13:20 I didn't get to fly as much as I really wanted this year either; though we did get a couple of really long trips in. Got to fly around Canada's East coast and across some pretty desolate Canadian landscape. But the weather and forest fire smoke was a definite factor in keeping us from doing all we could have. So... In 2025 I too will be completing an IFR rating, and C-FMVU is headed into the shop in January to add those last few pieces of IFR equipment that will allow me to finally fly in low vis.
Love this news about your health and 2025 goals, Jon! I hope we can see each other this year. All the best and I can’t wait to see you reach that IFR goal!
Wow!….just wow! Such a great summary of your year. I’ve followed all your adventures this year, and thank you for sharing and opening up your life for us. Thank you for educating and inspiring us to visit new places, and keeping us safe in relaying your own experiences, honest pitfalls and advice. And lastly thank you for your expertly produced content and professional approach to vlogging. Just gutted your last video didn’t sign off with your usual words :-) Heres to 2025! Stuart
Glad you have finally bitten the bullet with it Jon. You will be amazed at the extra opportunities this will open up. I went through it in 2017 and it was amazing. I am sure you have this covered but take a really really close look at the regulations and make sure you are fully clued up on what you can credit in terms of the hours. When I did it, the magic number was 40 hours. Remember the legal minimum is 10 hours training in an ATO towards your IR. You will probably find it is more effort than cost too. That may sound odd at the moment but I certainly found that to be the case. Also, be prepared to get into the habit of calling out checks and knowing them (and the proper responses) of by heart as well. Doing them under VFR is one thing but doing them flying on instruments is a whole different ball game. The good news is there is a lot of stuff you can practise at home without having to spend any money! Really good luck and Merry Christmas.
Thank's for all your videos through 2024, wishing you and your family a very Happy Christmas and peaceful and prosperous New Year. Oh, and good luck with your IR training🙂
I’m a bit late to this video but thanks Jon for a very entertaining and informative year! Looking forward to 2025! In the meantime a very Happy Christmas to you and your family.
Thanks Jon for another very motivating video ! Your errands and stories have been very inspiring to me, a "young" 64 year old french PPL pilot (licensed last august). Here in northern France (I'm based in Dinard LFPL) the weather has not been nice enough for me to travel a bit but like you, I really hope 2025 will help me discover new places and become more proficient at piloting. Have a lovely holiday season with your family, I look forward to discovering and learning more from you in 2025 !
Thank you Jon, it was a wonderful year to following you through the skies. I wish you and your family amazing holidays and looking forward to next year and exiting videos from your adventures in the sky.
What a lovely recap of 2024! Looking forward to following you on your travels and IR ups and downs next year. I have my final four CB-IR theory exams booked for 3rd week in February, a local friendly IR instructor is going to do a bit of outside of ATO training with me prior to attending an ATO for Skills Test Prep. I do have a long expired IR(R) (IMC back in my day). Also have an FI Seminar booked for beginning of February for my first 3 year FI renewal. Apart from that looking to fly more than the 35 hours I have done this year! Unfortunately the Scottish weather has been absolutely awful this year, this combined with full time Mon-Fri work outside of aviation and having had a fractured shoulder for the first half of 2024, I'm hoping I'm more along the lines of 100 hours+ next year! I'm sure you don't need it but all the best and good luck for your exams... also using BGS - get yourself through the course content and progress tests and then bank bank bank - I used BGS and Aviation Exam and got good passes on the first three earlier this year but then I kind of knew what I was letting myself in for having passed 13x CPL exams back in 2019. Best piece of advice though? Read the question. And read the question again!
An IR makes life so much simpler. Check the weather, file the plan and fly. You’ll pick up additional route charges and might have to do some high speed approaches to slot in with traffic but having someone else do the handovers and not piddling about flying along narrow corridors makes life so much easier. Best of luck.
Great video and thanks for all of them over the year! My goal in 2025 is to pass my PPL. I’ve completed my first year of training, approx 20 hours, with solo circuits and 3 exams. Onto cross country next year and hopefully much better weather and more hours! Good luck with your IR training!
What a wonderful video and excellent storytelling! Wishing you all the best for the coming year and happy holidays! Next year, I’ll be transitioning from flying the Cessna 172 to the Cirrus SR20/22, which I’m really excited about. I also plan to book at least one hour of flight time in the AT-6 Texan-can’t wait for that experience!
Always love your videos John. As an non pilot but as an ex mil controller, its great to see it from the other side of the fence as it were and your simplistic explanations of all things GA a great to observe.
What a year Jon. Absolutely loved your coverage throughout the year. Great news to hear you have started studying for your IR and best of luck with that. You will nail it and that only means more content for your army of subscribers to enjoy!! Happy Christmas and a Peaceful New Year to you and your family. See you in 2025. Nigel.
THANK YOU JON. Sometimes if flying is cancelled due weather, or I just can’t get up for what ever reason, thing into your channel puts me in the cockpit for a while, and that really helps .
Hello Jon, as an old pilot, compared to you, I'm in my early 80's, I can tell you proudly that I held the full IR from 1984 until 2015. I only stopped renewing the IR because of the requirement to have a panel mounted approved GPS, and as I share a group aircraft, it was not in the interests of the other members to invest in one. My thoughts on the iR is that it very satisfying to achieve the rating, and on the occasions where the weather is suitable it makes a lot of the work easier. But the other side of having the IR, is that it puts you in the equipment arms race. After a few flights you'll quickly want ice protection, thunderstorm detection, oxygen, more horse power, and maybe another engine. Also equipment updates as prescribed by the CAA every few years. It get expensive. Me, I'm on the other end of the graph. I want blue sky, light winds, low fuel burn, while I wait for the inevitable loss of medical. I wish you well in your endeavours but I predict you will not use the rating as much as you'd hope to. I look forward to some trip videos when you get it. Best wishes for 2025
I think the issue for me will be more about the lack of IFR infrastructure at GA airfields in the UK is extremely poor. Yes, I am going to have to invest in upgrades to the aeroplane - that's already in work - but it was only a matter of time anyway. I can see the distances I fly will increase, as I tour further afield with less uncertainty and worry.
