[G-Iain]

So, finally it's time to do my LAPL as I turn 50 this year! But first, a quick rewind...

I was an Air Cadet at school and was lucky enough to get a number of Chipmunk flights and also a Glider Scholarship which I did aged 16 at RAF Kenley. Fast forward to 2005 and my best mate (PPL) and I did a two week holiday in the US, he got his instrument rating, and I got solo in a PA28. We then spent a week touring the west coast in a PA28 with many tales to tell!

But I never actually did any more formal training...I did some touring in an Arrow down to Spain with my mate, but that was it. I now have a plane mad 8 year old, so what started with a bit of MS flight sim ended up being a very upgraded flight sim with a yoke/stick, and then I suddenly decided that with LAPL as a very attractive route it was time to sort out some "unfinished business".

After reading Pooleys book 1, and plenty of time practicing circuits at the right aerodrome (Leicester) on the sim, I took the fam up with an instructor in a PA28 and absolutely bloody loved it, we just did an hour of touch and goes and I was so chuffed with how it went. My instructor was super complimentary and wants to get me solo again ASAP. We start in earnest in March, and in the meantime I'm reading Book 2 and I have got my LAPL medical done.

I've also been all over Facebook Marketplace and picked up a second hand flight bag, whizz wheel, knee board, DC headset, protractor, ruler, etc etc. Also got chinagraphs, pencils, pens, rubber, spare specs, 152 checklist (swapping type for training to keep costs down )

Couple of questions:

1-Anything missing out of my flight bag that I need?

2-Staedtler pen set for charts, are they supposed to permanent (with an erasing solvent) or temporary?

3-What's the best resource for "test" questions for the exams? The Pooleys books have only very limited ones and I want to do more practice

4-I appreciate an iPad is not something I need for the training, but I want to keep my eye open. What model is recommended (physical size, spec etc) and what apps to people tend to use?

Thanks in advance!

[JAFO]

Hi Iain - welcome along, it's great to see someone so enthusiastic.

You seem to have all the kit you need at this stage but I'm sure you'll add more as you go along - I'd be embarrassed to admit how many kneeboards I have collected over the years.

May I ask one question? Why did you choose the LAPL? Just being nosey (I have a LAPL myself) so please feel free to ignore me or tell me to mind my own business.

One tip, the half mil charts are due for update soon - south in March, north in April - so if you can hold on there will be a new one out soon.

I look forward to reading all about your training and beyond.

[lobstaboy]

Welcome. You’ll have a great time.
Don’t worry too much about the kit just yet would be my advice. You’ve got enough to be going on with and you’ll get the rest when needed.
That said, I like to use permanent markers on charts because others can rub off too easily in your hands in a busy cockpit. I erase my chart markings with some cheapo aftershave given to me by my MiL many moons ago. It gets me some odd looks from time to time.
You’ll get lots of advice on here, some good, some not so much. So a skill you may want to develop is how to separate the wheat from the chaff.
Here’s the first bit of unsolicited advice (you’ll get plenty) - make sure you get on well with your instructor. You don’t have to be best mates , but a good relationship based on you feeling they understand what they’re doing and that they ‘get’ your needs is going to be crucial to your progress.
Keep in mind this is meant to be fun, the training you do will have some of the best flying memories for you, so pay attention to the excitement and delight.
Best of luck

[FlightDek]

2-Staedtler pen set for charts, are they supposed to permanent (with an erasing solvent) or temporary

Use permanent pens, but also get 1 whiteboard marker (any colour). Go over the permanent lines with the whiteboard marker and it all wipes off

[GrahamB]

To go completely chemical free with getting rid of your chart lines , use one of the Staedtler semi-transparent plastic erasers.

[johnm]

I always say the same:

Don’t look at training as a means to an end look at it as going flying with someone more experienced which hopefully will happen once you have a licence too.

The chart advice is sound apps can be discussed later.

Enjoy and keep us posted:-)

[T6Harvard]

Welcome!! @G-Iain

Chart pens - definitely permanent for use in cockpit but I also have non-permanent for quick drafts and when I was studying the Nav module. Also useful for a quick mark-up of obstacles, airspace, or useful waypoints when first planning.

Studying - sign up with EasyPPL Groundschool. Unbeatable courses with progress tests and mock exams. Highly recommend! I think you can try the Air Law module for free for a couple of days.
It'd be worth checking with Leics whether they want you to have passed any of the exams before they will authorise solo (it is not a legal requirement but some schools want it).

You may need a dipstick and fuel tester. Leics probably sell them.

You probably already have a logbook but if not get one asap!

There are lots of very helpful folk on here who will offer advice and support, so just ask (just don't spell hangar or yoke incorrectly ).

I know you will make sure to lap up every lesson, breathe in the entire experience, and join the addicts who are fortunate to be doing this flying malarky.

Oh, and one last thought.... the things you learn from any particular lesson may be far more / totally different to the lesson that was planned and briefed. The entire learning process is absolutely fascinating.

We all love a lesson report, so make sure to keep us up to date, please!

PS, I fly from Tatenhill (student, but if the weather ever allows it I'll be taking my Skill Test fairly soon )

[Rjk983]

Welcome @G-Iain

I’ve not got anything to add to the advice above, especially the post by @johnm .

You may be wondering about the post by @JAFO , hopefully we will all refrain from turning this thread into a debate on LAPL, but if you haven’t already considered the question he asks, please use the search function to have a look at LAPL / PPL decision making threads of the past.

Good luck with the flying and try to take at least a few minutes every flight just to look around and marvel at the fact you are piloting an aircraft. I still do it after all these years.

