Prices for flying lessons
The cost of learning to fly and how you will be charged for flying lessons at Enstone Flying Club.
We very feel strongly that you should know all of the costs involved with learning to fly in the UK, up front with no surprises. There are costs involved in gaining any licence and whilst the cost of the aircraft is a major part, there are other unavoidable costs in gaining a LAPL or PPL in the UK. These soon soon add up, sadly you will find that many schools only publish the aircraft prices which dose not help you when you are trying to get an idea of what you are signing up to.
You will find our prices for your lessons and other associated costs below. As you can see there are a number of variables, we have included all the costs you will incur during your course. You have lots of choice about how you manage these costs but we know from personal experience that you should keep control of your money. This why we do not ask for lesson money up front and you pay as you go/fly/need. You will not need all of the items detailed below from day one and we will let you know when you need them.
That being said, if you have the money and want to pre-pay for your lessons, you can do this too!
We want you to have a great experience learning to fly - the following is our policy!
Learning to fly is meant to fun, not to say that there will be times when it dosen't feel that way but, you will get past these times and get there in the end and we will do our very best to make sure that when you look back you enjoyed the ride as much as we do.
We do our very best to keep you flying the same aircraft and with the same instructor for the duration of your training as you will progress much faster if you build a working relationship with your instructor and become familiar with your training aircraft.
We have some of the best instructors in the UK and we feel it's only right that they're paid the right amount for teaching you how to fly. Instructors are paid £46 per hour (flying time not briefing time) which you pay directly to them, to avoid you both having to pay VAT.
Your Instructor only gets paid for airborne time, so its only fair that you let them or the office know at least 24 hrs in advance if you are unable to attend your lesson please.
If you just want a guide to prices, scroll to the bottom of this article
Flying lesson costs
Let’s look at the licences.....jargon alert*
Private Pilots Licence (PPL) - Minimum of 45 hours of flying to gain a PPL(A).
The Private Pilots licence PPL (A) aircraft,. *The PPL licence allows the holder to fly a single engine piston aircraft, up to 5600Kgs in daylight under visual flight rules. 3000ft clear of cloud and in sight of the ground with 5000m of visibility. You can add additional ratings such as the Instrument Rating ( restricted) , night and multi engine rating and is valid worldwide but you will need to be checked out in the country you are flying in, there may be some restrictions. Please call us if you need more information as it varies from country to country.
Light Aircraft Pilots Licence (LAPL) Minimum of 30 hours, plus a further 10 hours solo before you can take passengers to gain a LAPL.
There is the Light Aircraft Pilots Licence LAPL, formally the National Pilots licence NPPL it has now morphed into the LAPL for the present. It allows the holder to fly a *single engine piston aircraft up to 2000 kgs in daylight under visual flight rules 3000ft clear of cloud and in sight of the ground with 5000m of visibility. You can only add a night rating and is valid throughout Europe only (at present).
Both the PPL and LAPL allow you to fly fully complex piston powered aircraft that is, a retractable undercarriage and variable pitch propeller.
Which is the best aircraft for me?
One of the limiting factors in flying is how much you weigh. If you are over 15st (96kgs) you will need to fly in one of our PA28's as they can handle the combined weight of pilots and fuel. The Cessna has an upper weight limit of 15 St (96Kgs) and a height limit of 6ft 2 in. Both are fabulous training aircraft and you can easily convert to another aircraft type when you have completed your licence.
| Aircraft | Cost Per Hour from |
| Cessna 152 | £170* |
| Piper Warrior PA-28-151 | £198* |
| Cessna 172 | £232* |
| Instructor Fee in addition to aircraft cost | £46.00 plus aircraft cost per flying hour |
*Costs are in the region of (8th October 2024)
How am I charged for each lesson?
Please note; you will only charged for your time in the aircraft, NOT for briefings.
In the Cessna 152 and the Warrior/Cherokee PA28 we use Tacho time - this looks like the milometer on your car and is part of the Engine RPM instrument but records time only when the engine is running. However, it runs slower when the engine is below 1800Rpm, so because of this we will add 0.2 of an hour (12mins) to the final reading to cover the fuel costs used up to the take off and landing.
How long will my lessons take and can I have them when I choose?
You can have your lessons any day of the week and we are open for training 360 days a year.
A normal flying lesson is made up of three parts and each standard lesson is 2 hours (navigational lessons are generally longer)
1. The Pre-flight briefing, where you will cover what you are going to do in the lesson for this time.
2. The flight itself - most lessons are an hour long (there are some, particularly the Navigation lessons which are generally longer) and this includes revision from the previous lesson as well as the content of the lesson you have just briefed. Sometimes, it even includes a look forward to your next flight.
3. Post flight debrief covering what went well and areas that will need working on next time. Your instructor will also give you some advice on what to read up on for your next flight.
Is flying for you? try before you commit!
You can find out if flying is all you thought it was by taking a trial flight, any that you choose will count towards the hours you will be required to complete for your licence. You can choose from our range of trial flights from our shop by clicking here.
G-BODO landing with EFC in the background
G-BTUW air to air over Enstone AirfieldClub Membership
You have two options: Monthly payment of £30 per month by direct debit (12 month minimum term) or a single payment of £300 per annum starting from January 1st each year.
As a student you have all the same privileges as Pilot members and include the following:
- Unlimited use of the clubhouse for you and family/friends, this includes on days when you're not flying and just want to come and visit, watch the aircraft or "work from home".
- Free WiFi
- Reduced charges from the Kitchen
- Free delivery point for parcels if you cant be a home to accept them 7 days a week.