You'll probably find that the Instrument Rating will further improve your already excellent (at least from the videos heh heh) skills. It is demanding, but rewarding. I'm happy to see that you are planning to learn NDB navigation as part of this - that's a basic tool that should remain viable long after the VORs have been all packed up. As for 'airport cafes' and accessible amenities around airports - you are living in a paradise compared to Canada! Happy flights and thanks for sharing your experiences. Cheers and Season's Greetings.
Great video as always Jon. Love your videos. Been a great year for me; first solo landaway, QXC & then got my PPL. Have done 40 hours of flying this year, taken friends and family up, not managed a landaway since getting my PPL yet but hoping to rectify that on Monday. Looking forward to 2025, want to fly to Le Touquet, would like to start IR(r) and generally keep flying and ideally getting further afield. Good luck with the IR rating and please keep doing your videos, love your channel.
Happy Christmas and have a great 2025. Hope to see you during our 3-Jodel trip to the UK in June. Planning Lydd - Duxford - Old Warden - Northrepps - Elmsett then back home to Arcachon… weather permitting!!
I found you recently and have been catching up! Thank you for making UK aviation accessible to all of us who don't have the opportunity. You bring it to life in such a clear, honest and open way, truly high quality. Have a great xmas and new year!
looking forward to following your journey to the full instrument rating - be a useful resource for others looking to do the same. For me, I may try to actually get to the point of trying to fly myself - always something I have wanted to do, but never had the time or funds to do so.
Nice summary of 2024 Jon, it's been a pleasure and thoroughly enjoyable watching your videos. Glad you've reversed your type 2 diabetes, not an easy feat in itself and I look forward to watching your IR progress through 2025. AS for me, 2025 is going to be a bit of challenge as I overcome a recent heart attack, bolt from the blue - as I was neither overweight, diabetic and ran marathons regularly. Have a great Christmas and New Year.
Thanks for the nice video (as always), best wishes for both your health and IR! As a French PPL+IR, I only plan for more trips than in 2024 which requires better weather and less mechanical issues on our airclub aircrafts. Unless I buy one. There are a few Arrows that are appealing but hangars are more difficult to find here
Thank you for a wonderful year of adventures, I have enjoyed tagging along for the ride! For 2025, I will begin the planning to obtain a PPL and IFR rating and hopefully start the journey by year’s end. I live in France now, but I may still want to learn in the UK for an easier time of it language wise, unless they teach the course in English in France - will enquire!
You have a really good combination: flying skills AND a great voice and presentation skills. I have watched many of you videos, they are all great. Keep up the good work!
Excited to see where your instrument rating takes you! I just finished my IR in the US in October and am excited to put it to use next year. I also plan to do some spin training. Thanks for all the great content this year!
Lovely summary of a busy year. Thanks for your videos Jon. Wishing you and the family a happy and peaceful Christmas and New Year. Looking forwards to you getting your IR and following your exploits in 2025.
Good one jon nice that you set your store out for all to see both my wife and myself would like to wish you and your family and all the viewers a safe and happy christmas. My goal for the new year in flying is to get back into the air after a heart condition warning . fingers crossed
Congrats on 100 hours this year. While I'm in the US, it would be fascinating to hear about how the UK instrument training goes and the differences in approach. A quick search shows me that your Class A is quite different from ours (above 18,000 ft) so I see how that would impact your flying! Good luck in your studies and wish me luck that I'll get to the point experience-wise that it will make sense for me to start instrument training myself. Happy holidays to you and your family!
Another great video Jon. Keep them coming. A pretty dire year flying-wise for us as our aircraft was in for an avionics refit which took almost a full 12 months (we planned for 3)... but I did get my CPL during that time and am looking forward to a full year of flying (on our new autopilot!) in 2025!
@@TheFlyingReporter yes... may make the next few months a little easier. Even just a dual G5 vs that vacuum AI... interfaces well with the 430 and leaves you open to a Garmin autopilot later on. Have a great christmas and look forward to hearing about the CBIR next year.
Definitely looking forward to your IR adventures this year! I’m looking to finally completing my PPL this year after a long break in training after Covid. 😊
Great video Jon thanks for all you do. I enjoy following your exploits. My 2025 goal is to complete my NPPL(M) to fly the Icarus C42’s at my local flying school Solent Flight. As you say the weather has such an impact on our flying… my last five weekly lessons have been cancelled - snow, rain, wind, soggy airfield !!! But onwards to 2025 and good luck with the instrument rating. Best wishes, Howard
Great video as always, cant wait to see your travels in 2025. For me in 2025 I'm hopefully going to be working towards my full commercial to eventually live my dream with the airlines :D
I'm not a pilot (unless RC models count! :D), but I'm an aviation enthusiast. I really enjoy your channel, watching you fly around to different airfields. The relaxed style and content is so watchable and interesting. I have a flying lesson "experience" flight booked for the new year, so who knows, maybe one day I'll be able to fly to some of the places you visit.
I started to learn to fly for an flexwing NPPL in September. Looking forward to passing my theory exams and continuing to fill my log book towards my GST this coming year. Your channel has been one of the reasons I finally decided to take the plunge into General Aviation.
Nice re-cap and a new challenge for 2025 👍😁. Thanks for all of the entertaining content. I am almost certainly going to be mirroring you with the CBIR next year, for many of the same reasons as yourself. It has taken quite a lot of digging to understand the best licence route, how to achieve it and sort through the various training organisations to find the one that suits me best. I'll hopefully be pushing the button on the TK purchase in Jan 🥵 I suspect that will be 6 - 9 months of serious time investment to pass the exams. Good luck to you 👍
Thank you John love your vids especially aerodrome reviews so helpful. Love to hear more on your IR training and who ur using for theory along with study techniques? Thanks again merry Christmas to you and family
For me its just doing more flying and hopefully get up to Glenforsa, have been wanting to for years, the problem has always been the weather. I'm also looking forward to putting the AvMap ultra I am installing through its paces (alongside a cleanup and rationalisation of the panel which is my winter project).
