I maintain a somewhat loose, big-goals to-do-list that I casually update in my head every few years or so. I don’t usually talk about it or share it, unless perhaps I turn it into reality. One of those points has been to obtain a private pilot license (PPL) by the age of 30.
Now, I didn’t really make that just in time, but then last year I finally signed up at a pilot school in Germany to give myself some pressure to follow through with it. Why Germany when actually living in Southeast Asia? Let me use this post to explain my considerations for how to choose a suitable pilot school.
I will also use this blog to update on my progress every once in a while (probably a lot over the summer months when I’ll have a few weeks of intense training), including hopefully in-flight videos of my achievements – and surely lots and lots of failures 🙂
Choosing a pilot school – Asia, Germany or the US?
Initially I considered Asia (Thailand, Indonesia or Singapore) and the US (Hawaii & Miami) as suitable places to train for my PPL. I quickly then added Germany to the list as well, once I compared schools and factors more thoroughly.
What factors did I use to compare?
- Cost is certainly high at the top of the list. The PPL isn’t cheap – but fees can vary quite heavily between countries. Having to pay landing fees for each landing at an airport, but also the size of the airport can make a big difference. While Germany was relatively rather expensive, the US would have meant a similar total price if I included the flights there, accommodation + student’s visa (you’ll need that since the PPL is considered an actual educational activity and you’ll of course need special clearance and security checks to ensure you’re not a terrorist)
- Trust & “culture” – this may be a bit hard to assess, but for me nevertheless an important factor. For example: a few schools in the US kept calling, emailing and ‘pushing’ me so to make a sale, which made me feel that I may not receive enough personal attention to ensure good quality. I might be wrong, but it just didn’t start off on the right foot. Learning how to fly a plane you’d want to make sure you trust your life into the instructor’s hands – and that regulation and standards are high enough that you’re in a plane that’s maintained well and won’t fall off the sky. Language barriers and a general lack of supply in instructors in Thailand were a pretty quick and obvious ‘no’ for that location. Singapore simply was too expensive, and Indonesia too complicated.
In the end, I chose a flight school in Germany that could facilitate my rather flexible schedule (spread out across the year & theory study on my own at home), and ticked off the other basic requirements. To make sure, I went for a visit and a ‘Schnupperflug’ – an intro flight without commitment that should act both as a fun experience but also with first instructions on the instruments and flying behavior, including my first attempts of flying under close supervision of the instructor. Slightly nervous, but an amazing experience. I’m in!
I’ve now had several hours of flight experience already, and am knee-deep in the theory materials, getting ready for a lot more flying hours in July & hopefully doing the theory exams in early August. This is getting real!
