So you want to learn to fly!
Hundreds of student pilots gain their Private Pilots Licence every year in the UK. For a newcomer it can be a little daunting trying to decipher the rules and regulations around training and qualifying for a PPL.
There are a lot of things to consider before you even begin any training.
COST
Cost is a big factor to consider. From zero hours to having a licence in your hand can cost over £10,000. This cost can rise if you take a break from training at any point and also depends on an individuals ability to learn. I know pilots who passed at 45 hours training and also pilots who took over 70 hours. If you run out of funds before qualifying expect your licence to cost more as you will require revision lessons. There are also costs involved once you qualify. Medicals, currency regulations all add up. Ensure you have theses funds available or you will just end up with an expensive piece of paper!
FITNESS
PPL qualified pilots are required to complete a class 2 medical to fly an aircraft solo. This consists of eyesight, blood pressure, general fitness, hearing, ECG(dependant on age), urine test and medical history. Even if you are an extremely fit person it is recommend to get a medical before you splash out on expensive flight training.
WHY GET A PPL
You should make this decision very early on. Do you want a license just for leisure flying or do you want to progress to a Commercial Pilots Licence and potentially make a career out of flying. I say this because you should let your instructor know very early on in your training. The reasoning is that some habits or inconsistencies in your flying are perfectly acceptable to a PPL examiner. After all all they are looking for is that you can fly safely. Some of these inconsistencies would not be acceptable at CPL level. It is much harder to train out a bad habit than it is to put extra focus on it in early training. You may well take a few extra hours training for your PPL but you will have the base to complete your CPL much easier.
EXAMS
Every student pilots nightmare! The dreaded PPL exams. There are 9 ground exams in total plus a Radio Telephony Practical exam to take before you can qualify.
- Air Law
- Operational Procedures
- Human Performance
- Navigation
- Flight Performance and Planning
- Communications
- Aircraft General
- Meteorology
- Principles of Flight
These exams are all multiple choice exams. The timescale for completing seems a little complex.
All exams must be completed in 6 sittings and within 18 months of completing the first exam.
This means that on some sittings you must complete more than 1 exam.
A sitting lasts 10 days and you cannot re-sit a failed exam in the same sitting in which you failed it.
I will go into further detail around each exam in future posts and a PPL exam app is in development.
Many students claim the exams are easy. They are only easy if you know the answers. To know the answers there is a lot of reading to do. If you are following the Pooley’s syllabus, then expect to read each of the 7 books at least twice and maybe more.
WHICH FLYING SCHOOL
Picking the right flying school is difficult. An airfield may have multiple schools or just one. Whatever you do don’t pick a school just based on price. Research as many schools as you can, visit them and talk to the instructors and the students. Use the internet to find the many forums on general aviation and ask around.
There is also the factor of do you pay for a full flying package or just pay as you fly. There is a risk in paying for a package outright in that if the school goes bust you lose your money and get no training. Advantages are that it is usually cheaper to buy a package and may get extras thrown in such as equipment and the like. Just be very careful and ensure that the school is well established if you are going to commit to a serious outlay for a package deal.
A further factor is that you could pay for a package, take your first lesson and hate the experience. This is what trial flying lessons are for. Before deciding to payout for a package take a trial flying lesson with your school of choice just to ensure that flying is for you. Use this lesson to ask as many questions as you need to such as availability of aircraft and instructors etc.
Above all enjoy yourself. This is why we fly.
