100 Hours P1
 

One of the first hurdles facing any wannabe jockey is getting enough hours to start commercial training. I'm nearing the end of my PPL and want to start commecial training next year.

I knew there's a lot of different methods for achieving this, anyone got any especially cunning plans (with the emphasis on cheap)?

Cheers doodes.

If you want cheap, then you could buy a single-seater PFA-type aircraft for approx £10K. Fly it for arond £10/hr - the monthly costs will be negligable because you'll be flying a high number of hours per month. At the end, sell it, get back your £10K (near enough) and you've completed your hour-building for around £10/hr.

I'm sure others will have their own good ideas, too.

FFF
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How does one go about obtaining a single seater PFA-type aircraft for approx £10k and do we have a rough guide re: the other necessary costs involved apart from fuel ?
Help would be appreciated as I need to obtain 100 hrs as cheaply as poss .
Thanks .

Where to find an aircraft: start off in the back of all the GA magazines. Or at your local flying club. If your local club is full of spam-cans then find another airfield which has more "interesting" aircraft. There are several websites out there for classified aircraft ads. Try the PFA magazine. And so on. No one said it would be easy - but you asked for cheap, not easy!

Hidden costs would be hangarage (price depends very much where you are based) and insurance. Hopefully no major maintenance, but that's always possible with aircraft ownership. You'd probably need a tail-wheel checkout, since most of these types of aircraft are tail-draggers, so budget on 7 or 8 hours of dual on something like a Piper Cub.

Biggest problem would be insurance. Generally, insurance companies are happy to ensure you on anything as long as you get some dual instruction first. Dual on a single-seater obviously isn't possible, so you might find it hard to get insured on a single-seater tail-dragger if you're new to tail-dragging - I don't know. Insurance is not a legal requirement, of course, but it is definitely a good idea.

Can't think of anything that I've forgotten. Hope that helps.

FFF
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FFF,

Many thanks for the suggestion, someone at the flying club handed by a back issue of Flyer (or it could've been Pilot!). Article about a guy who bought a Aeronautica Champ, loooks like a top idea (only cost him about a tenner an hour, after he sold it and worked out the costs)!

Many thanks.

The Champ's a great aeroplane to fly too :)

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oh, and it's an Aeronca
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