Flying to UK or Europe using PPL (Private Pilots License) for holidays

tubbyros

Hi All,

I have been looking into getting a PPL as a hobby and an interest. Currently I am flying sims to see if I really enjoy the process of being a pilot (mostly not flying) and love it so far.

I was wondering, when I get my PPL can I use it to fly to say France holiday for a week and fly back?

Dingle_berry

Short answer yes.
Things like aircraft range & equipment, pilot competency (e.g. cross water rating?) And cost would get in the way.
But that's part of being in a flying club, organising trips like that and sharing the costs

martinsvi

yes, a lot of people are doing it, I've done it once myself, it's great fun and the sense of achievement is immense

all you need to do is pop in your flight plan and you will need to fill out a General Aviation Report for UK (if going to UK) and Ireland when coming back from either UK or France. The weather will be your biggest trouble-maker, I've had to cancel a few trips because of it. Very difficult to align good weather here and at destination, so some experience will be needed before your first crossing.

A direct flight from Dublin to north-west coast of France will take about 3 hours in most light aircraft, the planes can do it, the question is - can you? We each have our own personal limits which we should be familiar with before committing to anything. Alternatively hop through UK.

There is no such thing as cross water rating. Basic PPL is all you need.

ooh and of course you need a plane. Owning one or being in a group will allow that to happen. Clubs and schools that rent their aircraft will want them back by evening in most cases or they will charge you for the lost income - plane being away and not flying

another thought - flying a sim will not let you assess whether you like it or not. Sims are good for learning procedures, but if you consider a PPL, do a voucher/intro lesson and see what it is all about

tubbyros

Thanks guys, most of that aligns with what I had thought. Mainly that the weather will be the deciding factor and leasing/renting a plane for that long could be costly. Still nice to know it can be done, the real question is how long it would take to train for such a thing and how long it would take to get the right weather window! 
Either way it's a few years down the line for me!
@martinsvi you say you have done it? How much did it cost (Plane/Fuel/Insurance/Fees etc.) and how long did it take to get the weather window?
All the best.

martinsvi

I probably should have specified, I've only done a UK trip, my France plans have been disrupted a few times.

Time wise - I know a guy who has completed PPL in Ireland in 3 weeks (+ theory self study) - I believe he's also a lurker around this forum, perhaps he can say hi himself. It took me about a year flying mostly in weekends. It depends on the individual, flexibility and of course -money.

I did the trip on my own plane so the costs of running one are worth a separate discussion. The point to remember is that you will never have the same costs as I did and I will never have the same costs as the next guy. We can mostly agree that by flying around 50 hours per year on your own plane will cost you around 100-150 euros per hour. Cost goes down with more hours you fly therefore group ownership is something to consider. Complex aircraft like Cessna 182 will be more costly. They consume a lot more fuel too.

Fuel wise a cessna 150 will burn about 23 litres of avgas in hour. A cessna 182 will burn about 50. Avgas comes at around 2.15-2.50 these days, depending where you get it.

Landing fees are mostly reasonable, some airfields are free, some will charge you a tenner or 20 quid, anything more than that is unreasonable and you should look elsewhere

weather wise - ironically the only trip I did was in one of the most unlikeliest months to do the crossing - February. I just saw an opening and I took it on a whim, very little planning or preparation.

Generally speaking what you are waiting for is a nice decent size high pressure system. On average Ireland sees about 5 high pressure systems a year and about 30 low pressure systems

high pressure means no or few clouds, generally sunny, light winds but tend to be coupled with poor visibility and/or fog
low pressure is associated with high winds, passing showers, clouds etc, so not quite what you want

one of the subjects in PPL syllabus is Meteorology, you will learn how weather works and what to look out for and over time you will be able to read the charts and find the gaps that you're looking for. One thing to understand that light aircraft are no means practical mode of transport - it is a hobby and nothing else. If you think you will book an annual leave 3 months ahead to fly over to France, I suggest you book a Ryanair ticket. Some summers are better than others, if you find yourself in a really bad one, you'll get frustrated like you've never been frustrated before..