self funded guys
 

hello,

Looking to start my self funding in September, finish my apprenticeship and get a nice pay rise, I plan to pay myself my apprentice wages still and pocket the £600 difference each month.

I'm specifically looking for some self funded guys to give me an example of how much they are/were saving and for how long?


+ I want to find out if 600 a month is doable or do I need to re-evaluate?

+ A "really rough" idea as to how long different amounts saved equate to license and exam passes (I do understand we all study at different passes etc.)

cheers guys Dan

Dan,

£600 per month towards an ab-initio fATPL ?

Do you have any starting capital ? Or any licenses already ?

Simple maths suggest 60,000 / 600 = 100 months.

Obviously you can spend as you go, but you're not going to be getting in many hours a month if we assume 100/hour for aircraft + instructor to keep the maths simple.

But maybe I've just misunderstood the wording of your question and you're actually asking something else altogether.

nah I'm looking to save and break the licensse down over a few years, ill do my hour building abroad were its cheaper whilst I sit my ATPL ground exams and build that way, as an example.

Also applied for sponsorship as well, may or may not get it.

I have got other options that will come up down the road but need a little more experience in my current job first, so im looking at the minimal figures to start me off

Good to see you're planning to do it over a few years, I wouldn't be in any great rush to get into the industry, especially as people willing to take on fATPLs these days are few and far between.

yeah well I'm enjoying my job at the moment, i don't want to rush out of it. ill use that, the travelling and hour building to gain some more life experience and enjoy the process over all.

and the way the price of oil is at the moment no one is in a rush!

60 grand modular you must be joking. 30 grand if you know what your doing.

really isn't a useful post mate, I'm after specific details etc?

Im Modular and im quite a bit into it.

PPL - Canadian = approx 4K

Hours - also in Canada = Approx 7k

ATPL - 1000 for the course, £66 x 14 for exams plus some hotel costs etc = Approx 2.5k

CPL - UK based = Approx 5.5K

IR - UK bases = 11-13K

MMC - not sure where yet = 2.5K

If im good enough to get through the CPL, IR, MMC 1st bash will be about 31-33K for damn near everything.

You could put £600 a month into something around that type of total cost. Would take a while. Flying regularly is the best way to do it as you dont relearn things from your previous hours. On current prices on say a 152 you could fly around 4 times a month for that.

Not sure about what? About what it means? ;) Multi Crew Coordination (or Cooperation). MCC.

Rollnow, cheer for that. exactly what I'm looking for!

would you recommend flying regularly as in 1 a month or do say PPL up to CPL in bulk?


graft solid for two years and blitz it?

Nooo i mean not sure WHERE im going to do it yet lol i know what it means :ok:

Depends on you mate.

If you are a good learner and you really take to it then you COULD do it 1 per week and see how you get on. Might work for your PPL a lot of people do it that way.

However i decided it was better to bash it all through in one go. So i went to Canada and did my PPL in just under 6 weeks. Worked a charm i passed the theory and the Flight test 1st time and got good marks from the TC examiner. Was cheaper too as i was paying CAD prices to liver literally on the airfield, not UK fuel prices driving every week. Also you can fly up to about 5 hours a day, anymore is a waste you WILL be knackered. I tried it and knocked it down to 2 or 3 depending on WX and A/C availability.

I also forgot to add the Multi into my price list ... roughly 3k depending on what you fly. a DA42 will be more than a Seneca for example.... most of the time anyway.

i know what your saying mate, I'm waiting on a GAPAN PPL scholarship at the mo so finger crossed i can save my self some money and get some good cv coverage.

can I PM you my email addy etc as any one who's been through it would be invaluable to me at the mo?

Of course you can. It helped me when i was asking all this stuff :ok:

just sent it now, can you either email me or msg me so i have yours.


if you don't hear from me for a while its not out ignorance I've got interviews etc coming up to nail down a job so its the priority. When ive got the saving contract i can start looking to start funding.

if you don't mind me asking what sort of money have you been saving per month?

Looking at a good dependable financial structure that is proven

Roll Now, have you included flight tests in your figures? IR test will cost you best part of £1200+, likewise for the ME/CPL, taking into account ME A/C hire charges and the CAA stinging you over £700 for each skills test. Plus cost of living, loss of earnings, additional hours, retakes, licence issue etc it all adds up!

Hi, hope my 'story' so far will give an insight.

When I lived at home with my parents I managed to save £1000 a month for 10 months and this paid for 2 months in California to get my PPL (FAA), about 40 hrs hour building (20 in the US 20 in the UK), ATPL ground school course and all the other bits a bobs like books, whizz wheel etc. I am still doing my ATPL exams, passed 6 so far and will finish the rest this year. I then saved £500 a month for 8 months and this paid for a single engine seaplane rating in Seattle and about 10hrs hour building on a Piper Super Cub on floats (almost got an hour in a DeHavilland Beaver, but the only day the dual controlled one was free it was foggy, gutted :{!)! I have now moved out as I have a job as an operations officer earning pretty good money and saving £800 a month. I plan to go to the US again for a month in October to get my tail endorsement and build a further 30hrs, this trip will set me back £4000. I am also going to build another 20hrs here in the UK in the summer at approx £3000 (includes landing fees, meals, hotels and so on). I will complete the CPL next year in June taking the time off work and hitting the course full time, I should be able to fund this with out a loan as I will have about £8000 saved. As for the IR I am not sure when I will complete this. I will judge the market (by the way my aim is not airline pilot, not that I will turn down a job if offered! I am aiming more for bush flying, perhaps Africa or the dream job would be flying seaplanes somewhere! Anyway, back to the story), maybe get an instructors rating and teach part time or something (hope tail wheel and seaplane rating will add a few strings to my bow for this). But whatever I do I think I will need to borrow a bit of money at some point and if I do I want to keep it below £15k. We will see. Just keep saving as much as I can.

Anyway mate, if you are going to do this, be under no illusion it is very hard. Get used to saying you can't go on holidays with mates as much (missed 3 years of festivals with my mates I would love to have gone to). If you enjoy a beer like me, you will find you will be cutting down due to funding issues. You can of course still do things, I have about £300 of 'spending money' a month for myself. It is also frustrating not flying for long periods but when you do fly you won't forget it!

I know I am not doing this the cheapest way (seaplanes spring to mind!), but I am really enjoying my training and my flying and thats what is important to me. Sorry for the essay but I hope it gives you an idea! Best of luck mate, we all need it!

yeah that's ideal mate, nice to see some good advice from top guys like.

its funny you mention the drink and all that I'm stopping my self now, getting out of bad habits and saving money which was also good advice I've had from off here. When I start making more progress ill get back to you all and let you know were I'm at. Good confidence booster, with my aviation background and i know its doable on them sort of wages I feel a lot happier now. If thers any more guy with some experience please jump in.

Nearly there.

In those figures no. Ive just included course costs as a rough guide to quite a large round number :}

I know the flight test fees are there but its getting the money together for all the modules that has been difficult. Its almost done now if i can get this much ill sort the flight tests out when i come to them :) Theres even licence issue which i believe is just over £100 argh. Love you CAA :eek:

The cost of the ATPL exams in the UK went up to £68 each