Flying Schools??

[Guest morgan000]

I am new to this flying scene and was wondering if anyone could recommend any flying schools for a reasonable price?? Most schools charge for a PPL somewhere in the vicinity of 10 to 12 grand total, however I found Boomerang Air at bankstown airport and they claim to have the PPL done for $8350 which is cheap. Has anyone had any experience with them or can gimme some advice??

 

Thanks.

 

 

[numptie]

I think the thing you need to do is look not so much at the overall price but to find a school that has a good reputation, good instructors and ones that you are comfortable with. The $8350 would be based on doing it in minimum time and, as I'm sure just about everyone on the forum will tell you, hardly anyone does it in minimum time. The instructors will guide you and they'll know when you've progressed well enough, not when you've reached your maximum price.

 

 

[blueline]

Remember that you get what you pay for. Nobody wants to get ripped off, so by all means shop around.

 

It might be that the cheap operator is also the best - but this is not usually the case.

 

Ask them why they are cheaper. Ask the others why they are more expensive.

 

 

[leestanley]

Also Morgan, check out the general discussion thread on the costs of PPL v RAA... enlightening and much more cost effective!

 

 

[old man emu]

Morgan000,

 

Two things come quickly to mind in relation to the total cost of getting a licence:

 

1. Cost per hour in the air

 

2. The break between lessons.

 

The cost per hour will depend on the aircraft you train in. I guess you're using a Warrior. That's going to be dearer than a C152, which is dearer than a Jabiru. So just while you're training, downsize your aircraft.

 

Does the plane cost the same per hour solo and dual? If you can get a plan where the solo hours are cheaper than dual hours, you'll save.

 

How much time do you waste going to and from the training area? This travel is sort of unproductive time towards your licence. If you can, try to fly with a school within the training area. Camden is good for this, and the circuit is usually quieter than BK. Hoxton Park would be the same as Camden.

 

Another way to cut costs is to train at a school which has both VH reg and RAA reg aircraft. You'll get cheap hours in the RAA reg, and then can do a test in the VH reg to get a GA licence. You can't do that at BK, but you can at Camden and maybe Hoxton Park.

 

You could also try some horse trading. If you can arange it, estimate how much about 40 hours' flying will cost(eg $8000 @ $200/Hr) and try walking into a flying school and slamming $7000 cash down on the desk. That's 40 Hrs @ $175/Hr. Then haggle a price. You've got the money that the Flying School wants, and because the CFI wants his bread and jam, he'll talk turkey.

 

The biggest thing which extends the time it takes to get a licence is the time between lessons. If you can, organise for either a week's holidays from your employment and have two or three lessons per day for a week. Failing that, try to get a day off each week during Mon - Fri and try for three lessons per day on that day.

 

The more frequently you fly during your initial training, the less you'll forget between lessons, which is less time wasted re-learning previous lessons.

 

Once you get your licence, you can get endorsed on other types at your leisure.

 

Good luck with your training.

 

Old Man Emu