- Invitations to all social events including Pilots in the Pub which is a monthly event on the first Thursday of each month (Covid restrictions apply)
- Access to the site's facilities for functions, meetings etc. We have done weddings, parties, film shows, corporate, music and documentary videos!
- Invitations to organised fly outs, with instructor support when you need it - for example, Cross channel check outs for your first trip across the Channel.
- Invitations to our monthly training presentations.
LAPL & PPL (A) Ground School
As well as the practical side of learning to fly, you are going to need to do the studying for the theoretical sides of all these different disciplines of flight, expect to allocate an average of around 100 hours of studying for the ground school subjects……sometimes!
If you are using the books which we recommend you do 45 minutes a session every day until you are getting 90% in the mock test should put in a good position to pass
We stock all the study material you need to help you pass the theoretical tests and you have several options on which method you use, but in all cases we recommend you have the full set of books
We offer theoretical courses in groups or one to one. £46ph or £200 per subject
If you prefer we offer computer-based training using easy PPL where you have online training with project work to complete followed by mock tests, have a browse at our interview with Easy PPLs Nigel Wilson
Easy PPL per subject £13.99 per month per subject
You can even attend crammer schools that only offer courses on all the theoretical subjects they generally last a week; you can find them advertising their services in the flying magazines like Flyer or Pilot.
Only home study theoretical training is free!
You will at least need to have the study books on the nine subjects, these are often combined as a pack in a flight bag which includes the navigational tools you will also need. The pack we recommend is around the £249
All theoretical tests are done online at the club house
Whichever method you choose you will need to sit the online tests the cost of each test is £40 per subject and each test is carried out in one of the club briefing rooms on a club PC. You cannot do these from home.
Headset
Pre Covid we provided a headset as part of the flying fee, we can no longer offer this and you will now need to purchase your own headset, you can get a life time guaranteed headset for under £200 from us and you can pay over £900 for a top of the range.
There are a myriad of choices and we can offer advice on the best for your head shape. We will be publishing the best student headset guide shortly; join our mailing list and you will get notification when we publish new articles watch our short video to find out what we do with your data.
Medical
You are going to need an aviation medical of some sort and this will depend on the type of licence you choose. At the time of writing a PPL (class 2) or LAPL medical might set you back between £120 and £150.
Click here for a list of local Aviation Medical examiners
Landing Fees
Base Grass landing fees are included in our lesson fees. The use of the hard runway is optional, you can elect to pay either £8 per landing or £25 for as many in a sortie/day.
Landing fees are also payable when you land at other airfields when conducting your navigation training, you can expect to pay between £10 and £30 per landing, but this is only payable when you carry out these exercises and land as part of them.
Examiners fees
Your instructor cannot examine you and you will pay a fee to the examiner directly, the fee will depend on the licence you choose but be prepared for anything between £150 and £200.
Licence fees
Once you have done all the flying, passed the theoretical tests, had the medical, paid your landing fees and you have your course completion certificate (this is not your licence by the way). How do you get your licence……of course by paying a fee to the controlling body of the licence you have chosen
LAPL £161
PPL £196
Please feel free to call us with any questions we have not addressed above. 01608 678204
Here is a guide to the overall costs, you pay as you fly ,these may vary but are correct as of 25th September 2024
| FLYING PACKAGES COMPARISON | £ / hour | MINIMUM No of hours | EFC PPL in CESSNA 152 | EFC PPL in Cessna 172 | EFC LAPL in CESSNA 152 | EFC LAPL in Cessna 172 |
| Date 25/08/24** | ||||||
| AIRCRAFT HIRE | ||||||
| LAPL Cessna 152 inc VAT | £170.00 | £5,100.00 | ||||
| LAPL Cessna 172 inc VAT | £232.70 | £6,981.00 | ||||
| PPL Cessna 152 inc VAT | £170.00 | £7,650.00 | ||||
| PPL Cessna 172 inc VAT | £232.70 | £10,471.50 | ||||
| TRAINING FEES | ||||||
| * Training Rate paid direct to instructor no VAT | £46.00 | £1,380.00 | £1,380.00 | |||
| * Training Rate paid direct to instructor no VAT | £46.00 | £2,070.00 | £2,070.00 | |||
| * Instructors are not VAT registered, you pay them directly, to save you paying extra VAT (SAVING £8/LESSON) | ||||||
| OTHER NECESSARY COSTS | ||||||
| Medical (approximately) | £120.00 | £120.00 | £120.00 | £120.00 | £120.00 | |
| Landing Fees are variable approx £8/landing | £8.00 | |||||
| Examiner Fees range from £150 to £200 | £150- £200 | £200.00 | £200.00 | £200.00 | £200.00 | |
| Adjudicated Written Exams x 9 (time dependant) | £46.00 | £414.00 | £414.00 | £414.00 | £414.00 | |
| Flight Bag (LAPL & PPL) | £249.00 | £249.00 | £249.00 | £249.00 | £249.00 | |
| Headphones and Bag ( Lifetime warranty) | £195.00 | £195.00 | £195.00 | £195.00 | £195.00 | |
| Membership of Club £300/YEAR (pro rata) | £300.00 | £300.00 | £300.00 | £300.00 | £300.00 | |
| OPTIONAL COSTS | ||||||
| * Ground School Tuition (optional) direct to instructor no VAT to pay | £46.00 | |||||
| Correct at date** | ||||||
| CHOOSE FROM ONE OF THE TOTALS | £11,198.00 | £14,019.50 | £7,958.00 | £9,839.00 |
