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Learning to Fly

advantagecp

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That's a great point. Basically just need fuel. Wouldn't a have the same options for travel utility though.

That cuts both ways. You can do a lot of things with a paramotor or ultralight that you couldn't dream of doing with a 172. I have traveled a little bit in 100 knot aircraft (Cessna 172 and Bell Jet Ranger). I would rather drive.
 
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THR

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I eventually want to get into paramotoring. Would also be about $10k investment.

I've just been looking into paramotoring: what an amazing thrill it must be.

Here's a video of a guy flying to a deserted island:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adIF-62MmBM


The guy that runs that channel has some other great videos too.

Someone might be able to correct me, but it seems that in the UK it's pretty much unregulated; the standard air law applies - keep 500ft clear of other people/buildings/vehicles unless taking off or landing, keep out of controlled airspace - but no requirement to obtain a CAA license.

As regards simulators: I've been flying in VR using my Oculus Rift and X-Plane 11. It's extremely immersive, I highly recommend trying it!
 

ChrisV

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Edit: Oh wait, @Kak and others got to it before me.. oh well. Here it is anyway:

This is what I would do, to get a feel for it first:

1568158152988.png


From my experience as a Flight Instructor, IMO the flight simulator is great tool for practice of things like instruments, navigation, even working on communications where I pretend to be the Air Traffic Controller in less stressful environment. Like Abelenky's great answer though, they may never really feel like what it does to have real airflow over the controls [or bounce off the runway]. Long story short it's great for everything (especially emergency procedures) except the real stick and rudder stuff. For that there is nothing like the real thing.

View: https://youtu.be/BPFG9ir5Umw?t=38

I have plenty of experience playing with Microsoft Flight Simulator. It is a very good flight simulator. I would prefer X Plane 10 or 11 as some buttons in the cockpit are restricted in Microsoft Flight Simulator and can be used in X Plane. Further more, X Plane uses calculations to calculate the response of the aircraft. Microsoft Flight Simulator simply uses code simulation
View: https://youtu.be/Um28vtEbG7k?t=79
 

The Racing Driver

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Learning to fly! Anywhere done it?

I met a girl here in Poland who is one of only 35 women with a pilots licence in the whole country (or so she said ha). It kinda has given me the flying bug.

I have emailed the local flight school to see if I can learn here in English and am waiting to hear back.

Seem it will cost about 10k all in with doesn't seem bad. It would be quite cool to be able to get in a plane and fly with a few people to another country.

I have actually flown copilot on about 10 twin otter flights before so I have a tiny bit of experience but not much.


Has anyone here done their private licence and has some insight/thoughts to share?

Also, I have been looking at the little home simulator setups online and they look super fun to get started.


Yes. I've just submitted my application for a private pilot's license in the UK yesterday. I literally started training from scratch in the middle of June this year, and finished my training and all the skills tests at the beginning of September. It took roughly 2.5 months, but I could have done it quicker, had I studied for the theoretical exams prior to starting my flight training.

I did all my training at a small flying club in Oxfordshire and I was very lucky to have found them, as they were a nice bunch of people who were keen on helping me progress as fast as possible. It's important you find a good school or flying club, who don't rotate instructors too much so that you can have some consistency.

If you're based in Europe, then I'd definitely recommend going for an EASA Private Pilot's License (PPL) with a Single-Engine Piston rating. With this, you're technically free to fly around Europe as you wish.

The minimum requirements and cost for an EASA PPL are as follows (This is almost exactly what I've paid) :

- 45 Hours of Flight training (At least 25 hours of dual flight instruction and at least 10 hours of solo time with a minimum of 5 hours solo cross-country time) (Depends on the aircraft £8000-£9500)
- Pass 9 theoretical exams (multiple choice papers) (£30 each x 9 = £270)
- Pass a Radiotelephony exam (£175)
- Pass a Class 2 Medical (£200)
- Pass an English ICAO test (£130)
- Pass the PPL Skills Test (1.5 hour flight with an examiner) (£150 + Aircraft hire = £400)
- Apply for the license (£230)

I did most of my training in a Cessna 152 and some in a Piper PA28 Warrior. To hire they cost:

£144/hour - Cessna 152
£167/hour - PA 28 Warrior

Plus an instructors fee when you're training. It was £30/hour for most of my training (now £36/hour), but it can vary a bit between schools. Even if you're flying solo, you will still need to be supervised and pay the instructor's fee for whatever flight time you accumulate.

I loved the C152 as it was very light and lively, but it's only a 2-seater and might be a squeeze if you're a bit big and heavy. The PA28 is a stable aircraft with 4 seats and it's not too difficult to fly.

If you can, try to find an airfield that isn't terribly busy, because you'll waste a lot of time and money taxiing. The aircraft hire costs are based on the engine running time, NOT actual flight time.

Most people need 50-60+ hours to get their PPL. However, since I did quite an intensive course and am a quick learner, I finished mine in under 50 hours.

I'd recommend using the PPL Tutor app to study for the theoretical exams, as it's just quicker and many practice exam questions tend to show up in the real exam. You'll need a PPL pack, which will contain some essential equipment and books. I got an AFE starter pack that cost £240 and it came with all the essential textbooks. You may want to get your own aviation headset too which could cost a couple hundred bucks.

