plane and touring around Europe for a couple of weeks, after you finish college? Hmm, now there's an idea! Pity I don't have enough holiday time to be able to do that one myself...
Have fun!
FFF
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A couple of ideas. You could get an IMC rating if you don't have one already, which I'd imagine will make the IR a whole load easier once you get to it.
Or you could do some aerobatics - a bit pricy, but the tail-dragger experience could come in useful after getting your CPL, it could open up oportunities in glider-towing or banner-towing, for example. Not to mention that it's a whole load of fun!
Or how about hiring a plane and touring around Europe for a couple of weeks, after you finish college? Hmm, now there's an idea! Pity I don't have enough holiday time to be able to do that one myself...
Have fun!
FFF
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Join Date: Sep 2001
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You could go back to the States and do the FAA IR, that way you'll end up with your 150 hours, and then you would'nt need to do the full JAA IR course (currently you only have to do 15 hours min to convert) plus the CAA will give you an IMC rating on the back of your FAA IR. When you do go to the States, make sure you do the CPL qualifying X country.
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Agree with FFF, flying europe is a blash, and fun.
I went from Sherburn to France/Spain/Switz/Germany. France is one of the best aviation countries I have visited to date, real helpful. Certainly pop in to Le Touqet, oh, and if you do go, go to Andernos and say hi to all the people there for me!
If you need any advice, don't hesitate to ask. When I went , it was mainly camping which I did, which is about £5-£7 most places around France,real good value, and some great camping parks!
Plenty of McDonalds around too
I went from Sherburn to France/Spain/Switz/Germany. France is one of the best aviation countries I have visited to date, real helpful. Certainly pop in to Le Touqet, oh, and if you do go, go to Andernos and say hi to all the people there for me!
If you need any advice, don't hesitate to ask. When I went , it was mainly camping which I did, which is about £5-£7 most places around France,real good value, and some great camping parks!
Plenty of McDonalds around too
Join Date: Jan 1999
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air rallys
Fly in a few air rallys this is not only great fun but it will sharpen up your visual navigation skils far quicker than just flying around.
I can highly recomend the Killkenny air rally as one of the best and the after rally party is a blast !.
I can highly recomend the Killkenny air rally as one of the best and the after rally party is a blast !.
Join Date: Jun 2002
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Hi,
Some of the suggestions here have been to obtain new ratings to your current licence. However I may have missed a point but you require another 50 hours PIC time? Not PUT time... IIRC it is a requirement for 150 hours total but 100 of these must be PIC.
Anyway some suggestions for the additional 50 hours P1 time.
Plan three leg cross countries, fly them accurately. Better still have someone else go along with you, get them to divert you and then get them to ask you to divert somewhere aka Skills Test. This will be extremely good practice for the CPL Skills Test.
Fly over to France, not just defacto Le Touquet but inland. Maybe the Channel Islands and Ireland as well? This will give you more knowledge and experience of overseas and international flying.
Gain some retractable / variable pitch prop time. This will make it easier for you on your CPL course.
Obtain a night rating, Okay I know that'll be an additional 3 hours PUT (plus any Instrument training they deem fit) but its more than worth it.
Ensure you carry out the 300nm cross country, landing at 2 airfields... etc etc....
If I think of any more suggestions then I'll post them.
Best wishes,
Richard.
Some of the suggestions here have been to obtain new ratings to your current licence. However I may have missed a point but you require another 50 hours PIC time? Not PUT time... IIRC it is a requirement for 150 hours total but 100 of these must be PIC.
Anyway some suggestions for the additional 50 hours P1 time.
Plan three leg cross countries, fly them accurately. Better still have someone else go along with you, get them to divert you and then get them to ask you to divert somewhere aka Skills Test. This will be extremely good practice for the CPL Skills Test.
Fly over to France, not just defacto Le Touquet but inland. Maybe the Channel Islands and Ireland as well? This will give you more knowledge and experience of overseas and international flying.
Gain some retractable / variable pitch prop time. This will make it easier for you on your CPL course.
Obtain a night rating, Okay I know that'll be an additional 3 hours PUT (plus any Instrument training they deem fit) but its more than worth it.
Ensure you carry out the 300nm cross country, landing at 2 airfields... etc etc....
If I think of any more suggestions then I'll post them.
Best wishes,
Richard.
Join Date: May 2002
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Good question this and shows that its not just hours but how you use them.
Any fool can fly around Florida for 100hrs. Its easy both navigationally and in a flying context. I agree with CZ that a night rating would be useful, add a few hours IR practice with a fellow hour builder to sharpen you up in preperation for JAR but most importantly make the hours you do count. Doing a X country? then do it at night. Why not fly somewhere more taxing like the Rockies. This will give you something to talk about at interview when your logbook is thin. The difference between 2 candidates for the same job may come down to being able to show that youve done something unusual.
