Orlando Flight Training / Cabair

[spinnygirl]

Has anyone been to OFT/Cabair recently? If so how did they find the Visa process? How long was the Visa issued for, and were you eligible to stay on instructing afterwards? What did you think to the std of instructors / accomodation / quality and maintenance of aircraft?

Thanks,

Spinnygirl.

[Barry Coomer]

I was at OFT on May 6th this year.
Thouroughly decent people, everyone works well as a team.

The visa is a pain. The paperwork came through from OFT in plenty of time and everything was in order.
You have to book an appointment at the US Embassy in London.
I live in Crewe, so it was a day job. And talk about a queue ?!
I was in the place for nearly four hours and the 'interview' took about thirty seconds.

The accomodation is your everyday American hotel. I was in the Sheraton. If you have ever stayed in the US , you know exactly what to expect.

I left OFT early for personal reasons. Hope you have a better time of it !!

Feel free to contact me via e-mail if there is anything else you need to know.
[email protected]

[B2N2]

Officially you can only do PAID work on a J-1 visa not on the regular student M-1.
There are some schemes for working on an M-1, like "training for your ATP" while building time as a Flight Instructor and you pay your employer like $1 an hour for the privilige.
Be aware the Immigration people are cracking down on this sort of messing in the margins.:cool:

[highwinger]

Hi SpinnyGirl,

A few people have commented on OFT including myself you can do a search on OFT or follow this link to a bit of info about the facilities. Have fun if you do go out there

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=83822&highlight=oft (http://http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=83822&highlight=oft)

[busz]

Hey Spinnygirl.

Well i am off to OFT in 4 weeks. Really excited about it. All the people i speak to on the phone seem very nice, but i will have to wait until i get out there to experience them first hand.

As for the Visa, i found it a lot easier than everyone on here made out. OFT sent me everything i needed promptly and with no hassle. Going to London for the interview was a pain, but the day out was nice. (The train ticket from Wakefield to London was nearly twice as much as a flight from Manchester to Cologne that i did recently. That was with Hapag Lloyd Express - Great airline)

Anyway, the embassy was ok although the staff were EXTREMELY pushy, and in one man's case just plain rude. He was literally shouting at people if they did not have everything they needed. I had to wait bout 3 hours in total for a 1 minute interview. Left my passport with them and 3 days later it turns up in the post with a colourful Visa inside.

If you have any questions about OFT, dont hesitate to ask.

Alex:ok:

[j0_ey]

Hi, I trained with OFT for 6 weeks back in July 2002 (I know it's hardly recent but I'm sure the level of training hasn't changed). They're great bunch of people and the training was great... Although be prepared for the heat when sitting in the cockpits, the term "like an oven" comes to mind. I was 16 at the time and I therfore stayed in the Appartment blocks which was great, far more freedom than the hotel in my opinion, and cheaper.

The quality of the aircraft seemed fine, especially some of the newer planes... Pa-28 etc etc.

Hope you enjoy it!

[Jinkster]

I went out in Jan 2002 for 8 weeks - didnt need a visa

Jinkster