Gift of Flight Lesson

Zombrex

Hi guys, wondering if you could help me out (apologies if this is the wrong forum for this question)

I am thinking of getting my brother a gift cert. for a 1 hour "Learn to fly" lesson.

I am wondering if anyone has gone on one of these lessons and is it good fun or is there a group who do them that you would recommend?

It is about €200 so obviously I would like my brother to get a good experience out of it.

How much do you actually learn from just one lesson that makes it different from just being in a plane for an hour?

bk

It is brilliant fun, your brother will probably be buzzing about it for weeks afterwards, I know I was.

When I did it I went up in a four seater piper. There were two full sets of controls, one for the pilot and one for the passengers, plus I brought my sister in the back seat

The pilot explained all about the main controls and dials and basically the mechanics of how an aircraft flys.

The pilot takes off, but once we were up he handed over the controls to me and explained what to do.

This was in Cork so I flew over my house and most of the city and then headed out to Cork harbour, over the navy base, etc.

When the time was up the pilot had me land the plane (obviously under his supervision and assistance) and taxi the plane along the runway (actually the hardest part for the short kid that I was).

It was great fun.

cp251

Who you get it from depends on where you live. I'm not sure if 'Yeman' has a flight school. But there are flight schools in Cork, Dublin or Waterford. Topgifts do a voucher for a flying lesson. But you can go to the flight school direct. There are a couple at Weston.

Basically it is an introductory flying lesson and it can be logged towards a pilot licence if you wish. Before the flight he should get a decent enough briefing about what's going to happen and shown how to preflight the aircraft. Your brother will handle the controls and carry out some manouevres with the help of the instructor. The student flies the aeroplane from the pilots side and for most of the flight. Which makes it different to a joyride. BK got to 'help' land the aircraft, that would be quite rare. Generally instructors avoid letting the early students handle the controls near the ground for obvious reasons. :eek:

Most people find the hour flies, pun intended and really enjoy it.

Zombrex

Cool, it sounds like a lot of fun.

Probably a silly question, but it is pretty safe I imagine? He can't like accidentally crash the plane?

cp251

It's possible:eek: Your brother could completely freak out, strangle the instructor, grab the controls and dive into the ground while humming the theme tune of the Dambusters. How well do you know your brother?:D...........

Apart from that scenario, it's highly unlikely. Despite the public perception that light aircraft are dangerous. Accidents are rare and all too often involve somebody doing something they shouldn't, too close to the ground. Light aircraft are quite docile and easy to fly and once set up, trimmed correctly will fly themselves quite happily all day.

No, he won't crash.

Jakey

Ormand flying club in Birr have 1 hour Trial Flights for €160 or €80 for 30 minutes, In a eurostar. Different experience to cessna's and pipers from a paved runway , really good fun!
http://www.ormandflyingclub.com/html/trial_flights.html

WexCan

Anyone I know who's been on a trial lesson has had a great time. If it's a one-off, especially, it a great gift. For those looking to get their PPL I'd generally recommend gift vouchers from the local flight school.