Like many, apart from those fortunate enough to have one already, my dream is to get my PPL, finances notwithstanding!! Looking through the many aviation magazines, the adverts for flying schools in the US APPEAR very tempting, not least on prices, especially with the exchange rate as it is currently. I accept that the learning experience would be different in the US, particularly where weather is concerned and that my understanding is that all written exams should be taken in the UK first. Does anyone out there have any experience (or know someone who has) of learning in the US (Florida looks popular) and aside from the points above, what are the pros and cons? For example, is it better, albeit more expensive to learn in the UK in toto rather than learn “across the pond” and consolidate in the UK? What are the “hidden” or unadvertised expenses? I have read many comments in magazines, but thought that perhaps you guys out there might be better and give the “warts and all” feedback. Any thoughts and comments would be greatly appreciated. All I need then is to convert onto Austers and my world would be complete………..!!!
By: brenmcc1 - 2nd January 2004 at 17:53
Reading this makes me want to fly damn it!
By: skycruiser - 2nd January 2004 at 04:16
Well, given my experiences flying in the US and the UK I would go for the US any day. You can complete a CAA PPL or JAA (whatever it’s called at the moment). On you return you only need a checkout from your local school, although I would recommend a couple of hours getting to know the airspace etc. But the money you have saved from the lower cost of the US will pay for that and more. In the US you get it done in a fraction of the time and I found it was more intense and rewarding completing it over a month than taking 4 to 5 months in the uk waiting for the weather to change.
By: Arabella-Cox - 1st January 2004 at 19:05
I originally gained my FAA PPL in the States, just over ten years ago. Yes I saved a lot of money short term, yes I had a great three weeks out in Illinois, yes I flew into Oshkosh on my qualifying cross country, and yes it’s an experience I’ll always look back on with fond memories.
But after the three weeks, I returned home with a PPL which I couldn’t really use to it’s fullest extent, I had to find a club here in the UK that would let me fly their aeroplanes, had to spend a couple of hours being checked out by the CFI, had to learn the local area, and then when my biennial flight check was due, I couldn’t find an FAA examiner.
End result? Licence lapsed into disuse, and I didn’t fly again until June this year.
Now, ten years later I’m a lot older, a lot wiser (though some may disagree 😉 ), have more disposable income available to throw into flying, and I have given thought to pretty much all the points Moggy’s raised above. I’m going through the process again, but this time I’m doing it here in the UK, for a JAA PPL, with a school who are within a 20 minute drive (Mid Anglia at Cambridge), and who can also offer most of the post-PPL training syllabuses that I want to do later.
So in answer to your original question, I’d recommend you stay in the UK.
Good luck.
By: Yak 11 Fan - 1st January 2004 at 17:48
Originally posted by Moggy C
Personal opinion only – I’ve always found the people at Old Buckenham to be very welcoming.
Moggy
As yet I have not started flying but have been over to Old Buckenham on a number of occasions and agree very much with Moggy’s comments, seems to be one of the most friendly and welcoming flying clubs I have come across, plus they have a superb Restaurant in which to relax after your lesson.
By: Moggy C - 1st January 2004 at 09:48
Well I fly in East Anglia, but all my training was done in the Midlands.
The only rock-solid “How to choose a flight school” advice I can give is that it is a very personal thing.
There is an initial temptation to compare rates and go for the cheapest.
Bad move. 🙁
Rule 1) The closer to home the better. There will be many days when you will drive to the field for a lesson and not fly. If the field is 20 minutes away this is liveable with, if it’s an hour distant then it gets a bit tedious
Rule 2) Take a trial lesson with a couple of the closest. See how professional they are, are you made welcome, does the aircraft seem smart and well loved? Hang around for a while and talk to the ground staff, other members. If you feel you belong there, you probably do. You’ll be passing over huge chunks of money, it’s so much easier to do when you like the recipients. If you can’t find one that suits, you’ll have to extend your search area.
Rule 3) Any aircraft preferences? I wanted to learn on low wing. I dislike the Cessna 150/152 intensely. Today I’d look for a school with the Robin 200. You may be different.
Personal opinion only – I’ve always found the people at Old Buckenham to be very welcoming.
Moggy
By: Auster Fan - 31st December 2003 at 15:19
Originally posted by Moggy C
Sorry.If you can’t afford to learn in the UK then you almost certainly can’t afford to fly here.
The PPL is not the goal, it is merely a very small marker point in your continuing flying career. It is the day you can legally take up passengers, and that’s virtually the only difference.
Should your flying life stretch to 1,000 hours the saving you made on the 40 hours at the begining were negligible. And anyway, flying training is every bit as enjoyable as post PPL flying. Why cram it all into a couple of weeks when you could stretch it out for a year?
Think it through a bit.
You take a PPL here and it costs you five grand. Spread out over a year that’s about 100 quid a week, and you have flown about once each week.
You go to the US and spend three grand in three weeks. What are you going to do for the rest of the year? Stay on the ground and think how much you’ve saved? Or go flying once a week? If the latter you will have spent almost eight thousand on your first year’s flying.
What ‘saving’?
Other opinions are available.
Moggy
Austers? Yummy 🙂
Moggy
Thank you for your reply which I will most certainly take into account along with the other replies. When all is said and done, a PPL is (and has been since the age of 4) my ultimate goal (I’m too long in the tooth to consider a professional career) and I will take advice from those who have been there before I make the final decision. If I do decide on the UK, it will then be a question of where in East Anglia (preferably Norfolk) I choose. Once more, to all who read this, advice and suggestions gratefully accepted!
By: skycruiser - 31st December 2003 at 14:56
I did my PPL in Florida and I would recommend it entirely. I had the best 4 weeks ever there. I went back 3 times after that on a flying holiday, we rented an aircraft for a fortnight and buggered of around Florida….bloody marvellous. So much more fun than the UK.
And once you have your PPL, that’s it…DEBT until your flying career pays it of.
I loved my time in Florida, want to go back again and just fly up the coast at sunset.:D
By: Moggy C - 31st December 2003 at 12:56
Sorry.
If you can’t afford to learn in the UK then you almost certainly can’t afford to fly here.
The PPL is not the goal, it is merely a very small marker point in your continuing flying career. It is the day you can legally take up passengers, and that’s virtually the only difference.
Should your flying life stretch to 1,000 hours the saving you made on the 40 hours at the begining were negligible. And anyway, flying training is every bit as enjoyable as post PPL flying. Why cram it all into a couple of weeks when you could stretch it out for a year?
Think it through a bit.
You take a PPL here and it costs you five grand. Spread out over a year that’s about 100 quid a week, and you have flown about once each week.
You go to the US and spend three grand in three weeks. What are you going to do for the rest of the year? Stay on the ground and think how much you’ve saved? Or go flying once a week? If the latter you will have spent almost eight thousand on your first year’s flying.
What ‘saving’?
Other opinions are available.
Moggy
Austers? Yummy 🙂
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December 31, 2003 at 9:39 am