Hours for License?

[stickshaker]

I saw a previous thread where people were saying 100-150hrs to get their license - including flights, prep time, driving to/from airport, studying and so forth. Quite a lot more than the 20 hrs prac, 10 hrs theory hours listed at flight schools I've seen. One you could knock over in a few weeks, the other takes a number of months even if you were spending a good amount of hours a week.

 

In September I'll be able to start flying and am wondering the time to factor in. Thankfully I can shuffle working hours around a bit so 7 day availability, hours aren't much of an issue. Would it be possible to have a license by Christmas?

 

I'm assuming it would be possible to get the piece of paper, however in regards to taking a passenger seems it would be too tight; not sure 3-4 months is enough time to say "sure I'm confident I can handle potentially bad scenarios, trust your life to me!"? Generally speaking of course as who knows where on the ability curve I'll be.

 

 

[Nobody]

I did my PPL in 5 weeks from first flight to license test. I was available to fly every day the was instructor/aircraft/weather.

 

 

[stickshaker]

That's quick. How many hours roughly of study at home was required?

 

How many days a week did you fly, or pretty much every day for 5 weeks straight?

 

 

[Nobody]

I was at it "full time". I was probably flying about 4 -5 days per week but it wasn't like these were planned days off. They were when the weather was bad or the aircraft needed maintenance. Some days it was only an hour of circuits. I had an instructor who was flexiable and if we couldn't do something because the weather as bad he would regig the syllabus to do other things. For instance I was ready to go solo but there were a few days where the cross wind was too high. Rather than not fly we did a dual cross country. That meant that when I went solo it was only a few days later and I was going solo cross country. When I wasn't flying during the day I was reading up on the theory and reading over the next lessons, reviewing what I had learnt earlier.

 

I think that what I did was at the extreme end of fast and only put it out there as a data point to compare to. It is possible to learn to fly in a short time but it helps if you are keen, young and committed.

 

 

[Right Rudder]

I was at it "full time". I was probably flying about 4 -5 days per week but it wasn't like these were planned days off. They were when the weather was bad or the aircraft needed maintenance. Some days it was only an hour of circuits. I had an instructor who was flexiable and if we couldn't do something because the weather as bad he would regig the syllabus to do other things. For instance I was ready to go solo but there were a few days where the cross wind was too high. Rather than not fly we did a dual cross country. That meant that when I went solo it was only a few days later and I was going solo cross country. When I wasn't flying during the day I was reading up on the theory and reading over the next lessons, reviewing what I had learnt earlier.I think that what I did was at the extreme end of fast and only put it out there as a data point to compare to. It is possible to learn to fly in a short time but it helps if you are keen, young and committed.

Then there's the other end of the scale started in 1976 and hope to have my Raa cert.by christmas

 

 

[stickshaker]

Sure that was the idea, to get a better understanding rather than only 1 persons (instructor) opinion!

 

5 weeks 'full-time', does sound like that 100 hr mark. I could probably push and do it within 3 months assuming it all goes to plan. ~10 hrs a week is feasible.

 

Haha that's been a while coming!

 

 

[Ozfergie]

I think you will have a much better idea after you have taken your first lesson with the instructor that you choose first up.

 

If you feel comfortable with the aircraft that is available and the instructor, discuss your "goals" with them - I'm sure that they will try to work with your ambitions.

 

Remember that you will be spending $5k-$6k, (RPL) so choose the school/CFI carefully and shop around for the best fit for you.

 

 

[stickshaker]

Unfortunately the choices are 30 mins, 90 mins or 120 mins away! I'm in Hervey Bay. Not many to choose from, from what I've heard the closest is pretty good, I can't start til September so haven't spoken with him just yet. I have done a 1 hour flight with another (too far away) and it was good, though at 185cm + headphones I was squashed against the roof, couldn't use that plane again! Texxan or something from memory.

 

From what I can find 3-4 months seems quite feasible, around 100 hrs of work in total, a lot more than 30 hrs mentioned. However only time will tell how good I'll actually be at that stage, whether can take a passenger (ideally) or still too rough.

 

 

[stickshaker]

Just spoke with the closest instructor, seems good. He was leaning towards the minimum time, not much extra study; so unsure what the others were doing to be around 100 hrs. Perhaps RPL rather then RAA. If someone says "Rec license" can be ambiguous.

 

 

[Nobody]

I had about 45 hours in the logbook after doing the licence test. 10-12 hours of flying time per week is about as much as you can reasonably take in.

 

By the time you do a good briefing, preflight the aircraft, fly for an hour to an hour and a half, refuel, tie the aircraft down have a chat with the instructor about what you did and what you need to improve on, this is a 3 hour slot. 2 slots per day, one morning and one afternoon.

 

 

[stickshaker]

Thanks that's good to know, around double the flight time with other activities.

 

 

[Gnarly Gnu]

How fast you pick it up depends a bit upon your age. You should ask your school the average hours to certificate for their students; some will try to milk you out for 40+ hours (yes some students will require this but I'm talking average hours here). If possible talk to current and past students first to see if they are happy. All the best Stick, enjoy!

 

 

[stickshaker]

He said 26 hrs average of flying. It was more the extra curricular, perhaps the "Rec license" thread I saw was RPL not RAAUS. They were talking around 100-150 hrs if you take everything into account, whereas he was more "yeah you just do the hours, some briefings, done" - which is a walk in the park in comparison. Not as if I need to find 50 hrs of home study time

 

Not to get too ahead of myself, it should be easy enough... I do programming which is all about structure, memory, planning (what to plan now vs what can be improvised), do it once and do it right, there's always that element of risk - what shortcuts are ok and you can reverse, vs what are too risky etc. Pretty similar to flying. You need to learn the overall concepts and understand the underlying mechanics - you can then handle new situations by evaluating the options and predicting the outcomes. If you try and learn the specifics it'll take forever and you'll struggle when it's not something you've learnt. It's like learning the formula vs going 1*1=1, 1*2=2 forever.