This year I decided on a career change from Engineering to Aviation - although it's been a childhood dream to just get a PPL. I passed my PPL skills test a couple of weeks ago and as I await the CAA to process my application, I've been binging your videos. You've given me plenty of ideas for hour building in 2025! Chomping at the bit to get going. Good luck with the IR.
Obtaining your full IFR rating is the best investment you will ever make Jon. It is the most demanding rating and involves a lot of study but in the end, you fly in airspace that is controlled and safe. I have never looked back since obtaining my IFR rating, which allowed me to fly to the USA and back. Good luck and happy holidays!
Enjoyed the end of year review but from shutdown to sea the award must go to the wonderful Glenforsa airfeild in Scotland from landing to the sea 30 seconds max sorry Lee on solent
John, what is your method to make sure your gear is down? My rule is to touch the gear immediately after I touch the flaps. Also, since you are doing IFR training.....do yourself a favor and get X-Plane 11 so you can learn the muscle memory of ILS, RNAV & VOR approaches. If you get X-plane 12 or Microsoft flight Sim, you might not be able to run it on a moderate laptop like I have. Also, get a xbox 1 controller.....it is better than the logitech yoke. The yoke is too loose and inaccurate. Good luck!!
2025 is the year that I'll finally get back to training to gain my PPL or LAPL. I flew approx 20 hours as a teenager (20 years ago now) but couldn't afford to finish. I still can't really afford it now but I've decided not to put it off any longer! I had a great experience in a C152 this summer which reignited the passion. Maybe one day in the next couple of years I'll fly into Redhill and say hi!
At the open when you said (roughly) "In 2025 I will do something so many of you have encouraged..." I knew exactly what it was. I have flown all my USA requirements for instrument (actually much more) but time to crack the books. Ugh. Me and a buddy bought a DA40 end of January this year. I logged 125 hrs this year which feels about right. I don't do much over 2.5 hours each trip.
Funny enough I also plan to do full IR through CB-IR route next year, and starting the theory in UK (7 subjects). I love flying IFR, and I wish to be able to jump into class A for longer trips, and also I plan to do some trips to Europe, so it will be useful. I heard somewhere that you actually plan to do it in US? Is that true? If yes, why?
Hoping to get my PPL in the first half of 2025, and spend the rest of the year flying for fun before considering any further training, which will likely be night rating next winter. Most of all, go on fun adventures with my partner and friends.
I passed my TK in my mid-sixties and have a couple of comments: first, be prepared for stuff that is very interesting, but that you will never need in practice! I remember the instructor asking the class to tackle a question about gyroscopic drift on a flight from Gatwick to the Caribbean. I asked if I got any marks for saying that I would be in a dinghy two hundred miles west of Ireland. The answer was no. More seriously, I ran out of time, and failed, my first stab at the navigation paper. The problem was simply that my mind (and eyesight) worked more slowly than those of the twenty-somethings all studying to be Ryanair pilots on my course. The print on the airways charts (which you never use in practice) is very small and is dark blue on light blue and it simply took me too long to find my way around the charts. I passed on the second attempt although I ran out of time again, but managed to get 100% on the questions that I did answer.
Thankfully I’m doing a slimmed down syllabus from the full atpl so not so onerous. It is all quite interesting and it’s shed light on a few things I really wanted to know. So that’s all good.
@@TheFlyingReporter Jon, I did the CB-IR syllabus too, but unless it has changed, you will find stuff that is beyond what you need, but still very interesting. When I raised this, the instructor made the point that although I flew an Arrow, there would be nothing to stop me jumping into the cockpit of a private executive jet with my IR (nothing except money, of course!).
out of curiosity there was someone who looked a lot like you on my revision week with Bristol Ground School. I’m also doing an IR in 2025 but for different reasons.
What am I going to do? Well after over a decade of not flying I’m planning on getting my PPL back and buying a share in a small group with a lovely single engine aircraft similar to yours..not retractable but well appointed. Good Luck with your plans. Probably hear you on the airwaves round and about. !
👋 mr hut my mum used to watch ur channel she had her ppl use to fly m600 sls she 🥰 it sadly she pass way 15weeks ago I live in 🇫🇷 now the plane is mine I’ve taken my ppl last week and pass a ESA PPL I now flying her plane and I’m going to fly around the 🌏 so I can understand why u ❤ of flying, have a very very happy ☃️❄️
In 2025 i hope to regain my PPL(A) and build hours in a microlight such as the Sting S4. It consumes about 16lt per hour plus "servicing" is really cheap. I refresh on a PA28 and I love it but the fact is that it is a 50-60 yo design and aerodynamically it is like a flying brick. You can see all these modern designs at places like the german exhibition, glass and carbon fibre and instrumentation like the garmin g1000 that makes them look like an airbus.
My goal for 2025, get my type 2 diabetes in to remission along with sorting out my BP and hopefully getting my medical sorted by March/April (all the extra ECG requirements meant I had to put it on hold earlier this year) so I can get my training started to renew my lapsed PPL and get in the air again.
@@TheFlyingReporter Thanks, John, I've started a 12 month NHS programme which will hopefully see me through to that end. Only 8 weeks in to it with another 4 weeks to go before I can start having food again (800 calories a day at the moment, so 4 milk shakes a day) but have special dispensation for Christmas dinner :-)
I just completed my CBIR Well worth the journey Jon. Give yourself 12 months to get it done to avoid giving you stress. You'll probably need 30-40 hours if you use your IRR regularly. Best of luck mate.
Thanks. I'm making good progress on the study, and have 3 weeks flight training booked in the spring, so we shall see. The deadline is mine, and there's no external pressure, so it will take as long as it takes.
@@TheFlyingReporter Was the same for me. No deadline. Unlike the group I was studying GS with. All worrying about scoring above 94%....But once you start flying hyper-accurately, it is the very best feeling. Happy to help the study if I can Jon.
