FLIGHT TRAINING FAQS

Our prices are all-inclusive (see below).  Unlike other flying schools, we do not work to tight timeslots and you will benefit from considerable briefing time with your instructor on the ground in order to make best use of your time in the air.  Students return to fly with us again and again when they realise the high quality instruction and value for money they receive.

The following are included in the price at no additional cost:

• Instructor fees, including substantial ground instruction (as specified)
• VAT
• Club membership
• Landing fees ("touch and goes" are additional)
• Loan of Ultimate High military flying suits, parachutes and high quality headsets
• Aircraft Aide Memoire/Checklists/FRCs
• Copies of your sortie write-ups (if required)
• Certificate of Completion

A fuel surcharge may occasionally be applied at times of fluctuating fuel rates.

During April - September inclusive, we are unable to offer one-off (ie non-course based) flights at the weekend.

Flying hours specified are calculated as airborne plus 10 minutes to allow for variable taxi times.

Ultimate High operates under the Goodwood Aerodrome airport licensed hours.  Customers should generally plan to arrive by 0900 unless other arrangements have been made.  Course students will be expected to be with us from 9.00am - 5.00pm each day, and should normally expect to fly 2-3 trips a day, weather, aircraft serviceability and instructor availability permitting.

Occasionally, factors conspire to delay or prevent the successful completion of your course.  The English weather can take a fair amount of blame for this, so please be prepared to either stay a day or so late or to re-schedule to finish at a later date.  It is fine to "take a break to consolidate" and it is quite acceptable to book further training - from a few days to a few months later.

In order to maximise the benefit of your training time, and to ensure that you are refreshed, we recommend at least a couple of hours between flights.  On courses, there can sometimes be up to 4 hours between flights as instructors may fly other students in between.

• Please bring your licence, medical, logbook and passport on the first day of your course.
• We recommend that you wear trainers to fly in.  Please do NOT wear flying boots - trainers/shoes with thin flexible soles are best for flying aerobatic aircraft.
• We provide flying suits, but you are welcome to bring your own if you have one.
• We provide headsets but you are welcome to bring your own.

Course and test results are based on student aptitude and are not guaranteed within the times stated.  Successful students will be highly motivated and prepared to work hard with us to reach a high standard.

Particularly with aerobatics courses, the physiological impacts (tiredness, potential airsickness) should not be underestimated.  All students are different, but some students can only physically cope with 1 trip on the first couple of days (but by the end of the course most are able to do 2-3 trips a day).

Some courses require students to demonstrate that they have met the required standard by being "safe and competent" at manoeuvres, in order to complete the course.  The AOPA Aerobatics courses all have a test at the end of the course, usually at additional cost.

If we feel a course may be inappropriate for a student, we reserve the right to ask for an initial flying assessment (charged at our normal rates). Very occasionally, if a student is not progressing at a suitable pace, we may recommend that he/she does not continue with the course or considers alternative training.

Most courses start on a Monday, and continue through the week, according to course duration and weather.    Occasionally during the winter months we may be able to start courses on a different day, depending on how busy we are.

We are closed on Sundays and Bank Holidays.

During our busiest months (April - September inclusive), we are unable to offer one-off (ie non-course based) flights at the weekend.

Very occasionally, we may need to reschedule or delay some of your course flying for a corporate event.  We will do our best to let you know in advance.

Flying by the hour is payable on the day itself, according to time flown.

A deposit of £200 is required in order to reserve course dates.  This deposit must be received at least 1 month in advance.

The full balance must be paid on the FIRST DAY of the course.  If, for any reason, you are unable to complete the course at a later date, the flying time not flown will be refunded based on the time flown at our standard (ie not discounted) hourly rate.

We encourage students to fly with different instructors in order to benefit from a range of teaching styles;  as our instructors are military trained, the methods of teaching are consistent.  Comprehensive notes are written up for each sortie, in order to ensure that there is continuity of instruction.  Students have access to these notes which can be copied for you.

As our instructors work for us on a part-time basis, we are unable to guarantee a specific instructor or the same instructor each day.  He/she will also normally be teaching other students during the day and we are therefore unable to guarantee you a dedicated instructor all day.  We reserve the right to charge an additional £40 per training session on top of our normal hourly rates if you will only fly with a specific instructor.

The Operations Manager or Staff Instructor will make a final weather decision.  Please phone us the working day before your course begins to check on the forecast weather, any last-minute changes etc.

