The JAR PPL gives you the freedom to fly throughout the UK and Europe with only a few restrictions in terms of the minimum visibility and cloud base in the area. The licence requires a minimum of 45 hours which can be condensed in to a little over a month, or spread out over a year or more.
Age Restrictions: At the young end of the scale you can log your hours from the age of 14. You can do your first solo flight at the age of 16, and you can obtain your license at the age of 17. The other end of the scale is determined by whether you pass the required medical…
Medical Requirements: For the JAR PPL you will need what is termed as a ‘Class Two Medical’. Many doctor’s surgeries have a CAA authorised doctor who will give you a thorough health check and sign your medical certificate if all goes well. We can provide you with a list of certified doctors. The medical is valid for a year and so needs to be renewed for as long as you continue to fly. If you don’t pass the Class Two medical, you could still fly, but on the NPPL license which requires a medical equivalent to that HGV driver’s need.
Exams: Don’t be put off by the number of exams. There are seven written exams all of which you can do at your home airfield, and all of which are of a multiple choice format. Just turn up when you are ready, sit the exam, and get your mark straight afterwards. Most of the questions are common sense and relate to the flying you do throughout your course. There is one external exam which is short and relatively simple – a practical radio telephony exam which just needs to be signed off before you apply for your license.
Once you have completed your first solo – you build up your hours as pilot in command until you are ready to do your first solo adventure – the Solo Cross Country. This flight is the most exciting and awe inspiring of all as you land away on a navigational flight to two other airfields. You will be talking to air traffic control whilst flying over some of the most beautiful countryside in Europe.
The final step is a flying skills test which puts in to practice all that you have learnt with us. We have several trusty examiners that we call upon to do this for you, you just chose the time and your favourite aircraft! We can provide you with all the necessary equipment to help you pass your practical and theory exams from…
Our Pooleys Pilot Equipment Shop: We have all the equipment you need in order to gain your license. And we offer a special rate Student Starter Pack which contains maps, compasses, study guides and all kinds of bits and pieces that will help you through the course and your exams. We also have a special 10% online discount rate that you are entitled to once you become a member of the club.
How the course is structured: At Compton you fly when you want. We don’t have any restrictions in terms of when and how regularly you fly, you just book in for a lesson whenever you are ready, and pay the amount required when you touch down, no catches.
We explain the course lay out when you first start and you go along at your own pace, however fast or slow you want or need to! Each lesson begins with a briefing in which the flight content and the principles behind the lesson are explained, followed by approximately an hour in the air. The brief and debrief is free of charge, you just pay for the time in the air. The course is carefully structured to build on the skills already learnt and to introduce new ones at an appropriate rate. Before long you will be responsible for checking the aircraft before flight, making the radio calls, and increasing taking over from your instructor throughout your lessons. If you manage two lessons per week you could be flying solo in less than two months from now!
We try to keep you with the same instructor to keep a level of continuity – we have two full time and several part time instructors. Our CFI, Andrew Dixon, is one of the most experienced in the country with over 12,000 instructional hours. Head of training at Pilatus in Bournemouth Andrew regularly flies B-17's at airshows and has thousands of hours on PC12's, DC-6's and his own Percival Pembroke 'Percy'.
Once I have my PPL – what then? Once you have gained your PPL – congratulations! Your license is valid in 31 I.C.A.O Countries and you are qualified to fly in all of them! There are many ways in which your PPL can be enjoyed, whether flying for business or pleasure. We advise that you get in plenty of practice at the beginning to consolidate your skills. To help you do this we offer a discounted rate if you hire our aircraft regularly, we arrange several fly outs as a club to places such as the Isle of Wight and occasionally France, and we also hold regular club nights to enable our members to get together and arrange to share aircraft hire.
In order to keep your license valid you will need to fly at least 12 hours bi-annually, once of which needs to be with a flying instructor. Our examiner will sign off your log book and we will issue you with a certificate free of charge. Simple.