A few maintenance comments, replacing the landing light with the LED unit will save you money, did it on my PA28 and all the issues went away….. So I replaced all the external lighting with LED ‘s. I would not have spent another penny on that King KR 85 ADF the unit was troublesome even when introduced, I re-purposed all the KR85’s I have ever owned as wheel chocks years ago. If you must have an ADF then the King KR87 is the reliable unit. There are lots on the market at really cheap prices as the Americans are junking them, I got a whole system for $500 ( to keep as a spare). A smart move is to make sure that if you Buy a KR87 get the flavour with ADF super flag , that will be compatible with most Glass panels when you upgrade. Good luck with the IR, I found that the IMC was one of the two hardest things I have ever done in aviation ( the A320 ground engineers license was the other ) but the IR training was just practice to get up to standard. I think your biggest trial will be the ground exams, lots of theory with not much real world relevance.
@@TheFlyingReporter You just have to accept CAA exams for what they are and learn the answers, I would undoubtedly failed the CPL hydraulics exam because of the level it was set, it was fortunate that my engineering license ( covering modern airliners ) got me out of doing that exam. You could be lucky with the ADF if you can find someone to fix the indicator as King stopped supporting the unit about twenty yeas back and you seem to have one of the last functioning KR85 units in captivity.
@@TheFlyingReporter I rather think it should, if someone today suggested ADF as a navigation aid they would be committed to an asylum for those weak of mind. I only refitted the ADF to my aircraft after an avionics upgrade to satisfy legal requirements in some countries for IFR flight. In practice If the ADF approach is in the GPS data base I would fly the approach on the GPS with the ADF displayed to cover the legal requirements.
Good luck with your CB-IR and with an Turbo Arrow is well worth it:
It's a whole new world when you can fully fly IFR.
13:20 I didn't get to fly as much as I really wanted this year either; though we did get a couple of really long trips in. Got to fly around Canada's East coast and across some pretty desolate Canadian landscape. But the weather and forest fire smoke was a definite factor in keeping us from doing all we could have.
So... In 2025 I too will be completing an IFR rating, and C-FMVU is headed into the shop in January to add those last few pieces of IFR equipment that will allow me to finally fly in low vis.
Sounds like it’s all coming together next year. Good luck with it all.
Love this news about your health and 2025 goals, Jon! I hope we can see each other this year. All the best and I can’t wait to see you reach that IFR goal!
Thank you Jason.
Wow!….just wow! Such a great summary of your year. I’ve followed all your adventures this year, and thank you for sharing and opening up your life for us. Thank you for educating and inspiring us to visit new places, and keeping us safe in relaying your own experiences, honest pitfalls and advice. And lastly thank you for your expertly produced content and professional approach to vlogging. Just gutted your last video didn’t sign off with your usual words :-) Heres to 2025! Stuart
Thank you stuart. Merry Christmas...
Glad you have finally bitten the bullet with it Jon. You will be amazed at the extra opportunities this will open up. I went through it in 2017 and it was amazing. I am sure you have this covered but take a really really close look at the regulations and make sure you are fully clued up on what you can credit in terms of the hours. When I did it, the magic number was 40 hours. Remember the legal minimum is 10 hours training in an ATO towards your IR. You will probably find it is more effort than cost too. That may sound odd at the moment but I certainly found that to be the case. Also, be prepared to get into the habit of calling out checks and knowing them (and the proper responses) of by heart as well. Doing them under VFR is one thing but doing them flying on instruments is a whole different ball game. The good news is there is a lot of stuff you can practise at home without having to spend any money! Really good luck and Merry Christmas.
Thanks. Pretty sure I'm on top of the hours. When I begin the practical training they're going to go through the pilot logs.
I plan to fly my WW1 planes a lot more ... great video Jon, cheers
Thank's for all your videos through 2024, wishing you and your family a very Happy Christmas and peaceful and prosperous New Year. Oh, and good luck with your IR training🙂
Thank you for all your Support in 2024 Georgina.
Nice edit, that. And well played on the health stuff 👍
Thanks. The challenge is keeping on top of it. Annual medical coming up. Yikes. 😬
Great job John! I enjoy your channel very much. Greetings from Switzerland and from Southern California.
Thank you. 🙏
I’m a bit late to this video but thanks Jon for a very entertaining and informative year! Looking forward to 2025! In the meantime a very Happy Christmas to you and your family.
Keep up Richard!! Thanks for all your support this year. Best wishes for 2025.
Thanks for all the great content in 2024 Jon, have a wonderful Christmas and a great new year, here's to 2025!
Thank you. Merry Christmas.
Thanks Jon for another very motivating video ! Your errands and stories have been very inspiring to me, a "young" 64 year old french PPL pilot (licensed last august). Here in northern France (I'm based in Dinard LFPL) the weather has not been nice enough for me to travel a bit but like you, I really hope 2025 will help me discover new places and become more proficient at piloting. Have a lovely holiday season with your family, I look forward to discovering and learning more from you in 2025 !
Thanks, and Merry Christmas to you.
Good to hear. I did my IR via the CBM IR route in 2023, also in my Turbo Arrow; it’s been great fun and incredibly useful. Good luck!
Thank you.
Thank you Jon, it was a wonderful year to following you through the skies. I wish you and your family amazing holidays and looking forward to next year and exiting videos from your adventures in the sky.
Thank you so much, and thanks for your support in 2024.
Haha I knew you looked familiar on my BGS revision week call! Best of luck with the exams and super excited for the next year :D
When are you due to do your exams?
@@TheFlyingReporter Week beginning the 6th of Jan. Currently hammering Gnav questions ;)
What a lovely recap of 2024! Looking forward to following you on your travels and IR ups and downs next year.
I have my final four CB-IR theory exams booked for 3rd week in February, a local friendly IR instructor is going to do a bit of outside of ATO training with me prior to attending an ATO for Skills Test Prep. I do have a long expired IR(R) (IMC back in my day). Also have an FI Seminar booked for beginning of February for my first 3 year FI renewal.
Apart from that looking to fly more than the 35 hours I have done this year! Unfortunately the Scottish weather has been absolutely awful this year, this combined with full time Mon-Fri work outside of aviation and having had a fractured shoulder for the first half of 2024, I'm hoping I'm more along the lines of 100 hours+ next year!
I'm sure you don't need it but all the best and good luck for your exams... also using BGS - get yourself through the course content and progress tests and then bank bank bank - I used BGS and Aviation Exam and got good passes on the first three earlier this year but then I kind of knew what I was letting myself in for having passed 13x CPL exams back in 2019.
