I have selected a school, now what?
First, contact the school and make a preliminary booking for the period that you want to go there. Get a confirmation that you're booked and at the same time you should also be getting information and the necessary paperwork for your TSA clearance and M-1 visa. From this point on you're going to get busy. Most of the items below will run in parallel, of course.
Get a JAA Class 2 medical
If you can't get a JAA Class 2 medical, for any reason, you will not be able to exercise the privileges of your PPL in Europe. Bit of a waste of money, not? So get that JAA Class 2 medical before you commit any funds into this undertaking.
Note - Flying clubs may have discount agreements with aviation medical examiners. Ask for this!
Get TSA Clearance
The Transportation Safety Agency (TSA) requires everybody who comes to the US for flight training, and who is not a US citizen, to obtain permission for this training. Getting clearance is described in great detail on the TSA website (
http://www.flightschoolcandidates.gov - scroll down to where the background becomes grey for the instructions) and the process is relatively painless, but there's one thing that the website is not very clear and practical about
: fingerprinting.
Getting fingerprinted is the last step you need to undertake to complete the TSA process, and the TSA has to acknowledge the receipt of your fingerprints before you're allowed to start training (as a "Category 3 Alien" - for other categories other rules apply). In the past, the TSA turned a blind eye towards PPL candidates on the rapid track, but this is no longer. TSA employees regularly perform spot checks at flight schools, have issued a number of large fines and as a result, the TSA regulations are now followed to the letter.
So you need to make sure the TSA has acknowledged the receipt of your fingerprints before you start your flying training. That seems easy, until you realise that getting fingerprinted for the TSA is not something you can do at the kitchen sink. It can only be done at certain official locations. The US embassies and consulates worldwide, although they have fingerprinting equipment, are (at present) NOT accepted locations for the TSA. (I have asked the TSA why, and this is because embassies and consulates are under the Department of State, while the TSA is under the Department of Homeland Security. Politics...)
You have two options. Either you go to one of the (very) few accepted locations in Europe (they can be found on the TSA web site) beforehand, or the first thing you do upon arrival in the US is to go to a Sheriffs office and get fingerprinted there. When I was there, this was still done using ink and paper, and then mailed to the TSA, so it took about five days for the TSA receipt acknowledgement to come back. I understand that some Sheriffs offices now have the ability to do this electronically, meaning that you will only have to wait a day (or less) before the TSA sends you the receipt acknowledgment, and you can start training. Your flight school should know the nearest Sheriffs office which has this electronic equipment, obviously.
Note: the FAQ and various other documents talk about "FAA training", "schools regulated by the FAA" and so on. I have asked the TSA about this and it is the interpretation of the TSA that, because your JAA training takes place at a flight school which is regulated by the FAA, JAA training is subject to the TSA clearance process too. So do not expect a loophole there.
Get an M-1 visa
As a flight school student, you are NOT going to be admitted to the US on the Visa Waiver Program, which is only intended for short-term vacation or business visits. So you have to apply for an M-1 (temporary student) visa. This visa is "sponsored" by the flight school, meaning that they will send you paperwork which states that you have indeed enrolled on a course with them. This paperwork, plus some forms you need to fill in yourself, plus several photos of yourself that conform to the US rules (standard European passport sized photo's are NOT accepted), need to be handed in at a US embassy or consulate, together with your (valid) passport. This is then processed and your passport, with the visa in it, will be returned by mail within a few business days.
Two things to be aware of though. Getting a visa "interview" appointment may take up to two months in busy periods, as you will be regarded as one of the several thousands of temporary exchange students that visit the US each year to obtain their college degree or something. And the visa "interview" itself will take a long time as well: First waiting in line to enter the embassy/consulate (security, x-ray, you name it), then waiting in line to hand in your paperwork, then wait in line to pay your fee, then wait in line to get fingerprinted, then wait in the lounge until you're called for the "interview" (basically one question to which you answer "Cessnas" - guess what the question is), then wait for a few stamps and receipts. My "interview" took a total of three hours. I wish I had brought a book.
Note: Your visa and TSA clearance are directly linked to the flight school you enrolled with - they are your "sponsors". I have heard that in case of problems flight schools have occasionally threatened students with "cancelling the visa" claiming that that would lead to deportation. And on the other hand, students regularly threaten schools to switch schools if something does not go the way they want. Both of these are largely empty threats as it is definitely possible to have your visa and TSA clearance either transferred to a new school, or re-issued in name of the new school. However, the bureaucracy involved will likely take a day or two, and you should also expect something like 200-300 USD in admin fees. Plus, you've got to make sure that the other school has space available for you on short notice. So for all practical purposes it will not be possible to change schools during an intensive course, but neither side can or should use this as a threat to the other.
Learn PPL theory
You will be flying training to the CAAs interpretation of the JAA syllabus. Also, your air law exam and parts of other exams will be specific to UK law and the UK situation. So make sure you have books that teach you how to fly according to that same syllabus, law and situation. That means the books by Jeremy Pratt or Trevor Thom. You can order these online from, for instance, AFE Online (
http://www.afeonline.com).
