So I don't live in England, so I'm afraid I can't say much about great schools to train at, but what I do know is that a good school (in my opinion) should be one with a sizeable fleet (that are well maintained), a multitude of options (PPL, CPL, night ratings, multi-ratings, IFR ratings, Instructor Ratings, and/or Float Ratings), and most importantly, it has to be a good environment, somewhere friendly and fun, a place where you will learn, and get along with the instructors.
As far as Microlights go, you may want to look into the regulations surrounding the PPL requirements. I know here in Canada, those that fly Ultralights, and those that fly Gliders, are allowed to use a certain amount of hours that they have gained from Ultralights and/or Gliders towards obtaining their PPL, so I would imagine something similar in Britain as well.
As well, it sounds like you already have, or know what you will need. I would suggest having your own headset, kneeboard, fuel tester, the appropriate VNC for your area. Now, in Canada, we have this book called the Canadian Flight Supplement, basically it's like a phonebook for airports. It's got every registered airport across Canada, and all the information that pertains to that airport (such as phone numbers, airport diagrams, elevations, everything right down to how far away the nearest telephone is away from the airport). So I'm not sure if something similar exists in Britain or even Europe, but if it does, I would suggest investing in something like that as well, as it could be quite beneficial in the event of an emergency.
Lastly, as far as aircraft go, every aircraft is different, so I wouldn't worry too much. The school where I learned to fly used Zlin 242L's (the largest fleet of them in North America) for PPL, Night Rating, CPL, and Single Engine IFR training, as well as Emergency Manoeuvre Training (which meant they could pull of some pretty crazy stuff, since those planes are fully aerobatic trainers), and they used Piper Seminole PA44's for Multi- and Multi-IFR ratings. Since graduating from college, I've moved back home, and the local airport has Cessna 152's, 172's, DA20's, DA40's, DA42's, and PA44's. I can honestly say that flying the 172, although not near as much fun as the Zlin, is a very stable aircraft, very simple, and after flying a few aircraft, it's not hard to transition between them, as the basics are always the same. And I'm saying this from my own experience (although I'm not saying that I would have changed my training aircraft), before beginning my Instructor Rating, I had never flown a Cessna (only the Zlin and PA44), and so to fly the 172 for the first time, let alone from the right seat, was not near as difficult as I had imagined. They seem fairly forgiving (I kind of wish I had done my Single-IFR training in one, aerobatic planes are only fun in the sun, haha), so I would recommend that.
I hope some of this helps, and I hope any information I have given is relatable.

machineman9 wrote on Aug 13^th, 2011 at 7:27pm:



Well, I am not sure what you mean here, but his number is his number until the day he dies and beyond. Numbers are not recycled.
As far as discount is concerned, as a general rule it is for the person who has served. In the UK, military discount is few and far between and you are only looking at a couple of quid off anyway. In the States it is offered all over (they know how to treat serving and ex-serving members of the military), and when visiting, my first question upon being asked to pay is "military discount", however, in order to get it, you have to produce a photo ID saying you are entitled, i.e, an ex or serving member. I think the only thing that will get you that is by signing on the dotted line..........

Matt

Quote:

Q: How do you know you're in a place that's holding a pilot's job fair?

A: There's a bunch of guys milling around in cheap suits and big watches. 

So far, I think I'm fairly hooked on the idea of flying at Hawarden. I just need to wait and hear about the rates and possible discounts from Cosford though.

I would really like to fly a stick aircraft, but I don't think it's going to happen. There are DA-20 and Grob 115 training schools, but none are close. Blackpool is the closest I can find, and they're about 85 miles away. A weekend commute is a maybe, but I could just save a lot of money for flying anyway. A return on the train would set me back about £33 in total. Maybe worth it if I could a large block booking of several hours each time I went up though.


Edit: Blackpool doesn't sound like a bad shout at all. They fly the Firefly and Aquila A210. Might be worth a shot....

Seriously, this is a tricky business!

I think that makes for a good point, and not one I had really considered.

I might as well learn to fly properly, then become modernised. And I might as well spend a little extra cash (it really isn't that much more) to fly something exciting, largeish, and of reasonably high power. The Firefly has a solid history of being a military trainer... And I plan to progress into military life.

machineman9 wrote on Aug 14^th, 2011 at 11:38pm:


Apart from in the USAF, although they pinned the blame firmly on Slingsby (well, they would, even if all the other operators haven't had similar problems), and tried to put a relatively small firm out of business.

I haven't really looked at training prices recently, but you may find if you're looking for a more modern aircraft such as the G115 (maybe not the older G115A, which is most common and not as capable as the later G115D/E) or the newer Fireflys, you'll pay a little bit more. The DA-20 is a bit cheaper, but not as meaty.

You're most important consideration is probably the reputation and professionalism of any training school - aircraft type and runway surfaces available should possibly be secondary considerations - for example it'll be cheaper to do a PPL in a £120 per hour aircraft, and then do a conversion in a few hours to another type at a later date. Using a basic example of a £120/hr vs £180/hr aircraft, doing a 45hr PPL on the former then a 5 hr or so conversion to the latter would be a couple of grand cheaper than just doing the whole PPL on the latter. Runways you can easily get experience on by going to other airfields.

I notice the G115A at Barton (LAC) is the same price as the C150 - not bad as long as you are happy it isn't in the same league as the RAF's G115Es! Firefly's seem to start around the £150 mark for the less powerful variants, but there are several variants out there now all have been retired from MoD service.

Yeah, I found out that it was a 115A at Barton, which is yoke controlled. And that's not really my thing at the moment. I'm really just trying to factor in travel costs as well as ground school... I think Blackpool want you to do ground school at Barton. Other, closer, fields seem to offer it on the home turf.

I'm just waiting on my A level results (this Thursday) before I approach the RAF and talk about all of my options. I'm sure having a valid JAA-PPL can only ever be worth more points in my application. I just want to see what advice they could offer me, or if they could even point me in the direction of bursaries or scholarships; most of which are retained for Air Cadet members, but they must have a local arrangement or something like that to get discounts.

Type conversion is of course another possibility. I think I really just need to get the 'ground work' sorted and consult the local fields to try and get their best offers. Some airfields are holding back their fares from the public eye. Many offer 'PPL 45 hour courses', but I'm hoping that I could get something a little more tailor made. It never hurts to ask!