To Fly or Not To Fly - That is The Question

Following on from my trial flight, I am trying to make a decision on whether to pursue this or to knock it on the head now, before it ends up costing me a small fortune.  I have a number of concerns which I will list, and then try and address each of them as best I can.

My Concerns:

• I didn't get the buzz out of it that I thought I would
• The costs
• The time
• The study and exams
• If I qualify, what will I do with it?
• How will I pay for it?

The Buzz

I think I covered this in the last post on my trial flight.  I didn't really have time to 'enjoy' the flight to give me a buzz as there was so much going on around me.  There was so much to take in that I felt very overwhelmed by the whole experience. As time goes on and I get more familiar with the controls and the procedures, the flying aspect will become more second nature, like driving a car, and then there is more time to 'enjoy' the flight more.

The Costs

I was expecting to pay around £175 to £185 for the trial flight, but I hadn't budgeted for the landing fees.  This is going to be an ongoing expense if I learn out of Gloucester Airport.  The flight cost me £195, so let's round that up to £200 per hour and let's assume that I could achieve all this in the minimum 35 hours (which Dave has said he thought I could) and then add in a few extra expenses:

• Flight instruction - 35 hours x £200 = £7000
• Exams - taken from another blog this is around £500 (individual exams and skills test etc.)
• Headset - I know I could use the schools, but I would like my own = £400
• Other hidden costs, medicals and contingency = £1000

Adding all this up gives me a 'finger in the air' cost of £8900.

I found a very detailed post on the Flyer Forum where a chap had listed every penny he had spent to get his PPL and that came out to a little over £15000! I would be aiming for the LAPL (A) so the hours are less, but even so, my 'finger in the air' guess of £8900 could be on the light side and perhaps £10000 is more realistic.  This is more than I can afford at the present time.

The Time

This is a factor to consider when looking at the overall hours it will take to complete the training.  If you can do 1 or 2 flights per week, you can keep current and not have to spend extra time going back over things.  If you can't commit to that, the 35 hours could extend to 40 or maybe 50.  Very few people will go through in the minimum hours!  I think Dave's comment that he thought I could do it in minimum hours would need me to fly regularly!

I also have to consider that I work full time, so the evenings and weekends are the only times I can do this.  I also have the band and other music related things I do, so I would need to be very dedicated to this to get it done.

This is also very weather dependent and, as this is the UK, this is always a consideration.  I have read of people who have booked 2 lessons a week but every one has been cancelled and they have not managed to fly for 2 months or more.

Maybe now is not the right time?  Would it be better to start this when I am retired and have a lot more time for myself?

Studying and Exams

It is a long time since I sat down and studied from a book and took exams.  The last time was probably 20 years ago when I did my insurance exams.  However, that was a very dry subject and this would be more interesting.  The tests are also multiple choice, so that is easier than having to write essays.

Added in to this, Dave (my instructor) runs his own ground school and has already said that he thinks it would be no problem to get me though the exams.

However, there are still aspects like the navigation and RT stuff that frightens me!

When I Have a Licence

I think this is another one of those questions that relates to costs.  If I get my licence, I would need to put in a certain number of hours each year to remain current.  This would mean being a member of a flying club and hiring an aircraft each time I fly.  This would be a bit cheaper than when learning but would still be around £160 per hour.

But what would I do?  Yes, I could go for a pleasure flight.  I could take friends and family up for flights and that would be a good way to share costs and keep my hours up.  However, it would not be like the kit car.  On a nice day, I can go out for a drive and be out for 4 or 5 hours just meandering about and it will cost me a tank of fuel at about £25.  If I did the same in a plane, it would cost me between £650 and £800!  That is a huge difference!

So this is a concern.

How to Fund The Training

There are 2 options.  If I wait until I am made redundant, or when I take early retirement, I will be able to make some cash available for this.  If I want to do it now, I would have to borrow the money from the bank or other lending institution.  Based on my current position, I know what I could afford comfortably, and it would just about be enough, but I may still need to dip into some savings as well.

A Solution and a Possible Way Forward

I have spent an inordinate amount of time reading forums, magazines and online articles and also watched a lot of YouTube videos.  One thing that I had not originally considered was microlight flying.  There are 2 types of microlight, flex wing and 3-axis fixed wing.  A flex wing is like a hang-glider with a 3 wheeled cart underneath it, whereas a 3-axis is more like a traditional fixed wing aircraft.  It is the latter that might be a way forward.  They have their differences to the PA-28 in that they only seat 2 people and have a lower cruising speed, but they also have the many other advantages.  The main reasons for me thinking this way are:

• They are cheaper to run so are cheaper to learn on - £130 per hour instead of £200
• Many fly from grass strips, often with no landing fees
• Can be flown on the NPPL(M) licence (National Private Pilots Licence)   
• NPPL (M) has less time required to get licence (minimum 25 hours)
• NPPL(M) only requires 5 exams and not the 9 the LAPL (A) requires
• Fly from smaller airfields so less busy
• No expensive bi-annual medical, it is a simple self declaration
• Simpler aircraft so less to think about
• Cheaper to buy into a syndicate and then hire from about £50/hour

It is possible to do a minimum hours (25) course for around £3550.  If this is split as £150 for the intro pack (books, maps etc), £400 for exams then that leaves £3000, which is £120 per hour for 25 hours.  This is getting close to being a third of the price of the LAPL(A) licence in a PA-28. 

I am wondering if the slightly more stripped out, basic form of flying could be more exciting for me? After all, I get a buzz out of driving my kit car and that is a stripped out car!  I think the next thing I need to do is a trail flight in a microlight and see if it gives me the 'buzz' that was missing from the PA-28 flight.

The reality is that there may be no difference but it has to be worth a try.  There are a couple of clubs not too far away from me, so this is the next move.

Totals

No purchases in this post.

Total Costs = £226.14
Total Hours = 1.05