S57 wrote:
Thanks. Good question… I now need to find a plane and somewhere locally to keep it. Training has all been at Gloucester EGBJ.
And is that your closest field?
It’s the closest ‘proper’ airfield but is a good hour away. There are some farm strips which are closer, and cheaper. I made a few enquiries before but found that one only gets taken seriously if one already has a licence and plane rather than just a head full of dreams.
Well done S57
Buying a plane is going to do great things for your flying – so long as you choose a good reliable one.
You may want to consider that the NPPL is scheduled to lose its validity for “EASA aircraft” (basically, certified aircraft) under current Brussels policy, in April 2018. Lots of people expect that date to slip, especially with Brexit coming. But if I was on the NPPL and buying a plane now, I would probably buy something like an RV.
Another thing is that while (AIUI) the NPPL is valid for France, you need to have the CAA Class 2 medical. The NPPL medical self declaration is for UK airspace only.
Many/most people who went to the NPPL did so because of issues with the CAA Class 2 and those who fly certifieds will be badly hit in April 2018, hence the expectation that the deadline will slip.
I looked at farm strips years ago and found them pretty difficult. Most are very “private” sites who want minimal traffic. They especially don’t like syndicates because that increases the traffic. So you need to play down your proposed activity and make it clear you will play nicely and cause no trouble
Peter wrote:
Well done S57
Thanks.
I have a CAA class 2 medical already so no problem there. I hope to get it upgraded to a full PPL long before I am inclined to venture further afield.
I am intent on going down the non-certified route for now. Having said that I did hear somewhere that the deadline for flying EASA types on an NPPL had already slipped.