I have a couple of basic questions about learning to fly, I'd be grateful of any help?

Question

Hello from Bristol (England)! From a very young age I wanted to fly and I applied to join the RAF as a pilot but I failed the eyesight tests. I am still able to fly recreationally if I want to.

I am now 22 and have a steady if somewhat low-paid job as a typist (£12k). I'd love to learn to fly and there is an airfield near me at Filton that may have a flying school.

My questions are: can you take flying lessons like driving lessons, one here and one there- or do you have to work to a set timetable?

Can I learn for fun or do I have to sit my PPL?

Roughly how much are lessons (just a ball-park figure) and how long does each one last, I'm guessing at an hour?

Are you in the air from lesson 1 or do you have ground work to go first?

Thanks for all relevant answers.

Answer 1

Hi, sounds like you're in a similar situation to that which I was in. I'm originally from High Wycombe, Bucks. I couldn't afford flight training in the UK so came to the US to do it - I was 34 before I finally had the money together (10 yrs ago). I'm now a commercial pilot flying turbo-props and have over 5,000hrs. There are plenty of schools over here that will cater to foreign students, I can point you in the right direction if you like. The safety pilot programme is great if you only want to be a passenger, but with the exchange rate as good as it is now, why not take a month's holiday in Florida and get a licence? Let me know if you want some pointers...

Good luck!

Answer 2

Those are all questions you'll have to ask the flight school, as that stuff varies from one to the other.  Typically, you set your own pace.  If you only want to fly once a month for fun, then you can do that.  If you want to come in 3 times a week and knock out a PPL quickly, you can do that.  I had a student who had over 100 hours and never soloed.  Not that he wasn't ready, but because he had no interest in ever getting his license.  He just wanted to come in and fly around, maybe get lunch sometimes.  Once a month or so, he would want to review stalls, steep turns, emergencies, that sort of stuff.  I always told him that I would sign him off to solo.  He would just say "Nah, I just like to fly around with you guys and have fun".  Now, there are other flight schools that are geared more towards people seeking a career in aviation.  Those will typically have a more structured program.

Again, some schools want to have you go through a lot of ground school first and others would get you in the plane the moment you first walk in the door.

This is from my experience in the US only.  I'm not sure if things are a lot different on your side of the world.  If your goal is be able to take over in the event of an emergency, then I recommend going the distance and getting your PPL, as well as getting some PIC time under your belt.

Answer 3

Some flying schools do a "safety pilot's" course, which won't get you a licence or official rating but should enable you to take control and land the aircraft safely;  the biggest advantage, of course, is that you have the satisfaction of knowing what the pilot is doing.

At the end of most of these courses you would be able to fly the aircraft from the right-hand seat in straight and level flight, climb, descend, use the radio and follow compass headings, reach an airfield, land and shut down the engine.  Is that what you're after? Then try ringing around some nearby flying schools

Answer 4

Wow.  Some great questions.  I can't answer some, as they are specific to your area.  I can answer from the standpoint of general answers, and answers if you were in the U.S., where I live.  That being said, here goes....

For the eyesight part, you have to have correctable vision to a standard - I think it's 20/25, to pass the medical part of the Private Pilot requirements.  There is a Light Sport Certificate that does not require a medical, but there are limitations, such as no night flights, etc., between the two.

As to how often to fly - I recommend having your money saved, and flying consistently - at least two to three times a week.  That's not to say you can't fly one lesson at a time, it just builds on each lesson, so if you do one here, and one there, you tend to have to re-learn a lot between lessons, and won't make as much progress...

A Private Pilot Certificate here will run between $6,000 and $10,000 U.S. Dollars.  There is an Instrument Rating beyond that, as well as Commercial Certificate, Multi Engine Ratings, and Certified Flight Instructor Certificates.  If you wanted to train from nothing to being an Airline Transport, you should figure between $60,000 and $100,000 U.S. Dollars, depending on where you train.

As to the question about whether there's gtround work first, I'd recommend getting with the local flight school, and asking them that one.  You might also run these other questions by them as well.

Good luck.