How many Hours did it take you to complete your RPL?

[adrian1970]

Hi Everyone I'm new to this forum.

 

I have a Question for everyone and anyone who will help answer this, How may hours did it take you to finish your RPL and what was the sticking point, or the tricky part for you?

 

Thanks in advance

 

Adrian.

 

 

[Kyle Communications]

Have you done any flying yet?...usually a RPL is the first upgrade from a sport pilots licence...

 

 

[adrian1970]

Hi, I am doing it now.

 

 

[Kyle Communications]

Its cheaper to do a sport pliot first as aircraft hire is much cheaper than GA hire. Then its only a 5 hr conversion for RPL

 

 

[adrian1970]

Thanks, I figured as much.

 

I have done 35 hrs in a C172 so far and still going, probably not worth swapping over now. I had just noticed early on how the clubs sell the training and was sceptical on how they can quote like 20hr, when i suspect, in general most student pilots with no prior experience would be probably doing many more hrs than 20 odd. 

 

Adrian.

 

 

[Kyle Communications]

Things like controlled airspace and cross country training chew up the dollars especially in GA aircraft. usually 40 hours used to be PPL licence average time to get

 

It depends on time to solo which of course you cant really go anywhere yet until you have done cross country training

 

 

[Kyle Communications]

If you has a sport pilot licence which is around 20 hrs then cross country which is about 12 hrs inc cross country solo then its around 5 hrs for RPL and then controlled airspace. Endorsements are carried through like cross country and tail wheel, Radio Human factors etc and of course for RAA you only need a drivers licence medical

 

GA needs a class2 or a basic class2 like I have to go across to RPL

 

 

[Kyle Communications]

I had 80 hrs in Gliders and 20 in GA doing PPL until I got tossed when I went for the medical but that was in the mid 1990's...Basic class 2 has allowed me now to get a RPL but have held a sport pilots licence for about 9 years on a drivers licence medical albeit a Austroads heavy vehicle licence. Mine has conditions on it so when Basic Class 2 came out last year I easily got it but CASA would not issue me a std Class 2 . But armed with latest medical tests I had no problem with a DAME signing me off for the Basic....bloody pencil pushers in CASA making decision without all the facts. Now its finally in someones hands that can actually make a proper decision on the real facts

 

I went solo in 5 hrs for my sport pilot licence then built my own aircraft and flew off the time in it then used it to get my cross country endorsement

 

 

[ClintonB]

I took 26 hrs to go from RPC to RPL, found going to 182 for learning meant getting used to weight difference, performance, the prop and mixture stuff, then cross country and minimum instrument time. Also some time spent getting used to radio in tower time compared to CTAF time in Raaus flying.

 

 

[adrian1970]

Yes a lot to consider, thanks for your input.

 

So if i have done over 30 hrs in cessna 172, i have just done my medical, my pre solo exams, my GELP and my ASIC are all in place..i assume it may be best to continue my path in a 172? and finish in (hopefully) say, another 10-15 hrs. what do you think?

 

If i did do it this way, when it comes to my nav i was at first thinking i could just have my RPL with a nav module to free me up, then ive been told i should really just bite the Bullet and do my PPL, which is similar but with no weight restrictio  or so im told.

 

Do you know if i am able to do my NAV or my PPL in a sport plane to save on hire costs? 

 

 

[Kyle Communications]

You need a PPL then to the conversion to RAA which is basically a lower energy type and they do fly different in that respect. A lot of GA pilots kill themselves in Ultralights due to the low inertia..well that seems to be the consensis. You have already put a lot of hours in doing GA probably best to stick with it but it is a expensive way to do it when you consider the options available now. Endorsements carry through from Sport licence to RPL . I would be asking your school and instructors how much longer they are going to keep you now before solo. Put the weights on them. You may not like what they have to say about your abilities or then again they maybe fine and making sure you are at a reasonable level before letting you go into the wide blue yonder. Not say your school is doing this but there certainly has been and still are schools around that do milk people for extra hours when the pilot is actually ready to go it alone.

 

 

[adrian1970]

You need a PPL then to the conversion to RAA which is basically a lower energy type and they do fly different in that respect. A lot of GA pilots kill themselves in Ultralights due to the low inertia..well that seems to be the consensis. You have already put a lot of hours in doing GA probably best to stick with it but it is a expensive way to do it when you consider the options available now. Endorsements carry through from Sport licence to RPL . I would be asking your school and instructors how much longer they are going to keep you now before solo. Put the weights on them. You may not like what they have to say about your abilities or then again they maybe fine and making sure you are at a reasonable level before letting you go into the wide blue yonder. Not say your school is doing this but there certainly has been and still are schools around that do milk people for extra hours when the pilot is actually ready to go it alone.

