Everything you need to know about learning to fly

Now, gentlemen, there are few activities in life as enthralling as flying – I’m not talking about commercial flying, I’m talking about becoming a pilot and flying your own plane. I feel particularly confident in saying that learning to fly is pretty high up there on the majority of all gentleman’s bucket-lists. I would love to fly, to feel the freedom of being able to jump in a plane and take off at any moment. Imagine being able to fly yourself to your favourite destinations – Monaco, no problem, St. Mortiz, easy, Rome, piece of cake – there truly is nothing quite so appealing. For the modern gentleman, leaning to fly is the pinnacle of adventurous, freedom-seeking pursuits, and we’re here to give you the low down on everything you need to know. Let’s make this dream a reality.

So where do you begin – well, after deciding you want to learn, you need to find a flight school. There are numerous around London, so, with a little research, picking the right one for you should be relatively easy. The next step is choosing the correct licence for you, but the most basic, and best place to start, is with the EASA Private Pilots License (EASA-PPL). The EASA-PPL is valid world-wide and allows you to fly any EU registered aeroplane (with a take-off load under 5700kgs), but only during daylight hours. This license takes a minimum of 45 hours training (25 hours with an instructor, 10 hours solo) and covers all you need to know to fly: climbing, descending, turning, ‘circuits’ (small rectangles flown around an airfield), navigational and instrument training. During this time a 150 mile trip and landing at two aerodromes, other than your base, all solo, will also be completed.

Of course, it’s not all about the practical joys during training, there are also numerous theory exams to undertake. You’ll have to pass 7 multiple choice examinations (Air Law, Meteorology, Navigation, Aircraft Technical, Flight Planning & Performance, Human Performance & Limitations Principles of Flight and Radio Telephony) with a 75% pass-rate: Ouch! And you’ll also have to complete a practical radio examination before the Licensing Skills Test (LST) with an examiner who will asses your flying and lasts around 2 to 3 hours, bringing all your flight training together. At around £10,000, it’s not cheap, but it is manageable.

I know this all sounds rather a lot of work and time, but surely the rewards are huge! So don your aviation gear and start flying!

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