What is the best UK airport (not school) from which to do an IR?

[Jimmy the Pilot]

I don’t want to start another “my flight school is the best flight school” thread, I’m more interested in the location than the school(s) that might be based there. The questions are:

What is the best (UK) location for doing an IR (and what makes it so)?

and

What are the factors to consider?

- Lots of schools choose to be based at Bournemouth; why is it so good?

- Bristol Flight Centre are reckoned to be pretty good: is that down to their location? Is the bad Bristol weather a problem?

- The weather at Leeds is even worse than Bristol. Does Leeds have other strengths?

- Oxford is poorly equipped and hemmed in. Reputedly, access to the airways system from there is difficult. Is that a major disadvantage? Does it have any comparative strengths?

- Cranfield is a little better equipped than Oxford, but shares the airways access problems. Is that a big hit?

- There are many other locations that support an approved IR school. Is the reason that they are small their location?

Thanks,

Jimmy

[Splat]

Bournemouth get's my vote.

[Jimmy the Pilot]

Thanks Splat, that's very positive. What is is about Bournemouth that encorages you to choose it ahead of other locations?

[Splat]

1. Facilities on site - ILS ADF RADAR etc decent procedures
2. Test center on site - no commutes to one
3. Easy access to the airways
4. Relativly uncommercialised and un busy
5. Good choice of IR schools based on site
6. Better Wx (yes, for real)
7. Good choice of B & B's, specialy out of season
8. Nice part of the country

There are probably others too

Splat

[Katanaman]

Go to PAT

PAT in Bournemouth I would recommend without question. Very small place, but a/c are excellent and the instructors have a lot of experience. I spent about 10 days there for an unapproved IR the summer before last.

[KitKatPacificuk]

Leeds gets my vote. All facilities, weather not that bad really. All the airfield you goto have great facilities too. Humberside, Teeside and Blackpool. SID's are very straight forward and flying to Pole Hill to join the Airway is not a long slogg.

When chatting to Manchester to join the Airways they are very good and not majorly busy, so it's good to be able flow and not stuggle to get a word in.

The airfields you goto are open late so I managed to do some IR training at night, which was great fun, nice and smooth! good way to learn for harder conditions to come.

[Cricketer]

What about Spain?

Not a UK airport but there are only three airports (Andalucia) you can get for tests and hence routes and the weather leads to very few cancellations. As for airspace - whata joke - empty as a proverbial. the only downside is ATC - routing you towards planes instead of away from them!

[WX Man]

I haven't done an IR, but I looked into it about a little over a year ago and concluded Redhill or Bournemouth. I was attracted by the proximity to home and the possibility of flying airways to France/Belgium and doing ILS's etc over there as well as in the UK.

[vicarofdibley]

Leeds.

Because I passed. And for all of the other reasons already stated.

[euroflyer]

My 1st choice: Bournemouth (did mine at PAT, excellent!)
My 2nd choice: Bristol (visited them, quite impressed)

Everything you need to pass an IRT! the rest is up to you!
Good luck.

[cortilla]

i did mine at cranfield. i can't say if it's the best or not, because i have no experience of any of the others. the only time cranfield is a real git is when the wind favours 04. then you have to come down the ndb and do a circling to land, and is annoying. i got to know the controllers there, who are a really friendly bunch, and very used to training aircraft, and really help you out if you have the exam callsign. i got cleared straight into airways from the ground (not the controllers at cranfield who did it, but i thanked them anyway). all the routes are fairly easy, especially east mids as it gives you loads of time to settle down, and get to flying. coventry is a bit taxing as it's straight down as soon as you hit the airways. the only time the airways get a bit annoying is when you have to do the stony/welin arc, to get into airways, but usually latcc clear you into airways on trac daventry. going back to the controllers at cranfield. i partialled my ir and had to do the ils again. i didn't have to do a hold, as i'd passed that bit, but the examiner said i would be assesed on my hold if i had to for atc reasons. so i trundled up the tower and asked them to either make sure i didn't have to do a hold, or keep me on the ground, until the hold was clear. it's a bit of gamesmanship, and i really thanked the controllers after that one. the weather is usually good enough in cranfield, so i would have to say all in all it is a very good airport to do your test in. hope this helps

[mad_jock]

I hear that coventry have just got there hands on a seminole.

Which should make them a bit more economic than when they used the C310's.

MJ

[foghorn]

Leeds wins on everything except the weather, IMHO.

SIDS straight to airways therefore no join to negotiate - just 'contact Manchester Control xxx.x' after once you're through 2,000ft.

It sits in the corner of two airways, so you don't need to travel far to do your airways portion.

There are plenty of relatively quiet yet radar-equipped instrument fields in the vicinity: Humberside, Teesside + Blackpool being the popular ones.

Local B&Bs are cheap.

cheers!
foggy.

[Aviation Trainer too]

Bournemouth without a doubt. Did mine at PAT who I can recommend too.

reasons:
1 Weather
2 Traffic on airport not too heavy but all good training airports nearby
3 Exam at field of training
4 accomodation a plenty
5 Guernsey / Jersey nearby
6 Military training area for all the fun flying bits
etc

etc

[Tinstaafl]

Perth.

It's OCTA so no ATC delays. Airspace is easier because it's not as complex/crowded.

Dundee is just over the hill.
The airway to Aberdeen is overhead.
Glasgow & Edinburgh not far away.

Examiner on the field.
Accommodation & meals on the field.

I & others were very hapy with our treatment at Tayflight. Their Seneca II is nicely equipped & well looked after. They also have a sim. trainer to reduce costs.

[Sir Donald]

Bournemouth any time. Lots of good reasons already listed.
(PAT, very professional and helpful). The only school that insisted that i did not need the full 55 hr IR course, while the others were trying to tell me that my experience and foreign qualifications were irrelevant. Ha,Suprise, completed it in 15 hrs.
Definitely Bournemoth chap.

[Lee-a-Roady Moor]

Ah Mad_Jock, why not Scotland...?

Agree with Tinstaafl, airways not too crowded, ATC helpful providing r/w in use, QNH, wind and basically, the bare minimum of info that that would enable you to attempt an approach.(Yup, accept that additional info should be sought for the test, however the basics are there).

Perth is not a bad spot - again, whilst uncontrolled, they do have helpful chaps in the tower who will do their best to give you a dig out (perhaps subtly clearing the 'hold' for example).

Routes are quite straight forward - Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen. Not impossible of course to get further afield if doing a back-to-back obviously, but same applies to anywhere really.

Uncluttered airways a help as well.

As a 'back seat pax' out of Cranfield, it would seem that the airways there are a bit more congested than Perth and competition with the 'big boys' for R/T can add to the pressure of the I/R.

Would opt for Perth