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!

C wrote on Aug 15^th, 2011 at 4:15pm:

Well it would certainly do no harm to be qualified beforehand. It's something I need to check with them. At the very least, it could make the training stages a little less taxing if I already had a firm grasp on it all already. Clearly I won't learn all the neccesaries of an RAF pilot through PPL, but it would make me a lot more experienced and confident at flying compared to just strolling in without it. And I suppose it would be useful even if I didn't make the cut, for my own personal leisure.

Blargh, there are too many considerations 

Now, my only thought there is that they may look at the PPL and already have expectations of you, or they may feel that it may cost too much money to retrain you to their standards, and fix any bad habits you may have developed from a poor instructor, but chances are they'll think that you need less training when compared to someone who has never flown before, since you would already have your license. So, I do not know how the RAF would look at it, but it could go either way.

machineman9 wrote on Aug 16^th, 2011 at 1:01pm:


Indeed. Looking at the detail its effectively the popular CTC type scheme (large bond etc), but funded by the airline (ie, rather than giving you a loan, they give you the equivalent back once you're in service).

SaultFresh has the general idea with regards to the PPL. The only thing to be wary of is that you may very well end up having to have old habits from a civvy school "ironed out". The expectation through training wouldn't be any different, as in the big scheme of things 45 hrs is very little.

So how did you do? 

Come to Liverpool and train with the big boys....LFS is a nice school too 

Hawarden is a nice airfield.....just be prepared for me to come and steal circuit time when Liverpool's too busy 

.mic

I spoke to Cosford Powered Flying School and they gave me the following advice:

GET.... AVIATION... RELATED... DEGREE!


So despite a slight lack in interest in university for the past few years, I've finally found a university which makes sense; Aston University for Mechanical Engineering (BEng Hons) which I will try and start next September, provided I get the grades this year.


Futhermore, they are connected with the Cosford UAS (Birmingham University Air Squadron) so I will be able to fly for free, and raise a rank in the RAF if I decide to procceed down that path!


Bit of a shame that I didn't learn about that university sooner; the price boundaries mean that it will cost £27k, not £9k in tuition fees! 

Haha, I know it's not a simple procedure of walk in and get better epaulettes, but it's a fair enough justification of what the UAS can offer you if you turn it into a military career (provided you give the correct service in response).

One of the major reasons they gave for going to university was the backup strategy. If I fail my medical at any given time, then I will need to go to university anyway. They gave me a 2 year approximate waiting list for pilot recruitment when I went to Careers. This carries several considerations, however:

If it is 2 years until the first intake, how long until the next intake? I am 18.5 years old now. I would be 20.5 when their estimated time came around, and I would be 22.5 if I went to university. The RAF have a max age limit for IOT start date of 25 at the moment for pilots. It is not a large window of opportunity.

If I went to university, I would apply to the UAS, and if that was succesful, that could earn me a little of dollar, but it would negate the need to go for a PPL (which still isn't essential, but it is something nice to have)

If I go to university, I remain a lot more employable if my master plan fails. The BA scholarship would be a viable option too! The RAF medic chap I spoke to at Cosford said that I should look for transport pilot, as an ATPL conversion and civil flying after my service is a strong possibility. Yet again, it heavily remains down to what the RAF can offer me, if anything. I haven't even signed the paperwork and I already feel as if my life is their puppet 



For a while I have disliked the idea of university, purely because I enjoy getting out and doing things. I need to research this course content, but I love practical work and that would suit me fine for 3 years compared to similar text-book based courses that also exist.



I would like to go to the right university, for sure. This one seems to press all the buttons. They have a good connection with the Defence Technical Undergraduate Scheme (which could mean bursaries) and from their website, the UAS takes 100 applications and enrols 30-40 of those each year. Reasonable odds.


It's incredibly difficult to plan so far in ahead. Particularly in this economic and political state. Jobs are not required, so you really do have to tick every single box. I may miss one opportunity at some point, but by and large I think I am headed in the right direction into an aviation career and towards a pilot for whichever airline 

My uncle took the option of joining as a junior rank, and then went for his comission and became an ATC. I raised the point when I went to Careers, and they said that they're currently not allowing any cross-branch conversions, and although it's always possible, they said that I may well be stuck with my other role for quite some time! Plus, they said that the interview to become an officer would be harder and that I would come under much more scrutiny because I should know better from having served, compared to a civilian.


I'm not sure if I would even be able to convert... Does the age limit still apply of 25 even if you're already serving and wish to convert?

All in all, I think the risk of being stuck with the 'wrong' job is a real threat, and that discourages me. I have that current problem where I work at the moment    Quick... Bail out! 

Hmmm, how long would it take to go from a successful interview to IOT?

I contacted the university that I wish to go to, and it was clear that their entry requirements were not entirely clear. In short, I will need to go to college (or some education) for the next two academic years before I can go to university. I'm really rather annoyed.


I guess it would be possible to start some of the recruitment process whilst at uni though, wouldn't it? For example, the interviews and OASC stuff would take a few days out of my university time. So I could get some of the work done whilst I'm in education... Right? Please be a 'right!' 

I think that's some really sound advice, thank you.

I am going to ask about the prospect of doing both years of maths at the same time... I am doing the same with physics. The only (and rather major) difference is that I have completed both years of physics already, and now I am doing touch ups on my work. I have only done 3/4 of the first year of maths, before I had to leave the course (dicking about and not paying attention gets you nowhere    I have certainly learnt that lesson)


If it takes me two years, or one, I will still have a small window of opportunity to get into the RAF. But that said, the employability levels of me with A level mathematics, 4 passes, and a degree, will skyrocket my chances too. If I am made an offer early on, I could always leave university until a later date. It never was my first choice, it is merely there to get my career on the move. If I have a career by then, I need not stress over it. If I don't make the cut, I could jump straight back into uni; likewise when my service is over.


Perhaps it will benefit my application to let them know that even in the face of adversity, being hung by the goolies, I can persevere 

An A is bloody impressive  Well done!

Because of the timetabling, I could take AS Physics or A2 Further Maths, with other time table boxes permitting AS Further Maths and A2 Physics.

I'm unable to fit all 4 subjects in. I already have a grade C in AS Physics, and the major emphasis is on getting maths. That said, my other local college do A2 Further Maths and I should be able to enrol for the next year.



So it's a battle between getting maths now, or doing maths in the right order, or getting maths and physics. I think I will need to have a chat with my head of year and work out a plan 

Yeah, I think I will go down the route of two further college years. I was interviewed for a job for a bar/restaurant supervisor today... So hopefully that will aid my CV and RAF application in the long run. It means that I will not have as much stress on education, so I will be able to manage both, hopefully.

A well rounded character should serve me well! Although I need to get to the gym before I get too round 

Yeah, I am thinking of opting to do the mechanics units as I've learnt all of it from physics anyway!

There are two VGSs near to me, but one is 30 and the other is 40 minutes away. I could try and offer to help out though!