Well at long last I am starting the journey towards become a pilot.

Our school and region around where I live has a charity specifically for students which offers money towards more 'different' hobbies. So, I am writing a letter in about flying which... Lets face it... Isn't the most usual activity going.

One of the things I am expected to put in my letter is all the costs to expect. I have started building a spreadsheet with how much the hours are for flying, how many it will take etc.


Just checking I am being thorough and including all the figures... Could someone quickly go over all the costs that someone doing their PPL should expect to pay for.

Currently I have the following:


Initial costs
Membership (per year)


Extras
Headset
Pilot study pack


Training Costs
Training rate per hour (gave 45 as minimum but 50-55 hours as average. Does this seem right?)
Exams rate per hour (I used Barton for this... But is £28 an hour about right for little over 6 hours for all the exams?)





Is there anything else I should be aware of? I am doing the JAR-PPL at Cosford if all goes well.

Cheers

I've looked into the US option aswell... But then there is VISA things, travel etc. Was going to look at getting lessons out there this summer (going to LA hopefully) but with all those costs added together I think I worked it out to be more expensive over there.

Get hours over there, yes. But not lessons. Besides, I think it would be better to learn the airs around where I am likely to be flying. I've heard there's quite a lot of change with the airspaces over here than in the states owing to the country being a lot smaller. I just think for now it would be better to learn in my environment.



But, this ties in with that. I just need to know what my total costs will be. I've worked it out to be between £5700 and £7400 with the range of hours I might expect to fly for... But I'm just checking if there are going to be any costs that I haven't factored into the equation yet.

Equipment, books, fees etc. I just need to know what I will be expected to get.

Well I'm trying to get in touch with Cosford to try and get down there next weekend.

I had a quick look at that site earlier, but I didn't notice the second chunk.


So do you think that is a fairly conclusive list for everything I will need?



I thought the medical was free? Or atleast that is what I read on a few sites... They seem to be charging. Is that correct?

Well it is another thing to check. I was just sure I'd read it was a free exam though.

Anything else I should be aware of checking if I can get down to the club?

machineman9 wrote on Jan 25^th, 2009 at 10:51am:


The best people to ask is probably them. They will be able to tell you what you need to buy, and what you don't - for example they may be able to loan books, kneeboards, headsets etc.

Hagar... I'm not too sure about that. 131 miles to Sibson... 52 miles to Cosford. I would pretty much pass Cosford going to the other club.

Maybe cheaper rates, but the fuel costs would certainly not be the most accepted.




Lol. Buying the best deal on my health. Get the best rates on your physical safety in an aircraft. Interesting concept.

Yeh, I can check if they have someone near to the airfield that they can reccomend.


And yes... Examiner fees would definately help to include.

Hagar wrote on Jan 25^th, 2009 at 11:17am:

Oh, I thought when you said it was closer that it might be the better alternative. But yeh, Cosford needs to update their site a good bit. I can try and look at a few sources and average out the numbers to see what to expect.