[IWF]

Again thanks to all for all your supportive comments.

Elstree is the nearest to me, albeit I live SE London. Thames link and my pushbike will get me there is less than an hour.

There seem to be several schools based there. Can wait to get up in the air, if only to see how my simulator skills or lack thereof relate to the real world. A good few years ago I did flying in the states, where of course you don’t get charged for landing. Had a ball flying around KSAN and KOAK.

My fav ATC of all time was while lined up at KOAK. 757 pilot to tower ‘was that message for us’ . tower ‘ no you’re no 2 to the Cessna ‘.

[Crash one]

As all of the above advice.
Flight sim “flying” bears no resemblance to the real thing. Unless you have a setup that NASA or the military might use with vibrating movement simulators!!
I went for the NPPL on the basis that I was too old at retirement age to need to fly abroad plus reduced cost, which turned out to be false, I took about 60 hrs to test.
I can’t add an instrument rating of any kind to the licence but I’m lucky to have taken on a flying buddy who is a time lapsed instructor, retired airline pilot and I’m now getting unofficial instrument training etc from him in return for as much flying in my a/c as he wants.
So yes, go for the unrestricted PPL there’s little if any cash advantage and a lot more hassle in LAPL or NPPL. If the medical is a problem later on you can do the self declaration with slightly reduced privileges.
Probably a bit early in your planning process but, find out about the Light Aircraft Association,
I’m running a 1959 wood and fabric taildragger, sole ownership on a pension. A hell of a lot cheaper than the usual rent/club/Cof A route.
Enjoy the experience, welcome to the world of impoverished aviators and this forum.

[Rob L]

...<heavy snip by Rob L>

But in joining the forum and with no doubt tons of stupid question to ask I don’t want to be bashed each time I ask something just because the LAPL is the poor relation.

So is a poor relative welcome

</snip>

I cannot see how anyone would consider the LAPL or the NPPL as being a "poor relation". You learned to fly, you passed the tests, you are a safe pilot . That's all there is to it. I'd fly with you.

Rob.

ps
There are no such things as "stupid questions". There are only questions to which you don't yet know the answer!

[JAFO]

There are no such things as "stupid questions

People always say that until they meet me.

[Crash one]

My thick son in law asked when we were very short final to 06 in a half gale looking straight out the windscreen to south east, “Is that Anstruther over there?” ##** “Shut up, I’m busy”.
Stupid question??

[Charles Hunt]

Include in pre-flight brief "Don't talk when the radio is making a noise, and also at take off and landing."?

[johnm]

@mrsjohnm only speaks after shut down and sometimes that's quite "interesting"

[Miscellaneous]

Stupid question??

Not at all. Just an inappropriately timed question. It certainly doesn't render SiL as 'thick'.
Did he know not to ask questions on landing?

[skydriller]

My thick son in law asked when we were very short final to 06 in a half gale looking straight out the windscreen to south east, “Is that Anstruther over there?” ##** “Shut up, I’m busy”.
Stupid question??

Part of my pax brief is about when, and when not, to talk. I explain about checklists and the importance of not distracting me at certain phases of flight. I also have a "the hand in the air like this" means "shut up, Im busy/important radio".

This really deserves another topic.

Regards, SD..

[Crash one]

Stupid question??

Not at all. Just an inappropriately timed question. It certainly doesn't render SiL as 'thick'.
Did he know not to ask questions on landing?

I’ll go for that, inappropriate timing

[Cessna571]

To the OP,

you’re thinking about it wrong... unless you never plan to fly again once you’ve passed.

The way to consider it is this...

1) You’ll start flying....

at some point you are told you can fly on your own (usually after about 14 hours), then a bit later you can go to other airfields, then you can go to other airfields on your own, then you do a big long flight on your own, then you take a test and you can make your own decisions about when and where to fly, then you can take passengers.

Then you start learning ...

It’s 1 long continuum, it’s all flying... you just get given different privileges as you go along.

I think the biggest mistake on the student forum is “I passed, I’m now a pilot”.

Trust me, you’re not once you’ve passed! (and neither am I yet, and I’ve been flying about 5 years, and I fly about 40 hours a year), but you are allowed to go flying, and you know just enough to usually not kill yourself (and others).

So... PPL or LAPL is moot really. When you get to 500 hours, you’re not going to fuss that you passed 8 or 10 hours earlier, but you might be annoyed you have the wrong license to add an FI rating to.

(just be wary of microlight. I have a friend who had a microlight licence, no qualifying cross country, so was scared to visit other airfields, scared of the radio, scared of flying basically. Not his fault, surely it can be done in a different way, just make sure it is done properly if you go that route)

[lobstaboy]

. be wary of microlight. I have a friend who had a microlight licence, no qualifying cross country, so was scared to visit other airfields, scared of the radio, scared of flying basically.

There are two levels of microlight licence.
Restricted - no qualifying cross country needed. Licence holder restricted to flights within 8nm of take off.
Full - full qualifying cross country required. No restriction on flight distance. Holder would certainly be trained to be confident flying to other airfields.

The restricted licence is a bit of an anachronism but has the advantage that the licence can be issued without losing validity of exams and such, and then the navigation bits done later.

@Cessna571 your friend was poorly served by his training school., Not the concept of microlights.

[T6Harvard]

To the OP,

SNIP

The way to consider it is this...

1) You’ll start flying....

at some point you are told you can fly on your own (usually after about 14 hours), then a bit later you can go to other airfields, then you can go to other airfields on your own, then you do a big long flight on your own, then you take a test and you can make your own decisions about when and where to fly, then you can take passengers.

Then you start learning ...

It’s 1 long continuum, it’s all flying... you just get given different privileges as you go along.

I think the biggest mistake on the student forum is “I passed, I’m now a pilot”.

SNIP

@Cessna571 , please forgive the snips and my bold but I love this summary, thank you!

[Iceman]

Are LAPL students welcome ?

All students learning to fly aircraft are very welcome here. Quite a number of qualified pilots actually end up with a LAPL, having lost their Class 2 medical but being able to satisfy the LAPL medical requirements. This is very welcome and has enabled them to keep flying (in the UK, at least). Would I ever encourage an ab initio student to start a LAPL if he could get and keep a full Class 2 medical though ? No I wouldn’t. You’re going to end up taking no less time and spending no less money on a LAPL than you would expend on the PPL(A), so it makes every sense to go for the PPL(A) in the first place.

Iceman

[Cessna571]

@Cessna571 your friend was poorly served by his training school., Not the concept of microlights.

I agree, but you snipped the bit that makes it obvious I agree.

I was trying to make sure others are not poorly served.