Can I learn to fly a plane?

[whatshallonedo]

I don't know where to post this but I hope it is ok here and that I can get answers

I haven't got a driving license but wondering if I can take flying lessons to fly small planes or AIBU?

Ask at your nearest flying school/club. Have fun!

You can but it's incredibly expensive.

Yes YABU.

Why would you ask Mumsnet this question!? I doubt many of us have a pilot's license!

Why?

It would be quicker to google 'flying lessons in (add) local area'

If you have about £10k and a lot of free time in the next year, an aptitude for maths and legal details, and great spatial awareness, yes you can. Being able to drive a car is nothing to do with it. Find your local airfield and ask for a tester lesson!

Happy to be corrected but I don't think you need a driving licence to fly a plane. Its something that appeals to me too but I have been looking at maybe doing one of the simulators first to give me an idea of what its like. There's some good options out there.

Unlike a driving licence,you have to put in a minimum number of flying hours per year to keep your pilot’s licence. Which is very expensive.

I'm pretty sure i dont need to explain why most people on this forum wouldnt have a pilots license.

You don't need a driving licence to train to be a pilot. More info here:

https://www.caa.co.uk/general-aviation/pilot-licences/aeroplanes/private-pilot-licence-for-aeroplanes/

My husband doesn't have a driving licence but he has a PPL(private pilot licence) through Air cadets

because the vast majority of the population don't.

Do you want to learn to eventually own your own plane or for recreation?

If for recreation then flying lessons and dual aerobatics sessions are available which are great fun.

If you have spare time then if you volunteer with air cadets then adult volunteers can go up and fly when accompanying cadets so a couple of times a year or can get their PPL at the local gliding school and take cadets up and the costs will be covered by the ATC.

Many of my friends got their PPL before they got their driving license when I was a teen cadet.

I'd love to learn to fly, I have a pal who is a pilot who has taken me up, and back in my 20s I used to have another friend who was a hobbiest that had a part share in a cessna and let me take secondary control for some of the time.

I looked into lessons but they are super expensive, and I was worried I'd run out of money, have to stop and it would all be a waste (did that with driving lessons!). The exams are also costly, and so is the minimum flight hours.

Sigh...when I am rich...

I learned and held a private licence for a few years. I loved it, but when I got a mortgage the money went to the mortgage instead. It’s been a few decades and I still miss it sometimes. If you want to do it, find an aero school and go for it!

You don't need a driving license to learn to fly.

There are a surpisingly large number of airfields in the U.K., and most of them have a flying school.

The flying school will sell trial lessons, usually for somewhere between 50-150 pounds.

Do a trial lesson and you'll get a sense of whether you want to do it.

Getting your flying licence is a bit like getting your driving licence - there is a theory test and a practical test.

Oh, and if planes are too expensive gliders are also available!

An expensive hobby that could kill you if you do something wrong?! Great, sign me up!

There are loads of hobbies that fit with that statement though.

Let's face driving a car can kill you if you do something wrong.

I learned to fly a motor glider solo when I was an air cadet. It was good fun but would be far too expensive for me as a civvie hobby. Even if I had the cash, I don't think I'd feel right about junketing about in my little plane, burning up all that fossil fuel just for fun.

What a daft response - I don't have a pilot's licence (we spell the noun with a C in the UK BTW - check your driving licence for confirmation) - but I know some people who do, therefore know the answer to OPs question - lots of others have already posted the correct answer too.

Electric planes are a thing now.

I'm another one who has a licence. Also another one who isn't flying at the moment due to the cost and time - it's not something you can just pop up and do occasionally, you need to maintain currency.
I'm hoping to get back to it in a few years.

I have no idea what you mean regarding the C (but, i have a disability - dyslexia)

Unfortunately, all of us who have this are sometimes ridiculed as though because spelling, grammar etc isn't 'correct' makes our intelligence questioned which is so sad.

I don't have dyslexia and get it wrong all the time! Sorry you have to deal with people correcting you it must be annoying.