flying questions

[Guest SlipperyDipper]

Hello I am new to this i don't want to sound dumb so this seems like a good idea to try.

 

I have a few questions so hopefully they can be answered here! I'm 40 years old and have never been in the front of a plane before.

 

The flying school i am looking at going to in Melbourne flies jabaru aircraft. The instructor took me up on a Test Flight I think he called it where I got do have a go at the control stick in the middle. It was pretty easy, I just moved the stick around and the plane went where i wanted. He said that I was a natural at flying and i would get my license realliy quickly which is good as i am not a rich man. I didnt enjoy the bit where we were spinning around he said i wuold get used to that bit later in my training when we do stalls although he didnt turn the motor off this time luckily for me that would scare the beegeezers out of me!

 

I have a few question about the whole process though.

 

for when i want to upgrade my license later my instructor told me that my RaAus hours only count .5 hours per hour in a piper plane. Is this correct? does that mean i have to do all my training again? if so then that would be too expensive.

 

How much does a recreational license cost usually?

 

how much does a general license cost so that I can fly the piper that they have?

 

he said that if I want to I can get a license to fly into the clouds and there is lots of theory to do. What is this called and how much does it cost?

 

What is the best plane to buy? I have seen piper cessna jabaru and warrior planes at the airport.

 

thank you, hopefully this makes sense, I am only new to planes.

 

 

[Guest rocketdriver]

Hi there Slippery .... welcome to the world of aviation and to the student support forum in particular , where the only dumb question is the one you don't ask!!

 

I can't help with questions of cost etc, but just to comment on to your question about which aeroplane to buy. .. Like cars, there are all sorts of different aeroplanes, some good at carrying people from a to b, some good for sightseeing, some for aerobatics, some for crop spraying etc etc. so I would wait for a while until you find out what sort of flying you want to do. Meanwhile there are a wide variety of aircraft you can hire, and I'm sure that, if you got chatting to someone at your local airfield, you might even be offered a trip around the patch, especially if you were to offer to share the cost ...:thumb_up:

 

 

[Admin]

I have a few question about the whole process though.

for when i want to upgrade my license later my instructor told me that my RaAus hours only count .5 hours per hour in a piper plane. Is this correct? does that mean i have to do all my training again? if so then that would be too expensive.

Thank you for posting anonymously in this forum - you say you are in Melb yet your computer is saying it is in Perth nevertheless these are valid questions for others as well.

 

It takes a minimum of 20hrs to get your RAAus Certificate and every one of those hours can be cross credited 1 for 1 towards a PPL (Private Pilot's License) which is required to fly a GA registered aircraft. The GFPT (General Flying Progress Test) is also a minimum of 20hrs training and is half way towards the minimum of 40hrs training required for your PPL to fly aircraft that have 4 seats and regarded as standard GA (General Aviation) aircraft like Piper Warrior, Cessna 172 etc. You will find most schools that have both RAAus and GA training that you will be able to cross credit the 20hrs RAAus across to the 20hrs GFPT minimum as long as the theory test that you take for your RAAus Certificate is at the GA level.

 

How much does a recreational license cost usually?

All schools charge different rates and may also depend on the different types of aircraft they have available for training and the total cost will also depend on the number of hours you do before your Instructor feels you are ready to do your flying test. You may find that it could cost as little as $3,500 but that is just a starting point. Work on 30hrs x the Schools training rate plus a couple of hundred dollars for books etc.

 

how much does a general license cost so that I can fly the piper that they have?

Again the GFPT is a minimum of 20hrs and a PPL is a minimum of 40hrs - allow yourself more hours of training then the minimum x the hourly training rate of the School.

 

he said that if I want to I can get a license to fly into the clouds and there is lots of theory to do. What is this called and how much does it cost?

To get your IFR license you are best to talk to a flight school that has the ability to do this form of training but you are talking thousands of dollars and they all charge differently

 

What is the best plane to buy? I have seen piper cessna jabaru and warrior planes at the airport.

The best aircraft to fly is a safe one. Other than that all aircraft have different features to suit different needs. When the time comes to buy an aircraft, if that ends up being what you want to do, then you will by that time have a better idea of what your needs will be and can choose an aircraft that best suits those needs - 2 seat, 4 seat, high wing, low wing, fast, slow etc etc etc

Hope this helps!