I hope this information helps you. If there's anything else you'd like to know, don't hesitate to ask me.
 
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Longinus

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I eventually want to get into paramotoring. Would also be about $10k investment.

This is the most appealing flight model to me, because you can basically take off and land where you want.

I'm kinda wondering if getting your flight license is really worth the hassle. I mean, what you can do with it is pretty limited imo:

- Flying near your airport.
- Flying to another airport which is likely in some shitty place somewhere. From there you are dependent on other transport or you can drink some shitty coffee in the airport's bar.

All flyboys are welcome to prove me wrong of course :cool:
 

advantagecp

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This is the most appealing flight model to me, because you can basically take off and land where you want.

I'm kinda wondering if getting your flight license is really worth the hassle. I mean, what you can do with it is pretty limited imo:

- Flying near your airport.
- Flying to another airport which is likely in some shitty place somewhere. From there you are dependent on other transport or you can drink some shitty coffee in the airport's bar.

All flyboys are welcome to prove me wrong of course :cool:


You are not wrong, but the paramotor is strictly a 'fly around for fun' thing. I like the middle ground of a STOL airplane which you can keep on your property. For me, a Lockwood AirCam or a Piper Super Cub would be the ultimate airplane.
 

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Wow time went by fast since I started this.

Well finally signed up for my private pilots licence - I start theory training tomorrow.

Kinda got off track on this plan with covid and not having a car here in Poland in 2019.

Ill keep you updated - hoping to do my first solo flight before years end.
 
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ljean

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I've been thinking about getting a pilots license but I havent really worked out how dangerous it is. I have read countless times "i used to fly all the time...until I had kids". And it doesnt seem overly useful for taking trips or getting around compared to commercial.
 

throttleforward

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Congrats @Fox! If you're ever in the Washington DC area I'm happy to fly you around like I did @LightHouse .

One thing that I've found helpful is reading the accident reports and "I learned from that" sections in flying magazines and newsletters. You end up picking up a lot of tips, things to look for, a better understanding of accident chains and how to break them (e.g. how to recognize and fight "get-home-itis"), etc. That, plus developing some personal minimums, can make your flying a lot safer and more enjoyable.
 

Fox

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Congrats @Fox! If you're ever in the Washington DC area I'm happy to fly you around like I did @LightHouse .

One thing that I've found helpful is reading the accident reports and "I learned from that" sections in flying magazines and newsletters. You end up picking up a lot of tips, things to look for, a better understanding of accident chains and how to break them (e.g. how to recognize and fight "get-home-itis"), etc. That, plus developing some personal minimums, can make your flying a lot safer and more enjoyable.

Thank you! I hope to take you up on that some day.

Great tip also - thanks.

Just started my first online lesson on the Chicago convention tonight ha!
 
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Fox

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About half way through learning about air law so far and loving it.
Kinda funny to say that about such a dry topic but it is super interesting and am I really starting to get into it.

Since it is pretty Much May if I can get the theory done over the next two months maybe can get some decent flight time in before the end of the summer here.

Also I started taking a look at "what if" I owned a plane... and I am already in love with these...

Screenshot 2021-04-30 at 09.01.59.png

Screenshot 2021-04-30 at 09.02.07.png


These are so cool! For 300k that is a lot of plane ha.

I am trying to imagine what it must be like to own one of these and just fly off to some other country for a few days - it has me very motivated to learn this and push things on the business side.

What planes do you guys own? (and whats your thoughts on ownership)
 

c4n

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What planes do you guys own? (and whats your thoughts on ownership)

If it flies, floats or f***s, rent it.
 

Fox

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MTF

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I am trying to imagine what it must be like to own one of these and just fly off to some other country for a few days - it has me very motivated to learn this and push things on the business side.

I checked it once and as far as I remember the range for these small planes was pretty short. With this license, how far would the plane you'll be able to fly go? Because if it's like 1000 km, it doesn't give you any fun options from Poland lol.
 

Fox

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I checked it once and as far as I remember the range for these small planes was pretty short. With this license, how far would the plane you'll be able to fly go? Because if it's like 1000 km, it doesn't give you any fun options from Poland lol.

Someone else who actually knows how to fly can probably improve this answer but...

Screenshot 2021-04-30 at 11.02.08.png
Screenshot 2021-04-30 at 11.02.43.png


So I am thinking it could in theory be done in one go with a decent plane but probably more likely several stops to fuel up on the way. In one go you would probably be quite tired also - probably like 7 hours of flying.

If someone has experience flying like this can you post up - do you just split it up with refuelling stops at several smaller airports?

But ya looks like you could cover most of Europe in 2 stops and within a day of flying.
 

THR

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I had a friend who went on holiday with his family (his dad had his PPL) in a light aircraft from Midlands UK to somewhere in France. As he told the story, it was a nightmare! Lots of turbulence and terrifying moments over the sea. His mum vetoed any possibility of it happening again!

Another of my friends used to hire a plane - I think it was a Diamond DA-42 - to fly to Jersey quite a bit for work. He loved doing it, but his recommendation was never fly over water with a single engine.

Anyway I'm super jealous Fox, I really want to learn. I live near a great flight school too.

Looking forward to hearing more about your experiences.
 
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