Fri Jun 04, 2021 9:44 am
#1851110
Hello everyone, I suppose I should introduce myself. My name is Matt, I live in North Norfolk and I am interested in learning to fly.
I did a reasonable amount of flying when I was in the ATC, mainly in Chipmunks, Bulldogs and a variety of sailplanes. I had around 75 hours or so in my log book but I don't think that has any relevance!
Now, I am thinking about learning to fly properly, but I am in two minds about the direction to choose as the licencing situation seems to have moved on somewhat!
In terms of cost, a full PPL is the most expensive, but is that worth it for the greater range of aircraft types available, especially if I want to get into Aerobatics (recreational not competitive)
A microlight licence (3-Axis) is another option, but the scope of types becomes more limited, say if I wanted to hire a 4 seater and take the family for a trip.
Gliding is very appealing from the perspective of cost but I suspect that it may become limiting in terms of flexibility.
Another issue is that I am reasonably tall (6ft 1) and have a long body and broad shoulders, so I have found sailplanes typically designed for a long leg/short body.
I am also pretty hefty, so until I lose weight, pretty much all flying is out, but my target weight would probably be somewhere around 17 Stone (currently at around 20 )
My apologies for the lengthy post. I am just starting to think about this, so please excuse my ignorance.
Many thanks
Matt
I did a reasonable amount of flying when I was in the ATC, mainly in Chipmunks, Bulldogs and a variety of sailplanes. I had around 75 hours or so in my log book but I don't think that has any relevance!
Now, I am thinking about learning to fly properly, but I am in two minds about the direction to choose as the licencing situation seems to have moved on somewhat!
In terms of cost, a full PPL is the most expensive, but is that worth it for the greater range of aircraft types available, especially if I want to get into Aerobatics (recreational not competitive)
A microlight licence (3-Axis) is another option, but the scope of types becomes more limited, say if I wanted to hire a 4 seater and take the family for a trip.
Gliding is very appealing from the perspective of cost but I suspect that it may become limiting in terms of flexibility.
Another issue is that I am reasonably tall (6ft 1) and have a long body and broad shoulders, so I have found sailplanes typically designed for a long leg/short body.
I am also pretty hefty, so until I lose weight, pretty much all flying is out, but my target weight would probably be somewhere around 17 Stone (currently at around 20 )
My apologies for the lengthy post. I am just starting to think about this, so please excuse my ignorance.
Many thanks
Matt