This is the license which allows you to act as Pilot in Command of an aeroplane, and take your friends and family flying!
While the minimum legal flight experience for a PPL is 50 hours, the license is a standards-based one, and from our long experience we anticipate a part time student flying once a week or so to take approximately 75 hours to complete the syllabus to the required standard – sometimes a little less, some a little more, the flying training journey is a highly personal one and is honestly as much fun as the destination!
There are no prerequisites to getting started; to join the Club you must be at least 15 years of age, and that’s about all, so reach out today and book your first lesson! Unsure if it’s for you? Try one of our Introductory Flights for a no-commitment experience behind the controls with one of our team of instructors.
Once you start taking your flying lessons, you will need to gain a medical certificate (either a Class 2 aviation medical or a DL9 Driver license medical) before conducting your first solo flight. Details for the medical certifications can be found on this link here. Generally, we see the first solo occurring around the 15-hour mark (partly due to operating at one of the busiest airfields in New Zealand!)
Along the way, there are six theory exams to achieve pass marks in, these are:
- Flight Radio Operation
- Human Factors
- Meteorology
- Aircraft Technical Knowledge
- Air Law
- Air Navigation
The theory study for these exams is conducted through our partner CBT Systems https://www.cbtsystemsav.com/ using their online audio/visual lesson training software. We require the Flight Radio exam to be completed before first solo, and by law all six exams must be passed before the first solo cross-country flight (which is approximately 40 hours into the flight training).
The actual examinations are conducted by a company called ASPEQ https://caanz.aspeqexams.com/home and are done at one of their facilities, they are computer based, multiple-choice exams with a pass-mark of 70%.
After completing your aircraft handling syllabus, the theory exams, the cross-country syllabus, and your final revision, you will be ready to take your flight test and join the world of aviation as a Private Pilot!
