[Cleanfeed]

Hey,

I'm new to this forum but I have been following it over the last 6 - 12 months and find it a valuable source of info, knowledge and advice. Now I finally have my EASA PPL I've decided to join, I wondered though what advice you might have for a new pilot? A little bit of info about me that might help: I'm based in East London and currently fly from Redhill, Surrey. I aim to fly at least 2 - 3 hours a month but it's entirely cost dependent, weekdays are better for me than weekends. I also don't currently intend on going commercial, I just enjoy flying

• First flights - take long trips or stay local?
• Route recommendations? Good airfields/ places to visit?
• Clubs, shares or non-equity shares?
• Apps - Skydemon? Runway HD?
• Development - Ratings? Is the night rating worth while? IR worth it for a private pilot?
• Good sources of info for a pilot?

And basically and advice at all you have for a new pilot...

Thanks!

[akg1486]

Boy, are you going to get a lot of suggestions here. Bottom line: nobody can tell you why you should fly and what you should do. That's going to be for you to find out. Perhaps you had an inkling before starting the training, but the experience you have built (and will continue to build) will cause you to revise this and find new ideas.

In the first few months, I'd say that it's all about feeling comfortable in the aircraft and with your flights. For me, that was staying local and venturing on shorter trips (one hour in each direction). Bring a fellow pilot, not for "support" in case something goes wrong but for company and to share experiences. And you can use them freely to change the radio frequencies, set squawk codes, keep a lookout, etc.

As a new PPL, you are actually a better and sharper pilot than you think you are. Everything is new and complacency has not yet set in. Still, you may feel slightly stressed or unsure when you go flying. That will pass. It's just a sign that you're not yet confident about your abilities. When it has passed, you should round up your friends and take them on local bimbles. But don't feel pressured to take non-pilot passengers until you feel good and ready.

I had been flying for about a year when I realized that my absolute favorite flying activity is the multi-day flying trip to new places, preferably places that are difficult to reach in other ways. In general, I prefer to fly with a destination/activity in mind: a fly-in, a bacon sandwich at another airfield, a weekend getaway. But that doesn't mean I don't do the occasional local flight, in particular if I have out-of-town visitors. So be sure to try your wings (in more ways than one) by longer trips and see if you like them.

But the top tip is to bring other pilots (and, later, non-pilots) flying with you. It keeps the motivation, you can get new ideas, and you get to be in the air at least twice the time at the same cost.

For navigational apps, take a trial subscription and try out the ones you're interested in. You can decide later. I tried Jeppesen's, that I found superior to Skydemon but not so much better than SD that it warranted the price tag. So now I'm using Skydemon and I'm happy with that. What other people think isn't really relevant: it's about what works for you.

Someone will be along explaining the financials about club renting versus share ownership. I won't open that particular can of worms.

Happy flying!
/Peter

[MarkOlding]

Hi Cleanfeed, i may not be able to help you much as I am in pretty much the same position as you having done 2.1 hours since getting my licence, however:
The 2.1 hours I have done have been local flights from White Waltham (near Maidenhead) including a lap around the Benson MATZ as i've always felt the need to - dont know why.
I am now itching to fly further afield and land at different places - Sywell, Goodwood, Lee on Solent and Bembridge are on the list - unfortunately with the nights drawing in and only flying weekends means club aircraft are thin on the ground as the PA28 fleet are used for training during this period.
If WW had a non equity share group I would join up without a thought but for a "normal" share the general concensus is its worth doing if you fly more than 25 to 30 hours a year. From my perspective this may be challenging due to the weekend only flying and therefore I am looking into share options.
I have bought a subscription to Skydemon having used the free version to check my nav headings/timings during the PPL training but have to say I am a bit daunted about using it in anger at the moment. This is where being in a club like the WLAC comes into its own as there is a Friday afternoon club and Saturday brunch club where you can fly with a group of members to different destinations. As a passenger you can play with your Skydemon whiles someone else flies, make the radio calls without having to watch altitude etc. and if you fly you get to go to different locations with the support of others. My advice would be to find a club that does something similar.
From my point of view, night flying is a bit of a waste of time at the moment due to lack of other airfields that cater for it and I won't be touring with the family any time soon. My preference is to progress onto a complex aircraft (folding u/c and constant speed prop) as this will lift the whole family and also in the summer look at a tail wheel rating.
For reference material - the web is your oyster and Avweb has some pretty good technical stuff both written and on YouTube.

I'd be interested to hear what you decide, but have fun and try and find other people to fly with - all the advise seems to point to that as one way to keep the bug alive. Edit - Like the previous poster said ! I took too long to press the button....


Cheers

[akg1486]

I'd be interested to hear what you decide, but have fun and try and find other people to fly with - all the advise seems to point to that as one way to keep the bug alive. Edit - Like the previous posted said, took too long to press the button....

Just because several people say the same thing doesn't make it less true!