The CAA does not mandate compulsory classroom groundschool, but that doesn't mean that it's forbidden. If you're not good at studying alone, without the guidance of an instructor, then studying in a classroom environment may well be a very good idea. Classroom courses are offered by virtually any flight school although you need to realise that if you do a classroom course and you're not in the UK, that you're going to be taught how to fly to the local syllabus, to local laws and situations. So make sure to read up on the differences between your home country and the UK too.
Another very good idea is to get the PPL Questions and Answers Simplifyer, or PPL Confuser, or another source of PPL exam questions, and study these as well. Not only will this help you judge where you have a lack of knowledge, but it will also help you get used to the sometimes tricky way of how questions are formulated by the CAA. (And here's another tip: if you don't know the correct answer to a multiple-choice question, it is either the longest answer, with the most legalese, or answer c.)
If you happen to live in the UK, then you can already do the seven theory exams at your local flight school. You then simply bring the paperwork over to the US, and this will be added to your student file. In any case, try to get the seven theory exams out of the way within a week of arriving at the school. The further you get into the flying training program, the more time it takes to prepare, fly and debrief your flights, so the less time you have for your exams.
Some schools in the US offer an evening groundschool program, usually as part of your package, which runs through all the PPL theory in three weeks. Do NOT rely on this as your sole method of studying. Three weeks is not enough to learn all the theory, and especially not if you're busy, full time, with actual flight training. At best, consider this ground school a refresher before you do an exam.
Listen to aviation R/T
Get a (second-hand) airband scanner that handles the VHF COM frequencies (118-136 MHz in 25 kHz increments). Listen to the R/T of your local airfield to get used to the speed and phraseology that's being used. Try to build a mental picture of where each plane is, based on their R/T alone. Anticipate what is being read back and why. Bonus points for spotting the errors that all pilots make, professional or not.
Get a copy of MS Flight Simulator (MSFS) or X-Plane
...and use it to practice flying. Obviously not everything you're supposed to learn can be learned from playing MSFS or X-Plane. It's a game, most of all, not a trainer. But there are several things for which it can be very useful.
- Learning the basic layout of the instrument and avionics panel, where to look for information.
- Learning how to use checklists.
- Learning how to scan and interpret aircraft instruments, and how to perform basic instrument flying.
- Learning how to control various avionics, such as radio, transponder, GPS.
- Learning how to do radio navigation. VOR intercepting and tracking, or VOR triangulation.
- Learning how to plan and execute flights based on a navigation plan, and how to apply wind correction.
- Learning how to execute circuit procedures.
Book your flight
It is very tempting to hunt for a good deal, but whatever ticket you buy, make sure the return date can be changed, even if that means paying a small admin fee. Your own ability, aircraft and instructor availability, but particularly the weather can greatly influence the speed at which you go through the course. Make sure you have the flexibility to stay an additional few days if necessary.
Book your accomodation
Typically, a US flight school has shared apartments in which they will place you for a small fee. Expect the standard of upkeep of a typical student place. Yes, there will be a cleaner, but he or she can only clean what he/she can get to. Be prepared to do your own shopping, laundry, cook your own meals, or eat out.
For a larger fee, the flight school will place you in a hotel. Easier with regards to privacy, cleaning, eating and so forth, but very boring in the evenings. Being in a shared apartment, with a fellow flight student or two, gives you a pal to talk pilot talk to in the evenings, at least.
I know people have investigated the option of renting an apartment or something else, independent of the flight school. They have found that this is generally not worthwhile if you're only going to be there for three weeks.
Arrange your funding
Make sure the funding for your flying is available and accessible from the US. Remember that an international bank transfer costs money and takes time. Also, walking through customs with large amounts of cash is not something that makes people happy, and might require an explanation to a customs official. European debit cards might not be accepted by the school and the same might be true for Travellers Checks and other forms of personal checks.
I took the funds from my savings account and put them on my credit card so that it had a positive balance. I then used my credit card to pay the school. A very painless method of getting the money where it's supposed to go, but there might be an uplift for paying by credit card and the exchange rate might not be the best you can get. Another reason for me paying by credit card is that I would have the support of the credit card company behind me in case of problems.
If you decide to pay for your training by credit card, give the credit card company a heads-up call beforehand. Otherwise your payments to the flight school might be flagged as unusual and therefore suspicious transactions leading to all kinds of complications.
If you pay your flight training through other means, bring a credit card anyway. In the US, cash and credit cards are virtually the only accepted ways of payments in supermarkets, restaurants and so forth.
Organize your paperwork
It has been said that no aircraft is allowed to fly before the weight of the paperwork equals or exceeds the weight of the aircraft itself, and this seems to be true for pilot licensing vs. pilot weight as well. Over the course of the next few months, you're going to accumulate all sorts of certificates, confirmation e-mails, forms to fill in and so forth. Buy a binder right now, keep the paperwork organized and bring the whole binder with you anytime you go to some official place, because there's always some additional piece of paper they will want to see. And remember that most official places will need to see a picture ID (ie. your passport) to verify it's indeed you. (The first place you need this paperwork is actually at immigration, and immigration, in most airports, is before you reclaim your luggage. So make sure you've got this binder in your hand luggage!)