Hour building - which a/c type?

[PFO]

I am looking to hour build prior to starting my CPL next spring.

Is there any restriction on the type of a/c I can use? Can I, for instance, h.build in a microlight or does it have to be a "standard" SEP ie. 152, Warrior etc.

Cheers

PFO

[Stu Pidkent]

I know someone who bought a 50% share in an Evans VP1 (open cockpit). He flew every spare minute he had and sold his share on when his 150 hours were up and he was off to an upgrade course.

It all counts.

[The man formerly known as]

Check FCL1 for what you can and can't count, its all in there and your club should have a copy.

The VP1 is OK , Microlights, Gliders may not be. Make sure you know the rules before you spend the money.

[SOHCAHTOA]

There are a variety of ways of hour building and each probably depends on your circumstances. For me its purely financial so the cheaper the better and probably the cheapest way of doing the hour building segment is getting involved with a group run aircraft. PFA is usually the most cost effective. For example the group Im involved with is £30pm to cover hangarage and maintenance and then we just pay for the fuel we use (about £10ph).
Of course when you come to do your CPL training you probably want to have a bit of experience in something which is a bit less basic, so it might be worth budgeting for a block of hours in 152/172 to get your general handling up to speed on that type of aircraft.
A word of caution though, when you have found what you think is a suitable group aircraft, give as much attention to how the group is run as to how suitable the aircraft is!!