 

thanks again, your.input is appreciated. To be.fair i think my club are generally honest and i myself have been well aware of my piloting shortcomings as they happen but i feel im getting close however the gusty conditions where i am has shown my landing to be a bit inconsistent at least with these conditions I am thinking i should be pretty darn good landing when i get some friendlier conditions and i shall do the solo, the exam and the license test.

 

Any way i look at it ..it has been fun and always look forward to flying..the theory TBH..not a big fan but i realise it is important.

 

thanks again to everyone offering advice and tips.

 

cheers

 

 

[Okihara]

I did my training 0h to RPL in 37h at Moorabbin, all of it in Warriors II and III.

 

I think I could have cut another 3-4h, had I been more organised and more strict with my instructor. The sticky point for me was a delay in getting my medical certificate processed which meant that a month went by before I could do my first solo.

 

In hindsight it was my mistake as I should have gone to a DAME straight away. Unfortunately I wrongly assumed that it wouldn't take long to get that processed afterwards. The other sticky parts were mostly down to school organisation and getting them not to cancel lessons all the the time. At one point I even requested that we do two flights a day to get through the syllabus.

 

Technically speaking, I found landings to be the hardest part to master. I changed instructors midway into my training and the new one was a obsessed with hitting the sweet spot on the ASI right on base and final. Becoming more respectful of my airspeed on final really helped me the most. The other part I found tricky was staying focused while receiving instructions from ATC. I must have given those folks in the tower a bunch of good laughters ?

 

My humble advice if you want to keep your time down:

 

1. prepare your lessons beforehand and be as ready as you can,

 

2. squeeze as much training into as little time as you can afford to keep your muscle memory fresh (nothing worse than letting weeks lapse between flights),

 

3. commit your checklists to memory,

 

4. practice scenarios in the aeroplane on the ground, engine off, e.g. PFL. If necessary, battery ON and learn every corner of your avionics,

 

5. record your flights, both audio and video. No matter what level you're at, there's always a lot going on in a flight lesson. Your brain only has so much bandwidth to process all those simultaneous signals. I found that having the ability to replay my flights afterwards allowed me to get so much more out of them and know what to focus on for the next ones.

 

 

[Kyle Communications]

Good advice from Oki

 

 

[adrian1970]

I took 26 hrs to go from RPC to RPL, found going to 182 for learning meant getting used to weight difference, performance, the prop and mixture stuff, then cross country and minimum instrument time. Also some time spent getting used to radio in tower time compared to CTAF time in Raaus flying.

 

Hi Clinton, so how many hours approx to do sport license then was it a further 26 hrs tp cover the RPL? if so how many hours all up?

 

 

[adrian1970]

I did my training 0h to RPL in 37h at Moorabbin, all of it in Warriors II and III.

 

I think I could have cut another 3-4h, had I been more organised and more strict with my instructor. The sticky point for me was a delay in getting my medical certificate processed which meant that a month went by before I could do my first solo.

 

In hindsight it was my mistake as I should have gone to a DAME straight away. Unfortunately I wrongly assumed that it wouldn't take long to get that processed afterwards. The other sticky parts were mostly down to school organisation and getting them not to cancel lessons all the the time. At one point I even requested that we do two flights a day to get through the syllabus.

 

Technically speaking, I found landings to be the hardest part to master. I changed instructors midway into my training and the new one was a obsessed with hitting the sweet spot on the ASI right on base and final. Becoming more respectful of my airspeed on final really helped me the most. The other part I found tricky was staying focused while receiving instructions from ATC. I must have given those folks in the tower a bunch of good laughters ?

 

My humble advice if you want to keep your time down:

 

1. prepare your lessons beforehand and be as ready as you can,

 

2. squeeze as much training into as little time as you can afford to keep your muscle memory fresh (nothing worse than letting weeks lapse between flights),

 

3. commit your checklists to memory,

 

4. practice scenarios in the aeroplane on the ground, engine off, e.g. PFL. If necessary, battery ON and learn every corner of your avionics,

 

5. record your flights, both audio and video. No matter what level you're at, there's always a lot going on in a flight lesson. Your brain only has so much bandwidth to process all those simultaneous signals. I found that having the ability to replay my flights afterwards allowed me to get so much more out of them and know what to focus on for the next ones.

 

i was thinking of video rec my flights i will begin to do that it obviously makes sense and yes the radio calls and hearing and processing the rx while doing eveything else can be challenging ive also found.

 

thanks for the advice ?

 

Cheers

 

 

[ClintonB]

Hi Clinton, so how many hours approx to do sport license then was it a further 26 hrs tp cover the RPL? if so how many hours all up?

 

All up I have spent 79 hrs with instructors, 6 hrs 20 years ago, the Raaus was around 35 inc endorsements then BFR’s plus I have grabbed an instructor after a bit of a scare on base to final until my confidence came back. It doesn’t hurt to ask for help.