 

It's Russ in Maryborough (Pro Sky), from what I could find online he seems good and experienced.

 

 

[rdarby]

You need as long as you need. Forget quoted hours. Everyone is different and it is purely up to you, and you can't actually control your own abilities. But you control yourself the most, not the instructor.

 

In terms of time anything can happen. From being recommended for the test to actually taking it a month passed for me, due to weather and instructor availability. So it takes as long as it takes.

 

Just go along at your own pace and enjoy yourself.

 

 

[Nightmare]

I passed my RPC at my 39th hour, over 10 months. But that was because I changed flying schools, aircraft and airfield, so I had to relearn a lot. I generally did one hour lesson every two weeks, then every week.

 

The difference with Recreational Pilot Certificate and License? The Cert qualifies you to fly one or two seat aircraft lighter than 600kg MTOW outside of controlled airspace under 10000ft in Australia. A RPL qualifies you to fly heavier aircraft, but you need a class 1 or 2 medical. You may be restricted in how many passengers you can take, but I may be wrong, I haven't really looked into RPL, it's not really a direction I want to go.

 

I know of one fellow who was training for his PPL who had racked up over 100 hours in his log book and still hadn't achieved his license. Either he was a really bad pilot or they were ripping him off terribly.

 

 

[stickshaker]

That would be hard, constant changing. Need to do a lot more hours just to freshen up. Thankfully I can free up time for a few lessons a week although no point moving too fast, need time to learn, do it properly and build the muscle memory. 2-3 lessons a week seems more than enough, and will still fit within a ~3 month timeframe. I was a bit worried based on 100-150 hrs I saw people saying it really took all up, that it might end up being this huge affair I'd get disillusioned with.

 

Hard to know until you do it though!

 

100 hrs seems a lot, given a license is more a "you meet the minimum requirements" not a "yes you're super experienced".

 

 

[Mick]

Stickshaker you will find Russ at Mbro really good to train with, he is a rare combination of a good pilot & a good teacher. All too often people are good at one or the other but not both.

 

Also your 185cm height will not be a problem. I am 189cm & 115kg and fit comfortably in the Sportstar that Russ uses.

 

Good luck.

 

 

[stickshaker]

Perfect!

 

 

[cscotthendry]

Stickshaker:

 

I think just about everyone thinks the same as you do, before they start flying, "How long will it take?" An extension of that is "How long before I can fly by myself and be free of the instructor?". Like you, at first I viewed flying instructors like all other teachers in my life, that is, they would teach me what I needed to know, spank me on the bum and set me FREE! With flying instructors, it's different and it should be. You never stop learning to fly and the instructors are a lifelong reference (or should be), rather than just teacher / assessor.

 

Although I don't fly with my instructors much anymore, I still contact them from time to time with questions and more importantly, I still regard them as friends. The last bit is the important part.

 

You should find and instructor that suits your needs and personality, rather than just being geographically convenient. You will spend a fair amount of very high intensity time with these people and if one of them rubs you up the wrong way, it will not only hinder your progress, it will poison your mind to flying and flying instruction. From bitter personal experience, I had an instructor in Canberra many years ago who was so bad, he put me off learning to fly for 20 years as I just assumed they all behaved like he did. To be honest, he behaved much like my Little League baseball coaches did when I was a kid which was just shout and criticise.

 

Do yourself a favour. If you get out of the cockpit feeling stressed and negative, something is wrong. Try another instructor.

 

 

[Parkway]

If you turn up prepared for every lesson, ready for what you're going to do (ie have a copy of the syllabus) and if you record your lessons with a GoPro and have a good look at what you learned.. You will save yourself a lot of flying time! It's amazing how much information you miss without a video to go over. That way you don't need to "relearn" things on your next flight. I'm only a greenhorn myself, but just thought I'd mention that since I've found it extremely helpful. Also I find using flight simulator on a pc with a yoke and throttle to be very helpful, even if mostly for practicing procedures and navigation, and not so much actual flying skills.

 

 

[Fishla]

Took me 30 hours for the raaus certificate. That was over one whole year. One lesson a fortnight approx.

 

The theory I did in my own time. It is not a big deal.

 

I'm now half way through my navigation training and it was only my last flight that I was beginning to get comfortable. That's about 50 hours over 18 months.

 

You'll be condensing your training more than I did. Many say that is good thing - you'll save going over things every time after a 2 week pause.

 

Let us know how you go!

 

 

[stickshaker]

With the GoPro, do you need to bring your own mount? How does that work with say, top wing vs canopy style plane? Would an old iPhone do it? (given I assume it's more about the content then the quality)

 

That's the plan, without having actually started it's hard to say, I imagine 3 hrs/flying a week is probably a good amount. Any more and it probably won't get absorbed as well, less is fine to an extent but it will get into 'having to relearn' territory.

 

Good to hear there's not much extra, must have been RPL people were spending 100 odd hours on.

 

 

[Parkway]

With the GoPro, do you need to bring your own mount? How does that work with say, top wing vs canopy style plane? Would an old iPhone do it? (given I assume it's more about the content then the quality)I got an old GoPro hero 2 for $100 second hand, it's still shooting 1080HD, which is good cos you can clearly see the instruments etc. I just mount with a suction cup, depends on what plane you're in tho

[Parkway]

This is the view I get from the GoPro hero2 mounted to the canopy with a suction cup, in a Sportstar

 

 

 

[stickshaker]

When looking at a video for review, what are the things you're looking for? Good quality for a $100 camera. With an instructor would be hard to see the much of the panel?