JAA PPL at American Aviation Acadamy

[danwal86]

Hi Guys

My first post so go easy!

I'm currently in the process of completing my ground exams for the PPL. Due to cost and weather I have decided to do my training in the states. Iv found what looks like a good school in San Diego and was hoping that someone on here would have had some experience with them since being taken over as I cannot find any reviews/threads.

Iv looked into Florida but it seems very hit and miss!

Any thoughts on just doing the FAA version and then taking the JAA skills test in the UK to allow a bigger number of schools to be looked at would also be very much appreciated.

Thanks chaps!

Dan

[mat777]

hi danwal,

from the limited knowledge imparted on me (a non pilot) by someone who is a pilot, I gather that getting an FAA licence then converting it to a JAA by doing a skills test is a very expensive way of going about things due to the conversion costs. I myself am currently looking into US based school that offer straight-up JAA courses - the best of both worlds perhaps?

hope this helps,

Matt

[B2N2]

There is a third option;


Complete your PPl exams in the UK
get a third class medical in the UK
Complete your FAA training and pass your FAA PPL checkride
Complete a JAA conversion skill test with a UK CAA authorized examiner of which there are several in Florida


So yes, you can do both without conversion cost in the UK and without going to a JAA school in the US. Downside is I don't think a JAA examiner can accept the Temporary Airmen Certificate issued by the FAA examiner.


*** Technically you would still have a conversion cost as you hold a JAA PPL but have never flown in the UK. Which means that you may need to fly 5-10 hrs with an instructor in the UK before you are safe/proficient enough to go out on your own in UK airspace.
These "conversion" costs apply also if you go to a JAA school in the US.
You would have flown in a N-reg, in US airspace with a US certified instructor following both a US and a JAA syllabus to eventually do a skill test with a JAA examiner. Still need the 5-10 hrs back in Europa land to be able to fly around safely. ***

So my advice:
See above :ok:

[320gking]

hi everybody
I have done my FAA PPL/ IR/ CPL SE/ CPL ME at American Aviation Academy, 7-8 months to complete all of these including some bulding hours: 250 hours of flight and 50h of sim....
I had such a nice time in that's school, the instructors and the team is awesome and i was really happy of my training and about the level that i had when i came back to do my JAA conversion in France, only 3 months to convert the cpl and the IR ME....
I can tell you San Diego is such a nice environement to fly, it's always sunny, and there is so much nice flight to do ....
Like going to santa monica ( fly over LAX ),san fransisco, las vegas, grand canyon, phoenix etc....
Plus people over there are just so nice ! i Had such a nice time !!!

I don't know so much about the JAA PPL, But i know you can do it at AAA...
Cause they are JAA approved (they work with a school in UK).
When i Was there some guys have complete there JAA PPL in 1month to 1 month and half but that's mean you go there and only do that: working and flying all the time!!!!
I think if you want to enjoy a little bit you have to stay at least 2 months !!!!

Once you have the JAA ppl It's just so easy to convert in FAA ( if you need it) you just have to go to a FAA office, talk to them (in english loll) and they give it to you ... A friend of mine who came to do buliding hour did it ... very easy and no flight test , but after you go fly for sure with the instructor to adapt yourself to the environement!!!!


hope i have help !!!
And sorry if i'm not very clear, i don't know that well the PPL licence !!!

[custardpsc]

Dan, like so many things in life there is no simple answer and it really does depend what you want at the end of it all.

pre 9/11 it was really easy to mix and match FAA/UK training. I did an hour a week for the first 10 or so hours in the UK then just got on a plane one day to Long Beach (california) for three weeks of flying every day (rotary and fixed wing) and then back to the UK to finish up. If you get the FAA instructor to sign each lesson and you annotate your logbook with the exercises this in general is taken to be countable towards UK ppl (as it was then) and probably JAR as it is now. If you go to a school that offers JAR training then that should be easy enough to log and be included.

