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RA-Aus flying schools in Brisbane


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Hi all,

 

I have been having lessons at Lilydale and have got to the stage of completing my first solo in a Jabiru J160. There is a reasonable chance that I will be moving from Melbourne to Brisbane for work early next year and was wondering what flying schools there are for Rec certificate training.

 

Any recommendations would be appreciated.

 

Thanks,

 

Tony

 

 

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Hi all,I have been having lessons at Lilydale and have got to the stage of completing my first solo in a Jabiru J160. There is a reasonable chance that I will be moving from Melbourne to Brisbane for work early next year and was wondering what flying schools there are for Rec certificate training.

 

Any recommendations would be appreciated.

 

Thanks,

 

Tony

Gday Tony

 

GoFly Aviation is the best place to go www.goflyaviation.com.au

 

Sean.

 

 

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G'Day Sean ,Nice to hear from you again , and Tony , I am sure you will be impressed with Sean and the guys at Gofly Aviation .

Bob

Hiya Bob.

 

Looking forward to catching up with you in December.

 

Sean.

 

 

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Pathfinder and Gofly are both very good (I only managed a few flights at Gofly before stopping with RA due to cost however, but thats not a reflection on their prices thats a reflection on my wallet in general). Pathfinder uses Jabirus which you will already be used to but fly out of a Class D towered aerodrome, and as far as I am aware now also offers conversions to a PPL in house. Gofly flies out of an uncontrolled aerodrome (though a busy one sometimes), and flies tecnams, texans, and another couple of aircraft are available for hire through them as well.

 

Im sure you would be extremely happy with either one.

 

 

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If you end up on the western side of town Cominya Flight Training at Cominya about 30 mins out of Ipswich just on the edge of the Amberly controll zone with nice views of the dams. And you are in the training area about 1 minute after take off Nice quiet grass strip with a taxi time barely long enough to get the engine up to opperating temp and I have never had to wait for other traffic. So your time flying is at a maximum in the air not on the ground.

 

I should also mention that he trains in a lightwing not a Jab but the rates are quite fair I think.

 

A happy student

 

Marc

 

 

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I can endorse the slightly biased opinion of Sean above in post #3 !!

 

GoFly is a good place to learn, the airspace around Caboolture is relatively easy, the scenery is very nice, YCAB has cross strips that assists the learner on those gusty cross wind days, there's a bunch of other recreational flying, museum etc to see, there's a Macca's etc nearby for food - club house not yet rebuilt from the fire but one day

 

 

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Thanks for the recommendations, sounds as though there are two good options to choose from. I will check them both out. A couple of other factors will come into consideration, and one of those will be where I end up living in Brisbane (north or south).

 

Given that I am comfortable with the Jabiru, that is a plus for Pathfinder, but I am not sure whether flying from a Class D is a positive or negative. While almost all of my flying has been out of Lilydale (non-controlled airspace), I have had a couple of flights out of Essendon (Class C), and to be honest I think I prefer to fly from a non-towered aerodrome. Guess I would get used to the Class D procedures pretty quickly though.

 

 

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D class air space is not that hard to master give it a go , archer tower are very helpful to students( it is a training area) i have made a few mistakes ,but they are there to help ,

 

and it is a great runway(28r/l) to land on , as you say where you live will be the decider, travelling to far makes the day long

 

cheers gareth

 

 

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hey Tony I am a new student flying with Coominya Flight Training find it good there not much traffic which is good for me just starting up.Am training on a lightwing and find the prices good for me.Like you said it depends on where you live I havent had anything to do with Caloundra and Archerfield but they also seem to have good recommendations so you should have no problem continueing if you need any more info let me know.whichever way you go im sure all us newer pilots will catch up 1 day cheers.Jeff

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 11 months later...

Well, it has taken a year but I am now definitely moving to Brisbane in the new year. Keen to start at a new flying school, however CASA's recent proposals re Jabiru aircraft might ultimately limit my choices. Although, there is a Rotax powered J160 at Caboolture that looks very nice, but could potentially be booked solid by solo students for at least the early part of next year. Or, do I make a switch to another aircraft now?

 

 

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I would certainly back up Foxy's comments. Caboolture Recreational Aviation are a great bunch. Good range of aircraft including Jabirus with both Jabiru and Rotax, Drifter for tailwheel and of course the wonderful Foxbat. I couldnt think of a better place to learn.

 

Cheers Geoff13

 

 

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As for where you end up living, there are several schools much closer to me than Caboolture. It is more about the quality of the training and the atmosphere of the school than the distance travelled.

 

Cheers Geoff13

 

 

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thou smites an aero club ..................... thee not knowest who - thee needs not, to know

 

like all things human - people see the good and bad in any / every club

 

but, its not illegal to look through rose colored glasses, but

 

 

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thou smites an aero club ..................... thee not knowest who - thee needs not, to knowlike all things human - people see the good and bad in any / every club

 

but, its not illegal to look through rose colored glasses, but

Huh. That sounds a bit like left handed braille to me.

 

 

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thou smites an aero club ..................... thee not knowest who - thee needs not, to knowlike all things human - people see the good and bad in any / every club

 

but, its not illegal to look through rose colored glasses, but

Help, I don't think I am going to understand the locals!

 

I appreciate the comments on the schools. Will be living close to the CBD (inner west/south west) and travel time to Caboolture should be around 50 mins. While Archerfield would be closer, I don't mind the travel time as I have been travelling around 45 min for lessons in Melbourne anyway.

 

 

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Your best bet is to go for a drive, visit both and talk to them. Archerfield with the controlled airspace and tower operations is fine to fly out of and the tower control does not make it any more difficult and in fact gives a huge level of comfort and takes away a large fear knowing that aircraft are being kept separated - it is very reassuring. If you are eventually looking for RPL/PPL then the experience is essential.

 

I am biased because I learnt with Pathfinder but I did find them great. The CFI and instructors they have are nice guys and they teach very well. The best thing I will say about them is that when I was learning they had an instructor that did not work for me - I spoke to the senior instructor and gave him some feedback on him, they put him through a review with the CFI and then they actually got rid of him. That is taking it seriously.

 

 

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Looks like a few options to choose from, and visits to at least Caboolture, Archerfield and Boonah are in order. Dazza, I would love to have a go in a 610 Brumby - bit of an extra drive but would be worth it I reckon.

 

 

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Looks like a few options to choose from, and visits to at least Caboolture, Archerfield and Boonah are in order. Dazza, I would love to have a go in a 610 Brumby - bit of an extra drive but would be worth it I reckon.

We are all waiting for it to turn up. I think it is going to be really popular.

 

 

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