Flying lesson

[cisamcgu]

Has anyone ever had a flying lesson ?

I am thinking of having a go at this - not for any idea of becoming a pilot, but just to have the thrill of zooming around the sky.

Anyone else have a secret urge to pretend they are in a Spitfire

<pretend aircraft noise>"Neeeeow, neeeow , katackka, katackka"</pretend aircraft noise>"

 

[Fnaar]

I had one, years ago, given as a prezzie. It was great! I'd recommend it. A friend had one, and was so inspired by it he went on to train as a pilot, and now flies long haul passenger flights!

 

[Spinney]

I had a PPL in my youth, but haven't been up in anything other than airliners for 25 yrs!

Go for it!

 

[twobiker]

My daughter had a lesson for Air Cadets and loved it ,and is now taking a Gliding scholarship. expensive though if doing it private.

 

[Tim Bennet.]

"According to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Air Safety Foundation, which published a Safety Highlight report on the Piper Tomahawk, the Piper Tomahawk has . . . a stall/spin accident rate was three to five times that of the Cessna 150/152.

Because of its stall and spin characteristics, the PA-38 earned the nickname "Traumahawk" from some pilots and instructors."




Enjoy!

 

[ianrauk]

Yes, In the 90's I had a few lessons at Bigging Hill in a Piper Warrior with a view to obtaining a PPL. Apparently I have a natural feel for flying.
But after working out how much a PPL would cost and all the ongoing costs of keeping a PPL, I decided against it.

 

[cisamcgu]

"According to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Air Safety Foundation, which published a Safety Highlight report on the Piper Tomahawk, the Piper Tomahawk has . . . a stall/spin accident rate was three to five times that of the Cessna 150/152.

- if you read the wiki article, where you have quoted and so casually left a sequence of ". . ." it says

"According to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Air Safety Foundation, which published a Safety Highlight report on the Piper Tomahawk, the Piper Tomahawk has a one-third lower accident rate per flying hour than the comparable Cessna 150/152 series of two-place benchmark trainers"

Oh, the fun of selective quotes

I think I will have a go at it though (I was going to say have a spin, but maybe not !)

 

[Red Light]

Tried throwing myself at the ground and missing many many times, particularly on my mountain bike, but I never seemed to get the hang of it

 

[Globalti]

I've done it twice from Blackpool airport, the first time was a surprise birthday present and the second was with our milkman, when I discovered that he is also an instructor.

It's great fun, you see things from the air that you never knew existed and if the weather's nice you can whizz around the Lake District. On the second flight he even allowed me to line up for the runway and I was doing OK until a rogue updraft (probably from a chip shop chimney) hit us and he needed to grab the controls and land the plane. You can fly from any small airfield around the UK, just look for flying schools in Yellow Pages.

 

[TVC]

I've flown gliders and aircraft with them fans at the front. Do it, but be prepared to empty your wallet if you get hooked.

 

[brockers]

Do it! Nothing beats seeing how pretty this country is from 2,500ft.

Have driven a chum's Piper Warrior a couple of times and over southern England (which can be tricky for a novice because of the restricted airspace), and bombed around and above northern France where there's far more freedom (if the Mirage fighters aren't out practising) to play around in the sky.

Like ianrauk, I've looked at getting my PPL, but all in it would cost about £10k and you'd need to spend another £3-£4k a year to make it worthwhile. So not really do-able with my current income.

 

[Broadside]

I've held a microlight PPL since 1999, currently expired in 2008 (no time to fly since having kids).

It is an amazing hobby, microlights are not silly expensive like GA flying but it is a very time intensive hobby. If you've got time on your hands go for it. I love the feeling of flying and being up on your own on a nice cold day when the air currents are smooth and still is incredible. If you've been wondering about it then just do it!

Some of the modern 3 axis microlights are very quick and you should consider that instead of other small planes likes Cesnas and Pipers.

 

[Dayvo]

I haven't had a 'proper' flying lesson, but a bloke I worked for in Norway 25 years ago had a light aircraft, and once airborne on the return leg of a journey, he showed me 'how to fly' and told me to wake him up in 40 minutes, or sooner if anything went wrong.

He just said 'aim for that mountain range (well off in the distance) and keep at this speed and altitude.'

I've never concentrated so much in my life EVER. A real white-knuckle ride.

 

[Night Train]

I had a flying lesson as a gift.

Took off from Barton Aerodrome and did a route following the M60 and M61 up to the Rebok Stadium and back again.

It was really good fun, learnt a lot, instructor was a tiny little woman with 4" heels. She was really good at keeping me calm as I was a little nervous.

 

[ColinJ]

This has to be the cheapest way of flying?

A picture taken by potsy of paragliders in action over Pendle Hill on Sunday's forum ride.