Email: goflyaviation@gmail.com
Buy gift vouchers and online videos 24 hrs per day
After hours text:
0410496438
Thank you for choosing GoFly Aviation as your flight training school.
This special webpage for GoFly students gives you the step-by-step information you require as your progress through your training.
It gives you instructions on how to sign up for these four important websites:
You will need to create logins and passwords for FSP, GoFly Online and NAIPS before you can begin your training.
You will need to join RAA as a temporary member (in our office on the day of your first flight) and then become a full member before your 4th flight lesson.
All flight training is competency-based and we monitor your progress throughout your training. We will give you feedback as we go and if you are not meeting expected targets, we will make a time to have a talk with you and see if you wish to keep going. We cannot guarantee that everyone will get through to their flight test.
When we add your details to our Flight Schedule Pro booking system we send an invitation from FSP to you so you can access the booking system. If you do not receive an invitation direct from FSP to access the Flight Schedule Pro online booking system, please let us know by email to goflyaviation@gmail.com and we can re-send it from the FSP software.
You can make, edit and delete your bookings and access your own flight record to see your progress. For the first few weeks you may just like to make bookings with the receptionist or by phone or email until you learn how to use the software. Ask a staff member for a demo if you cannot work it out.
Once you are logged in, you can upload your date of birth, address, and even add a pic of yourself if you like. Under ‘documents’ you can add your Emergency contact details (we need these before your first flight) or you can email us the name and phone number of your next of kin and we can add them into our system).
Your FSP homepage (dashboard) will show your upcoming reservations, your account balance (if you paid money in advance), and it has some great tutorial videos showing how to use FSP. There is an FSP app available on the app store but it seems to show the calendar in horizontal view, so we prefer to use the webpage in a browser on our phones and we view the calendar in ‘vertical view’, with one day per page (rather than a week to a page). A Flight Record Sheet will be created by us to keep track of your progress. The hours showing in your record should always match the hours you write in your log book.
HOW TO MAKE YOUR BOOKINGS
Our lessons are divided up into two hour training blocks, starting at either, 7.30am, 9.30am, 11.30am, 1.30pm or 3.30pm. To be able to make a booking, you will need to have both a vacant 2 hr slot in one of the first three aircraft columns (Sling 7788, 1675 or 8514) AND a corresponding vacant 2 hr slot in one of the instructor columns. Insert your cursor (or tap your finger if using a mobile device) into the desired timeslot on the calendar in the aircraft column and then enter your info into the dialogue box that pops up. You will need to select the type of flight (usually RPC dual flight or Nav dual flight), the block of time (either, 7.30am, 9.30am, 11.30am, 1.30pm or 3.30pm) and select an available instructor.
Alternatively you can click on the ‘FIND A TIME’ button at top right of screen and search for available slots with your favourite instructor/s.
Bookings for lessons can be made in advance singly or in bulk, by you or by us (email goflyaviation@gmail.com or talking to the receptionist or instructor after your lesson). It is best to make a bulk booking of 25-30 lessons in advance where possible – to give yourself the best chance of getting the dates and times that you want. You can always cancel without penalty (by email, using FSP or by phoning us), up to 48 hours beforehand, if you no longer want the time slot.
If you need to cancel a lesson due to a scheduling conflict or illness, please give us as much notice as possible, as some of our instructors travel long distances to get to the airfield and we have to pay them whether you show up or not.
If you are running more than 5 mins late, an SMS to 041 049 6438 is also appreciated so we can make the best use of the instructor’s time. If no notice or less than 12 hours notice, is given for a cancellation, a $100 cancellation fee may be charged. Repeated late cancellations with little notice may results in your training being discontinued.
Please note: while we will always endeavour to accommodate you with your preferred Flight Instructor, due to operational needs we may not always be able to match you with that particular Flight Instructor. Likewise we reserve the right to move Students and Private Hirers to an aircraft other than the one booked due to operational/ maintenance requirements.
