Looking to purchase a light aircraft!! Help needed

ImFlyingHigh

Hi all, I'm wondering if any of you could point me in the right direction or give me some advice. Basically, I'm 8hrs away from my skills test for my PPL with the hope of having it passed before December this year. The plan going forward is to enjoy flying with family and friends while hour building with the option to go further with my training.

I think I'm not on my own when saying everyone dreams about owning their own aircraft especially those who pass their license whether it be a PPL, LAPL or CPL. Unfortunately, once you put pen to paper and start working out the costs of purchasing, maintaining, insuring and storing the aircraft, you soon realise it's going to be one very expensive hobby/business. So with that said, I've narrowed my options or realistic options I should say, those being the following, option 1 - buy a share in a certified aircraft, eg 152,172, option 2 - buy a microlight outright or possibly a share and lastly option 3, join a flying club and continue to rent either a microlight or certified aircraft.

I'm aware the big differences are mainly down to maintenance and running costs, certified being on the higher end of the scale, but I'm also aware that you cannot hour build on a microlight so I'm sort of in limbo as to what to do. Also the other big question is, where do you go to shop around for these options, I'm finding it hard to get any info on google, it seems like you have to know people or travel to airfields?

I'm hoping some of you can shed some light on the best route to go down or even better, if you have any past experience in ownership that you can share with me, thank you.

Oscar Bravo

1/6 share going on a c182 based in EIAB at the moment. flew in the aircraft a few times, very tidy.

ImFlyingHigh

Oscar Bravo wrote: »

1/6 share going on a c182 based in EIAB at the moment. flew in the aircraft a few times, very tidy.

That’s right I seen it and it does look very tidy, my only issue would be the higher fuel burn and higher maintenance fees, for what I’ll be doing I don’t think I’ll need to stretch to the 182, lovely aircraft all the same.

Dingle_berry

There are posters around EIWT advertising a share at the moment.
Clubs tend to have rules preventing a few users monopolising club assests for hour building and then leaving the club when they have the hours for a CPL

ImFlyingHigh

Dingle_berry wrote: »

There are posters around EIWT advertising a share at the moment.
Clubs tend to have rules preventing a few users monopolising club assests for hour building and then leaving the club when they have the hours for a CPL

Oh really, do you know what aircraft is listed? Regarding clubs and their rules, this is exactly what I’ve came across, they seem to want to prioritise the shares for their students and not outsiders. I do fly out of EIWT but yet to ask them about the possibility, not sure why but I didn’t think NFC offered shares, I must ask when I’m in next.

Dingle_berry

ImFlyingHigh wrote: »

Oh really, do you know what aircraft is listed? Regarding clubs and their rules, this is exactly what I’ve came across, they seem to want to prioritise the shares for their students and not outsiders. I do fly out of EIWT but yet to ask them about the possibility, not sure why but I didn’t think NFC offered shares, I must ask when I’m in next.

Nope sorry I can't remember. The posters are everywhere though, including the door to Darby's.
It's not necessarily to prioritise students over hour builders, it's to stop people using the club for hour building alone. A club is supposed to be about more than just flying as cheaply as you can.
Be warey of buying shares or buying hours in bulk up front.

newnamexx

You say hour building which I presume means you intend to go commercial at some point. So I think buying isn't the best option. However a share gives you the opportunity to do both. I don't know if the Airport flying club or Dublin Flyers are still around but they sold shares. I flew with the Dublin Airport flying club before it split into the two above and it was brilliant. I could fly every day the weather was suitable and I had to money.
To me as a share is the best option.
But if you really want to hour build, get to America after jumping through whatever hoops the FAA require and fly five hours a day. Best experience ever.
I did both. Well worth it.

MicroFlyer

What a lot of people don't realise is that there is a middle ground between EASA Certified Class A equipment such as a Cessna 172 and an uncertified microlight. This category would include non-certified versions of aircraft such as the Tecnam P2002 or homebuilts such as a Vans RV7. You get the Class A hours that you would be looking for, with the lower costs that go with doing your own maintenance and burning mogas etc.


However, a point must also be made it doesn't actually say anywhere (that I can find) that microlight hours don't count for hourbuilding for an EASA CPL. The regs just refer to hours as PIC of an airplane. Before writing off the microlight option I would talk to Simon White in the IAA and get a definitive answer.

Stovepipe

They will not accept microlight hours towards the award of a CPL, otherwise we'd all have done it. Microlights tend not to have VORs/ADFs/DMEs, and the legal ability to fly at night or in cloud. Most now have transponders and quite a few have glass cockpits, but that does not a Class A aircraft make. Apart from that, most school instructors do not fly microlights.

regards
Stovepipe

falcof8l

Have you tried Trim ? They have a fairly active and friendly club.

ImFlyingHigh

newnamexx wrote: »

You say hour building which I presume means you intend to go commercial at some point. So I think buying isn't the best option. However a share gives you the opportunity to do both. I don't know if the Airport flying club or Dublin Flyers are still around but they sold shares. I flew with the Dublin Airport flying club before it split into the two above and it was brilliant. I could fly every day the weather was suitable and I had to money.
To me as a share is the best option.
But if you really want to hour build, get to America after jumping through whatever hoops the FAA require and fly five hours a day. Best experience ever.
I did both. Well worth it.

Thanks for the insight, yes I agree, purchasing a share seems like the best option, whether to go down the microlight route or not is the main question now. Regarding traveling abroad, unfortunately that is out of the question as I'm a sole trader so time away is limited.

ImFlyingHigh

MicroFlyer wrote: »

What a lot of people don't realise is that there is a middle ground between EASA Certified Class A equipment such as a Cessna 172 and an uncertified microlight. This category would include non-certified versions of aircraft such as the Tecnam P2002 or homebuilts such as a Vans RV7. You get the Class A hours that you would be looking for, with the lower costs that go with doing your own maintenance and burning mogas etc.


However, a point must also be made it doesn't actually say anywhere (that I can find) that microlight hours don't count for hour building for an EASA CPL. The regs just refer to hours as PIC of an airplane. Before writing off the microlight option I would talk to Simon White in the IAA and get a definitive answer.

Hey, thanks for your comment. I haven't done much research into this but from speaking to a fellow aviator who has a share in a microlight he confirmed that hour building on a microlight cannot count towards the CPL, however, he did say you can get microlights registered as class A which are certified aircrafts and then the hour building would count.

ImFlyingHigh

falcof8l wrote: »

Have you tried Trim ? They have a fairly active and friendly club.

No I haven't actually and I see their 172 out at Weston all the time so I suppose it would be no harm in contacting them. Thanks...

ImFlyingHigh

falcof8l wrote: »

Have you tried Trim ? They have a fairly active and friendly club.

Tried and unfortunately no spaces left!

martinsvi

just a few notes -
1) nowhere in the EASA FCL document does it say that microlight hours do not work towards the CPL requirements. It is purely down to the authority how they interpret the requirements and if in doubt - better ask them and get it in writing. I know a few people who have had no problems with getting a CPL in Ireland, Czech Republic and Greece with microlight hours on it. UK seems to be the only ones being fussy about it.

2) Do not buy an aircraft with a thought that you will be able to quickly sell it, get your money out and proceed with the CPL training. You will be very lucky if you score a quick sell. A far more likelier scenario is that you will end up waiting for months or even years to buy out and if your training budget will depend on it, you will be out of cash. I was in exact same scenario and had to sell my airplane for peanuts just to continue training. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise, there are a lot of people out there who will try to sell you their junk.