 

 

[Okihara]

i was thinking of video rec my flights i will begin to do that it obviously makes sense and yes the radio calls and hearing and processing the rx while doing eveything else can be challenging ive also found.

 

thanks for the advice ?

 

Cheers

 

Actually, I initially tried to this neatly by using a cable splitter but found the recorded signal to be clipped. I eventually went for an easier option: I bought a simple, $15 microphone and placed it directly in my headset ear cup. That works like a charm, brilliant quality and I don't have to worry about the recording level.

 

As for editing my recordings, I actually just store and use them raw. I would mostly use the audio as it contains more information but in some cases the video is useful too.

 

Good luck and enjoy your training.

 

 

[seb7701]

RPC to RPL - 6.4hrs including 1.5 hr BFR/check flight. 

 

 

[440032]

Talk of Sport Pilot Licence may be confusing to some new readers. There is no such thing, it doesn't exist.

 

Authors are most likely referring to the RAAus Recreational Pilot Certificate - RPC, which is different to the CASA issued Recreational Pilot Licence - RPL used for VH registered aircraft.

 

 

[snarf007]

My RPC took 23 hrs.  Only did 5hrs PIC during training, so after getting minimum of 10hrs PIC I did my passenger endorsement.  10hrs for XC endorsement (2 nav’s with instructor, solo nav and exam nav).  Cost $10000 over a year.  

 

After 110hrs logged in RAA I did RPL conversion.  RPL conversion took 7hrs of ground school and 5hrs of flying with BFR included.  Cost $3600 (medical and ASIC included)

 

Controlled airspace took 11hrs of ground school and 8hrs of flying.  Cost $4100.

 

GA is way more expensive than RA and I recommend the RA route to anyone wanting to fly.  GA from start is only better if you want to do CPL, so you have more GA hrs logged.

 

Next step for me is PPL theory exam ?

 

 

[poteroo]

Yes a lot to consider, thanks for your input.

 

So if i have done over 30 hrs in cessna 172, i have just done my medical, my pre solo exams, my GELP and my ASIC are all in place..i assume it may be best to continue my path in a 172? and finish in (hopefully) say, another 10-15 hrs. what do you think?

 

If i did do it this way, when it comes to my nav i was at first thinking i could just have my RPL with a nav module to free me up, then ive been told i should really just bite the Bullet and do my PPL, which is similar but with no weight restrictio  or so im told.

 

Do you know if i am able to do my NAV or my PPL in a sport plane to save on hire costs? 

 

I'm going to answer this post if I can.

 

1.  Stay with the 172 and get your RPL

 

2.  You can't swap to RAAus and do your cross-country - stay with the 172

 

3.  Unless you plan to go thru lots of CTA, or do CPL - just do RPL

 

4.  Do your cross-country navs in the 172

 

5.  Include Class D CTA during these navs - you don't need Class C

 

If you had asked the Q about where to start, then I'd have said start with RAAus, (RPC), then do navs in RAAus, then switch over to GA, and convert to RPL. All your endorsements carryover to GA. This route is definitely cheaper.

 

Good luck.  Redcliffe isn't a great place to learn due the winds, but it is what it is. Caboolture probably easier.

 

happy days,

 

 

[adrian1970]

I'm going to answer this post if I can.

 

1.  Stay with the 172 and get your RPL

 

2.  You can't swap to RAAus and do your cross-country - stay with the 172

 

3.  Unless you plan to go thru lots of CTA, or do CPL - just do RPL

 

4.  Do your cross-country navs in the 172

 

5.  Include Class D CTA during these navs - you don't need Class C

 

If you had asked the Q about where to start, then I'd have said start with RAAus, (RPC), then do navs in RAAus, then switch over to GA, and convert to RPL. All your endorsements carryover to GA. This route is definitely cheaper.

 

Good luck.  Redcliffe isn't a great place to learn due the winds, but it is what it is. Caboolture probably easier.

 

happy days,

 

Thanks Potoroo,

 

                          Is there no allowances for a RPL holder to then join RAAus and do some time there, including navs?, then moving it over to the RPL?  at this stage im keen to do a PPL  however im not sure if i will continue to cpl, OR,  if i will just fly recreationally,  Im feeling like regardless of licenses i would like to explore both areas in any case.

 

 

[APenNameAndThatA]

To answer your question, stalls scare the s--- out of me. I am worried that if I had to correct one in real life that I would freeze - which means that it is a bit tricky practicing them on my own! I am perfectly aware that they are safe. I might try correcting them by easing the control column forward without worrying about using the rudder to keep the wings level. That might stop me worrying that if I don't keep the wings level I will spin. And die. Frozen. 

 

 

[Kyle Communications]

To answer your question, stalls scare the s--- out of me. I am worried that if I had to correct one in real life that I would freeze - 

 

 

 

You need to do more training...If your not confident doing stall practice you should not be flying solo or with any pax