Where to start my ppl?

keano007

I've been toying with the idea of a ppl with a few years now and i've finally decided that I'm gonna take the plunge, I just have a few questions before I do:

Where's the best place to get the ppl in Dublin?
How much is it gonna cost me, I'm thinking 10 grand but will the recession make it any cheaper for me?

Another thing I've always wanted to know was what can you do with ur ppl once you have it, is there much cost involved to rent a light aircraft and take ur family away for the day?

Any help/ suggestions would be greatly appreciated

pclancy

Lots of good info and links on this thread to read over http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055067304 that will keep you going for a while

It will set you back a good bit if you plug away at it every weekend but you have the option of doing it abroad in one go for a lot cheaper in Florida, Europe, South Africa or New Zealand.

Once you've got your PPL you can rent any aircraft you're certified on, go away for the weekend to Europe, UK or another part of Ireland etc or take part in aerial games and comps run by your aero club. We go away a couple of times a year to other aeroclubs for the day to do circuit comps, aerial bombing comps, short takeofflanding etc. Its a cool hobby but obviously quite expensive.

First thing to do is go get your medical done and at least then you'll save yourself a fortune if for some reason it turns out you cant fly.

John_Mc

Started out in Weston 2 weeks ago. Have my next flying lesson this Saturday weather permitting!

I was told there 10k would be enough but that obviously depends on how quickly you pick it up. Once I get my PPL I'll go to the U.S and do some hour building over there.

Eventually I plan on getting the ATPL but thats a long way off yet. Hopefully I'll get it done debt free!

Bearcat

pclancy wrote: »

Once you've got your PPL you can rent any aircraft you're certified on, go away for the weekend to Europe, UK or another part of Ireland etc or take part in aerial games and comps run by your aero club. .

i never like tackling a mod as I am usually banned but here goes. The above statemant is plain balderdash. Once you have your PPL, all it gives you is a licence to learn. No flight school/ planes to rent company will let you near one of their planes to head off with the family for a cozy weekend. You'll need at least 100hrs on top of your PPL and a stern check put by the flight school. As for heading off say to jersey to sample some of their fine cuisine unless the flight school know you, your form and know your not going to bend it, well its a pipe dream.

As mentioned its a pricey game. What I would do is buy a share in plane like a 152. Pure spam can but wont let you down. Do not go near a tomahawk....they are cheap, nasty and have a knack of doing spins.

Call into the NFC at weston and see what they have to say.

Besta luck and keep at it.

yaeger

Emmmm.... Well true no flight school would like to see there aircraft disappear for a weekend due lost business but thats why there is flying clubs like, AFC, dub flyers, leinster etc etc. Once your a member and currently using your newly earned PPL you are not only allowed to shoot off for a trip but your are encouraged to expand your horizons and flying experiences within the realms of your PPL.
You never stop learning no matter what license or experience you have.
Get going on your PPL asap, maybe go to US or wherever to get it quicker but once qualified join a club and enjoy the privledges the PPL allows you.
Trips down the west might be good trips to get some experience and then stretch yourself to the north, maybe try isle of man, it all depends how deep your pockets are.
I doubt you will get any recession prices from schools or clubs...sorry.

keano007

yaeger wrote: »

Emmmm.... Well true no flight school would like to see there aircraft disappear for a weekend due lost business but thats why there is flying clubs like, AFC, dub flyers, leinster etc etc. Once your a member and currently using your newly earned PPL you are not only allowed to shoot off for a trip but your are encouraged to expand your horizons and flying experiences within the realms of your PPL.
You never stop learning no matter
what license or experience you have.
Get going on your PPL asap, maybe go to US or wherever to get it quicker but once qualified join a club and enjoy the privledges the PPL allows you.
Trips down the west might be good trips to get some experience and then stretch yourself to the north, maybe try isle of man, it all depends how deep your pockets are.
I doubt you will get any recession prices from schools or clubs...sorry.

Where in the US would you suggest going? Is there much of a difference in getting ur ppl over there, I mean r there any implications in having a licence issues from the US?

Also who would u go for out in weston, NFC or skytrace?

John_Mc

keano007 wrote: »

Where in the US would you suggest going? Is there much of a difference in getting ur ppl over there, I mean r there any implications in having a licence issues from the US?

Also who would u go for out in weston, NFC or skytrace?

You'd have to convert your FAA PPL license from the US into a PPL license over here. I'm not sure what's exactly involved in doing that but I dont think it takes long.

Mr Benevolent

I've never heard anything good about Weston. I took a trial flight there (with NFC) and ended up doing aerobatics in a 152 with an instructor who'd never even done a loop. Idiot didn't even raise the nose for aileron rolls, and was about to fly into cloud until I pointed out that the AH had toppled. We ended with doing low level runs at 30 feet over fields.

Granted, that instructor was later fired out of every job for incompetence and recklessness, but I've been wary of Weston ever since. Personally I think that because they have a monopoly on the Dublin market they just don't care. I'd recommend either a) waiting for the Leisure Pilot Licence to come out in 2010-2011 (30 hours instruction as opposed to 45) or go to Florida/Spain/NZ. Myself I'll probably train with one of the outfits in Waterford (not PTC) or Kilkenny.

John_Mc

Confab wrote: »

I've never heard anything good about Weston. I took a trial flight there (with NFC) and ended up doing aerobatics in a 152 with an instructor who'd never even done a loop. Idiot didn't even raise the nose for aileron rolls, and was about to fly into cloud until I pointed out that the AH had toppled. We ended with doing low level runs at 30 feet over fields.

