Tachwedd Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 I hear so much about courses taking a long time to complete due to bad flying weather that it has made me think, how good is the UK for PPG? Is there a PPG season? What is the average hours flown by a UK pilot in a year, subject to weather conditions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hann__ Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 (edited) In my first three years i averaged 35 - 40 hours a year from ~ 22 flights. I`m lucky if i average two flights a month... The winter months can be lean if you can`t fly during the week when it`s still light (shift work or being self-employed must be a bonus on this point) - good weather has to coincide with weekends. Then there always seems to be extended gaps due to things like breakdowns/waiting for spares, nowhere to fly from or fields waiting to be harvested, poor weather etc. At least it keeps your interest up, it`s not like something like fishing where you can do it whenever you want! The best piece of advice re: weather is to invest in a good quality crystal ball. So many times i`ve decided against flying when it`s looked 50/50 only for it to turn out fine a couple of hours later (when it`s too late)... Edited January 23, 2017 by Hann__ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 We get a reasonable amount of flying weather in reality - the issue can be sync'ing your lifestyle/work/family to it as you often don't get much notice of guaranteed conditions. Sometimes you get flyable days when the forecasts say you won't. Other times you look forward to forecasted good weather and it gets fogged out or there are weather fronts. You may have to wait six weeks for a break, other times you'll get a run of flyable conditions. You can fly all year round. The winter can be awesome but very cold, obviously. Summer can be restricted to early morning and late in the day unless you like big thermals. As for learning, I'd go for winter so you are ready to enjoy your first summer once you're flying away from your instructor's guidance. But at the end of the day, as with everything which relies on British weather, it's a lottery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
admin (Simon W) Posted January 24, 2017 Share Posted January 24, 2017 I have had 5 flights in the last 3 days, so far the winter has been AMAZING! SW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morgy Posted January 24, 2017 Share Posted January 24, 2017 Im about 100-150 a year... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatPux Posted January 24, 2017 Share Posted January 24, 2017 Mostly weekends in the Summer/Autumn. No fly-ins and rarely doing more than a single flight in any given day. But two things are likely to increase this, 1-now only working a 3 day week, 2-having a wing I can launch in nil wind. 2013-12 flights-5.5hrs 2014-18 flights-10hrs 2015-24 flights-14hrs 2013-29 flights-16hrs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Jackson Posted January 24, 2017 Share Posted January 24, 2017 Its pretty much as has been said above... its probably more likely to be your commitments that could restrict what flying you can/can't do. The weather in the UK isn't actually that bad. For example, there has recently been a lovely spate of flyable winter conditions - 4-5 days in my area (good all day long). But I've not been able to take advantage during the week, due to work, but I've still had a couple of good cross countries at the weekends. Last year I only had about 30 flights, approaching about 40 hours. On paper that doesn't sound a lot, but I'm not complaining! I have a young family and time with them is also important. Most of these flights were weekend flights or at weekend fly ins. I took a couple of afternoons off work too. There is a Belgian chap who flies near me and he's literally flying 3-5 days a week without fail. Mind you he's very experienced and will fly in any old shitty weather. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morgy Posted January 24, 2017 Share Posted January 24, 2017 It is key to have a good wing that will launch easily in Nil wind.. the older style wings were heavy and could be a pain to get off the deck.. The more you fly the better you will become and happier to fly in rougher or stronger conditions. Commitment is key to getting hours in, Not leaving it 1-2-3 months between flights as this will leave you rusty and prone to failing launches and breaking kit, making you more cautious/nervous. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
admin (Simon W) Posted January 25, 2017 Share Posted January 25, 2017 Also, get a too windy toy We have an array of toys to keep us busy when not flying weather. All aviation has a weather window. A thermic snotty day is a thermic snotty day in a plane and a helicopter as well! We are only limited in the same way as those types of aircraft. A silky day is a silky day and it's nicer to fly ANYTHING when it's silky so in a nut shell yes they have a bigger flying window but the FUN flying window remains almost identical SW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morgy Posted January 25, 2017 Share Posted January 25, 2017 Thermal snotty day... LOL Thermal= fun day!!! Thermal = Long XC Day... It's not Better to fly a Sailplane when its silky if it is to rough for PPG or PG i will Go Gliding instead.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordon_dunn Posted January 25, 2017 Share Posted January 25, 2017 On average around 50hrs a year - over the last 10 years. A lot of flying in the summer months, more due to available daylight as I work mon-fri/8 to 5.... Typically average flying time is 1hr. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brett Posted January 25, 2017 Share Posted January 25, 2017 I've been flying for 8 months now in one of the wettest parts of England, the Lake District, and have so far got about 25 hours in. Weatherwise i could have done much more but work does get in the way. Important to get a decent field so that when you get one decent day after rain you can fly.. I'm still working on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brett Posted January 25, 2017 Share Posted January 25, 2017 Forgot to say that on the whole i would say the number of flyable days weatherwise has been a lot greater than i hoped for Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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