Flying in private aircraft & Learning Piloting around Singapore [Rough Guide]

"You could get your pilot licence with less than S$100, or at half of the costs in Singapore, depending on circumstances!"

Piloting or even just riding on a private aircraft seems to be very exclusive in Singapore, especially since some say General Aviation(loosely refers to non-scheduled flights) here is dead. But if you hunted hard enough it is actually quite available, and even at half the price of those you'd find in Singapore!

Getting there & The Flight

Cross the causeway to Malaysia customs and then hop onto the Senai Airport non-stop Express bus(at the bus station within the customs complex) and you will arrive at Senai International Airport in Johor in 45 minutes. A 10-minute walk from the airport main entrance brings you to the side of the airport for General Aviation(GA) - the Senai Cargo Centre.

The flying clubs are gathered here and I will conclude this post by giving a comparison table of the costs of getting a Private Pilot’s Licence with each of these clubs.

Some club here provides flights on private 4-seater aircrafts to nearby cities and islands like to Malacca & Pulau Tioman in 2.5 hours (2-way) at close to RM2,000. (GST 6% applies)

This day we went there for a 1-hour joyride just to enjoy the freedom of soaring over places, getting ourselves out of the constraints of earthly forces, and to enjoy the sceneries of the nearby areas!

Private Pilot’s Licence

If you were dreaming of piloting an aircraft with a licence, the Private Pilot’s Licence(PPL) is the most basic licence you can get for flying a General Aviation aircraft. (There are other types of licences for example for sports flying which may allow you to fly microlights but not full-scale aircrafts which can be used for transportation from place to place.) With the PPL, in general you are licenced to pilot the aircraft models which you have be trained for and it’s recognised at flying clubs around the world, for you to rent aircrafts to fly.

In Singapore, due to the limited airspace, PPLs offered at flying clubs are a variant known as PPL-Restricted (PPL-R). This is not a full PPL as it does not complete all the navigation trainings required for the PPL, due to the inability of the required “cross-country” flights to be conducted in Singapore. Singapore PPL-R holders normally go to other countries such as Malaysia to complete these requirements to attain the full PPL.

To work towards being able to pilot an aircraft with a licence for recreational purposes, there are actually a few options here & around (I have not included academies towards professional flying here):

I clocked 19.2 hours of Pilot-In-Command(PIC) and did my First Solo Flight with the Singapore Youth Flying Club(SYFC) & paid only like $10 membership & less than a hundred for books. It was amazing, despite the long travelling time to get to the flying club. (Still the same now, the SYFC & other flying clubs can be reached with SBS Transit Bus 103 at the Seletar Camp G gate.) If you have missed the pre-requisites, maybe you can pin your hopes on your next generation.

So if you can’t get it the blessed way I have put the costs of getting a PPL/PPL-R at various clubs side by side, based on as much information as available. This table assumes you take public transport to your club. I took figures from only 1 club in Singapore as they are similarly more highly costed. And note that costs for clubs in Singapore only get you PPL-R compared to those in Senai which get you the full PPL. (Table assumes you take 60 hours to get PPL-R & PPL in Singapore & Senai respectively.)

The links to the relevant page of each club are below, although they might not be updated: http://www.seletar-flying-club.org/learntofly.html (Singapore)

http://www.eliteflyingclub.com/FAQs.htm (Senai, Malaysia)

http://www.frasflyingclub.com.my/ppl.php (Senai, Malaysia)

http://www.johorflyingclub.com/becoming-a-pilot/ (Senai, Malaysia)

Not in table is Republic of Singapore Flying Club (RSFC) - http://www.singaporeflyingclub.com/pplprocess.pdf (Singapore)

Normally it is encouraged for student pilots to complete their trainings within a year especially due to the validity of a Student Pilot’s Licence (like your Provisional Driving Licence(PDL) when you learn driving) being only 9 months. Most flying clubs are open on most of the days so you could make it a weekly (weekend + public holidays) affair.

Now that you have got the picture, the next step really is to TAKE ACTION. Join our Meetup group for upcoming flying trips & other adventures! :) Meetup Group: "Extreme Sports & Crazy Adventures Singapore" (www.meetup.com/CrazyQ) Or Like our facebook page to keep updated on similar adventures! (www.fb.com/CrayZeeQueue)

Questions? Land them below.

Kuok Zhi Qiang ADVENTURER & AVIATION PROFESSIONAL

Zhi Qiang is an Air Traffic Management R&D Manager with trainings in Air Traffic Control, Aerospace Engineering(with Minor in Psychology), and did his First Solo Flight.

LinkedIn Profile here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kuokzhiqiang