Junior pilot - Learning to fly with 12 hours flight time possible?

[rotfil]

Hi Gentlemen and ladies of course...

First time posting! Reason for doing so is I have stumbled across the following deal: Learn to Become a Pilot With 30 Hours Tuition, Exam and Flying School Membership (12 hours flight time) - £1,999 on Amazon local.

AmazonLocal Central London: Learn to Become a Pilot With 30 Hours Tuition, Exam and Flying School Membership

I took a flying lesson when I was 14 really enjoyed it but I always thought it was massively expensive to fly, however it doesn't seem so bad now I am a little older and working!

I am under the belief that it is almost impossible to learn to fly in the space of 12 hours flying time, is that realistic? Or is it more like 15 or double? I know it took about 30 hours for me to pass my motor vehicle (manual) test and there is surely more to learn? Is this a good deal? It comes with 18 hours study time?

I may be posting in the wrong area so please do remove my post, deactivate my account and give me 50 lashing if I am indeed in the wrong.

Any help would be appreciated.

[Kelly Hopper]

You can't learn to fly in 12 hours. You need a minimum of 40 ish to hold a licence and most need many more than that. Maybe it's a hang glider?

[RTN11]

This came up before somewhere on here, maybe you could find it or it's been deleted.

If you look closely what they're offering is 12 hours flying + groundschool to total 30 hours "tuition".

And all they are offering is that you will go solo in the 12 hours, which is certainly possible. Although I suppose you could technically say you have been a pilot if you have flown solo once, I would think most people would take "I'm a pilot" as meaning "I have a licence" which is certainly not what is being offered in this deal.

[taybird]

It was in the Private Flying forum.

No, although it is conceivable that you could go solo within 12hours (some take much more, some take a bit less)

Your best bet is to talk to a few clubs / schools about prices, and also to get a feel as to what they're about. Then choose the one you like the feel of, who you feel confident with.

Good luck!

[znww5]

In addition to these '30 hours tuition' deals, where you only get 12 hours of real training in the aircraft, there are also so called 'flying experiences', where a 2 hour 'flying experience' really translates into a 1 hour flight.

You will frequently find it cheaper than vouchers to approach a local flying school for a trial lesson and I believe it is true to say that the majority of us simply got the books, learnt the theory and sat the 8 exams when we were ready.

Taybird's advice is sound, pick a day when the weather is poor and visit a few local schools. Get them to explain the different licences and costs etc and see if you like the attitude and atmosphere of the place. Also read the advice on here regarding payment, ie never pay more up front than you can afford to lose!

In my book, you're not a pilot unless you have a licence, there's lots more work to do after you have gone solo for the first time!

[Tupperware Pilot]

All the above advice if correct and worth taking.

Ref the deal and the school it comes from.....they are closed at the moment....something to do with not being a RTF....this may be temperary.

[RTN11]

You will frequently find it cheaper than vouchers to approach a local flying school for a trial lesson

Indeed, and the school will ultimately get a better deal from it. Some of these voucher companies are just vultures creaming the profit margin off the top, with no real operating costs. Its the school that has to find the money for fuel, oil, instructors, insurance, maintenance and a whole list of other things.

So I would certainly say support your local flying school by buying direct from them, or you may find they're not here to buy the voucher next Christmas.

[Saab Dastard]

This came up before somewhere on here

http://www.pprune.org/private-flying...good-true.html

But much of the discussion is about completely different agendas, and not everyone is who are what they appear to be.

SD

[znww5]

@SD Somewhat off topic, but what you say is perfectly true - this is, after all, an anonymous forum!

However, irrespective of who makes a statement, when a publicly available source such as Companies House, G-INFO, Director Check etc is cited, it is an easy matter for anyone to check on the veracity of that statement.

In other words, you don't have to trust the messenger if you can verify the message using an official source.

[B2N2]

•Everything you need to learn to become a solo pilot

It's the lure and bait.
Unlikely that you will solo in that time and even if you do you would want to finish the license. It's a marketing thing, nothing really wrong with it, they are not misrepresenting anything.
Just always read the fine print.

[what next]

Unlikely that you will solo in that time...

Why not? In 12 hours flying time you can perform 144 five-minute traffic patterns if you do nothing else. Our students usually solo after 50 to 60 landings.

When I started flying gliders, we needed 50 winch launches until we could do our first solo. A typical glider circuit from the winch takes three to four minutes. I did my first solo on my fifty-first flight after not much more than 90 minutes total flying time...

But really: If 12-hour flying courses become the norm, I will quit flying (even as a passenger!). It will be much too dangerous up there.

[PompeyPaul]

I am not sure

Solo in 12 hours of flying sounds possible, especially if you are prepared to take the Air Law exam into the bargain, which with 18 hours of tuition is definitely possible.

Although, let's face it, far more possible than zero to PPL in 3 weeks which some US schools promise

[Tay Cough]

"Pilot" does not equal "Pilot's licence" although I would suggest there is a hope that many folks may not make the distinction.

The dictionary definition of pilot is "A person who operates the flying controls of an aircraft" therefore strictly speaking they are not actually advertising anything untoward.

Caveat emptor.