JAA FI(R) Rating in the USA

[Jinkster]

Would you recommend it and more importantly where would you do it?

Thanks,

Jinkster

[sawotanao]

I too am interested in FI in US, Any ideas PPrunners?
:cool:

[Mordacai]

www.flyeft.com.


and, it looks like the price had just been reduced.

[Fair_Weather_Flyer]

Do the rating with a school that are likely to employ you after you finish your training. This time of year there must be some of those around?

[atplman]

Like all training in america it is of a poor standard. In the current climate you
may well get a job but do it in britain it'll make you a better pilot.
Also i believe Mordaci is infact an instructor with eft and hence that post is blatant advertising, and as such should be removed

[Mark Collins]

Sounds like ATPLman has a bit of a chip on his shoulder!

An FI course in the USA is of no better or worse standard than anywhere else. If you choose a CAA approved school then the standard will be just as high as all the approved US schools are regulated as are the UK ones.

If you want to work in a specific geographic location then you may be able to increase your chances by choosing a school that is local, it is well known that flight schools like to employ their own graduates.

I did my FI in the USA and when I returned to the UK I had a number of offers from UK schools, but I chose to return and teach in the USA.

This time of year the weather is variable in the UK and this could extend course and cost etc. The advantage of going to the US now is that you are looking at a 4 week completion time. You will also be ready to return to the UK ready for the summer season.

Hope this helps and good luck.

[UB6IB9]

watch your comments there atplBOY!! i happen to know quite a few guys who trained in clear perfect vfr conditions down in arizona. these guys can fly in imc better than anyone i've seen. whether you learned how to fly on a grass strip, behind a barn, in a farmers field on a texas tail dragger or at the mighty oxford.........attitude plays a big part in learning to fly as well as solid instruction.

[BillieBob]

If you choose a CAA approved school then the standard will be just as highA popular misconception. The criteria for the CAA to approve an FTO, as detailed in Standards Document 39, do not include the standard of the course. All that approval ensures is that the FTO meets the minimum requirements of JAR-FCL, which are mainly concerned with facilities, infrastructure, administration and personnel. There is a weasel-worded statement about judging an FTO by its first-time pass rate but the CAA haven't enforced this for years, mainly because most of the 'major' schools don't even come close to meeting it

[flyboyike]

Like all training in america it is of a poor standard.

Care to expand?

[Mark Collins]

BB,

Surely the standard of the course is dictated some what by the elements you mentioned; facilities, infrastructure, administration and personnel. Especially personnel, the couple of CAA inspections I have been through involved speaking to all the instructors and back seating flight lessons.

In terms of what content is taught on the FI, I think that this will be fairly standard across the board if you are talking about a UK JAA PPL. The difference will be how well the student is taught. Again I think the factors you mentioned will influence this.

The US offers some cost benefits and better weather conditions, I also think the standard of training is on an equal level with the UK. You have to choose what benefits you the most.

[BillieBob]

Mark,

Whilst what you say is true in theory, in practice the system just doesn't work. The CAA have a target for sampling instructors and students which they don't have the resources to meet, particularly in the USA. I understand that the last time a CAA Examiner went to Florida to conduct sampling there was a sudden rash of u/s aeroplanes and sick students, who all miraculously recovered as he stepped onto the flight home! Even when sampling is accomplished, it only ensures that the minimum standard is met - there is no attempt to ensure that all FTOs are of the same standard.

Take the CAA's own measure of a 'satisfactory' FTO - the first-time pass rate. Although the last information I have is over 6 months old, at that time, according to an FE of my acquaintance, the highest first-time pass rate for the IR was in excess of 90% whilst the lowest was less than 40%. Coincidentally, the two FTOs that achieved those extremes had a similarly large throughput of students and so sample size is not an issue. Both schools were JAA approved and both were subject to sampling to the same criteria but the quality of training at each was clearly and very markedly different.

As I said before, CAA approval ensures only that FTOs meet the minimum standards, it does not ensure that they all provide the same quality of training.

[Mark Collins]

BB,

I agree with some of what your saying, but the accreditation goes some way in making sure FTO's uphold a certain level of training.

As for u/s aircraft and sick students, I am not sure what FTO you are referring to, but I think they might have had something to hide. a competent FTO should not fear an inspection as it aimed at ultimately making them a better organisation. The end result being better trained students.

We have drifted off the subject of the original thread a little, but ultimately I don't think you will find a lower standard of training in the US, there are a number of very experienced instructors teaching the FI course throughout Florida. The choice of doing an FI in the USA really comes down to any potential cost/time saving and weather benefits you can achieve.

[WX Man]

Would you recommend it and more importantly where would you do it?

Unless the school in the US are offering a job (=visa!) afterwards, then: no, I wouldn't. FWIW, I would get a list of schools offering FI courses (see the CAA website), ring them up and ask if they need any full time instructors. If the answer is yes, ask how much their FI course is. If the sums add up: go for it.

Otherwise you could go to Alan Cooper at East Mids Flying School. Not only one of the best priced FI courses out there, his training is top-notch.

If you're going to get your first instructor job in the UK, it's best to do FI course in this country IMHO.

Like all training in america it is of a poor standard. In the current climate you

Bull f*cking sh*t mate.

If you have a bad experience of one flying school in America, you can't tar them all with that brush.

I've been to 3 different schools with 3 different objectives (PPL at one, FAA CPL/IR at another and JAA CPL at the last). All served their purpose; it's just that one was outstanding, the other was very good and the other (whilst providing a fair standard of instruction) left a seriously large amount to be desired in terms of management.

[atplman]

Well I know a few schools that do not believe in employing american trained JAA instructors due to the standard being very poor. As i said in a previous post in the current climate the chances of getting an instructors job are very good no matter where you trained.

[Fair_Weather_Flyer]

Much of the anti American training rhetoric comes from UK flight schools that just can't compete with the US schools on value. So they come out with the old, British is best BS. I'm sure the EFT FI course is okay but I would still try and get the training linked to employment. That means training in the UK.

[atplman]

Out of interest who is doing the EFT FI training nowadays?

[Mark Collins]

EFT FI course is run by either Trevor Brackston the Head of Training or Ben Wood the Chief Flying Instructor.