[Antjrice]

@T6Harvard advice on getting a fuel gauge dipstick and fuel tester is probably the 'best bit of advice, rarely written down' out there.

It will save you many a minute of hunting around your flight schoool, during your pre-flight

[skydriller]

4-I appreciate an iPad is not something I need for the training, but I want to keep my eye open. What model is recommended (physical size, spec etc) and what apps to people tend to use?

You don't have to splash on an Ipad. You don't need to use a flight planning and management App (Eg Skydemon - other apps are available) while training for your PPL. There are two schools of thought as to if having one and using it during training is a good or bad thing. It is my view that you DO need to learn and know how to use traditional navigation as part of the PPL and you need to try to retain this skill. However, if you do not use one of these apps for flying places post PPL you are an idiot looking to bust airspace... If you own a smartphone, you can run Skydemon (other apps etc) on it, you don't need a dedicated device.

You may need a dipstick and fuel tester.

A fuel tester of your own is indeed good advice so you don't need to hunt around for one at your flight school. I'd also suggest your own microfiber cloth to clean the aeroplane windows. Fuel dipstick is usually aeroplane specific and any decent flight school should have a specific one that lives in each aeroplane!!

Regards, SD..

PS : why LAPL and not PPL? The extra required training hours are all part of the journey, not something to be seen as an obstacle, and the PPL gives you the opportunity to add ratings and fly further afield?

[Paul_Sengupta]

For a tablet, you could do a lot worse than the Samsung S2 8.0, which is still one of the best available for flying. Prices on ebay are now very reasonable for such a capable tablet. They come in four versions:

T710 first gen, non-cellular
T715 first gen, cellular
T713 second gen, non-cellular
T719 second gen, cellular

You don't need cellular for flying but it might come in handy for planning at farm strips, etc.

A caveat is that if you go the Apple route, you will need a cellular one since they are the only ones which have a built in GPS.

A 7" or 8" tablet is the ideal size for flying. The Samsung S2 8.0 and iPad Mini are about the same size.

This looks quite reasonable for a T719.

[skydriller]

I'm writing this on a £100 (when new about 3 yrs ago) 8in Samsung A7lite. I bought it for Skydemon, but use it for more than that now. It has a slot for storage and a Sim. Unbeatable.

Regards, SD..

[T6Harvard]

Initially, when you have to nav by chart and time, I just had Sky Demon running on my phone in my flight bag. Great for later reviewing how closely I kept to track and altitude.

Then I bought a velcro strap, sliced a slot in my cheap phone case to thread it through, and now I can have it on my knee as a security blanket but myy kneeboard and the horizon are my tools.
(It is not in my eyeline, I ignore it completely and keep eyes out, but if I suspect drift I can have a quick glance ).
For clarity, and in case anyone is concerned, I've completed all required solo nav without it being involved in any way!

As others have said, just get a cheap tablet, NOT TOO BIG, and use that when the time is right.

[Rob P V2.0]

Welcome

I appreciate an iPad is not something I need for the training, but I want to keep my eye open. What model is recommended (physical size, spec etc) and what apps to people tend to use?

Team an 8" Android tablet with SkyDemon and you have all you need. There are three benefits over the equivalent iPad

The GPS is inbuilt without needing a cellular version. Not the case with iPad

They do not suffer the Apple overheating shutdown.

It will be significantly cheaper for the same, or better, performance. SkyDemon isn't a resource hog anyway.

Rob P V2.0

[G-Iain]

Many thanks for the responses all...this already seems like a very friendly and useful forum! To answer some of the points in turn...

JAFO - thanks for the tip on charts...that was next on the list! LAPL vs PPL - if I am honest with myself the flying I am most likely to do for now is solo hour building in a club aircraft, followed by some local-ish flying with the family, and then perhaps I'll look at joining a syndicate. I work full time and have a busy life, so the cheapest/most direct route to the kind of flying I want to do for now appeals. I'd have no issue with a PPL medical or beyond, and I can always upgrade to a PPL if needed at a later date.

Johnm - yes totally agree on the opportunity to fly with someone more experienced. As I said I have previously been solo 19 years ago, so it's not as if I am just desperate to get competent enough to get solo ASAP, I am very much looking at the training to learn as much as I possibly can!

T6Harvard - I've had a quick look at PPL Groundschool, but I would be keen to look at any decent apps where I can answer questions to test my knowledge from the books. Without wishing to "big myself up" too much, I probably have a head start due to previous experience and general geeky interest in aircraft. I also sail, so there's a lot of very similar principles (Rules of the Air/COLREGS, navigation, radio/VHF, meteorology are all fairly similar) so I'd be pretty happy doing self study from the books, checking my knowledge on some test questions, and sitting the exam. Any tips on test papers/apps with exam prep?

Skydriller - Fuel tester - apparently always available in club aircraft but let's see how that actually pans out when I start lessons properly next month! Good shout on the cloth though.

Tablet - I must admit I am very much an Apple man, however if the Samsung will do it for a lower investment, and I can just get a more compact size than I might buy for everyday use, that may be the way to go, thanks for the tips. Again, looking at the sailing side of things, when I learned everything was very much a case of paper charts, almanacs, tidal stream atlases etc. In the real world, tidal info is all on an iPhone app, and I will confess to very, very rarely ever writing on a chart as everything is just done on the plotter (GPS) these days. But obviously you still need the skills to use paper in terms of underling principles and the chance of power/satellite failure, and proper passage planning is always on paper. However I fully appreciate it will be very, very different in an aircraft as you're not just navigating the exact same area at a speed of 6kts, but once I've got my LAPL it would be nice to have one to reduce the workload/fall back on/stay out of trouble!

Thanks again!