Best place to convert Oz or NZ cpl h to FAA

[helibee]

Gidday , has anyone converted there Oz or NZ cpl h to an FAA over the last couple of months , If so was there a good place to go for the conversion
Thankyou:ok:

[gentleben]

Hey Helibee,

I've just done my nzcaa to faa conversion in Florida. Any school can do it but most of them won't have a clue where to start and you will have to come up with a plan yourself. The process I went through for my cpl was;

1) Apply for an faa ppl based on my foreign (nz) cpl. See link below. You need to fill out the form, fax it to Oklahoma and then they will confirm it with your caa, then they send you a letter which you take to the local FAA branch (called a FSDO) and they write you out a ppl. Costs nothing but can take up to 6 weeks I think, I got lucky and had mine in 3 though.

http://www.faa.gov/licenses_certificates/airmen_certification/foreign_license_verification/

2) Sit a medical. This costs under US$100 and takes less than an hour, much less stringent than back home and they write it out for you there and then.

3) Sit your cpl written. This is a 100 question multi choice computer based test which you can do at practically any school or airfield. Most of it is common sense, just a few differences in the rules here and there is a bit of vor/ndb stuff to remember which I had never come across back home.

4) Take your practical. I found the test a lot more laid back than it was in NZ although there are a few differences to get used to. Helicopters fly around at 500' here in the circuit, through cities, all over the show to avoid the plethora of seized wing aircraft. Also the airspace is quite busy and they talk real fast on the radio and use a few different terms.

They will recognize all of your foreign flying but you will need 10 hrs of simulated instrument and a few specific xc requirements etc. Have a look through part 61 on the faa website.

I got away with the minimum of 3 hrs training required in the last 60 days to sit the cpl flying wise but if you are uncurrent you may need more.

The training hubs seem to be Florida and California. I did hear about a school in Hawaii that would do conversions for 2 or 3 k including accommodation etc but don't know who they are. If you are looking at Florida I'd recommend talking to

http://www.pelican-airways.com/

http://www.palmbeachhelicopters.com/

http://www.floridasuncoasthelicopters.com/

http://www.heli.com

Don't know if these links will work, they look kinda odd but I'll try again if they don't. Sorry to the spelling police for any deviations.

Hope this helps.

Ben

[helibee]

Well Mr Gentleben , Thanks for all that info bloody great , might have to shout for you at the pub one day , are you a Tui drinker or a spights
send me one of those PM thingees with a landline and ill give ya ring

cheers:}

[kwikenz]

Hey Gentleben... did you not have to apply to TSA for a training permit to conduct your licence training in the States?

Also, I believe Los Angeles Helicopters out of Long Beach Airport are owned and run by a bunch of Kiwis and Aussies... if nothing else, they'll be able to point you in the right direction.

The outfit in Hawaii that you are talking about is Mauna Loa... bases on all the bigger islands and Hawaii is a great place.

Very nearly took that leap myself but now driving buses for heavily tatooed and dubiously intelligent rig workers... have fun the US is a great place!

[mustering guru]

gentleben...

I am doing the same kinda thing now lthough its my CAD to FAA i am still trying to figure out if you have to have night hrs..?? did you have any when you converted or did you have to do the required 7 i think it is..

Cheers,

MG

[gentleben]

Helibee,

No prob, looking forward to that beer! Sent you an email.

Kwikenz,

Good point I forgot about the TSA. I managed to score a us passport so didn't have to go through it but talked to some guys today who said it's no big deal, just paperwork, $130 and a week or two to sort it out.

So are you driving in the GOM? Good to hear there are some kiwis over here representing! US certainly rocks. Great scenery...

MG,

I didn't have to do any extra but had already logged a bit of night. I've just had a look at the regs and copied them below. The 50 mile night xc is the only tricky bit (besides the 10 hrs instrument) as at home I think we aren't allowed to go more than 25 from airfields at night! I don't see why if you had to pay for them as part of the conversion you couldn't do the 2 hr xc as part of the 5 hrs total night though.

FAA CFR Part 61.129 Aeronautical Experience (cplh)

(c) For a helicopter rating. Except as provided in paragraph (i) of this section, a person who applies for a commercial pilot certificate with a rotorcraft category and helicopter class rating must log at least 150 hours of flight time as a pilot that consists of at least:

(1) 100 hours in powered aircraft, of which 50 hours must be in helicopters.

(2) 100 hours of pilot-in-command flight time, which includes at least—

(i) 35 hours in helicopters; and

(ii) 10 hours in cross-country flight in helicopters.