We have created a range of online video lessons to help students with their Recreational Pilot Certificate, Cross Country and Passenger endorsements, RPL/PPL and RAAus Instructor Rating training (plus Controlled Airspace, aerobatics and lots more great stuff!).
The GoFly Online website contains preflight and inflight videos; five new online theory books to help you pass your exams and save you over $500 (Pre-solo Air Legislation, Human Factors, Radio Operations, Basic Aeronautical Knowledge and Navigation); practice quizzes for each practical lesson and practice exams for each multiple choice RAA exam; quick tip videos; test and demo videos; an Aviation Dictionary; as well as fun stuff like documentaries and interviews with pilots. You can choose to watch on your computer, phone, laptop or iPad. New material is added regularly.
To access for FREE, all the PREMIUM content, go to this PAGE and fill in your details.
IMPORTANT: You must let us know you have signed up, by sending an email to goflyaviation@gmail.com and then we will know to activate your FREE 24-month GoFly student subscription. [Please DO NOT sign up for the FREE trial.]
MEMBERSHIP OF RECREATIONAL AVIATION AUSTRALIA (RAAus)
Our regulatory body is Recreational Aviation Australia. They set the training syllabus and cover your insurance. On the day of your first flight, you will join Recreational Aviation Australia for FREE as a temporary member. This covers your insurance for 3 months or 3 lessons (whichever occurs first).
You will need to join RAA as a full member (adult or youth) before your 4th lesson, by clicking on the link in the email that you received from RAA when joining as a temporary member. If you are doing a fulltime course with us, your 4th lesson will occur on day 2 of training so you may as well join as a FULL member right away. This covers your insurance for 12 months.
[If there is a gap in your training or your forget to renew and your membership has already expired, you can click here and reactivate your membership.]The National Aeronautical Information Processing System (NAIPS) is a multi-function, computerised, aeronautical information system. It processes and stores meteorological (weather) and NOTAM information as well as enables the provision of briefing products and services to pilots and the Australian Air Traffic Control platform.
The NAIPS Internet Service (NIS) is a web browser interface that provides access to the functions of NAIPS via the internet through the Airservices Australia website. This new service enables users to access their data wherever they may find themselves and on a variety of computer and phone operating systems.
You can sign up for NAIPs on this page using your laptop or phone. When you are at the GoFly Office, you can use our computers to sign in using your own password.
Unlike other schools we do not offer, or charge you for, white board briefings before flights, as we have created FREE video briefings for you on our GoFly Online flight training platform and we expect you to take responsibility for your learning, and the speed of your progress, by watching these briefings and taking the corresponding quiz to make sure you understand the video. This will save you hundreds of dollars as you won’t have to repeat many lessons in the air because you can refresh your memory by watching the video again.
Your flying lesson will start with you checking our TV monitor to find out which plane you are in and then going to that designated computer when you arrive. Each plane has a designated computer with its own Bose headset and folder.
Your instructor will meet you in the office and chat about your previous lesson, ask if you have watched the relevant pre-flight and inflight video for that lesson; done the corresponding quiz; and understood what is about to be taught in the actual flying lesson. If you have not watched the video, you will need to watch it in our office. Then you will head outside to do the pre-flight aircraft inspection.
After the pre-flight inspection, you will fill in the SAR (search and rescue) board with your weight and your plane and grab your headsets and go for your 60 minute flight and practice all the things you watched in the video.
Upon landing, the instructor will talk to you about what you did well and what needs improvement next time, and answer any questions you may have. They will sit with you at the computer and grade your lesson in Flight Schedule Pro, and assist you to fill in your log book and answer any other questions. Then you will pay for the lesson (or it will be deducted from your account) and away you go.
There are 11 main lessons to master for the Recreational Pilot Certificate. Click here to see our Recreational Pilot Certificate syllabus and all the steps to becoming a pilot.
Here is a great video on how to pre-flight the Sling planes.
