Flying courses at Goodwood Flying School

14th January 2020

Here at Goodwood Flying School we offer a range of courses and training, all of which are tailored to your requirements. Below is a brief overview of the possibilities. We can take you from your first flight to advanced courses for the qualified pilot.

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Ab-initio training courses

PPL

The PPL is a licence of an internationally recognised standard and allows you to add more additional ratings than the LAPL. It requires a minimum of 45 hours training. The PPL is a good place to start if you wish to advance to Commercial or more advanced flying than the LAPL allows. You can train for your PPL on the Cessna 172 or the Cub.

LAPL

The Light Aircraft Pilot’s Licence requires a minimum of 30 hours training, with less rigorous medical standards than the PPL. It is valid within Europe for aircraft under 2,000kg and a maximum of 3 passengers. This is the ideal licence for the leisure pilot, but can easily be upgraded to a PPL by undertaking the additional training. You can train for your LAPL on the Cessna 172 or the Cub.

Go solo

If you are unsure about tackling a full course to gain a Pilot’s Licence, our ‘Go solo’ course, consisting of 15 hours training in one of our Cessna 172s or the Cub, may be enough to get you to your first solo flight! If you wish at that point, you could continue your training towards a LAPL or PPL.

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Flight instructor training 

Our expertise in training instructors is highly regarded and the majority of our graduates have gone on to establish successful careers in aviation. 

During the course you will learn

  • To fly with the precision and panache that is the Instructor's trademark.
  • To operate an aircraft to its limits, and to handle it confidently throughout its flight envelope. 
  • The skills required to become an effective teacher, both on the ground and in the air.

You will be taught by highly qualified Instructors who will draw upon their many years of experience, to make your course enjoyable and rewarding.

The course can be run either full-time or part-time, on our aircraft (either the Cessnas or the Cub) or possibly your own.

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Differences training and additional skills for qualified pilots

Tailwheel conversion

The tailwheel conversion course is carried out on our Piper Super Cub. The length of the course is dependent on how quickly you develop your skills to the standard required, there is no minimum hours requirement or final test. The Cub is a great first tailwheel aircraft and this course will open up a whole new range of exciting aircraft to you!

Farm strip course

Farm strips can come with a variety of additional challenges that you may not have encountered in your flying before. After brushing up your circuits at Goodwood, we can visit a selection of local strips of varying degrees of difficulty, to help you gain skill and confidence. It is also tremendous fun!

Other additional training

If touring is more to your liking, we can arrange a cross-Channel check, going through the paperwork and procedures required so that you may fly to France and maybe beyond. Another useful option in this regard would be time spent exploring the capabilities of the Cessnas’ Garmin 1000 avionics in more depth than you will have in your initial training, including the auto-pilot.

We can fly with you to larger airports to help you become familiar with the procedures and environment, maybe flying amongst airliners!

If you would like to expand your personal flight envelope in terms of general handling, we can spend more time with you looking at sideslipping, cross-wind take-offs and landings, or anything else that you would like to practice.

Flying with other pilots is a great way of sharing your time in the air, allowing you to venture further afield by flying one leg each. We can help to put you in touch with other people looking to find a flying ‘buddy’ or you can join the Goodwood Aero Club’s WhatsApp Group.

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Additional ratings and qualifications

Night rating

Does exactly what the name suggests, allowing you to expand your flying privileges to the hours of official night. This is a winter course when sunset is at a reasonable time in the evening! Night flying will resume when the runway lighting is reinstated as part of the runway project.

Instrument Rating (Restricted)

The IR(R) replaces the previous IMC Rating. It allows you to fly with lower weather minima and make instrument approaches to aerodromes that are suitably equipped.

Flight Instructor Course, FI(A)

The FIC will take you back to the exercises covered in your own PPL, and look at them in a fresh way as you learn how to impart your flying skills, knowledge and airmanship to the next generation of pilots. We can also teach the Class Rating Instructor (CRI) course. For qualified Instructors, we can provide the training required for removal of your ‘no applied instrument’ and ‘no night training’ restrictions.

FIND OUT MORE HERE

Flying courses for non-pilots

Fear of flying

We can help you overcome a fear of flying. Getting a better understanding of what is involved and taking it slowly will help you become more comfortable or maybe even change your feelings to positive enjoyment of being in the air!

Companion course

Taking it a step further, our companion course is similar to the early stages of learning to fly. It will give you a better appreciation of what is going on when you fly as a passenger, and develop the skills and confidence required to take control of the aircraft, communicate with Air Traffic and return safely to an aerodrome should your pilot require assistance during flight.

FIND OUT MORE HERE

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