Best piece of advice though? Read the question. And read the question again!
Thanks for the advice. I have 3 exams in Jan, some more in March and the finals in May I suspect.
If I remember anything from my ATPLS at BGS it was the acronym 'RTFQ' ( Read. The. 'Full'. Question 😁)
Well done John great job !
Thank you. Merry Christmas 🎄🎁
Thanks!
🙏 thank you.
An IR makes life so much simpler. Check the weather, file the plan and fly. You’ll pick up additional route charges and might have to do some high speed approaches to slot in with traffic but having someone else do the handovers and not piddling about flying along narrow corridors makes life so much easier. Best of luck.
Looking forward to it, thanks Trevor.
True, you're in a constant narrow corridor, and someone is caring for you.
Super summary of 2024. I have very much enjoyed watching your channel this year. Many thanks!
Thanks for being there. Merry Christmas 🎄
Great stuff John! I believe I may have been in you ground school revision week too...best of luck on the exams front.
Thanks Simon. You too.
Great video and thanks for all of them over the year! My goal in 2025 is to pass my PPL. I’ve completed my first year of training, approx 20 hours, with solo circuits and 3 exams. Onto cross country next year and hopefully much better weather and more hours! Good luck with your IR training!
Keep at it and you will get there in 2025. Good luck.
What a wonderful video and excellent storytelling! Wishing you all the best for the coming year and happy holidays!
Next year, I’ll be transitioning from flying the Cessna 172 to the Cirrus SR20/22, which I’m really excited about. I also plan to book at least one hour of flight time in the AT-6 Texan-can’t wait for that experience!
And to you too. You’ll love the Harvard.
Always love your videos John. As an non pilot but as an ex mil controller, its great to see it from the other side of the fence as it were and your simplistic explanations of all things GA a great to observe.
Thanks for following along. Good to have you on board.
Great video as usual John and thank you again. Well done with your health improvements too. Fly safe. 😊
Thanks David.
What a year Jon. Absolutely loved your coverage throughout the year. Great news to hear you have started studying for your IR and best of luck with that. You will nail it and that only means more content for your army of subscribers to enjoy!! Happy Christmas and a Peaceful New Year to you and your family. See you in 2025. Nigel.
Thank you Nigel. Merry Christmas.
THANK YOU JON. Sometimes if flying is cancelled due weather, or I just can’t get up for what ever reason, thing into your channel puts me in the cockpit for a while, and that really helps .
Thanks John for watching and all the support in 2024.
Thank for such a great mix of material over the past 12 months. Maybe a little more on Microlights… Happy Christmas
Thank you Neil.
Really enjoy your channel, Jon. Last flew a glider, 30 years ago, while at uni. Might make 2025 the year I get back in one and finally go solo.
Hope you manage that next year. Thanks for following.
Great Video and thank you for your hard work promoting general aviation.
Thank you for all your support in 2024.
Hello Jon, as an old pilot, compared to you, I'm in my early 80's, I can tell you proudly that I held the full IR from 1984 until 2015. I only stopped renewing the IR because of the requirement to have a panel mounted approved GPS, and as I share a group aircraft, it was not in the interests of the other members to invest in one. My thoughts on the iR is that it very satisfying to achieve the rating, and on the occasions where the weather is suitable it makes a lot of the work easier. But the other side of having the IR, is that it puts you in the equipment arms race. After a few flights you'll quickly want ice protection, thunderstorm detection, oxygen, more horse power, and maybe another engine. Also equipment updates as prescribed by the CAA every few years. It get expensive. Me, I'm on the other end of the graph. I want blue sky, light winds, low fuel burn, while I wait for the inevitable loss of medical. I wish you well in your endeavours but I predict you will not use the rating as much as you'd hope to. I look forward to some trip videos when you get it. Best wishes for 2025
I think the issue for me will be more about the lack of IFR infrastructure at GA airfields in the UK is extremely poor. Yes, I am going to have to invest in upgrades to the aeroplane - that's already in work - but it was only a matter of time anyway. I can see the distances I fly will increase, as I tour further afield with less uncertainty and worry.
You'll probably find that the Instrument Rating will further improve your already excellent (at least from the videos heh heh) skills. It is demanding, but rewarding. I'm happy to see that you are planning to learn NDB navigation as part of this - that's a basic tool that should remain viable long after the VORs have been all packed up. As for 'airport cafes' and accessible amenities around airports - you are living in a paradise compared to Canada! Happy flights and thanks for sharing your experiences. Cheers and Season's Greetings.
Thank you.
Fantastic year Jon, well done !!
Thanks Derek.
Great video as always Jon. Love your videos. Been a great year for me; first solo landaway, QXC & then got my PPL. Have done 40 hours of flying this year, taken friends and family up, not managed a landaway since getting my PPL yet but hoping to rectify that on Monday. Looking forward to 2025, want to fly to Le Touquet, would like to start IR(r) and generally keep flying and ideally getting further afield. Good luck with the IR rating and please keep doing your videos, love your channel.
Greg, it's going to be a busy year for you. Enjoy the exploration.
Happy Christmas and have a great 2025. Hope to see you during our 3-Jodel trip to the UK in June.
Planning Lydd - Duxford - Old Warden - Northrepps - Elmsett then back home to Arcachon… weather permitting!!
You should be alright in June....one would hope!!!
@ that’s what I said this year 😅
I found you recently and have been catching up! Thank you for making UK aviation accessible to all of us who don't have the opportunity. You bring it to life in such a clear, honest and open way, truly high quality. Have a great xmas and new year!
Thank you for your support and Merry Christmas to you.
Merry Christmas John to you and family. Really glad to hear your health has improved. Good luck with the IR :) x
Thanks Ben.
Thanks for all your great videos Jon! Wish you and your family Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Thank you.
looking forward to following your journey to the full instrument rating - be a useful resource for others looking to do the same.
For me, I may try to actually get to the point of trying to fly myself - always something I have wanted to do, but never had the time or funds to do so.
