Any sense in an Australian training in the States?

[Sir HC]

With the Aussie dollar at 93c, is there any merit in doing my PPL(H) in America? I have some friends over there in Orange County, Montana, Colorado and other places so accomodation etc won't be a problem. What is involved in converting the licence back to a CASA licence? Any suggestions, advice would be greatly appreciated. Cheers.

[ReverseFlight]

G'day matey, if you look in CASA's website, the conversion process is all there ...
http://www.casa.gov.au/scripts/nc.dll?WCMS:STANDARD::pc=PC_90024

If you can save on accomodation and living expenses, no reason why you shouldn't train there. The syllabus is somewhat different, eg Oz CPLs do full touch down autos while FAA leaves that to the CFI stage.

In case you're thinking about getting a J-1 visa, by all means, but my CFI(H) friends are finding it difficult to secure jobs at the moment - just don't be overly-optimistic about job prospects there. Good luck.

[inmate]

Right now you probibly are better off staying at home. The market which would allow you to progress into working as a CFI has hit rock bottom and for the forseeable future does not look on getting any better.
Getting just a licence (certificate) here will not give you much of an edge when you return home so spending those dollars there will be far more benificial to you.
If you are hell bent on coming here and training then maybe your best bet would be an FAA/JAR combination at the Bristow Academy but again things have slowed so getting work at the school upon completion might not be easy. And it will not be cheap.
I don't mean to be overly negative but having paid my way through this industry (true it was 40 years ago) I would hate to see you spend your money and have very little to show for it.
Whatever direction you choose we all wish you the very best.

[Hedge36]

American girls tend to love Australian accents.

Not exactly career-enhancing, but something to consider.

[gulliBell]

For an ab-initio outsider, training from the outset in Orange County would be a bit of a handful. It's quite intense airspace around there and the ATC talk at break-neck speed in language that requires very close concentration. Somewhere less hectic might be a better choice.

[Sir HC]

Thanks for the replies everyone. To be honest I wouldn't be looking to get work in America afterwards, I would only be chasing a private licence. I've got a means of building hours in Australia before I do my commercial. I'm basically just throwing some ideas around and trying to get some names of good schools that other foreigners/Australians have trained with. Thanks again. Cheers.

[Ned-Air2Air]

Go and see Chin down at Civic Helicopters at Palomar. He has a good operation there.

Ned