Holiday in USA with some hour building worthwhile

[Okavango]

Hi. I'm thinking of a holiday in the USA (to keep the missus happy), and get some sneaky hour building in. I've suggested a fly-fly to her (rather than a fly drive). Was thinking California/West Coast sometime around next May. Trouble is that due to ATPL brush-up and exams, I can only spare 2 weeks off work. Does it seem worthwhile to have such a short flying holiday and what do you think I could realistically achieve if workable?

[redout]

I think you need a TSA background check for hours building which requires you registering and several pages of forms to be filled in and then a $130 fee. Seems a lot of hassle for just two weeks. I also think that you will need your license verified by the Faa which requires a fee to the Caa to release the information.

[VFR Transit]

No TSA is required unless you are doing over 15 hours training (I await to be corrected)

1. Send of the forms to the CAA and of course their rip off fee :bored:

2. Fax the forms to the FAA with no fee :ok:

3. let them talk for a few weeks

4. FAA send you letter to attend one of their offices in the US (you choose)

5. flyout

6. have a 30 minute appointment

7. walk out with a temp air man cert

8. go to a school and have your BFR

9. Enjoy the flying

10. come home and with a bit of luck your credit card FAA based on licence is ready.

I again await to be corrected?

VFR T

[BackPacker]

you need a TSA background check for hours building

Last time I checked, not true.

You need a TSA check only for those things that significantly enhance your ability to fly an airliner into a building somewhere. It might sound blunt, but that's almost exactly the wording of the original ruling that started this whole TSA background check thing.

So you do need a TSA background check before starting training leading to:
- Your initial airmans certificate (aka RPL, PPL or SPL)
- A Multi Engine rating
- An Instrument Rating
- A type rating for aircraft > 12500 lbs

All other things, including flying holidays and hour building for CPL/ATPL, and even the CPL course itself, are exempt from getting TSA approval. Full info on http://www.flightschoolcandidates.gov.

So except for the 15 hours thing, both redout and VFR Transit are correct.

[Okavango]

Thanks guys. How much is the CAA fee and how quick can it be turned around? Other than these two issues it would seem to have potential (I'd also consider South Africa). Can anyone recommend anywhere to rent a 172 around California?

[B2N2]

8. go to a school and have your BFR

Is that like having your cornflakes?
It is a FLIGHT REVIEW not a spoon feeding session :ugh:
Have a read:

http://www.faa.gov/pilots/training/media/flight_review.pdf

[BackPacker]

Slightly off topic: Would an FSDO in California be paid by the FAA directly, or is the State of California involved as well, somehow?

California being bankrupt, civil workers sent home for one day a week and the office closed might impact your planning for obtaining that FAA certificate a bit.

[Okavango]

No location set at the moment - just like the idea of the West Coast and/or possibly Las Vegas/Grand Canyon. All advice appreciated regarding route and companies to hire from. Thanks.

[dont overfil]

Okavango,
The west is great for touring, so much to see. Choosing a base needs a bit of thought. Las Vegas is love or hate. My personal favourite is Palm Springs. It has a small town feel, desert weather and "The flight school at Palm Springs" is friendly and has modern aircraft. Get Signature to book your accommodation for huge discounts. We got a great deal in the fabulous Hotel Zosos.
Andy Dutzi charged us block rates for a two day hire.
DO.

[C172Navigator]

Hi,

I have rented twice from here Ahart Aviation Services (http://www.ahart.com/). There are based at Livermore, east of San Francisco. I rented a C172 and C182, both almost new for reasonable rates. You can take the train/Bart from SFO out to Livermore, the school collected us from the station.

Some links you might find useful:
AirNav (http://www.airnav.com/)
The One Hundred Dollar Hamburger (http://www.100dollarhamburger.com/)
Flight Planning and Aeronautical Charts at SkyVector.com (http://skyvector.com/)

[chiodos86]

I'm also thinking of heading over to the states and doing a bit of GA flying on my PPL. I emailed the CAA asking what I needed to do and they told me to contact the FAA about it. Can't seem to find an appropriate email address for them tho...
Anyone able to give me a rough idea of what I need to do in terms of license validation, new medical etc?

Any advice is much appreciated :)


Oops sorry, should have done a search first.....seems its a long-winded, expensive process :*

[phil94028]

Well I moved to Calif with a UK PPL and low hours many years ago. I went the reciprocal license route with a checkout. Not even sure there were BFRs back then. It was a bit scary.

There is a lot of confusion, or at least there used to be, on night flying. At the time at least was not part of a UK PPL and is part of a US one. I did a night checkout per the FARs but I'm pretty sure I was still restricted. I wound up just doing the US PPL in the end and an IR. Interestingly for the Mooney here it's hard to get insurance without and IR and in the case more my carrier you have to have a recent IPC too.

What I'd really caution everyone on is that it's a very different environment in the urban areas here to GA flying in the UK. If you fly out in the Calif Central Valley it's fine (but very hot). In the SF Bay Area or LA Basin you really always operate "in the system". Flight following with a sqawk/mode C/radar is the norm .You really need to be comfortable with minimal separations (500 feet vertical) from turbojets enroute. Flying onto the GA runway at San Jose for example expect to be on a parallel final with up to MD-11's. You really need to be on your game and blowing through the base to final turn is not a good idea! Make sure you fully understand wake avoidance, especially in crosswinds.

It's a lot of fun here but I'd be super careful about launching with a minimal BFR and poor approach controller radio skills! It really is not safe. Spend the $ and time with a good instructor to update skills and not just hours. You really can routinely get Class B VFR clearances here and fly right over the departure end of the main runway at 1500ft at SFO. Even shoot an ILS into SJC if you can go fast enough. All these services are free for GA (for now) so make use of them, not just the cheap hours.

[coliny]

If you want to come to Southern California and fly, I would suggest that you use the planes at a local flight school where I Instruct. They seem to have the best prices in the area with a 172 G1000 for $118.00 wet, and they have other planes there that are much cheaper but much older.. The weather there is sunny all the time and Ive noticed a lot of people coming over to time build there.. Many times I will fly the time builders to San Francisco and take them by the Golden Gate bridge or go to Vegas and show them around.
Let me know if you are interested and I will get you more info.
Colin