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

Moderator: AndyR

#1886188
As circumstances have it I will be going to Australia for 3 months next year February (knock on wood and Omicron doesn't complicate things), which lands pretty squarely in the traditinal "middle" of my PPL training, probably around 25h in.

I obviously wont be able to do any flying in that time (other than as a passenger in a Dreamliner :mrgreen:), but was wondering if others have had similar breaks and can share any advice on how not to lose too much momentum.

I'll be bringing a book or two from the pooley's manuals to catch up on reading, and I have the EasyPPL online courses to keep studying for the theory. But aside from that, is there anything else that could be useful? Maybe run through some of the practical lessons on paper? Go to an airfield and just watch aussie students fly?

I'm probably worrying for nothing as 3 months is not a long time and time will fly while I'm there (I just wont :lol:). But keen to hear others experience!
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By VRB_20kt
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#1886190
In all likelihood it’ll slow you down by about a lesson - maybe two. The skills you’ve learned will go off a bit but I would expect that getting back in the cockpit when you return will recover them quickly.

You can help yourself by rehearsing circuits and radio calls so that you have a bit more mental capacity to spare when you get back.

Three months in Oz sounds great! :thumleft:
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By TopCat
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#1886192
jcal wrote:Go to an airfield and just watch aussie students fly?

Or go to an Aussie airfield and have some flying lessons.

I went to the USA in the middle of my PPL course. Flew a few times, it was fun. No flying is time wasted IMO.

I'd get an Aussie logbook, though, and keep your UK one for UK flying.

If you don't fly for three months, then the fact is, you can't keep fresh, other than with the book learning. There will be a little catch up as you get back into the way it's done at your flying school, but it won't be much. A couple of hours, perhaps, not much more.
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By Milty
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#1886242
@TopCat can I please ask why to get a separate logbook. If you log hours on the same type, does that not count just because you are in another country? I do get that there are slight differences and that technically, the Oz hours may not count, but is there a detriment to record them in a UK logbook.

I travel a bit with work and was thinking about having a trial lesson / flight if I’m abroad again in the future. Interested to learn if I shouldn’t put that in my logbook.
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By TopCat
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#1886270
Milty wrote:@TopCat can I please ask why to get a separate logbook. If you log hours on the same type, does that not count just because you are in another country? I do get that there are slight differences and that technically, the Oz hours may not count, but is there a detriment to record them in a UK logbook.

I travel a bit with work and was thinking about having a trial lesson / flight if I’m abroad again in the future. Interested to learn if I shouldn’t put that in my logbook.

You can do it however you like, but they expect things recorded slightly differently in the US, and I wish I'd recorded my first few US hours in the US logbook that I later bought when I lived out there and did a beginners aerobatics course and most of an IR.

It just makes it a lot easier for the instructors out there to sign things in a format they're used to.

The differences aren't so great that it's impossible to do it all in one logbook if you really want to, but my preference would be to keep them separate.

No idea about Australia, but one important difference is that they define a cross-country flight differently here and in the USA, and they have a separate column for it. So if you ever trained in the USA for a qualification that required a specific amount of x-country in the USA, it would be a right PITA to prove it without a lot of mucking about in a UK format logbook.

As for what hours count where and for what, I don't know, but having them in separate logbooks would make no difference to that. I'd just log the hours in whatever format they require in the country you fly them, and write them off from the point of view of what the CAA will view as valid for your UK PPL.

I'm mostly referring to training. Obviously if you end up flying all over Europe from the UK, you'll use your UK logbook to record it all, as do I when I fly to France.

But if I went to the US, rented US aircraft, took US training, I'd use my US logbook. I expect things have moved on a lot these days though - I bet there are electronic ways of recording things that satisfy all requirements.
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By skydriller
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#1886317
You do NOT need separate logbooks.

As my work takes me to various places, if I have had the time and ability to jump through the right hoops, I have tried as much as possible to get some flying in other countries, from the US to Israel, the Emirates to Canada etc.
But its all gone in one logbook without any issue. Ive had sign-offs in multiple countries and had licensing paperwork signed off and accepted in various countries without a hitch by knowing what is required and directing the instructor or examiner on what is needed, where to sign and what to write, plus sometimes asking for a quick copy of their licence.

Dont go all the way around the other side of the world without go flying at least once while there, it would be such a wasted opportunity!! Take your logbook to show the instructor you fly with what you have done and be honest about your flying ability with him. If you want to spend some "time out" from flying yourself, just taking photos, tell him - you are paying for the flight!! After the flight get him to sign the logbook entry, you never know if it may be needed later on and what better momento??

Why wouldnt you? Go for it. :thumleft:

Regards, SD..
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#1886496
Thanks for the advice all! Armchair flying, circuits in my head, note taking on procedures and reading theory is what I had in mind. As some of you said, 3 months won't set me back terribly, so hopefully should be ok.

TopCat wrote:I went to the USA in the middle of my PPL course. Flew a few times, it was fun. No flying is time wasted IMO.

However, I didn't think of actually taking lessons in an Australian school! Well, that's not 100% true, it's the first thing I thought of :lol:, but I kinda dismissed it on my own just thinking it'd be too much hassle or a disruption to the UK process that might hurt more that it'd help.

Sounds like that's not the case at all!

skydriller wrote:Dont go all the way around the other side of the world without go flying at least once while there, it would be such a wasted opportunity!! Take your logbook to show the instructor you fly with what you have done and be honest about your flying ability with him. If you want to spend some "time out" from flying yourself, just taking photos, tell him - you are paying for the flight!! After the flight get him to sign the logbook entry, you never know if it may be needed later on and what better momento??

Why wouldnt you? Go for it.

You're right SD, it would be a wasted opportunty wouldn't it!? Thanks for the ecouragement!

If I was ever in doubt about actually flying while down under, I don't think I am any more :D.
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By Paul_Sengupta
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#1886504
Do a bit of asking around first...I don't know if it's different for student pilots on Pu/t, but for qualified pilots there are huge hoops to go through to be able to fly in Australia. They have gone security mad and you can be fined hugely if you don't put a prop lock on every time you park up. They need all sorts of paperwork and stuff done before going out and it has to be started many months in advance and you have to pay for it all.
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By skydriller
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1886534
@Paul_Sengupta has a point, but I would hope that flying with an instructor would cover that. However, if I were you I would be using Google/Email to good effect to find out about options near where I was expecting to stay over there to be as prepared as possible.

Regards, SD..

PS: @TopCat I didnt say you did, just thought that the point was worth highlighting. I think @Flyingfemme sums it up for me.
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#1886576
There's no requirement for you to log any Down Under flights at all but if you want to, bear in mind that the additional time in your log book might tick off any instructor/examiner/CAA person totting up your hours for the grant of a licence. Any flight time will be helpful in maintaining currency, you may well learn a lot from flying in a completely different environment, but none of that will count towards the issue of a UK licence because it will be flown outside of a UK training organisation. I would happily add the flights to my logbook but leave the hours column blank, maybe put the times in the remarks column, but definitely leave the times out of the running totals.

Once you are a qualified pilot with a licence in your hand the situation is different. Flights abroad with a non-UK instructor may not count as an instructor hour but will count towards your 90 day passenger currency & SEP revalidation by experience requirements & should definitely be logged & included in running totals.
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By skydriller
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#1886651
low&slow wrote:but if you want to, bear in mind that the additional time in your log book might tick off any instructor/examiner/CAA person totting up your hours for the grant of a licence.


:scratch: Why??

Surely a student pilot with varied experience is going to be a better all round pilot??