Weather guidelines refer to the T67 Firefly only.  Limits are different for the Extra300.

Please note that, if you receive full ground briefing for the day but are unable to fly due to weather, we charge a fee of £75 for instructor time.  This will be added to your course cost.

Circuits:  Cloudbase 1200', crosswind max 20 kts, max gusts 10 kts (Extra x-wind 10 kts, max gust 5kts), Viz>3km
Stalling, UPs, Aeros  Minimum:   cloudbase 4000' - can generally be lower if suitable gaps up to 4000' available, Viz>3km
Formation:  Minimum cloudbase 2500' (3500' for tailchasing), Viz>4km
Spinning:  Minimum cloudbase 8000' - can generally be lower if suitable gaps up to 8000' available, Viz>5km

Nobody has to be a fitness freak to fly our aircraft, but because of the aircraft's design there are no doors into the cockpit; access is gained by climbing on the wing root and entering through the sliding canopy.  During aerobatics and spin training, you will be flying the aircraft under more difficult physical conditions than most PPL holders are used to - 'g' forces require some effort to combat the physiological impact, and lookout tends to be far more active and thorough, so a reasonable level of personal fitness can assist your performance.

You will hear different viewpoints on what is best to eat and drink before (and after) flying.  Our general advice to you is to "continue as normal" bearing in mind we recommend that you take water before you fly due to the de-hydrating atmosphere in the cockpit. There is an excellent Cafe at the Aerodrome.

All our Instructor Pilots observe very specific rules about drinking and flying and they ask you to join them!  Strictly NO consumption of alcohol at least 12 hours before flying, and only moderate amounts prior to that.  Should you wish to deviate from these rules, you will not fly until you are back within them.

Flying prices include around 45 minutes of briefing pre-flight, and 30 minutes of debriefing post-flight (and often more).  If you would like additional briefing time, this may be chargeable.  Please let us know in advance if you would like more briefing time so that we can plan it into the schedule.

If you receive full ground briefing for the day but are unable to fly due to weather/runway conditions, we charge a fee of £50 per instructor per half day.  This will be added to your course cost.

Pre-flight and post-flight briefings are comprehensive and are tailored to the student.  Pre-flight briefings are often in the form of multimedia presentations.

For places to stay we recommend that you refer to airbnb.co.uk, tripadvisor.co.uk or booking.com as there is a wide range of accommodation available in the local area.  Chichester is the nearest town, postcode area PO18.

Please note that local accommodation can get very booked up, especially in the summer months, and that unfortunately none of the accommodation is within safe walking distance of the airfield due to the narrow country roads (without pavements) in the vicinity of the Aerodrome.  We respectfully request that you organise your own ground transport (hire car, taxi or bicycle) in advance.

As Goodwood is a PPR Airport, you will need to contact Air Traffic in advance to let them know you are coming.  It is helpful to also let us know if you are flying in.  If you are flying in from overseas, we respectfully request that you complete GENDEC forms etc yourself.

If you are flying in and staying overnight, you will need to make your own ground transport arrangements as there is no accommodation within walking distance.

We regret that we are unable to offer you a lift to your accommodation or to arrange taxis.

If you are coming from overseas, please carefully read through all of the above.

We understand that if you are only with us for 5-6 days doing an Aerobatics Course, there may be considerable time pressure for you to complete the course in this timeframe.  We will try our hardest to work around the weather, other flying programmed, instructor and aircraft availability etc, in order to help you gain your Aerobatics qualification.  Ideally we aim for a minimum of 2 trips a day (3 if possible) and as we do not operate to fixed time slots you are expected to be available to fly at any point throughout the day (9:00-17:00).

However, please note that all students are different; some people can only cope with 1 aerobatics flight a day early on, until G-tolerance increases. This will obviously affect how you progress through the course.  The AOPA Basic Aerobatic Course/ Aerobatic rating is (for example) a minimum of 8 hours of flying before you are eligible to take the Test, and it can often take longer than this for students to reach the required standard.

For those of you who wish to convert onto the T67 Firefly and go solo, a high standard of flying and airmanship is required.

Aerobatics course students do not need to know the aircraft to this level, as they will not normally fly solo, but a knowledge of aerobatic manoeuvre entry and limiting speeds is essential, as well as a knowledge of spin recovery actions and techniques.  Don't worry - part of OUR job is to teach you these so they become second nature!