Learning to fly?

Question

I really want to learn to fly, but i am unsure as to how i got away learning and getting a license etc? Also i need to know a rough cost.....my nearest flying schools are blackbushe and fairoaks...

Sensible answers please i really want to learn but don't know where to start! :-)

Yes flying a plane! why is everyone so sarcastic?!!!

I'm 23....

Answer 1

Plan on spending 2 hours outside the plane paying an instructor for every hour in the plane. Urban areas probably take at least 100 in-plane hours if you are doing it in a short 6-month period. I trained while working full-time and spent 2 years and 200+ hours in the plane.

FAA minimums require 20 hours of inflight training; 10 hours solo flight (just you).

Once you get plane rental rates and instructor costs, just plug in the numbers. My guess:
Plane: 100 hours * 80/hr = $8000
Instructor 300 hours * 50/hr = $15,000
Sum = $23,000.... I would round up to $25,000.

I recall my total investment a few years ago was more like 40K.

Answer 2

The local school at Blackbushe is called blackbushe aviation, give them a call and visit thier web site www.blackbusheaviation.com. they advertise in the pilot mag., There will prob be other school at the airport so it would be worth while visiting a few. They need your business so dont be afraid to walk through the door, you will find most clubs/schools to be very freindly and welcoming, ask any questions that you have no matter how stupid they may seem. The more knowledge you have the better choice you can make on the license type you go for. learning to fly should be enjoyable and fun. There is nothing difficult in learing and the ground school exams are not to taxing but you will have to study for a bit. There are two types of basic license, NPPPL and JAAPPL, I would go for the JAA as this allows you to fly in other countries. whats the point in being a pilot of you cant fly where you want... You will need at least 45 hours for the JAA PPL and if you buy a package with stage payments this works out about 5K. Plus you will need a class 2 £200,medical or class 1 if you want to further into a commercial pilot. you will also need to buy the study material about £300 and other bits and bibs along the way, headsets etc. if you cannot afford the package then payg is normally about £130/hr with instructor. I hope that this helps. and check out the web site for the school as they will be able answer all your questions, see you up there.......

Answer 3

Learning To Fly

Answer 4

How old are you? I just turned 15 and have been taking lessons since I turned 14 by just going to the local airport, hanging out and working for them. I don't ask for money as payment but for flight lessons. At the local airport near where I live it costs $80 for plane rental and $25 for a trainer. I work for about $105-110 a lesson. But its not too bad! I love it! I also have had a big dream ever since I can remember of flying. I have a passion for it beyond what I can explain. Its my goal to be able to solo by the time I'm 16 (since thats how old you have to be to solo). I have to keep ahead in school (I'm homeschooled) so I can get this whole summer off. I plan on going up there nearly everyday this next summer. It takes dedication. If you aren't really dedicated then you might end up spending alot of money and decide not to anyway. Hope everything goes well with you and learning to fly!

Answer 5

Not a problem. Why not ring the school of your choice and ask 'em first if you can have a "trial lesson"? That's where an instructor will take you for a flight and you'll get the chance to handle the controls and see if you like it. At a guess, it'd cost about £100 - £130 for an hour. Perhaps Santa will give you a voucher for one.

If it helps, as a ball-park figure you might need to reckon on perhaps 40/50 hours training, plus various exam fees etc. Once you've had your trial lesson, your instructor will sit down with you and explain everything that's involved.

Hope that helps.

Answer 6

Fair play to you.. I did some flying lessons in a 150HP propelled plane a few years ago. Some places give you 3 flying lessons and then you join the flying club to avail of more lessons and if the weather is bad, some lessons about the aircraft, weather and general avaiation laws are given. This depends on where you go. I loved it. This would give you the start you need, it would qualify you for a private pilots licence. From there you can go for a commercial licence but this is really expensive. I am in Ireland and for each lesson at first it was €65 each, to join the club is €300 a year, you have to go often to beneifit of this. If you are really in to this though, it is a brilliant hobbie.
Alot of flying schools have web sites and e-mail addresses attached to these. If you "google" flying lessons in your country, hopefully there will be some info... happy flying and good luck..

Answer 7

I got my flight training at no cost to me. I made friends with my flight instructor before learning from him... However, his rates are 68 dollars an hour dual, and 46 dollars an hour solo. I thought this was a fairly regular rate across the board? Also no offense to new CFI's, but try and get yourself an instructor thats been through the reality of aviation and has the time in. Its like going to your grandpa ya know, they know the most because they've been around the longest. You will pick up good stuff from them. If you go find a school that charges you alot more than reality, they're just in it for the money because it doesn't cost that much to operate a single engine plane!!!