All of us that fly, make financial sacrifices to do so - unless we're commercial pilots of course. I hope you find a way.
Nice summary of 2024 Jon, it's been a pleasure and thoroughly enjoyable watching your videos.
Glad you've reversed your type 2 diabetes, not an easy feat in itself and I look forward to watching your IR progress through 2025.
AS for me, 2025 is going to be a bit of challenge as I overcome a recent heart attack, bolt from the blue - as I was neither overweight, diabetic and ran marathons regularly.
Have a great Christmas and New Year.
We’re right behind you Hugh. There’s no justice in those odds. As healthy as you are, it makes no sense. Good luck on your recovery.
@@TheFlyingReporter Thanks Jon, means a lot. Looking forward to the future. 🤞
Thanks for the nice video (as always), best wishes for both your health and IR! As a French PPL+IR, I only plan for more trips than in 2024 which requires better weather and less mechanical issues on our airclub aircrafts. Unless I buy one. There are a few Arrows that are appealing but hangars are more difficult to find here
Wishing you a prosperous 2025. Hoping lots of flying will come your way.
Thank you for a wonderful year of adventures, I have enjoyed tagging along for the ride! For 2025, I will begin the planning to obtain a PPL and IFR rating and hopefully start the journey by year’s end. I live in France now, but I may still want to learn in the UK for an easier time of it language wise, unless they teach the course in English in France - will enquire!
There’s probably a few doing it. Speak to James at @linguero.
I always enjoy watching your videos, and Arrow is such a great machine! Absolutely amazing year it was! Have a great holiday!
Many thanks for all your support this year.
Always a pleasure to follow your flight. Thanks a lot. Wish you all the best for this coming year
Thank you.
You have a really good combination: flying skills AND a great voice and presentation skills. I have watched many of you videos, they are all great. Keep up the good work!
Thanks so much. Have a great Christmas and thanks for all your support.
@@TheFlyingReporter You too and lets keep flying!!!
Excited to see where your instrument rating takes you! I just finished my IR in the US in October and am excited to put it to use next year. I also plan to do some spin training. Thanks for all the great content this year!
Thank you. I considered doing my IR in the US, but it worked out cheaper to do it here.
Lovely summary of a busy year. Thanks for your videos Jon. Wishing you and the family a happy and peaceful Christmas and New Year. Looking forwards to you getting your IR and following your exploits in 2025.
Thanks Matt.
Great video, here's to a great xmas , good health and safe flying for 2025 😎
Thank you. Merry Christmas.
Good one jon nice that you set your store out for all to see both my wife and myself would like to wish you and your family and all the viewers a safe and happy christmas. My goal for the new year in flying is to get back into the air after a heart condition warning . fingers crossed
Good luck and good health for 2025. Thanks Barry.
A great year. Merry Christmas. Looking forward to your adventures in ‘25.
Thanks Simon. Merry Christmas.
You are most welcome Jon. Happy landings. 🛬🛬🛬
Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year for 2025. 🎁🎄😍
Thank you. Merry Christmas to you as well.
Great content again, Jon 👌🏻100 hours is pretty damn good with the weather we've had to put up with this year, so well done! Good look with your IR 🤞🏻
Thanks Kevin.
Love your vidoes john, good luck with your IR, looking forward to your 2025 adventures.
Thanks for your support this year.
Congrats on 100 hours this year. While I'm in the US, it would be fascinating to hear about how the UK instrument training goes and the differences in approach. A quick search shows me that your Class A is quite different from ours (above 18,000 ft) so I see how that would impact your flying! Good luck in your studies and wish me luck that I'll get to the point experience-wise that it will make sense for me to start instrument training myself. Happy holidays to you and your family!
I'm just editing a video right now for publication in the new year about some of this. Have a great Christmas.
Love your vidoes john, good luck with your IR and thanks for taking the time to make them!
Thanks for your support this year.
Lovely airplane you''ve got, friend! I just found your channel and I love it. Greetings from the US.
I love it! Thanks, and welcome.
Another great video Jon. Keep them coming. A pretty dire year flying-wise for us as our aircraft was in for an avionics refit which took almost a full 12 months (we planned for 3)... but I did get my CPL during that time and am looking forward to a full year of flying (on our new autopilot!) in 2025!
Hope it’s a better year. Been enquiring with avionics companies today for a modest upgrade.
@@TheFlyingReporter yes... may make the next few months a little easier. Even just a dual G5 vs that vacuum AI... interfaces well with the 430 and leaves you open to a Garmin autopilot later on. Have a great christmas and look forward to hearing about the CBIR next year.
Definitely looking forward to your IR adventures this year! I’m looking to finally completing my PPL this year after a long break in training after Covid. 😊
It's time to get on with it!
Well done for reversing the diabetes, and well done for being an example for many. I'm chuffed to hear you did it. 😊
Thank you. Just got to keep it that way now.
Great video Jon thanks for all you do. I enjoy following your exploits. My 2025 goal is to complete my NPPL(M) to fly the Icarus C42’s at my local flying school Solent Flight. As you say the weather has such an impact on our flying… my last five weekly lessons have been cancelled - snow, rain, wind, soggy airfield !!! But onwards to 2025 and good luck with the instrument rating. Best wishes, Howard
Thanks Howard. I'm sure you'll complete very soon.
Good luck with IR study Jon, a couple of hours study every day will see you breeze it
That’s all my brain can manage 😂
Great video as always, cant wait to see your travels in 2025. For me in 2025 I'm hopefully going to be working towards my full commercial to eventually live my dream with the airlines :D
That’s a fairly big challenge. Good luck! 👍
@@TheFlyingReporter Thank you very much, going to be a tough road ahead. happy holidays and have a great new year :D
Keep the incredible work up!!! You’ve got this 🎉 My plan is to do my Flight Instructor rating in the gliders!!!
Thanks Amelia. Wishing you a prosperous 2025.
Great video and loving the content. All the best for Christmas the new year, John.
Thanks Mark. Thanks for all your support.
Thank you for all your videos. Always a pleasure to watch. My aim is to get my LAPL, by this spring if not earlier, obviously weather dependent! 😊
Good luck with that. Thanks for following.
