Taking a PPL in France.

Hi Robin and welcome to the forum!

I'm based at Libourne (LFDI) and might be able to help you, or perhaps put you in touch with a club nearer Bergerac...

If Peter is reading this I'd be glad if he'd pass my contact details to you. You might like to send me an email, or, better, give me a call over the weekend?

Don't let anything put you off doing your PPL now that you've made up your mind. And France is a such a great place to learn, there's a real sense of an 'aviation community' here - you'll make many friends and enjoy many special flights, I'm sure.

Details sent

Try here DR400 at Limoges all in English

I'm sure that Jojo will give you several contacts. But I'd like to emphasize the fact that it is very important to find a training facility close to your place to learn. In many clubs, you'll find commercial pilots or frozen ATPL instructing, they all speak english so that the language should not be a problem. But you'll soon discover that when you learn to fly (and even afterwards), you often go to the airfield just to cancel your flight (or have it canceled) due to bad wheather. If you have 100 km to go to get there, it'll soon become a burden. it's a waste of time too. So my advice would be to contact an aeroclub or FTO near your location and find out if they have an english speaking instructor. List of all aeroclubs can be found on the federation française d'aéronautique web site (ff-aero.fr or something like that, google it).

Also, the DR400 is a very good aircraft to learn. It is very light, so faster for the same power than many others, forgiving too.

Hello everyone,

My situation is very similar to Robin's, so I hope he forgives me for hijacking his thread. :)

I am currently living and working in the south of Paris, namely in Antony. Besides, I am determined to get my PPL during the following year. My plan was to get the theoretical part done over the winter and early spring, in order to focus on my actual flying lessons afterwards and hopefully get my licence early in the summer.

Now, an important factor for me is flexibility. My schedule at work is very unpredictable and if I engage in a programme with fixed classes and timetables, I will likely skip a significant part. However, I study well on my own and I am very confident I will be able to prepare myself for the written exams, going to the school only once in a while to clear specific doubts and questions with my instructor. Regarding the practical lessons, I am hoping to be able to schedule them after hours and/or on weekends.

Could you please give me some recommendations regarding schools or clubs where I can do this in English? My French is good enough for me to talk and understand my instructor during practical classes but it would definitely be better for me to sit the written exams in English (and coms!). I have already written to 6 clubs based at Toussus le Noble but the answers so far were all negative on the language issue.

And I believe this is it. Thanks a lot in advance for any help you may provide.

If anyone here wants to meet and have a chat somewhere in Paris (or nearby), I will gladly pay for the beer!

PS: I currently have with me the Oxford literature and Trevor Thom's manuals. What else do you recommend me to read as a preparation for my PPL? I know that PPL Confuser and PPL Perfector are good to prepare for the exams but I want to learn first and practice for the questions afterwards.

Perhaps no definitive answers, but it never hurts to consult

rdagold,

Are you aiming for a French PPL issued by the DGAC? If so, I'm not aware of any option to do either the skills test or the written exams in English. Understandable, as a PPL issued by the DGAC automatically confers R/T privileges in French (level 6).

If you are aiming for a CAA-issued PPL, the only school I know of is Cosmo Flight School near Limoges.

Jojo,

Thanks a lot for your reply.

I am aiming for a PPL and I thought the EASA entity issuing the licence would be non-restrictive, in the sense that I would be able to fly in the same places whether the licence had been issued by the CAA or the DGCA (or any other equivalent authority in the EU).

This is why it was quite a surprise to me to learn that the exams in France cannot be done in English. I know for a fact that in Portugal, for example, every examination, both written and practical, can be done in English if the applicant wishes so.

From what you said, I am now afraid that this matter is not that simple.

In any case, my French is not that bad and I am currently having lessons to improve it (level C1 at Alliance Française), so maybe I will just risk it and try to do it in the local language. However, I do not know if this will likely turn alright or not and I am not very comfortable with the feeling.

I will look into Cosmo Flight School near Limoges, although that is a (very) long drive away from Paris. I am hoping that the chief instructor over there can refer me to a nearer school engaged with the CAA.

Thanks a lot once again!