Learning to fly, or thinking of learning? Post your questions, comments and experiences here

Moderator: AndyR

#1877201
RobW wrote: Personally I think that when I eventually get free of the circuits I would miss the overseeing eye of ATC!


Spot on! Exactly why some of us feel that you need to be trained to make your own circuit joining and landing decisions as will be needed in the big world of GA touring once qualified. But I am sure that your training will expose you to the wild west of FIS, A/G and SafetyCom. :thumleft: .

If not, I will. I'm happy to RH seat with you on early flights, post qualification.

Rob P
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By RobW
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1877215
Rob P wrote:
RobW wrote: Personally I think that when I eventually get free of the circuits I would miss the overseeing eye of ATC!


Spot on! Exactly why some of us feel that you need to be trained to make your own circuit joining and landing decisions as will be needed in the big world of GA touring once qualified. But I am sure that your training will expose you to the wild west of FIS, A/G and SafetyCom. :thumleft: .

If not, I will. I'm happy to RH seat with you on early flights, post qualification.

Rob P


Thats a lovely offer Rob thank you!

We do indeed head out into the sticks fairly soon, I think Fenland and Old Buck are a couple of the local fields we visit so hopefully will have some idea by then!
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By Iceman
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1877358
Milty wrote: I have heard others say they are daunted by flying to ATC controlled Gloucester.


And that perfectly illustrates my point that, over the years, I’ve bumped into far too many ‘pilots’ who are intimidated by this ‘unknown’. Those who have trained at a tower-controlled airfield have that discipline and knowledge instilled from day 1 and would never be phased by going to another tower controlled airfield, or any field with a lesser level of service. Tower, approach, ground, ATIS, often in a more complex multi-runway setting all add to the experience that such a PPL will consider normal by the end of their training. Conversely, the person trained at an A/G strip has missed out on such experience and will not be as well prepared at the end of their PPL. Flying is much more than just flying so if you’re going to learn and do a 45 hour PPL, then do it in an environment where you are going to learn the most. It might stop me coming head to head with some idiot at Le Touquet who hasn’t even been given a taxi clearance :roll:.

Iceman 8)
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By TopCat
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1877395
Iceman wrote:It might stop me coming head to head with some idiot at Le Touquet who hasn’t even been given a taxi clearance :roll:.

It might, but if he trained at an A/G field he'll know enough to not actually taxy into you. He'll stop.

Whereas if he has been given taxy clearance, been trained to do what he's told, and hasn't learned that he needs to engage his brain, he might just not stop.

Tenerife. I'll say no more.
#1878020
I'm late to this parade :D Welcome, RobA, and I wish you well in your PPL quest :thumright:
cotterpot wrote:...And in addition to charging by Tacho or Brakes Off/Brakes On there is Hobbs.

Some Hobbs meters (which are electrically-powered, rather than engine tacho-powered like an odometer) are activated by airspeed and/or oil pressure. A few minutes with a calculator will determine the cost/benefit of any Flight School charging regime. My guess is that the difference would be minimal.

Rob L
#1878051
The “Hobbs” meters in most of the aircraft I fly at Cubair are hooked up to an air switch and so just record airborne time. A taxi allowance of 0.2 (12 mins) is then added for charging purposes.

It’s a good system as it does not encourage pilots to skimp on the warm up or taxi too fast.

Students and renters often log more time than they pay for.
#1878333
Thanks @Rob L and @QSD for that. Airspeed definitely seems a very fair way to calculate it without it encouraging any reckless or rushed behaviour. I agree that it should be fairly quick to calculate once I've figured out some reasonable time estimates for the differences in measurements.

I'm conscious that while the effect may be minimal, even a difference in 2/3 minutes per lesson could rack up to over £500 during a course of ~60 hours so it seems worth bearing in mind. I'll do some research and pop any estimates I figure out on here in case any future prospective students might stumble upon here and find them useful.