I want to start training for my PPL in the near future and wonder if there's any student or recently qualified pilots here which could point me in the right direction for learning resources. I want to learn as much as I can before I even go to a flight school whilst I'm saving money. I am in the UK and are so governed by the CAA but have had a quick look at the FAA Pilots handbook of aeronautical knowledge https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/pilot_handbook/ and it has a lot of good info in there, do you recommend using the FAA resources as a starting point? What do flight schools recommend resource wise? I have a flight sim (FSX) for practical training which also includes some lessons so can complete them.

Thanks for any replies.

Sam

Can′t give any advice as I′m only a hobby pilot of 50 hours

Still interested though, are you going for plane or helicopter? I did helicopter and while it was fun, I didn′t want to pursue it and get a license. I got together with one of the instructors though who was kind enough to let me fly even though I wasn′t taking class. He even did it without pay because we got along so fine and had many interests in common.

It was awesome to fly home and land where we have the cottage!

Going for plane, more specifically Cessna 172, smaller aircraft like the 150/152 are cheaper but I think due to my height will be a bit cramped! Wow your lucky to go flying in a heli with no pay! bet the heli is a great experience to fly. Maybe in the future but I much prefer fixed wing haha Yeah must be awesome to land outside your house!

I have been lucky to fly in a friends light aircraft a few times and even done some basic aerobatics in a RAF trainer. Cant wait to get a license but the cost is the thing stopping me atm.

Have you considered starting with a NPPL or LAPL?

Yes I have considered the LAPL, do you know how easy it is to aquire a PPL at a later date once you have a LAPL? I guess the cost wouldn't be as bad to start with and I believe it doesn't expire. Once I have a license I wouldn't expect I would actually need the extras that the PPL offers tbh at least for now.

Oh, I had to pay alright, but only for the fuel. It wasn′t too bad when I began but a few years down the line it reached ridiculous levels and with me losing my job it simply wasn′t excusable anymore.

It was great to get there by air!

It became a tradition where every summer we took the helicopter and went there where my family was waiting, and we always had some cake and coffee while chatting a bit. So much fun! My instructor is the kind of guy you very easliy connect with, he′s so easy going and like I said we have many things in common like hunting and motorcycles. And flying

To my total surprise, he and his wife came to celebrate my birthday once! My parents had arranged it in secret

Good luck with your endeavors!

Ah I see, thats fair enough.

Wow sounds like you had a good time! Great that you have a friend like that! Do you think you'll go flying again in the future?

Thank you!

I really did!

I consider myself very fortunate, not many people get to fly as much (and as cheap) as I did and I do not think my instructor ever had a similar arrangement with another person. I just called and we set a day and on that day we took off and flew around for an hour, two if we flew home to me. I loved to ascend and descend while staying on a straight course and maintaining speed and my favourite part of it all was landing. When I became good enough I really loved coming in to land sort of on the side instead of straight ahead. You know, when I had a better feel to it and all. But my instructor didn′t quite like that

I also really liked flying a meter above ground, practicing relocation of the helicopter.

I doubt it very much. Not only is he retired now, the school where he worked has undergone several ownerships since I left and they′ve been losing money under poor management. I honestly don′t know if they′re still in business, but I′d imagine so. They′ve relocated though and the chopper I flew the most is sold

Sounds like you became quite the pro!

Ah that's sad to hear, well I hope you manage to get airborne again sometime in the future!

I only flown a few times, I enjoyed it but it was nerve wracking.

Oh, absolutely

I sure wouldn′t back out!

My instructor has quite a few stories to tell and one of them was about a guy who was very calm as long as his feet was on the ground, but as soon as he came up in the sky he became twitchy and irrational. He even caused a very serious incident. So flying isn′t for everyone, but in many cases it gets better after a few times. I was quite affected the first time I was up as well since I had never been on any type of aircraft before, but it got better after four or five times. Maybe you could learn to cope as well

I'm a pilot for a major UK airline, a Senior First Officer. I fly the Airbus A320 series. If you want just a PPL, buy the PPL text books and read through them. They are fairly cheap and will help with the theory exams, but to be honest I studied for the theory while I was undertaking flight training and I passed everything first time with no problem, didn't need to do any extra studying. Its not very hard - multiple choice questions and only a few subjects. The ATPL theory exams were noticibly harder, mainly because there were 14 subjects and I had to study for them while training for my CPL and IR.


Now, if you want to go commercial, get yourself down to a CTC open day. If you want to fly for a living, training with them will almost guarantee it, as long as you are willing to put in the work and you aren't inherently awful at it.


If you have any specific questions feel free to ask here now, or send me a message at any time in the future. It could be years down the line, I won't mind. I'm always happy to help aspiring pilots.


I have about 3000 hours, mostly in the Airbus A320 and split fairly evenly between P2 and PICuS. I have flown the Grumman AA5-A, AB5-B, Piper PA28 Warrior 3, Cessna C172, Diamond DA20 Katana, Diamond DA40 Diamond Star, Diamond DA42 Twinstar, Boeing 737-300 simulator, Airbus A319 and Airbus A320. As I say, I'm happy to offer help in whatever you need, whether it is helping you with a theory question or pointing you inn the right direction, even offering you support. Just drop me a line.


Also, forget the NPPL. Waste of money. If you want a private license get the PPL. The limitations on the NPPL are, in my opinion, so considerable as to far outweigh the cost saving and the easier exams.


- Apologies for typo's - I'm writing on my phone and battling its awful autocorrect