[Sooty25]

I guess what you need to consider if you want to blow your 3hrs a month on a single trip or if a 40 minute blast on a balmy summers evening gives you the fix you want.

Personally, I'd get more experience and familiarity closer to home before planning long trips. There are plenty of different airfields to visit without flying for hours on end.

If you are based in East London, you've also got the option of basing yourself at one of the Essex airfields which may give you other rento-craft availability or maybe an affordable share. 3 hours possibly puts a share in reach, and makes spur of the moment flying more possible.

Apps, the free EasyVFR Basic has stopped me wandering into trouble to date, but it is just for airspace avoidance, not a navigation app in its basic form. I use it in conjunction with a paper chart, which is what I like. There will be queue of SD fans along soon!

Just my thoughts, feel free to ignore!

[Grelly]

When I first qualified, I set myself the goal of flying to every airfield within an hour's distance (with an exemption for those with silly landing fees). That then became two hours. Most of the Pilot magazines do free landing vouchers. You could use that as a challenge.

When the distances got silly, I changed strategy to trying to fly as many different models of aircraft as I could. I'm currently up to 26.

Then there's Tail Draggers, Seaplanes, Complex, High Power, Vintage, Modern. How about an international flight?

I think the important thing is to have some sort of motivating goal. And to remember that flying is fun.

Grelly

[JonH690]

I'll add my thought's too!

I've been a PPL now for 2 and a bit years and started the same as you intend to do is fly 2-3 hours a month as its an expensive game! Flew to airfield in and around an hours flight time and visit Radio/Information and full ATC airfields to gain experience (All from Wellesbourne). Tick off local airfields and then venture further. There's a lot of places to visit! Redhill is one I need to visit actually...

I originally started out just doing this as a hobby, but the more I flew, the more I wanted to get a career in it so hence why I'm doing my ATPL's

Apps wise, I use SkyDemon. It's bloomin fantastic.

I have my night rating and used it several times. There's something special about a clear and calm evening and seeing all the lights from above. I highly recommend doing it.

Stick around, lots of friendly people on here and valuable information

[Jazzer]

JonH,

A quick question for you...if you read my thread "my story" you may see that I'm in a similar position to you were. How many hours do you fly per month? I could afford maybe 4 a month once qualified which doesn't seem like much hence I'm leaning towards taking up gliding.

Jazzer

[Paul_Sengupta]

4 hours a month is probably above average if you can keep it up for the whole year...48 hours a year is quite respectable.

As as been said, if you are qualified, you can take up all manner of cheaper shares. Is that 4 hours a month at a flying club £150 an hour or is that 4 hours a month at a Jodel share of £50 an hour?

[Cessna57]

I've been qualified for a little over a year.

My list went

Fly around solo for a bit
1st passenger
Fly around with a passenger
1st landaway with a passenger
Fly around with different passengers
Try and visit 10 airfields ( I'm up to
Find the local VOR's and overfly them
Follow SkyDemon, see what I think of it.

Enforced upon me but something everyone should have done, and I hadn't. Learn to fly using the compass, (because our DI has packed up)

My current list:

Fly a leg of more than 1 1/2 hours (that's my longest leg ever, and I find I get itchy if I'm in the air more than an hour)

Fly above 5000'. (I've never been above 5000' !!!!!)

The goals don't have to be big, but after a while "fly a new passenger to Grafham and back" does get boring, it's excellent the first 5 times, but then you want to do something different.

I'm looking forward to "above 5000' " !!!

[Rob P]

If WW had a non equity share group I would join up without a thought but for a "normal" share the general concensus is its worth doing if you fly more than 25 to 30 hours a year.

That isn't a valid statement.

It needs changing to " .. a "normal" share the general consensus is it's financially beneficial if you fly more than 25 to 30 hours a year."

It is much much better from every other standpoint, taking the aircraft away, being involved with its maintenance, having a group of like-minded pilot friends ready-made etc

Rob P

[Matth1542]

Ive been having the same thoughts. My aims having just got my licence is to fly to 5 airfields within 30-40 mins flights time, then extend that to 1hr-1.5hrs.

Next year i plan to do my IR (R) rather than night rating as my airfield isnt lit it seems a bit unnecessary!
Im also aiming to fly to see friends/family who live 3-4hrs drive away which is about an hours flight time

Mostly i just want to carry on having fun rather than feeling like i have to go and do a few circuits to stay current!

[Cessna57]

I went and did an hour of circuits recently. First time I'd done it for ages. It's more fun than you think.

[Crash one]

I think a night rating is a good idea.
Not because you will fly in darkness but to keep you legal if you are late, or somehow need to land after official daylight hours.

[johnm]

If you enjoyed your training as I did a little more will grow your confidence and equip you to deal with the unexpected.

I’d start with a few bacon buttie runs to airports with decent cafes, both grass and concrete. Look for airfields near places you’d like to visit and go by air.

After you’ve done a few of those start an IR(R) and when you’ve done that get a night Rating.

You’ll be a pretty well set up pilot by then