Email: goflyaviation@gmail.com
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Instructor: 0426 282 226
If flight training is too expensive in your country or the skies are too congested, you might like to consider having a 2-3 week holiday in Australia while training to obtain your Recreational Pilot Certificate. You can fly in the morning, then, in the afternoon and on your day off you can be a tourist and go to the beach, or the zoo, take a drive to the hinterland to go gallery hopping, or catch a train and see Brisbane.
Full-time students usually take two one-hour flying lessons per day on weekdays, along with video theory briefings.
Your ‘EduVacation’ study holiday schedule could look like this:
Monday – Friday:
7.30-9am: briefing and first flying lesson
9-9.30am: coffee break
9.30-11.30: second briefing and second flying lesson
11.30am onwards: leisure time
You can fly up to 6 days per week, doing 2 lessons per day (or 3 if you are focused and fit). Most students obtain their recreational pilot certificate within 20-26 hours of flying, or approximately 2.5 weeks. (We do not recommend flying on all 7 days of the week.)
The price for training is $299/hr or around $6,000 AUD (theory and exams are free and there are no landing fees). See our special offer page and our page for students from Singapore and Hong Kong.
Caloundra is on the eastern side of Australia in a part of Queensland called the Sunshine Coast.
The Sunshine Coast is one of the most popular places for Australian tourists to holiday. There are spectacular and clean beaches to swim in all year round and islands and mountain peaks to fly over. There are no skyscrapers to cast shadows on the beaches. Temperatures in the Sunshine Coast are generally warm year round with summer temperatures averaging 17 – 28 degrees Celsius from December to February and autumn temperatures falling to between 13 – 25 degrees Celsius from March to May. However the coastal location benefits from cooling sea breezes on warmer days.
Caloundra has a wet season (from about November-March) and a dry season (from about April to October). From November to March (wet season), you should allow three weeks in which to do your 20-26 hours of flying to obtain your Recreational Pilot Certificate, as some lessons might need to be cancelled due to weather conditions.
Electronic Travel Authority (subclass 601)
eVisitor (subclass 651)
Visitor visa (subclass 600)
Accommodation for 7-14 days
Students studying full-time with us may like to take advantage of the weekly and fortnightly rates negotiated with BreakFree Grand Pacific, at 100 Bulcock Street, Caloundra. Bookings are made directly with the Hotel reception by calling 07 5436 444 or emailing grandpacific.res@breakfree.com.au and quoting the GoFly rate.
Prices for 7 night minimum stay at BreakFree Grand Pacific:
1 Bedroom Garden View $110/night
1 Bedroom Water View $125/night
2 Bedroom Garden View $150/night
2 Bedroom Water View $165/night
Prices for 14 night minimum stay at BreakFree Grand Pacific:
1 Bedroom Garden View $100/night
1 Bedroom Water View $115/night
2 Bedroom Garden View $140/night
2 Bedroom Water View $155/night
Subject to availability. From rates shown. Valid for sale and travel to 31st December 2019.
Accommodation for more than 28 days
If you would like to rent a room in a house for a few months, for between $120-$200 AUD per week, you can look on room sharing sites such as Easy Roommate or Flatmates or you can email Leigh who rents out rooms in her home (3kms from the airport) with ensuites or shared bathrooms, for $210-$230/wk. You can see the brochure here: Leigh Lampitt rooms for rent short term.
We are located at the end of the street at 20 Pathfinder Drive, at Caloundra Airport. Our air-conditioned office has a classroom, a Boeing 737 simulator, a Sling simulator, a waiting room and toilets. Students can take advantage of our free wi-fi and tea and coffee in the air-conditioned kitchen which also has a fridge and microwave. Nearby there is also a service station with sandwiches and hot takeaway food.
The latest technology to complement your in-flight lessons
At GoFly Aviation we have filmed all our pre-flight briefings and our ab initio lessons and will give you a copy of GoFly Online to to watch on your ipad, phone or laptop at any time. You can watch the flying lessons in standard or in 360-degree video. You can view your first pre-flight lesson for FREE .
You can also come to Australia to study full-time for your Commercial Pilot Licence. To obtain our CPL syllabus and pricing, please send an email to goflyaviation@gmail.com
‘Hi, I’m Alan and I travelled to Australia from Hong Kong in May 2018. I searched online for a flying school which could improve my flying skills in the shortest period of time. A few members of an online flying forum gave very positive feedback about the flying lessons they had taken with GoFly.
There are a few reasons leading to my decision to train at Gofly. 1. It was a tailor-made course. 2. They were not too pushy for newbies 3. The airstrip was surrounded by Class G airspace that saved me a lot of time 4. They had professional instructors and a friendly environment. 5. The cost of training cost was competitive. 6. Recreational Pilot Certificate training is easily accessible and extendable and it is possible to get my certificate during a couple of short vacations.
I applied online for a visitor visa. Hotels in Caloundra are a 20-30 min walk from the aerodrome. There are also AirBnB houses in suburbs nearby. I took a bus the first day but I found that I could walk there the next few days. I would like to accumulate my hours whenever I have vacations. My short term goal is to get a PPL.’
Alan, 2018
‘I took my first step towards my dream of flying at GoFly and it was superb to say the least. As a Singaporean, learning to fly in Singapore can be a hefty investment, however, GoFly offered a range of competitive pricing without compromising the quality of the school, its instructors and more importantly its Sling planes!
GoFly cultivates a learner-friendly environment and builds confidence in aspiring pilots who are chasing their dreams. I highly recommend GoFly and I look forward to returning to get my nav endorsement! 🙂
Mikhail, 2018
Leo from Hong Kong found out about our flight school in Australia while looking at Instagram. He was able to find out everything he needed to know about the best time of the year to visit, visas, the location, the cost of training and nearby accommodation on the GoFly Aviation website. He also used his time in Caloundra to visit a few places around the spectacular Sunshine Coast.