I know cos it happened to me. I got my first job because I could talk about getting a 172 off the deck at 7000amsl and scratching it in on a gravel strip in Monument Valley to avoid the storm from hell. It will make you a better pilot and give you the edge over someone who spent 100hrs flying from Daytona Beach to Miami?
Have fun!
Any fool can fly around Florida for 100hrs. Its easy both navigationally and in a flying context. I agree with CZ that a night rating would be useful, add a few hours IR practice with a fellow hour builder to sharpen you up in preperation for JAR but most importantly make the hours you do count. Doing a X country? then do it at night. Why not fly somewhere more taxing like the Rockies. This will give you something to talk about at interview when your logbook is thin. The difference between 2 candidates for the same job may come down to being able to show that youve done something unusual.
I know cos it happened to me. I got my first job because I could talk about getting a 172 off the deck at 7000amsl and scratching it in on a gravel strip in Monument Valley to avoid the storm from hell. It will make you a better pilot and give you the edge over someone who spent 100hrs flying from Daytona Beach to Miami?
Have fun!
Join Date: Nov 2000
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I did mine in the Canadian West. The Rockies taught me an awful about AC performance especially density altitude Jasper-Hinton 4000" amsl 35deg C, giving a density alt of 8000" in a 151hp C-172.
The prairies taught me a lot about navigating over featureless terrain. I also took the opportunity to land at a few busy fields like Vancouver International, Victoria, Edmonton City, Calgary International and Saskatoon.
Don't forget to enjoy it it's probably some of the best fun you'll have
GF
The prairies taught me a lot about navigating over featureless terrain. I also took the opportunity to land at a few busy fields like Vancouver International, Victoria, Edmonton City, Calgary International and Saskatoon.
Don't forget to enjoy it it's probably some of the best fun you'll have
GF
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Golffoxtrot
Makes you laugh when youre told by some that you should never lean a piston engine on the ground doesnt it!
Fine at Blackbushe maybe, Bryce Canyon, not such a good piece of advice.
Makes you laugh when youre told by some that you should never lean a piston engine on the ground doesnt it!
Fine at Blackbushe maybe, Bryce Canyon, not such a good piece of advice.
Why do it if it's not fun?
Join Date: Jul 2001
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Hmm, no performance charts for the Super Cub.
I decided to be a little conservative re. runway length when flying from some of the higher-altitude airfields in northern Arizona. I figured that if the runway at Grand Canyon airport was long enough for the tourist flights, it was probably long enough for me, though! And at least it was winter when I was there.
Agree that mountain flying is a whole load of fun and teaches you lots about the weather, about piston engine management, and about density altitude.
I decided to be a little conservative re. runway length when flying from some of the higher-altitude airfields in northern Arizona. I figured that if the runway at Grand Canyon airport was long enough for the tourist flights, it was probably long enough for me, though! And at least it was winter when I was there.
Agree that mountain flying is a whole load of fun
and teaches you lots about the weather, about piston engine management, and about density altitude.
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Got to agree with Johnnypick's advice. Do your FAA IR and not only will you have a head start on the ATPL theory (you'll know the Jepp plates and charts inside out, and have a pretty good handle on gyroscopes and practical met) but you'll be able to convert to the JAR IR with 10 hours Frasca sim and 5 hours in a twin (minimum). So, say, 4,000 bucks for the FAA IR plus, say another 2,000 bucks to convert to the JAR IR means quite a significant saving--about 6,000 pounds, I reckon.
At which point you could put those savings towards some more hour building in the US; so why not do the initial FAA single engine CPL--it's laughably easy--and you can then convert this to the JAR equivalent and realise even more savings as you'd only have to do the JAA CPL skills test as a minimum.
Or, if you're just wanting some cross country hours I'd thoroughly recommend the west coast. I did some flying in Florida and found it flat and mind-numbingly boring. I've done some solo trips out of San Diego that I'll never ever forget; hard IFR solo LAX, 2,500 mile round trip to the San Juan Islands and Canada over the Oregon wilderness and a diversion flying inside a collapsed volcano on the way back (try doing that in the UK...). I've had the pleasure of flying through some wonderful terrain; Mount Rainer, Mt St Helens (still smoking), Mount Adams, all within some shockingly picturesque scenery, I've seen sunsets over the pacific above a thick marine layer which are just unbelievably pretty and, getting bored of the mountains, valleys and forests, there always the desert east: Arizona, Utah, New Mexico. San Francisco, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Phoenix, Yosemite Valley, Death Valley, Palm Springs, Catalina Island are all a stone's throw away.
