[LU] Non LU: Any PPLs on the list

[MarkBursa at aol.com]

>>How did you get the bulldog flight?  I have never flown in  one but hope to
get a go at some point down the  line.<<


It was a corporate blag:-) head of PR for a company I deal with is a  
competition aerobatic pilot in his spare time, and organised a media  event with the 
option of a flight in an Extra (nice, but only as a passenger)  or flying the 
'dog. Most people wanted to lose their guts in the Extra, so I  ended up with 
two hours' free lessons in a fully aerobatic  Bulldog. Fantastic aircraft to 
fly - really responsive, loads of power,  and a fighter-style joystick rather 
than a yoke.... 
 

>>I did quite a bit of air experience flying when I was in the  ATC at RAF
Abingdon, and they have a show on this sunday so I may pop down  there.  I
know No6 squadron have moved from there and I was hoping so  see one of
their chippies so I am waiting to see if they will have one  there before
deciding to go or not.

I'd really like to fly a chippie  again so I will probably go for a
taildragger conversion after I get my PPL  and then see what I can blag!<<
 
 
Only taildragger I've flown is a Stampe, out of Goodwood. Lovely - like a  
Tiger Moth with much more grunt... would love to try a Chipmunk  though....


>>I have set aside the required cash for my whole course  (from an personal
injury claim I got years ago) so Im not worried about the  money side as
such, but at the moment Im only averaging one flight every 3  weeks or so,
so at this rate I wont need to dip into the savings as my  overtime at work
is paying for it.<<
 
 
My problem was setting aside an afternoon - then being unable to fly that  
day bevcause of the weather - this happened so often the whole PPL project  
fizzled out :-(
 


>>The Pilot Centre @ Denham let you put £750 on account and  if you do that
you get 10% reduction in hire & training rates, so 1  hour dual is £135 and
it includes all home landing fees, so works out  fairly reasonable compared
with all the other schools I looked  into.<<
 
 
That is reasonable - not a lot more than I was paying nearly a decade ago  
(£115/hr I think). I lioked the Denham Cabair setup - seemed like good  
instructors. 
 

>>Had you taken any ground exams yet?<<
 
 
No - I was planning to delay the joy of exams for as long as  possible!
 
 
Mark