Many people have often wondered what it must be like to fly a light aircraft. At NOK PILOT TRAINING SCHOOL, we can take you from your first flight to becoming a competent and confident Private Pilot Licence (PPL) holder.

Give this gift of a real 45 minute flight lesson with one of our instructors. The person this gift is for will be doing MOST of the flying in the pilot's seat and actually undergoing a real flight lesson. Gift certificates cost 5,500baht including club membership. Contact us with your request for gift certificate.

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***PPL Training Special offer - 10% discount off our normal intensive 40 hour PPL course, inclusive 40 hours flight training, ground school training, all required books, manuals, charts, flight computer etc. cost 249,000 baht. To qualify for this discount all candidates must pay initial booking deposit of 100,000baht and maintain their account in credit at all times.

Online Classroom - To enhance technical training for registered students, on all our training courses, the club have initiated a free on-line classroom. Student pilots and club members, embarking on a pilot training course with us are invited to join this scheme. The online classroom will give you direct contact with our instructors, who will give advice and answers to queries on-line via e-mail. Students and pilots at all stages of training and experience will find this useful but in particular candidates who are studying for PPL examinations can greatly benefit by using this facility.

NOK AVIATION is situated at NOK Airfield, just 12 miles SE of Chiangmai, in northern Thailand, lying amidst the rural countryside and mountains of this beautiful part of Thailand .

NOK PILOT TRAINING SCHOOL is run by a team of aviation professionals who are highly experienced in the field of flight training. Students begin training for their PPL in either the Cessna 172 or Diamond DA20. Both of these types of aircraft are superb trainers with sound handling characteristics.

OUR FACILITIES include a friendly clubhouse, a team of professional and dedicated Instructors, briefing/planning room, with refreshments for club members and their families and friends.

TRAINING OVERVIEW: Your training comprises two parts – flight training and ground school. During your ground school, you'll learn bits of 'book knowledge' you'll need to be a proficient pilot. You will need to complete ground training, including the club's DCA approved compulsory ground school course (90 hours) some self-study and distance learning, using computer based training aids, interactive audio-visual etc., but the goal is to successfully complete your DCA aviation technical test. Flight training takes place both in the aeroplane and the briefing/debriefing room. You'll learn the skills and gain experience to safely operate an aeroplane on your own – and pass the final check ride. The 90 hour ground school and 40 hour (miniumum) flying hours are a requirement before being allowed to take the technical exams.

GROUND TRAINING: Most pilots say ground training is the most challenging part of learning to fly. You'll study rules of the air, flight planning and navigation, aerodynamics, air traffic control, weather theory, airframes and engines – all required knowledge to be a safe and competent pilot. Yes – you'll be tested on this during your aviation knowledge exam. Yes – there is some maths, but you'll use a calculator and flight computer. Yes, you'll study basic physics and meteorology, but with guidance from your instructor and a little homework, you'll easily master it.

FLIGHT TRAINING: Flying is the fun part. After all that's why you are doing this. Over the following weeks/months, you will learn an array of skills to make you into a safe and skilled pilot. Learning to take-off, handling the aircraft in a variety of situations – turns, climbs, descents, mastering the landing techniques and then fly by yourself for the first time. Soon you will be navigating to other airports, both with your instructor and eventually by yourself. A little polishing and practice, a good score on your written exam and then you're ready for the practical final test.

MEDICAL: Your aviation medical exam is a head-to-toe check on your general health. You'll need an additional check-up every 2 years (1 if you are over 40) to renew your medical. There are few limitations to flying. You don't need perfect vision, as long as it's correctable to near 20/20. The only thing that would keep you from flying solo are serious conditions – such as history of heart disease, diabetes or epilepsy. The club can advise you on where to take your medical.

TOOLS: You will need a few tools to make your training easier. First you will need a logbook to record your flight time - you need to meet certain minimum flight time requirements to qualify for a licence, this logbook, certified by your instructor, serves as a reference. You'll keep one throughout your flying career. A map, protractor/plotter helps you navigate and a slide rule/calculator simplifies navigation calculations. When you join our PPL flying training scheme you will be given a student pilot kit, including all the books and charts for your course. Before new students are allowed to fly solo they must be in possession of a Student Pilot's Licence. The club can organize this with the DCA in Bangkok.

GETTING STARTED: You can start at any age, although you must be 16 to solo and 17 to get a pilot certificate – Private Pilot's Licence (PPL). A current medical certificate will allow you to continue – some pilots in the 80s and 90s still love to fly. All you need is some dedication, a handful of pilot tools, and of course some money – although flying in Thailand is considerably cheaper than in many places.

YOU HAVE YOUR LICENCE - WHAT NOW! Once you earn your private pilot's licence (PPL) the adventure has just begun. In a light aeroplane, you travel further and faster – and you have fun getting wherever you're going. That means you might start looking forward to business trips or add some spice to you're weekends with day trips that you never imagined possible. You can go on and add ratings to your licence; learn to fly at night; learn aerobatics; fly under instrument conditions; learn multi-engined techniques; seaplane flying; tail-draggers etc - the list goes on… with new challenges along the way like aircraft ownership or even a commercial flying career.