As you progress through your RPC training, you will watch the (low-wing) Recreational Pilot Certificate (RPC) video lesson on our flight training platform before turning up at the airfield for your actual lesson. You will watch the lesson relevant to where you are up to.
For example, if you are doing your first lesson then you’d watch Lesson 1: The Effects of Controls preflight video followed by Lesson 1: Effects of controls inflight video
Before lesson two you would watch: Lesson 2: Straight and level preflight video followed by Lesson 2: Straight and level inflight video.
Before lesson 3 you would watch: Lesson 3: Climbing and Descending preflight video followed by Lesson 3: Climbing and Descending inflight video and so on.
If you are up to the Stalls lesson, then watch the preflight and inflight videos for Lesson 5: Stalls. Your instructor will also remind you of which video to watch, after you finish each flying lesson.
You can do the quiz at the end of each lesson to test your understanding of the concepts, and keep taking it until you are getting 90-100%. If you wish to, you can email the results to your instructor at goflyquiz@gmail.com
We hope these online lessons, books and quizzes help you achieve your pilot licence faster and save you money!
When rain is predicted for the next day, you will still receive your flight reminder text the night before, often with a note to say that the instructor will be in touch in the morning, if the weather is not suitable for flying.
Decisions about cancelling 7.30am flights are made by the Senior instructing staff at 6.30am on the day, using the GoFly hangar camera and the Caloundra weather cam images (https://mywebcams.com.au/ycdr-caloundra/)
Decisions about cancelling 9.30am flights are best made by the staff when on site at Caloundra at 7.30am. Those decisions should NOT be made by the students themselves, pre-emptively cancelling their own flights the day before.
In the morning, the senior instructor on site will make an assessment about delaying some flights until it clears, or cancelling the 7.30am flights. We will generally not cancel the entire day’s flights until we see what the weather is doing at 11.30am.
If the weather is unpredictable, we will contact Brisbane students to cancel the flight, as soon as possible, so that they do not start the journey to Caloundra. Those students can also call the office on 07 5341 8125 to see what the weather is doing, before they set off. The admin person will assist the Senior instructor to contact the students and reschedule or cancel the flights.
Sometimes locals might arrive at the office during a rain shower and can do an exam or have a chat until it passes, then go flying. Our two hour lesson blocks allow enough time for this.
If there is strong wind at the airport, staff will call and cancel any private hire customers for that day.
There is no charge for taking exams at GoFly. All exams have a pass mark of 80%. If you do not pass the exam the first time, read the Easy Book again, do the practice quizzes again and attempt the exam again.
Before your first solo flight, you will also be required to read our Sling workbook and complete a short test afterwards. Please click on the link and read the workbook. You can print the last two pages of questions at home (or ask us to do it in our office) and take the quiz. A staff member will mark the answers and upload the result to your FSP flight record.
We have written four Easy Books for you and uploaded them to your GoFly Online platform, to help you with your theory exams. They contain all the information that you need and nothing that you do not need. The four Easy Books have these titles:
These are the names of the exams you will take and the order in which they will be taken.
EXAM 1: Pre-Solo
We recommend that you do the Pre-solo exam after completing the first two sessions of circuits, so that you are ready for your first solo flight. You should read the Pre-solo & Air Legislation Easy Book plus the Human Factors Easy Book before your pre-solo exam.
Please also look at this RAA Ops Manual link for the Pre-solo exam.
Please also look at this Visual Flight Rules Guide (VRG) for the Pre-solo exam. The guide can be downloaded via the CASA website. Amongst other topics, please make sure you are familiar with the following – VMC requirements. Light Signals and Rules for prevention of collision. There are several ways to get a copy of the VFRG. You can download an interactive version to use on your tablets, or download a print-friendly version; or you can buy a copy from CASA’s online store.
Test your knowledge by taking the GoFly Online practice exams (click on the orange button below each Easy Book). Check your answers. For wrong answers, if you click on the button it will take you back to the page of the easy book which explains the correct answer.