I'm not a pilot (unless RC models count! :D), but I'm an aviation enthusiast. I really enjoy your channel, watching you fly around to different airfields. The relaxed style and content is so watchable and interesting. I have a flying lesson "experience" flight booked for the new year, so who knows, maybe one day I'll be able to fly to some of the places you visit.
Amazing. Well done getting a lesson booked.
I started to learn to fly for an flexwing NPPL in September. Looking forward to passing my theory exams and continuing to fill my log book towards my GST this coming year. Your channel has been one of the reasons I finally decided to take the plunge into General Aviation.
Thank you for following and good luck with the test next year.
@TheFlyingReporter And good luck with your future studies.
Very nice
Nice re-cap and a new challenge for 2025 👍😁. Thanks for all of the entertaining content. I am almost certainly going to be mirroring you with the CBIR next year, for many of the same reasons as yourself. It has taken quite a lot of digging to understand the best licence route, how to achieve it and sort through the various training organisations to find the one that suits me best. I'll hopefully be pushing the button on the TK purchase in Jan 🥵 I suspect that will be 6 - 9 months of serious time investment to pass the exams. Good luck to you 👍
I’m doing about an hour a day. Hoping to get it done in 6 months. Possibly optimistic. We shall see
Thank you John love your vids especially aerodrome reviews so helpful. Love to hear more on your IR training and who ur using for theory along with study techniques? Thanks again merry Christmas to you and family
Thanks Kevin. Merry Christmas.
My goal for 2025 is to start flying again after being forced to put it on hold due to problems caused by Covid. Hopefully some exciting times ahead!
For me its just doing more flying and hopefully get up to Glenforsa, have been wanting to for years, the problem has always been the weather. I'm also looking forward to putting the AvMap ultra I am installing through its paces (alongside a cleanup and rationalisation of the panel which is my winter project).
I have a good feeling you'll get there in 2025. Good luck. Merry Christmas.
gonna fly to the UK from Switzerland! lwt's go 2025!
Amazing - you'll be most welcome.
This year I decided on a career change from Engineering to Aviation - although it's been a childhood dream to just get a PPL. I passed my PPL skills test a couple of weeks ago and as I await the CAA to process my application, I've been binging your videos. You've given me plenty of ideas for hour building in 2025! Chomping at the bit to get going. Good luck with the IR.
Excellent. You'll enjoy your next year of exploration and confidence growing. Good luck.
Obtaining your full IFR rating is the best investment you will ever make Jon. It is the most demanding rating and involves a lot of study but in the end, you fly in airspace that is controlled and safe.
I have never looked back since obtaining my IFR rating, which allowed me to fly to the USA and back.
Good luck and happy holidays!
Sorry to hear about the bereavements. I'm sure you'll get everything under control soon. Good luck and merry Christmas.
For someone else Jon.
Weird - the site crashed as I was writing that response, so that might explain why you got it and they didn't!! Thanks for all your support.
Enjoyed the end of year review but from shutdown to sea the award must go to the wonderful Glenforsa airfeild in Scotland from landing to the sea 30 seconds max sorry Lee on solent
Merry Christmas John, I like "gear in motion" rather than "gear in transition"....Happy Landings in 2025
Gear in transit, gear in motion. Potato, Poatahto. Merry Christmas and see you on the other side.
Nice round up. Thanks for the videos. What was the song around 13:00? Good luck with your IR quals.
Home, by Ludlow. www.epidemicsound.com/track/G42ndUjHbQ/
@TheFlyingReporter Thank you. Shame it doesn't appear on regular streaming. But appreciate the link.
John, what is your method to make sure your gear is down? My rule is to touch the gear immediately after I touch the flaps. Also, since you are doing IFR training.....do yourself a favor and get X-Plane 11 so you can learn the muscle memory of ILS, RNAV & VOR approaches. If you get X-plane 12 or Microsoft flight Sim, you might not be able to run it on a moderate laptop like I have. Also, get a xbox 1 controller.....it is better than the logitech yoke. The yoke is too loose and inaccurate. Good luck!!
Hi. I perform a pre landing check and finals double check.
Got my licence this year!! 2024 will always be a good memory for me!
And 2025 is the year you need to be spreading your wings!
Well done Jon. So much easier and safer flying Class A. Your instrument approaches will be second nature. Who's your chosen provider for the exams?
I'm doing it with BGS.
2025 is the year that I'll finally get back to training to gain my PPL or LAPL. I flew approx 20 hours as a teenager (20 years ago now) but couldn't afford to finish. I still can't really afford it now but I've decided not to put it off any longer! I had a great experience in a C152 this summer which reignited the passion. Maybe one day in the next couple of years I'll fly into Redhill and say hi!
Well done getting back to it Lee.
Look forward to speaking to you on London Control frequencies once you have your Instrument Rating John!
Thank you. Hoping you'll give me short routings and easy readbacks!
At the open when you said (roughly) "In 2025 I will do something so many of you have encouraged..." I knew exactly what it was. I have flown all my USA requirements for instrument (actually much more) but time to crack the books. Ugh.
Me and a buddy bought a DA40 end of January this year. I logged 125 hrs this year which feels about right. I don't do much over 2.5 hours each trip.
Imagine having to do 6 months of study and 7 exams at ATPL level..
Funny enough I also plan to do full IR through CB-IR route next year, and starting the theory in UK (7 subjects). I love flying IFR, and I wish to be able to jump into class A for longer trips, and also I plan to do some trips to Europe, so it will be useful. I heard somewhere that you actually plan to do it in US? Is that true? If yes, why?
Originally that was the plan, due to the time it would take me. Actually, cost was the driver that led to me doing it here in the UK instead.
Jon come to north west Ireland - Sligo, Enniskillen and Donegal!! It would be great to see some videos of your journey to these airports!!
We tried last year, but your winds were about 45 knots on the day in question. Maybe 2025.
Hoping to get my PPL in the first half of 2025, and spend the rest of the year flying for fun before considering any further training, which will likely be night rating next winter. Most of all, go on fun adventures with my partner and friends.
