BCT Aviation at Kemble

Hi all,

A few years ago I considered starting on the road to PPL, and went for a
trial flight at Gloucester airport. For one reason and another I decided not
to go ahead at the time.

The idea has entered my head again, and I'm looking around at the various
options. I'm based in Swindon, so somewhere close to home would be good so
that I don't have too much of a trek.

Does anyone have any opinion on BCT Aviation at Kemble? Their price lists
gives a figure for 'PPL Course' (£6500), along with an hourly rate of £148
(this is a PA28 or C172). They also list a rate for 'PPL Instructor' at £40.
How do these rates compare to other 'average' rates for training?

Any pointers in general or specific to the Swindon area would be much
appreciated.

Thanks

Andy

At £148/hr you are not likely to got a PPL (min 45 hrs) for £6500 :)

£8000-9000 is a better budget for a UK PPL. The average # of hours
varies according to ability and age but is usually 50-70. Very few do
it in 45; you need good weather, a well organised school and frequent
lessons.

Now I've just calculated it out, £6500 / £148 is basically 45 hours. So it
looks like you're just block booking that number of hours of flight time.

The "instructor" rate you refer to is most likely the cost of an
instructor over and above the cost of hiring the aircraft itself. If
the latter is £148/hour that sounds *very* pricey, but this is
unlikely. More likely, it is what you would pay if you turned up in
your own aircraft, for example, and wanted an instructor.

That makes sense. Their hire rate is £95 for a C150, and £120 for a C172 or
PA28.

Another tip: never pay up front, even if they offer a 10% discount on
a block of hours. Schools go bust much too often.

I'd read that, which was one of my reasons for asking for comment on the
school. They seem quite a big operation (they do commercial training,
medevac etc.) so hopefully are relatively safe.

Still interested in any personal experiences of them for training if anyone
has any.

Thanks for the input

Andy

Andy Hawkins wrote:

A few years ago I considered starting on the road to PPL, and went for a trial flight at Gloucester airport. For one reason and another I decided not to go ahead at the time.

The idea has entered my head again, and I'm looking around at the various
options. I'm based in Swindon, so somewhere close to home would be good so
that I don't have too much of a trek.

Does anyone have any opinion on BCT Aviation at Kemble? Their price lists
gives a figure for 'PPL Course' (£6500), along with an hourly rate of £148
(this is a PA28 or C172). They also list a rate for 'PPL Instructor' at £40.
How do these rates compare to other 'average' rates for training?

Any pointers in general or specific to the Swindon area would be much
appreciated.

Andy,

Old Sarum isn't very far away. You'll find it's a very friendly club
environment, in hassle-free open airspace, with many highly experienced
instructors and a good range of aircraft (7 PA28s, 2 PA28Rs, 1 C152, 1
C152TW, 2 Bulldogs, 1 Seneca, 1 PA18, 2 C42s). Google will give you more
detail.

You're about to invest a relatively large amount of money so I'd suggest
planning to spend a couple of weekend hours at each of the potential
clubs before deciding. Ask to speak to an instructor and to be shown
around and to sit-in some of the aircraft. Chat to some of the members.
Soak-up the atmosphere and decide whether it's somewhere you'd be happy
to spend your time and money before making a commitment.

Dave