Granted, that instructor was later fired out of every job for incompetence and recklessness, but I've been wary of Weston ever since. Personally I think that because they have a monopoly on the Dublin market they just don't care. I'd recommend either a) waiting for the Leisure Pilot Licence to come out in 2010-2011 (30 hours instruction as opposed to 45) or go to Florida/Spain/NZ. Myself I'll probably train with one of the outfits in Waterford (not PTC) or Kilkenny.

So you tarnish the number of different flight schools in Weston because of oneexperience you had with oneinstructor? Hardly a reasonable justification in my opinion.... that being said, I've only logged my first hour with Flightwise in Weston and thoroughly enjoyed it. The preflight briefing was informative and thorough, and the lesson was totally safe & responsible so I cant complain about them at all.

Weather permitting, I've my second this Saturday :cool:

diverdriver

Confab you are about to hear one good thing about Weston. By the way Weston is the airport not a flight school. I've dealt with the NFC one way or another for many years. I can assure you they do care. What they don't care about is negative comments made on the internet. They have too many satisfied customers like me to worry about stuff like that. That I can attest from personal experience. Of the other schools. I have rarely heard much in the way of negative comments.

You simply cannot generalise like that particularly when it's you've made it clear that you had one personal experience with a rogue Instructor. Also driving all the way from Dublin to Waterford or Kilkenny to learn to fly at a flying club makes no sense particularly when there are other flying clubs in Weston or a lot nearer to Dublin.

BTW John_Mc wish you luck with trying to get your licences debt free. It will take you a long time unless you have a lot of money coming in. Borrowing sensibly at the appropriate moment is a much better idea. The only thing worse than not having enough money is running out of money and not completing a course or rating. Take it from someone who made that mistake.:(

John_Mc

diverdriver wrote: »

Confab you are about to hear one good thing about Weston. By the way Weston is the airport not a flight school. I've dealt with the NFC one way or another for many years. I can assure you they do care. What they don't care about is negative comments made on the internet. They have too many satisfied customers like me to worry about stuff like that. That I can attest from personal experience. Of the other schools. I have rarely heard much in the way of negative comments.

You simply cannot generalise like that particularly when it's you've made it clear that you had one personal experience with a rogue Instructor. Also driving all the way from Dublin to Waterford or Kilkenny to learn to fly at a flying club makes no sense particularly when there are other flying clubs in Weston or a lot nearer to Dublin.

BTW John_Mc wish you luck with trying to get your licences debt free. It will take you a long time unless you have a lot of money coming in. Borrowing sensibly at the appropriate moment is a much better idea. The only thing worse than not having enough money is running out of money and not completing a course or rating. Take it from someone who made that mistake.:(

Agree with you about the ridiculous generalisation!

By debt free I didn't really mean debt free... cos that just won't be possible
I'm going to take the Modular route and only borrow in small amounts to cover training for the foreseeable future and keep my day time job to pay it back. Everything is just so uncertain at the moment that I'd be mad to borrow any significant amounts of money!

Will take about a year and a bit to get my PPL if things go to plan, and then I'll probably go to the U.S or somewhere cheap and warm to build up the hours. Its a longer route than I'd like but it's safer and I think the aviation industry has a while to go yet before someone with a frozen ATPL will have any chance of getting a job.

Mr Benevolent

What they don't care about is negative comments made on the internet.

I have rarely heard much in the way of negative comments.

I made a negative comment because I had a very negative experience. Scared the hell out of me. Fine, this aviation forum isn't the most active, but you'll find other people with similar (and opposing) opinions on other forums.

Also, I don't want to be trained by hourbuilders. I want to be trained by people who enjoy training, not by someone who sees it as a conveyor belt to getting on a flightdeck.

diverdriver

Also, I don't want to be trained by hourbuilders. I want to be trained by people who enjoy training, not by someone who sees it as a conveyor belt to getting on a flightdeck.

I think you are slightly out of touch with the current situation there.

The NFC have some of the most experienced Instructors in the country on their books, Several of their senior Instructors are definitely not hour builders. Also some part timers are actually airline pilots or ex airline pilots who come back to instruct.

I could name names but they wouldn't appreciate it. They do have Instructors who hope to move on to the airlines. But I can tell you now that they are quite ruthless in their selection of new Instructors. Not least to avoid bad eggs like you experienced.

I have often read these negative comments on other forums too. Some are even valid but many are pure BS or out of date like yours.

For example I heard of an individual who started his PPL at the NFC in September last year. I think he got his PPL in February or March and that's through our Irish winter. That has to be a record. No doubt he has negative things to say about them but not many.

Mr Benevolent

I think you are slightly out of touch with the current situation there.

You're quite right, I last went to them 4 years ago. Must check that out when I get back from Australia.

Cessna_Pilot

All the schools at Weston are pretty good, wouldn't mind what one person has to say about one experience that we don't know the full details of.

From my own experience though I would recommend Flightwise there for PPL

pclancy

Bearcat wrote: »

i never like tackling a mod as I am usually banned but here goes. The above statemant is plain balderdash. Once you have your PPL, all it gives you is a licence to learn. No flight school/ planes to rent company will let you near one of their planes to head off with the family for a cozy weekend. You'll need at least 100hrs on top of your PPL and a stern check put by the flight school. As for heading off say to jersey to sample some of their fine cuisine unless the flight school know you, your form and know your not going to bend it, well its a pipe dream..

Well maybe it is in some schools but at my aero club, once you've done your PPL and have been type rated in the aircraft you can walk in and hire it any time you want and go wherever you want. You reckon you'd need 150 hours give or take to be allowed to take a plane? So even if you pass your flight test and get issued a PPL, the flight school thinks you need 100 hours more to prove yourself to them?

Of course they're not going to let anyone they dont know take one of their aircraft without giving them a checkride but what exactly is the point of a PPL or an Aero Club if once you've completed your training and have been examined and certified you cant rent a plane? For people that cant afford ownerships its their only option to fly.