I think you're making a wise decision. Enjoy what you've achieved first, grow confidence, and then look at next steps. Merry Christmas.
Great videos. Just adding a comment that Barra Airport (EGPR) is FAR closer to the sea than Lee-On-Solent.
I passed my TK in my mid-sixties and have a couple of comments: first, be prepared for stuff that is very interesting, but that you will never need in practice! I remember the instructor asking the class to tackle a question about gyroscopic drift on a flight from Gatwick to the Caribbean. I asked if I got any marks for saying that I would be in a dinghy two hundred miles west of Ireland. The answer was no. More seriously, I ran out of time, and failed, my first stab at the navigation paper. The problem was simply that my mind (and eyesight) worked more slowly than those of the twenty-somethings all studying to be Ryanair pilots on my course. The print on the airways charts (which you never use in practice) is very small and is dark blue on light blue and it simply took me too long to find my way around the charts. I passed on the second attempt although I ran out of time again, but managed to get 100% on the questions that I did answer.
Thankfully I’m doing a slimmed down syllabus from the full atpl so not so onerous. It is all quite interesting and it’s shed light on a few things I really wanted to know. So that’s all good.
@@TheFlyingReporter Jon, I did the CB-IR syllabus too, but unless it has changed, you will find stuff that is beyond what you need, but still very interesting. When I raised this, the instructor made the point that although I flew an Arrow, there would be nothing to stop me jumping into the cockpit of a private executive jet with my IR (nothing except money, of course!).
It would be wonderful if you were allowed to document and video the IR flight test in full. I doubt though the CAA will permit it.
Good luck ...
No, and I think my attention should be 100% on the test.
out of curiosity there was someone who looked a lot like you on my revision week with Bristol Ground School. I’m also doing an IR in 2025 but for different reasons.
Good luck with your exams. I was on a BGS revision session the other week.
What am I going to do? Well after over a decade of not flying I’m planning on getting my PPL back and buying a share in a small group with a lovely single engine aircraft similar to yours..not retractable but well appointed. Good
Luck with your plans. Probably hear you on the airwaves round and about. !
Thank you. And well done.
👋 mr hut my mum used to watch ur channel she had her ppl use to fly m600 sls she 🥰 it sadly she pass way 15weeks ago I live in 🇫🇷 now the plane is mine I’ve taken my ppl last week and pass a ESA PPL I now flying her plane and I’m going to fly around the 🌏 so I can understand why u ❤ of flying, have a very very happy ☃️❄️
Merry Christmas.
In 2025 i hope to regain my PPL(A) and build hours in a microlight such as the Sting S4. It consumes about 16lt per hour plus "servicing" is really cheap. I refresh on a PA28 and I love it but the fact is that it is a 50-60 yo design and aerodynamically it is like a flying brick. You can see all these modern designs at places like the german exhibition, glass and carbon fibre and instrumentation like the garmin g1000 that makes them look like an airbus.
Yep. Good luck on your flying journey, in whatever machine you end up in.
I’m hoping to fly solo for the first time. 7hrs in to LAPL training.
And what a feeling that will be!
Talking aerodrome cafes, you gotta try the ham, egg & chips at Leicester.😋
I have eaten at Leicester as it goes! A long time ago.
My goal for 2025, get my type 2 diabetes in to remission along with sorting out my BP and hopefully getting my medical sorted by March/April (all the extra ECG requirements meant I had to put it on hold earlier this year) so I can get my training started to renew my lapsed PPL and get in the air again.
Good luck. It’s hard work. But entirely possible. Hope you get there.
@@TheFlyingReporter Thanks, John, I've started a 12 month NHS programme which will hopefully see me through to that end. Only 8 weeks in to it with another 4 weeks to go before I can start having food again (800 calories a day at the moment, so 4 milk shakes a day) but have special dispensation for Christmas dinner :-)
I just completed my CBIR Well worth the journey Jon. Give yourself 12 months to get it done to avoid giving you stress. You'll probably need 30-40 hours if you use your IRR regularly. Best of luck mate.
Thanks. I'm making good progress on the study, and have 3 weeks flight training booked in the spring, so we shall see. The deadline is mine, and there's no external pressure, so it will take as long as it takes.
@@TheFlyingReporter Was the same for me. No deadline. Unlike the group I was studying GS with. All worrying about scoring above 94%....But once you start flying hyper-accurately, it is the very best feeling. Happy to help the study if I can Jon.
A few maintenance comments, replacing the landing light with the LED unit will save you money, did it on my PA28 and all the issues went away….. So I replaced all the external lighting with LED ‘s. I would not have spent another penny on that King KR 85 ADF the unit was troublesome even when introduced, I re-purposed all the KR85’s I have ever owned as wheel chocks years ago. If you must have an ADF then the King KR87 is the reliable unit. There are lots on the market at really cheap prices as the Americans are junking them, I got a whole system for $500 ( to keep as a spare). A smart move is to make sure that if you Buy a KR87 get the flavour with ADF super flag , that will be compatible with most Glass panels when you upgrade. Good luck with the IR, I found that the IMC was one of the two hardest things I have ever done in aviation ( the A320 ground engineers license was the other ) but the IR training was just practice to get up to standard. I think your biggest trial will be the ground exams, lots of theory with not much real world relevance.
I’m finding the theory ok at the moment. First exams in January. It’s the indicator that’s faulty actually so hopefully a cheap fix.
@@TheFlyingReporter You just have to accept CAA exams for what they are and learn the answers, I would undoubtedly failed the CPL hydraulics exam because of the level it was set, it was fortunate that my engineering license ( covering modern airliners ) got me out of doing that exam. You could be lucky with the ADF if you can find someone to fix the indicator as King stopped supporting the unit about twenty yeas back and you seem to have one of the last functioning KR85 units in captivity.
It should be in a museum.
@@TheFlyingReporter I rather think it should, if someone today suggested ADF as a navigation aid they would be committed to an asylum for those weak of mind. I only refitted the ADF to my aircraft after an avionics upgrade to satisfy legal requirements in some countries for IFR flight. In practice If the ADF approach is in the GPS data base I would fly the approach on the GPS with the ADF displayed to cover the legal requirements.