Flight School Inquiry

[McGurk]

There are flying clubs and/or flight schools at nearly every airport in the UK, bare in mind however, the cost. 3 years ago I was getting a good deal when I could fly for £100 per hour lesson, and I can only imagine prices rising since then. (Flying was my most joyous hobbie, alas, I had to give it up because I couldnt afford flying AND a mortgage.)

Depending on how intensivly you want to train, you could do it on a holiday over here, but for just your private pilots licence (not a commercial licence) you would have at least £4,500 and another minimum of £500 pound for study materials, medicals, equipment.

I;ve only got experience of one flying club, that being the Teesside flying club at Teesside airport (now Durham Tees Valley Airport). They where very professional and had a wide range of experience between their instructors, (ie, those who had just qualified and where building up hours to get into airlines and where full of enthusiasm, and those who where retired, and already had a wealth of experience.) The instruction was mainly in the air, any groud studies where left to the student to do themselves, however, the staff where always willing to help and would give you classroom time as well if you wanted it.

You could always try to get a work visa, get a job over here and use that to fund flying at a slower pace, but as far as I know, work visas are hard toget if you dont already have a job arranged.

Cost is the biggest problem if you want to learn to fly here. There is big buisness in the UK to fly people to the US, get them an FAA licence and then convert it to a CAA licence back in the UK. That whole process, including a holiday in the US costs less then learning to fly here.

I dont mean to shoot down your ambitions, but thats the reality of flying in the UK.

[berserkbishop]

I dont mean to shoot down your ambitions, but thats the reality of flying in the UK.

Geez, didnt realize how bad the cost would be. Thanks for the info guys, maybe living in Scotland will have to wait. You didnt shoot down my ambitions, I was wanting straight facts and thats what I got. Appreciate it!

bb

[McGurk]

Geez, didnt realize how bad the cost would be. Thanks for the info guys, maybe living in Scotland will have to wait. You didnt shoot down my ambitions, I was wanting straight facts and thats what I got. Appreciate it!

bb

I must add, however, that there is no finer ambition then the ambition to get your wings.

Also, if you do come to the UK for a holiday or visit, then that single £100, one hour flight around a city and its surrounding areas is well worth it. I'm hoping to go flying around edinburgh and falkirk

[Riverkilt]

Don't know about flight schools, but most trade schools in the U.S. qualify for student loans. No one shows up with cash. Just visit the schools you are interested in. When you pick one tell them you need a student loan (like almost all other students), they'll walk you to their financial aid office and they'll help you with the forms.

You don't have to start paying on the loan until six months after graduation.

Not sure about pilots, but many doctors, nurses, and other fields can sign up with AmeriCorps (?) work in rural areas for a couple years and have their student loans forgiven. I know we have lots of medical chopper pilots here in Page forever ferrying the injured in from the rez and remote highway collisions and air evacing out to the big hospitals down in Flagstaff and Phoenix.

As far as helicopters, once back in about 1964 when I was an eager Marine Option NROTC dude the Marines flew a bunch of us down to Camp Pendleton and San Diego to show us around. A friend and I visited my late uncle on Coronado. He was a long time Naval Aviator going back to War II. My friend was gung-ho choppers. Uncle Larry quietly told him about how back when U.S. Forces were in the Congo...well, they really weren't officially, but they were...but they weren't...but one chopper that was got shot down by a dart from a blowgun. The dart apparently hit an exposed oil line, the oil drained, the rotor froze and the chopper became a rock.

Figure they probably protect vulnerable areas of choppers better these days, but its something you might want to think about....and of course the Military trains chopper pilots. Think there are a few on this board. You might wanna ask Steve Ashton too. Think he's one of them.

Ron