EXAM 2: Radio Operations Exam
We recommend that you do the Radio exam after completing the first two sessions of circuits, so that you are ready for your first solo flight. You should read the Radio Operations Easy Book before your radio exam.
Please also look at this radio call page which will help you with your exam.
Do the online practice exams (click on the orange button below each Easy Book). Check your answers. For wrong answers, if you click on the button it will take you back to the page of the easy book which explains the correct answer.
EXAM 3: Air Legislation
You will need to sit the Air Leg exam after around 2 hours of solo time.
Please also look at this RAA Ops Manual link for the Air Legislation exam.
Please also look at this Visual Flight Rules Guide (VRG) link for the Pre-solo exam. The VRG is accessed via the CASA website. Amongst other topics, please make sure you are familiar with the following: VMC requirements, light signals, and rules for prevention of collision. There are several ways to get a copy of the VFRG. You can download an interactive version to your tablet, or a print friendly PDF copy or you can buy a copy from the CASA online store.
Do the online practice exams (click on the orange button below each Easy Book). Check your answers. For wrong answers, if you click on the button it will take you back to the page of the easy book which explains the correct answer.
EXAM 4: Basic Aeronautical Knowledge
You will need to sit the BAK exam after logging around 2-3 hours of solo time. Read the BAK Easy Book AND the Human Factors Easy Book for the BAK exam. Do the online practice exam (click on the orange button below each Easy Book). Check your answers. For wrong answers, if you click on the button it will take you back to the page of the easy book which explains the correct answer.
When you are obtaining a pass rate of 90% for your practice exams, you are ready to take the real exam at our office. Ask your instructor or the reception person for the Exam questions and the special multiple choice answer sheet. The answer sheet requires you to colour in the circle that you think is the correct answer, next to a, b, c or d. Your exam will be marked and the result uploaded to your flight record. If you need clarification about any wrong answers, an instructor will be able to help you.
[If any links on this page are broken, please let us know by email.]
Congratulations, you are getting close to the time when you can take your RPC flight test. In order for you to book and take your flight test you must have:
Ask a staff member to book you in with the CFI (who works Sunday to Thursday) or Deputy CFI (Mon, Tues & Sat mornings) for your flight test.
If you private hire our Sling aircraft, you are agreeing to the following conditions. A dual circuit check may be required with an Instructor if you have not flown within the preceding 30 days or if conditions warrant a circuit check due to lack of currency in those conditions. Circuit checks and any recurrent training up to 30 minutes will be charged at the private hire rate. If you have not flown for more than 3 months and require a longer check, the dual rate applies.
If you hire a GoFly Aviation Aircraft, you are agreeing to the following conditions:
If you are going to be progressing on to your Cross Country training, click here to see the Cross Country syllabus.
You will need to start watching the NEW GoFly Online RPL/PPL Nav training videos which include navigation lessons, and AvPlan and Oz Runways videos. There is a button at the bottom of the videos which will take you to a practical quiz where you can test your knowledge.
We have also written a new Easy Book: Navigation for the recreational pilot, and it also has matching practice exams for you to test your understanding.
Before you do your first solo nav flight, you must:
Before you do your Cross Country flight review with the CFI, you will have completed:
The following supplies are ordered online from The Flight Store:
[If you want to, you can also buy plastic contact sheets for covering exercise books (e.g. from Coles) if you want and cover one side of the VNC charts. You could then use OHP different coloured pens for your track lines / frequencies etc then rub them out after a nav. It’s a better option than using pencils and the charts will be easier to read and last longer.
Your nav training lessons will be booked for 4 hours and will generally start with 60-90 mins of flight planning and ground training, your 30 mins pre-flight inspection and then a 90-120 min flight. You will need to take an ELT with you each time.
Congratulations, you have decided to extend your licence by starting your RPL or PPL training. GoFly has arrangements with a Sunshine Coast and Brisbane GA flight schools, to seamlessly offer RPL/CPL training for our graduates. We will make introductions to the flight school for you and send your flight record to them.
