Tue Mar 29, 2022 6:49 pm
#1905575
Hello all!
This forum was recommended to me quite a number of times.
I am currently exploring the prospect of a PPL course, and have already poured a huge number of hours in to trying to educate myself as best I can. I've visited a number of flight schools, spoken with existing private and commercial pilots, dug around online, and even had a trial flight or two. I've read up on dos, don'ts, good signs and red flags, and have kept an eye out for anything that may help.
I have one school in mind I am (rather heavily) leaning toward, and I've applied for Medical on the CAA's website. Once they get back to me, I intend to book a Class 2 Medical exam for PPL purposes. After that (assuming all is well of course), I can take the plunge!
So far I have learned:
- Don't pay upfront
- Check availability (how many aircraft/instructors does a school have?)
- Try to find an instructor you "click" with
- Only pay for ground school sessions when you feel you need them
- Within reasonable sense and judgement, a good instructor will try to have you flying solo as soon as possible
- No one can guarantee time frames or total pricing, even if they try to
- Teaching is oft a great way for instructors to gain hours. However, raise an eyebrow if that seems to be their *only* priority (Assigning X-Country flights extremely early on, excessive pushbacks on solo flights with no feedback on why, minimal context to answering of questions etc)
Is there anything else people here wished they knew before starting? Or, are there any comments/corrections on the points I already hold?
Many thanks in advance for any kind of insight or tips! I look forward to interacting more with the forum ^^
This forum was recommended to me quite a number of times.
I am currently exploring the prospect of a PPL course, and have already poured a huge number of hours in to trying to educate myself as best I can. I've visited a number of flight schools, spoken with existing private and commercial pilots, dug around online, and even had a trial flight or two. I've read up on dos, don'ts, good signs and red flags, and have kept an eye out for anything that may help.
I have one school in mind I am (rather heavily) leaning toward, and I've applied for Medical on the CAA's website. Once they get back to me, I intend to book a Class 2 Medical exam for PPL purposes. After that (assuming all is well of course), I can take the plunge!
So far I have learned:
- Don't pay upfront
- Check availability (how many aircraft/instructors does a school have?)
- Try to find an instructor you "click" with
- Only pay for ground school sessions when you feel you need them
- Within reasonable sense and judgement, a good instructor will try to have you flying solo as soon as possible
- No one can guarantee time frames or total pricing, even if they try to
- Teaching is oft a great way for instructors to gain hours. However, raise an eyebrow if that seems to be their *only* priority (Assigning X-Country flights extremely early on, excessive pushbacks on solo flights with no feedback on why, minimal context to answering of questions etc)
Is there anything else people here wished they knew before starting? Or, are there any comments/corrections on the points I already hold?
Many thanks in advance for any kind of insight or tips! I look forward to interacting more with the forum ^^