(3) 20 hours of training on the areas of operation listed in §61.127(b)(3) of this part that includes at least—

(i) 10 hours of instrument training in an aircraft;

(ii) One cross-country flight of at least 2 hours in a helicopter in day VFR conditions, consisting of a total straight-line distance of more than 50 nautical miles from the original point of departure;

(iii) One cross-country flight of at least 2 hours in a helicopter in night VFR conditions, consisting of a total straight-line distance of more than 50 nautical miles from the original point of departure; and

(iv) 3 hours in a helicopter in preparation for the practical test within the 60-day period preceding the date of the test.

(4) 10 hours of solo flight in a helicopter on the areas of operation listed in §61.127(b)(3) of this part, which includes at least—

(i) One cross-country flight with landings at a minimum of three points, with one segment consisting of a straight-line distance of at least 50 nautical miles from the original point of departure; and

(ii) 5 hours in night VFR conditions with 10 takeoffs and 10 landings (with each landing involving a flight in the traffic pattern).

Here's the link for part 61

http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=1ef0f9d6dd5f715fa1ba508c72c0c238&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title14/14cfr61_main_02.tpl

[Heli-phile]

Hi Any more detail on the Hawaii options sound very much up my street!!

any info or search details would be great.

thanks:ok:

[helmet fire]

Hi Guys,
i assume the TSA is some sort of security thing is it?
Anyone got a quick link to requirements or process of going through it?

Thanks, hf

[Gordy]

TSA Rules (http://www.tsa.gov/what_we_do/layers/afsp/editorial_multi_image_with_table_0215.shtm)

AOPA interpretation (http://www.aopa.org/tsa_rule/)

[R.OCKAPE]

I followed the same route as gentleben but I did mine in Van Nuys with Group 3 Aviation.
I explained my situation to them , they were very helpful and patient with all my enquiry's and there was absolutely no sales pressure at all to proceed.

Their website explains in detail what is required

Technically you are not training so you don't need TSA clearances and by getting the PPL issued on authentication of your foreign licence then doing the minimum 3 hours pre flight test prep flights plus the min 1 hour flt test will save you a lot of time and money

I would be wary of LA Helicopters they tried to convince and pressured me to go the expensive way and do the whole PPL and CPL syllabus when I had in excess of 11000 hrs and wanted me to pay their agent USD $1000.00 dollars for a visa which by the way if you are Australian or Kiwi you don't need.
Don't worry we are all Kiwi's and Ozzies here we won't rip you off" LOL

I arrived in LA on a Monday around midday and left the following Saturday midday and all up including airfares and accomodation it cost me approx AUD $5000.

[Mark Six]

Rockape are you sure about the visa? I went through the process recently and was told I definitely needed a student visa. I think it was an M1. Don't have details with me. The flying school sent me the "authorisation letter" I needed to apply for it. It definitely looked like it would be illegal for the school to train me without it. I got the visa and did the training.
HF, check your pm's.

[BHenderson]

I agree with the sentiments about LA Helicopters, except when I enquired it was $1300. Also I didn't like the ethos at Group 3 Aviation when I visited.

I'd recommend SRT Helicopters:

srthelo.com

[R.OCKAPE]

Hi Rob

I was informed by two different flying schools in the US that technically because I was "not under training" I did not require the M1 visa.

I followed the procedures the school advised ,applied online for a FAA PPL and was informed after approx 3 weeks when my Australian licence was verified that I could collect it at FSDO office I had nominated.

I really didn't encounter any problems at all with anything there except the choices and quality of the food

That was Sep last year and I know of others who have done it the same way.
Perhaps the process has changed since then

regards

[Mark Six]

Rockape,
No problem with getting the ppl etc as you described. FAA isn't interested in visas. It was the flying school who insisted I needed a visa and there was nothing in it for them. I didn't pay an agent for the visa, just applied online directly to the US authorities and was interviewed at the US Consulate. A total waste of a day, and about $200. The regs appear to require a visa and I didn't want to take the risk of getting turned back at the airport. If the flying school doesn't care, and you tell the Immigration Dept guys on arrival that you are visiting the US for a holiday rather than training, it shouldn't be a problem going without the visa.
I contacted the TSA Dept and explained that I already had a licence. They said as long as the aircraft I was flying in the US was less than 5700kg there was no need for the TSA letter. I didn't need an FAA medical either. The letter from the FAA in Oklahoma said my Aussie medical was valid and the FSDO in Hawaii was happy with that.

[R.OCKAPE]

Mark Six

How many hours did you do for the FAA Commercial certificate if you don't mind me asking

[Mark Six]

I did the ATPL. Just needed an instrument check flight.

[HeliKiwi500]

Thank you for clearing that up! I am leaving Christchurch in a few weeks and going back to Florida to convert my kiwi CPLH to FAA CPL. Much better understanding of what to do!:ok: Cheers.