Pooley PPL Starter Kit
Back to school
It’s not all piloting an aircraft
When you set out down the road of learning to fly, you will soon realise just how much reading material you will require. There are a series of books to follow you through each of the exercises that target specific areas of the training all the way through. Then there are revision books for you to simulate the exams you are going to take, 9 of them. There are also further studying books for area’s you may be struggling in, or you can purchase them as audio books or DVD’s. As you can see, there are quite a few books and the costs mount up pretty quickly. There are also other additional items such as a CR-1 computer. Maybe you would like to obtain your very own check list for the type of aircraft you will be training in. Not forgetting, stationary such as memo books pens etc. for your studying & notes.
Piecemeal or the whole kit ?
If finances are tight, you may wish to purchase the books and equipment one at a time, as and when you will need them. Or if your finances can stretch to it, take a look at the starter kits. The two main recognised producers of the course materials are Pooley and AFE. Although the content of each differ, they still cover all the areas required for your exams. I decided to go down the Pooleys route for no other reason than I recognised the cover of volume 1. It was the same as the one I received as part of my flying experience gift set many years ago. Some will swear by the AFE manuals, some by the Pooleys, that’s just the way people are.
Going all in
With my plan being to save up a ‘flying finance pool’ some months before I actually started flying, I had the cash available for the kit. It wasn’t just the fact I had the pool there to use, I had deliberately started the pool and delayed the actual flying for a reason. That reason being, to be able to purchase all the things I would need before I started flying. That way the money in the pool would not be hit by expenses other than flying lessons, once they started. I started looking around for the kits and eventually bought it directly from Pooleys website for £229.99. I also included a PA28 check list and a PA28 pilot aircraft guide at £6.50 & £9.95. It contained everything I needed and things I didn’t really need, especially at the early stages of training. In fact, I would not be surprised if a number of items would be out of date by the time I hopefully qualify, such as a map and airfield flight guide.
The Pooleys Kit
So what do you get for your £229.99 ? Well as you can see from the picture there is…
- A Flight bag
- Volumes 1,2,3,4,6 & 7
- EASA Operational Procedures supplement
- Pooleys Spiral United Kingdom Flight Guide
- Pooleys NM-2 Scale Ruler
- Pooleys PP-1 Protractor
- Pooleys CRP-1 Computer
- Pooleys CB-3 Kneeboard & Log Pad
- Pooleys PPL Log Book
- Set of permanent Lumocolour Markers
- CAA 1:500,000 chart of your local area
If purchased separately the cost would be quite a bit more than the £229.99 proce tag. Something to think about if you have the finances to purchase it all at once.
Conclusion
I have found having all the course books available great for me to speed read at my leisure and get a little ahead of myself. It never hurts to read up on what you will be doing in the future. If necessary, explore more help on things you feel you may struggle on in forthcoming lessons, and raise them with your Flight Instructor.
The bag, whilst probably a little big for a simple local flight, holds everything I need for the days lesson. I have an A4 memo book, my headset case, kneeboard, flying log book, check list, a manual or two and still have room for an SLR camera and scanner.
I am happy and do not regret purchasing the whole kit, one thing less to worry about having to buy or obtain in time when required.