Before you begin your journey you will need to complete some forms. As the RPL or PPL is covered under CASA and is a separate body from Recreational Aviation you will be required to have these forms completed and returned before you can complete your conversion training.
For RPL we can use your current exams from RAAus when converting, however if you are wishing to complete PPL training you will need a pass in the PPL theory exam. We currently recommend all Bob Tait’s theory books to study for this exam. From 2024 we will recommend GoFly Online theory books.
PRE-REQUISITES:
(a) Dr Stuart Marshall, 2/24 Denna St Maroochydore. Ph: 07 5479177.
(b) Dr Rick Allen, Saltwater Medical Centre, 7 Fourth Ave, Caloundra. Ph: 07 5301 9828.
(c) Dr Kiren Kodali, 19/31 Dickson Road, Morayfield or Shailer Park Medical Centre Cornubia. Ph: 0414336199
(d) David Hawes, Buderim Marketplace, Burnett St, Buderim, Ph: 07 5445 1046.
You will also need to pass an English proficiency test (if you can read and understand this webpage and have passed your RPC, then you can pass the English test). These tests can be done at the flight school at which you decide to continue your training.
To assist with your Sling checkout flight/s, here is some info about the Sling aircraft.
Here are some helpful resources:
The price for private hire (from 1 Feb 2023) is $230/hr. If you hire a plane you are agreeing to our hire terms.
Bring any supporting documents you can, to show your instructor. Bring a water bottle. We can provide headsets.
Once checked out, you can private hire on 7 days of the week starting from 7.30am. Our start times are 7.30, 9.30. 11.30, 1.30 (and 3.30 if an instructor is staying back that late with another student).
We use Flight Schedule Pro for bookings and we will send you an invitation and you can create a log in and book future flights using FSP or you can call the office or email us.
SYLLABUS AND INFORMATION
An Instructor Rating Flight Record Sheet will be created in FSP to keep track of your progress.
If your membership is not current, please rejoin Recreational Aviation Australia as a FULL member.
You will receive a free 12 months subscription to our exclusive online training which includes some Instructor Rating teaching videos.
There are some great illustrations and info here about the 11 main lessons you will be teaching. By clicking on this next link, you will be able to see our RPC syllabus and the materials we tell students to buy. GoFly also requires its RPC students to complete a specific Sling workbook and you can find our Sling workbook here. You will be given access to our Flight Schedule Pro online booking system and your own Instructor training bookings within it.
Free access to the GoFly Online flight training videos
We are the only flight school in Australia to have created a range of online video lessons to help candidates with their Instructor Rating.
To access for FREE, all the PREMIUM content, go to this FORM and fill in your details. IMPORTANT: Let us know you have signed up, by sending an email to goflyaviation@gmail.com and then we will know to activate your FREE 24-month GoFly student subscription. [Please DO NOT sign up for the FREE trial.]
We hope these online lessons help you achieve your Instructor Rating faster and save you money. If you have any questions please feel free to reach out.
Please refer to the RAAus website and read the Instructor Rating Handbook .
To maintain competency, skills and keep knowledge up to date, a Biennial Flight Review (BFR) or a form of periodic flight review is mandated for pilots by the aviation authorities of many countries. A regular flight review is also a practical way to assess changes in competence, ensure an updated understanding of changes to regulation or procedure and forms an important part of ongoing safe flight.
For holders of a Recreational Pilot Certificate as issued by Recreational Aviation Australia the Biennial Flight Review is required of every active holder of a RAAus Pilot Certificate conducted, as the name implies, every 2 years.
The RAAus Operations Manual Section 2.07 paragraph specifies that the review must include:
BFRs – not a pass or fail exercise
Whilst Examiners cannot fail you as a BFR is not a test (there are no pass or fail criteria), the examiner providing the BFR may decline to endorse your logbook. This may be on the basis that a flight review is not completed until appropriate competencies (minimum standards) are met and demonstrated.
Further info about your BFR can be found here.