However, in those days you didn't really need a visa and there was no TSA requirements. Now you will have to go to a school that can deal with visa issuance, its hard to swop if you don't like them as your visa is tied to the school and you have to pay $130 and get your fingerprints taken in Farnborough or Oxford to get the TSA approval which is also not transferrable between schools. US flight schools have been badly affected by the tightening of regulations and there are plenty of horror stories about students either not being able to transfer from poor schools or loosing money when they go bust. Choose carefully and look for somewhere that lets you pay as you fly. Its normal to pay say $750 chunks, fly most of that off and top it up again.

On the upside the USA is a great place to fly, and you will learn a lot and get experience that you wouldn't in europe. (student pilot solo direct route over LAX at 4500 ft, airports that are open 24/7, pilot controled runway lighting, mixing in with airline traffic etc etc). If you pick your place and season you can fly all day every day which is definitely benefical in the middle stages of getting your licence. You will on the other hand not learn much about weather and bad weather flying and will need to do some time at a uk school so what you save on gas you will pay on other things, plus the cost of flight, rental car and accomodation etc. However, you will end up a better pilot for the whole experience. (and there is only one written exam and a book with the actual questions and answers in.. )

You could also look at canada. No visas, no TSA, similar weather to UK etc. Only a couple of JAR schools but the training is ICAO and only one written exam, and whilst I only have exerience of converting UK to canadian I should think that converting a canadian licene to a JAR one would be relatively easy.

hope this helps

[320gking]

No, a Flight Review is required as per 61.56.
yes but a flight review is not a flighttest, it's not a chechride.
They want to see if you are safe , and confortable flying in there environement ...
but at least you are going to fly with an instructor 5-10 hours ...

[Stcv998]

Hello all,

I am thinking of doing a JAA PPL at AAA in december this year. I have found on this very forum and the broader internet mixed feedback on it - it seems that it was good for a while, then bad reviews around 2008~2009 (lost the ability to issue JAA PPL if I understood correctly), and a few better reviews from 2010.
Current bad reviews seem to be from people going there for hours building, which I seem to understand can be a different experience than "just" going for a PPL.

I would really prefer a San Diego school for personal reasons (fiancée from San Diego :)) so I would consider Florida options only if AAA proves to have become horrible.

Also, if anyone has comments/feedback on the following few questions I have:
- Any up-to-date feedback on the JAR PPL at AAA (instructors, planes, friendliness, professionalism, not feeling ripped off, etc)
- Is it realistic to aim for the JAA PPL in 4 weeks at AAA ? (I would be doing only that)
- Would it be an obstacle to studying properly if I chose to stay 30 minutes away from the school/airfield, in my fiancé's family? (versus one of the nearby residences with pool and bbq :O)

Last question, slightly off-topic: as a French citizen living in Switzerland, would I be able to rent F tails in France (and other non-N tails in respective EU countries) if I chose to get a FAA PPL instead of a JAA ?

This is my first post by the way. Thanks in advance for any answer!
Stcv998

[Whopity]

Last question, slightly off-topic: as a French citizen living in Switzerland, would I be able to rent F tails in France (and other non-N tails in respective EU countries) if I chose to get a FAA PPL instead of a JAA ?
You would need a validation, the process may vary from State to State but will all be standard when EASA takes over next year.

[Stcv998]

Thank you both for the answers.

@Whopity: is there a thread summarizing what will change when EASA takes over?

@SoCal App: according to that link (thanks):

To get it, you must go to a local office of the DGAC (http://www.dgac.fr/html/quisomme/index.htm) with :

your pilote licence, including a end of validity date
your medical certificate
your logbook
an ID card or a passport, and a certificate to prove that you live in a non-EU country, if you're a EU citizen.

I live in Switzerland - which is technically not the EU. Would it not work? The example given is of a German living in the US. As a French living in CH (outside of EU), I should be under the same regime, right?!

Finally, if anyone has recent feedback on a JAR PPL at that school - much appreciated.

Best,
Stcv998