OK, another PPL in the USA question...

[jnhosking]

Hi,

Whenever anyone asks for recommendations for flight schools in the US on this forum, there is usually at least one reply that reads something like, "but get the written exams done before you go!".

I just wanted to know how practical this is. Won't a lot of the theory seem somewhat irrelevant and/or difficult if you haven't done a circuit or two of your local airfield?

Anyone who has done the theory-before-practical route care to share their experience?

Thanks,

BF

[Julian]

Babel,

I did my exams down at Bournemouth airport with a guy called Ron Heyter, he shares a classroom/cabin with the local heli club, not sure if he is still around as this was 2 years ago.

You were expected to read the books and get a basic understanding of each subject although you did not need to be completely au fait with it. You then went to Bournemouth for 3 days where you got 1-1 ground school with Ron and also the exams and your results straight away - the only exam he was not licenced to do was the RT.

I found that although some things were hard to grasp during the 'reading' phase the gorund school soon cleared that up and I got through all of them first time with good marks. I found Met the hardest to get muy head around until attending the school.

The course was 3 days and cost £300, including exams & resits(if req'd), excluding accomodation. Ron arranged this at a local B&B for £20/night and was very good.

I bumped into a couple more on my course that had used him as well and no-one had a wrong word to say about him, which must be good as we were a cynical lot :)

I have heard of PPLs swotting up on their own and then just going for the exams but obviously be a bit harder when you dont have anyone to discuss issues with. Basically I would invest a few days now to save yourself a lot of grief on your PPL.

Julian.

[GoneWest]

Babel....

I work very closely with numerous flying schools in the USA that do UK JAA PPL courses...and in the process have met with dozens and dozens (if not hundreds - over the years) of PPL students.

If they are on the rapid three or four week residential courses - for which Florida is famous - they ALL agree that the workload of learning to fly AND doing the ground examinations is an absolute nightmare.

There is little or no social time left if you are at the school all day and then have to sit in your room all evening studying Trevor Tom books...with no one there to explain the stuff you are struggling to understand.

By the end of the three weeks, the students are often exhausted....and very unhappy at the effort they had to put in...NO HOLIDAY IN THE SUNSHINE!!.

Take this a step further....the flight test cannot be done until all the writtens are passed...if you struggle with a subject, for any reason, and cannot get them all done before your flight home, you may not be able to do the skill test in the USA...that would then entail numerous extra hours of flight training in the UK before you are ready to take the test with a UK school, in UK airspace.

Even worse...if you fail one subject three times...you are prohibited from taking the exam again at the school...you have to go to the CAA building in Gatwick. This would be the immediate end of your flying holiday....all a big waste of money.

Go to your local school...get some groundschool....do all the written exams (or as many as you have time for)...try to get the R/T practical done (and then keep to that standard when you fly in the USA).....then come out here and ENJOY your flying holiday!!

It would even (maybe) put you below the 18 hours a week maximum studying time that would require you to have a visa for entry to the USA....doing a 45 hour course over three to four weeks would let you in (legally) on a visa waiver.

Final thing to consider is that, usually, there is little to no genuine groundschool in the USA flight schools. You will be sent home with a copy of Trevor Tom and told to teach yourself - but things like Air Law and Navigation are different on each side of the Atlantic.

DO THEM IN THE UK BEFORE YOU COME OUT.

(e-mail if you want to talk further!!).

Enjoy the flying....and with the pressure off...you could probably do the night qualification at no extra cost.