TheNakedTrader
24th Jun 2012, 10:33
Hi there everyone,
I'm writing this from Singapore (where I'm from) and I'm new to this forum.
I'm 27 this year, male, Chinese ethnicity and I have a keen interest in aviation i.e. becoming a pilot.
While I do not rule out being a professional pilot, I believe, as with everything else, it all starts out small...in this case, achieving a PPL.
Here's where it gets tricky...
From what I have found out, the USA, UK and Singapore are ALL member states of the ICAO. And while ICAO licenses are generally cross-recognized
by the member states....Singapore (a horrid country) DOES NOT recognize the FAA licenses issued by the USA. I don't know why and I can't be bothered with the reason in any case.
Instead, Singapore recognizes the JAA/JAR-FCL licenses issued by the UK CAA. A recent check I conducted at one of our local flying clubs revealed that apparently, the syllabus needed to achieve a Singapore PPL is of the same as a JAA/JAR-FCL PPL.
Now...as mentioned above, I do not rule out the possibility of becoming (or at least trying to) a professional pilot in the near future.
This means that I should ideally go down the JAA/JAR-FCL route....which is my chosen route anyway..
I plan to do the flight training in Florida, USA with FlyEft aka European Flight Training..which I have heard pretty good stuff about them here.
Now...the thing is, i would also want to have a stand-alone FAA PPL to function as a just-in-case kinda thing..
From what I hear, keeping a JAA/JAR-FCL PPL current has more hassle to it than keeping a FAA PPL current.
While I could just do a conversion from JAA to FAA, this would mean that my FAA PPL is only valid AS LONG AS my JAA PPL is valid...not something I would like to have.
So here are some questions I have regarding my plans:
1) FlyEft.com listed a few books that PPL students should purchase and read up before arriving. They also listed equipment such as fuel strainers, flight computer etc. However, is there ONE single PPL student kit I can purchase that has all this inside already?
2) Does anyone know whether Fly EFT can also assist to do a standalone FAA PPL? If not, what is recommended?
3) From what I understand, the flight hours and instructional hours required for the JAA licence is the same as the FAA license. All I need to do, is to pay for and sit for the FAA theory exams and checkride. Is this correct?
4) Do I need BOTH a JAA Class 2 medical and a FAA Class 3 medical or will one suffice to begin training?
5) I understand that TSA needs to give me clearance to begin training. But the US Embassy here in Singapore can only go as far as issuing M1 visas. Does this mean that upon arrival at the States, I need to factor in a couple of days to get TSA Clearance and do fingerprinting etc? Does MCO, Orlando have fingerprinting facilities for the TSA?
6) I've also heard of folks doing the FAA IR after their JAA PPL. Is the FAA IR and the JAA IR inter-convertable? Does this mean that after they have gotten their FAA IR rating, they can convert it to JAA IR and add it to their existing JAA PPL?
7) Currency wise, does this mean I need to plan an annual trip to the USA to get checked out by a FI or CFI to keep my license(s) current?
That's all the questions I have for now, but any further advice/recommendations is more than welcome.
Regards
Bryan
I'm writing this from Singapore (where I'm from) and I'm new to this forum.
I'm 27 this year, male, Chinese ethnicity and I have a keen interest in aviation i.e. becoming a pilot.
While I do not rule out being a professional pilot, I believe, as with everything else, it all starts out small...in this case, achieving a PPL.
Here's where it gets tricky...
From what I have found out, the USA, UK and Singapore are ALL member states of the ICAO. And while ICAO licenses are generally cross-recognized
by the member states....Singapore (a horrid country) DOES NOT recognize the FAA licenses issued by the USA. I don't know why and I can't be bothered with the reason in any case.
Instead, Singapore recognizes the JAA/JAR-FCL licenses issued by the UK CAA. A recent check I conducted at one of our local flying clubs revealed that apparently, the syllabus needed to achieve a Singapore PPL is of the same as a JAA/JAR-FCL PPL.
Now...as mentioned above, I do not rule out the possibility of becoming (or at least trying to) a professional pilot in the near future.
This means that I should ideally go down the JAA/JAR-FCL route....which is my chosen route anyway..
I plan to do the flight training in Florida, USA with FlyEft aka European Flight Training..which I have heard pretty good stuff about them here.
Now...the thing is, i would also want to have a stand-alone FAA PPL to function as a just-in-case kinda thing..
From what I hear, keeping a JAA/JAR-FCL PPL current has more hassle to it than keeping a FAA PPL current.
While I could just do a conversion from JAA to FAA, this would mean that my FAA PPL is only valid AS LONG AS my JAA PPL is valid...not something I would like to have.
So here are some questions I have regarding my plans:
1) FlyEft.com listed a few books that PPL students should purchase and read up before arriving. They also listed equipment such as fuel strainers, flight computer etc. However, is there ONE single PPL student kit I can purchase that has all this inside already?
2) Does anyone know whether Fly EFT can also assist to do a standalone FAA PPL? If not, what is recommended?
3) From what I understand, the flight hours and instructional hours required for the JAA licence is the same as the FAA license. All I need to do, is to pay for and sit for the FAA theory exams and checkride. Is this correct?
4) Do I need BOTH a JAA Class 2 medical and a FAA Class 3 medical or will one suffice to begin training?
5) I understand that TSA needs to give me clearance to begin training. But the US Embassy here in Singapore can only go as far as issuing M1 visas. Does this mean that upon arrival at the States, I need to factor in a couple of days to get TSA Clearance and do fingerprinting etc? Does MCO, Orlando have fingerprinting facilities for the TSA?
6) I've also heard of folks doing the FAA IR after their JAA PPL. Is the FAA IR and the JAA IR inter-convertable? Does this mean that after they have gotten their FAA IR rating, they can convert it to JAA IR and add it to their existing JAA PPL?
7) Currency wise, does this mean I need to plan an annual trip to the USA to get checked out by a FI or CFI to keep my license(s) current?
That's all the questions I have for now, but any further advice/recommendations is more than welcome.
Regards
Bryan