And MIKE D, i am soooo sorry to hear you spent that much money! =/

Answer 8

I think you were serious, and I don't understand either why many other tried to laugh on you. They probably are borring or brainless persons.

If it's really like what Bastet and Private J said, it does not cost as much as I imagined. I would like to go to learn and fly one day, too. I have had this dream since I was a little girl, reading books about history of cosmos and human flying into the air, while my friends all liked fairy tails and hoax herros in action ... Should to to check for real at local airport/flying school, or website, yellow pages ...

But the thing to concern later when you already know how to fly is you will have to fly a certain amount of hours each year in order to obtain your flying licence. This will cost you some (lot of)money. I like Jonh Travolta also for the reason he has this passion of flying, and even has space for his own airplane at his beautiful home. He flew his own aircraft carring friends to Italy recently to the Wedding of TomKat.

Answer 9

For a Private Pilots Licence in the UK it takes most people around 50-60 hours flying time to complete and I would budget £7500-£8000.
You will need various bits of equipment that your flying school will advise you on once your training begins.
For a JAA PPL you will need a class 2 medical before you can fly solo, so as long as you can see (with or without glasses), have a healthy heart, etc and can hear to a reasonable standard you should pass that. You local flying school will be able to put you in touch with a local Air Medical Examiner.
You should attend the ground school lessons put on by your flying school and will have to sit some exams such as Air Law, Navigation etc.
Aim to fly as often as you can, twice a week would be fine but people have done it twice a month and some the whole course in two weeks!
When you have your PPL, you will be able to fly single engined light aircraft during the day and in VMC which is when you can start to impress your mates.
The following are additional and thus will incur more cost, if all you want is a basic licence you don't have to do these.
You will have the chance to do a night rating allowing you to fly at night in VMC conditions in controlled airspace.
You can also do your IMC rating but only in the UK, this allows you to fly when visibility is low. It is not a full Instrument rating but a cheaper alternative, ideal for the weekend pilot.
You can also do your Multi Engine rating allowing you to fly light twin engined aircraft, these are more expensive though.
You can do a full Instrument rating but in the UK most people only do that if and when they do their commercial licence as this could cost you an addition £8-£9k, pointless unless your going commercial.
There are a whole multitude of things to after like the Commercial and Frozen Air Transport Licences but don't think of that yet.

If you ever do want to go commercial, be prepared to invest anywhere between £35,000 - £60,000

If you want advice on the commercial licences, just send me a message through the link in my profile.

Best bit of advice I can give you is go to your local flying schools and have a chat with the instructors, find a school that you like and book a trial lesson, you will be given the controls immediatly after take off and hand them back just before the final approach, in between which you get to play about with the aircraft. If you had a grin from ear to ear during the flying and feel as high as a kite during and for the next week then flying is for you, get yourself a couple of lessons booked and take it from there.

A word of advice, never give money upfront for flying lessons in block bookings, flight instruction in the UK is not a big money business and schools can get into financial trouble quite easily and go bust. If you paid say £2000 upfront and this happens you will lose this as when the company assest get sold off to pay the outstanding debt, it's usually the aircraft mortgage lenders that get first call on the money available, after which there will be none left for anyone else.

You should sign up to the forum at www.pprune.org there is a wealth on information on there from the thousands of pilots that use it every day. Go to the private flying section for info on getting started.

Answer 10

Don't know about the U.S., but the last time I looked, flying lessons in the U.K. were £stg. 80- 100 per hour, and you needed 35- 40 hours to complete your basic Private Pilot's Licence. On top of that, you would need your Instrument rating, and your twin/multi engined rating. This is on your basic PPL, like a car driver's licence. Figure about £stg.10,000 for this (About $U.S.17,000.). If you want to go further, e.g. getting a Commercial or ATPL rating, this will cost more, and especially the ATPL rating, can only be done through an Airline, as it involves time in passenger jets, and simulators, which normally only the airlines have access to. Now it's Bloody expensive, but, hey go for it! I did, when I was younger, and my greatest regret is that I didn't finish the course (for various financial reasons.). Believe me there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING in this world (with the possible exception of really REALLY great sex) that can compare to being at the controls of a light aircraft when she breaks ground at runway's end and go soaring into the wild blue yonder!