 

 

[flyinghigh]

How much does a recreational license cost usually?

how much does a general license cost so that I can fly the piper that they have?

 

he said that if I want to I can get a license to fly into the clouds and there is lots of theory to do. What is this called and how much does it cost?

Hi SlipperyDipper, welcome to the forums!

 

The posts above have already answered these questions in the general sense. One thing I would strongly advise is to ask the same questions directly of your chosen flying school. If they cannot or will-not sit down with you to help you calculate this in advance, then look for another school.

 

Also, spend some time browsing these forums and reading the information on the Recreational Aviation website: the more prepared you are before starting lessons the better!

 

The cost of a license is related to the time taken. This differs for all people, based on a number of factors including:

 

• ability - some people "get it" straight away, others take longer,
   
   
  
• age - the younger you start flying, the quicker you tend to learn. Broadly speaking, where an 18 year old might obtain a license in 25 hours, a 45 year old might take 35.
   
   
  
• frequency of lessons - fly every day, you'll obtain your license rapidly. Fly once a fortnight, or with large gaps between flights, expect to spend a lot of time and money going over earlier lessons
   
   
  
• aircraft - some aircraft are just "simpler" to fly, so you get to solo standard more raplidly. You mentioned Jabiru - they are not the easiest aircraft to achieve solo in, BUT they will teach you invaluable skills that won't need to be re-learnt if you move to a more advanced aircraft type
   
   
  

 

 

 

 

[Mazda]

Hi Slippery

 

No question is too dumb here so don't be shy!

 

I initially trained on General Aviation aircraft on the Civil Aviation Register (VH registered, things like the Piper). If you like you can train straight away in GA, but it is more expensive. Many people now train in RA-Aus aircraft (like the Jabiru) then convert to flying GA aircraft like the Piper. It's cheaper to do that than to train on the Piper from scratch, but you can choose which way you want to go - maybe talk to your instructor. Ian has mentioned the hours required.

 

If you pass the GFPT (General Flying Progress Test) you can fly aircraft like the Piper and take passengers, but you can't navigate far from your home airport. To be able to travel in the Piper you will need your PPL(Private Pilot Licence), which includes navigation training. The "navs" can be a bit expensive as you might be doing 3 hours in a flight. Your school could advise the rate per hour for this.

 

There's quite a lot of theory to do. The theory tests for the PPL do take some study but there are good books available, courses you can do, and your instructor should give you some guidance. You'll have to learn about things like aerodynamics, aircraft systems, and the rules of the air. When you start navigating you'll have to learn more about weather and navigation. You'll start learning some basic theory in your lessons right from the beginning and you'll build on that as you go.

 

To fly in cloud you will need either a private instrument rating (known as a PIFR), or a command instrument rating. The private one can be done in stages, so you only learn as much as you need, and you can do a theory test before you move to each new stage. If you want to go the whole hog you'll need a command instrument rating, that's 40 extra hours of flying (although some can be done in an approved simulator) plus a theory exam called the IREX, much of which is about the regulations and procedures for instrument flight. The IREX has a bad reputation because a lot of people do fail, but with study it is not too bad. Remember, you aren't going to sit the IREX now, by the time you get around to it you would have a lot more knowledge. So for cost you would need to budget for at least 40 hours (plus the flight test) in a suitable aircraft. Either that or you could do a PIFR, or do what many pilots do and avoid flying in bad weather.

 

Your instructor should be able to run you through the details. Remember it does take some time, so most people tend to do things in stages.

 

You won't need to buy an aircraft if you decide to hire aircraft from the airport. That means they will pay for the insurance, hangarage, maintenance etc and you pay an hourly rate. You could then try out different types to see which you prefer.

 

As Ian said, it is difficult to say which aircraft is best because they have differences. Some are designed for speed, some to fly slowly, some for aerobatics, some to be easy to fly, some are more powerful and carry more weight. Some pilots prefer high wings like Jabirus or Cessnas, others prefer low wings like Pipers. As you progress hopefully you'll start to realise the type of flying you prefer. If you have specific questions about types you could ask on here.