I've certainly had the time of my life.
In fact, if you do the maths, you'll find that for what it costs to get a fATPL with 250 hours flying in UK, you can get a fATPL with 1,000 hours and foreign ICAO professional licences and instructor ratings with considerably more experience for the same price if you take advantage of the new conversion regs. The question is, however, which route would impress a prospective employer the most? Well, who knows.
At which point you could put those savings towards some more hour building in the US; so why not do the initial FAA single engine CPL--it's laughably easy--and you can then convert this to the JAR equivalent and realise even more savings as you'd only have to do the JAA CPL skills test as a minimum.
Or, if you're just wanting some cross country hours I'd thoroughly recommend the west coast. I did some flying in Florida and found it flat and mind-numbingly boring. I've done some solo trips out of San Diego that I'll never ever forget; hard IFR solo LAX, 2,500 mile round trip to the San Juan Islands and Canada over the Oregon wilderness and a diversion flying inside a collapsed volcano on the way back (try doing that in the UK...). I've had the pleasure of flying through some wonderful terrain; Mount Rainer, Mt St Helens (still smoking), Mount Adams, all within some shockingly picturesque scenery, I've seen sunsets over the pacific above a thick marine layer which are just unbelievably pretty and, getting bored of the mountains, valleys and forests, there always the desert east: Arizona, Utah, New Mexico. San Francisco, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Phoenix, Yosemite Valley, Death Valley, Palm Springs, Catalina Island are all a stone's throw away.
I've certainly had the time of my life.
In fact, if you do the maths, you'll find that for what it costs to get a fATPL with 250 hours flying in UK, you can get a fATPL with 1,000 hours and foreign ICAO professional licences and instructor ratings with considerably more experience for the same price if you take advantage of the new conversion regs. The question is, however, which route would impress a prospective employer the most? Well, who knows.
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I'm in a similar position with almost 100hrs and a requirement to build to 150 pic before CPL. I did the night and then IMC and thoroughly recomend it. Gives you extra confidence/knowledge and more chances to fly (in UK). Also did wobbly prop and retractables which I enjoyed, good prep for a Multi Engine Rating and allows you to hire a faster plane. Then I realised that I needed to fly long trips as slowly as possible in order to build the time 
I try to go to a different airport each trip, look out for the free landing vouchers for the big airports and try out the procedures in Class D airspace without forking out £30-£40 a time. I was in a a PA28 number 2 to an A320 at Bristol a few weeks back "recomended seperation 6 miles" its different and cool too !I've been to France a few times now so I want to try Belgium and Holland next.
What I'd really like to do is tour Ireland over a week but flying schools take a dim view of one taking a plane for this amount of time. You really need your own or a syndicate plane as the hourly costs will soon mount up on a hired aircraft.
Fly Ins are fun and good practise at looking out and working busy circuits with traffic of hugely varying speeds.
This week I want to do some more night hours.. just to keep in practice.
Most of all .. have fun
I try to go to a different airport each trip, look out for the free landing vouchers for the big airports and try out the procedures in Class D airspace without forking out £30-£40 a time. I was in a a PA28 number 2 to an A320 at Bristol a few weeks back "recomended seperation 6 miles" its different and cool too !I've been to France a few times now so I want to try Belgium and Holland next.
What I'd really like to do is tour Ireland over a week but flying schools take a dim view of one taking a plane for this amount of time. You really need your own or a syndicate plane as the hourly costs will soon mount up on a hired aircraft.
Fly Ins are fun and good practise at looking out and working busy circuits with traffic of hugely varying speeds.
This week I want to do some more night hours.. just to keep in practice.
Most of all .. have fun
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Join Date: Oct 2000
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Thanks for the replys.
As someone mentioned I need the P1 time as opposed to Put time and in relation to gaining the FAA IR on the back of the JAA IR I would have some reservations.
I will have 100hr TT by xmas and will commence the atpl in FEB so hope to get as much hr build done in JAN as weather permits here in Ireland, and I will continue to do some hrs on weekend while on my groundschool in UK. I am currently looking at some clubs here who offer excellent rates for touring so fingers crossed.
As someone mentioned I need the P1 time as opposed to Put time and in relation to gaining the FAA IR on the back of the JAA IR I would have some reservations.
I will have 100hr TT by xmas and will commence the atpl in FEB so hope to get as much hr build done in JAN as weather permits here in Ireland, and I will continue to do some hrs on weekend while on my groundschool in UK. I am currently looking at some clubs here who offer excellent rates for touring so fingers crossed.
