{"id":30,"date":"2013-03-02T15:04:48","date_gmt":"2013-03-02T15:04:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yesflyers.org.uk\/?page_id=30"},"modified":"2021-03-07T10:55:22","modified_gmt":"2021-03-07T10:55:22","slug":"flying-training","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/yesflyers.org.uk\/home\/flying-training\/","title":{"rendered":"Flying Training"},"content":{"rendered":"

Learning to Fly<\/strong><\/h2>\n

If you fancy taking up this fun hobby, or wish to make it a career, try some of the
\nfollowing:-
\n\u2022 Under 19, consider joining Scouts<\/a> (Air or Land) or Air Cadets <\/a>– they will give you opportunities to fly, glide, and maybe parascend and other more esoteric forms of flying. The discipline may help if you are going into a career as a pilot, and either looks good on your CV.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Contact the Light Aircraft Association <\/a>(LAA) who have local groups of aircraft owners, some aircraft have been home-built and others are factory made. You will usually find some of the Strut members are happy to take fellow enthusiasts for a flight – it’s appreciated if you offer something toward fuel costs.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Contact the British Microlight Aircraft Association <\/a>(BMAA) www.bmaa.org who specialise in the smaller class of powered light aircraft, both flex-wing (like a hang-glider) and more conventional 3-axis control aircraft.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Read the magazines – they usually have supplements or articles annually in Spring to inform budding pilots of the options and advertise the flying schools and clubs.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Approach several local Flying Schools, and compare what you get on a flying course – remember, the cheapest may not be the best to choose; you want well-maintained aircraft and competent instructors, which tend to cost!
\nYou have a choice of three licences to aim for :-<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 UK-PPL, a licence that allows you to fly world-wide, which can be extended with an instrument rating, and leads onto commercial licences if you fancy a career flying.<\/p>\n

\u2022 NPPL, a national licence (restricted to certain types, Microlights etc) or a European LAPL licence, which have a less rigorous medical (through your GP) and omits a few lessons on radio nav and instrument flying. See NPPL<\/a> for details for SSEP (simple single-engined piston) aeroplanes and Microlights. The syllabus and flying is least for microlights, so it’s a good place to start, and you can build on it later with more instruction.
\nHow much does it cost to learn?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It depends on aptitude and age, the licence being sought and whether you can do it in a few months or need a year or two to spread the cost and fun. The following are typical for 2012, but check your area for local prices:-<\/p>\n

\u2022 NPPL Microlight:- \u00a32,500 – \u00a34,500
\n\u2022 NPPL SSEP Aeroplane:- \u00a35,000 – \u00a38,000
\n\u2022 JAR-PPL Aeroplane:- \u00a36,000 – \u00a39,000<\/p>\n

Some people save a bit going abroad – they are usually very intensive courses, and there’s not much you can do if aircraft or instructors go ‘tech’ for a few days. It’s best to do the theory exams before you go. Be wary of paying for the whole course up front \u2013 flying schools sometimes go bust!
\nIf you buy your own aircraft first, you might save some money on the tuition, but it won’t make up for the wear and tear and costs of ownership! Learn on someone else’s plane.<\/p>\n

If you fancy owning a plane at some point, consider sharing one with others – a ‘shareoplane’! It lets you get a better plane for the same money, saves paying all the overheads, keeps the plane flying regularly, gives a cushion if something major goes ‘tech’, and gives someone to fly with (apart from singleseat planes). Group-owned aircraft are common, and joining a group can help you gain a lot of experience while sharing the cost with other pilots.
\nAircraft covered by a \u2018Permit to Fly\u2019 can be owner-built and\/or maintained at a further saving if your skills cover that.
\nFurther courses in PPL skills development with the LAA:-<\/strong><\/p>\n

For further training after gaining a licence, the Pilot Coaching Scheme<\/a> courses cover the following areas:
\nType Conversion, Tail-wheel Conversion, Differences Training, Strip Flying, General Flying, and Biennial Reviews.<\/p>\n

Of course, should you desire training in a particular skill or area, then the Pilot Coaching Scheme will be able to help. However experienced you are, you may benefit from refresher training such as \u201cPractice Forced Landings\u201d, \u201cStalling\u201d
\nand \u201cCrosswinds\u201d; these are some of the exercises LAA Coaches are glad to assist you with in order to build your confidence and competence.
\nThe LAA Youth & Education Support websites give info on flying scholarships and bursaries to help reduce the cost.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Youth & Education Support 2013<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Learning to Fly If you fancy taking up this fun hobby, or wish to make it a career, try some of the following:- \u2022 Under 19, consider joining Scouts (Air or Land) or Air Cadets – they will give you opportunities to fly, glide, and maybe parascend and other more esoteric forms of flying. The … Continue reading Flying Training<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-30","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yesflyers.org.uk\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/30","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yesflyers.org.uk\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yesflyers.org.uk\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yesflyers.org.uk\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yesflyers.org.uk\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/yesflyers.org.uk\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/30\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4661,"href":"https:\/\/yesflyers.org.uk\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/30\/revisions\/4661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yesflyers.org.uk\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}