Our Reveiw

I’ve always wanted to fly an aeroplane, so I jumped at the chance for an introductory training flight at Flying Club Conington. The introductory flight ranges from 20 minutes to 1 hour of actual flying time and is geared towards first time flyers. It’s common for people to use the hour long flight to visit an area of interest, or perhaps fly to the coast, but I was booked in for a 40 minute flight which I found to be the perfect amount.

When I arrived I was welcomed by the staff and settled down at the bar with a coffee to wait for my instructor. When he arrived we had a quick chat before making our way to the plane (a Cessna 152) for a pre-flight briefing. I was shown around the aircraft before hopping into one of the two seats to start a few take off checks and be shown the controls. The instructor talked me through each of the many gauges and dials, although you’re not expected to use many, if any, on your first flight. I was shown the controls, which flaps they operated and what they did, then it was over to the instructor for take-off.

Even though the instructor was handling take-off, I was talked through everything he was doing. We climbed to about 3000ft and after being shown a few manoeuvres it was over to me! I was a little nervous about taking the controls but the instructor demonstrated just how stable the plane was. I was able to climb, dive, bank left, bank right, and was surprised at how easy it all was to get the basics and how slight the movements on the controls have to be. Reaching the end of the flight I was instructed to fly us back to the airfield before handling over controls to the instructor for the landing.

I was surprised at just how much time I was able to spend in control of the aircraft. You don’t just get to take hold of the controls for a while, you really do actually fly the plane. (I was even allowed to help taxi the plane down the runway after landing!) It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience and I would love to do it again. Who knows, maybe I’ll learn how to do a loop-the-loop next time...!

About Connington

We can offer you the full range of private pilot training, from your PPL right up to additional ratings including multi-engine, IMC, radio navigation and more.

What's more, with a comprehensive fleet of aircraft ranging from the basic Cessna 152 to complex and multi-engine types, 987 metres of fully licensed hard runway, a private airfield, and fuel and maintenance available on-site, we're sure you'll soon be able to see the advantages you'll have in flying with us.

And it doesn't stop there. We have a thriving club where you can talk flying, hire aircraft, take part in flying activities or bring your family for club non-flying events.

Come and take a look at any time. We're open to the public, so just walk in and see us. You can also have something to eat in our lovely conservatory with a view over the whole airfield.