Hi there again
Totally agree that PPL students should have the best grounding that they can get. I would also be happy to send any of my students into Class B airspace.
The US approach does not really have an option for intergrated training, this allows you to go to the level you want to. So some people that get a PPL only ever want to go that far.
For the serious person who wants to make a career out of it then, the vast majority of them will go to a bigger school and do that.
I also think that the FAA knowledge is a little weak, but in my groundschool classes for IFR ratings I made sure that we went over all the things that they would need to know. This was usually way above what they required for the FAA exam.
I also like the FAA and Canadian oral system, I think that it is a good method of making sure someone has not just wrote learnt the writeen exam info and then forgotten it.
I think that maybe you have seen the results of too many poor instructors there are some out there which is unfortunate.
There is one thing that I must disagree with though. The usual FAA and Canadian full ATPL. Will have 1500hrs and will have either been an instructor or Air Taxi for 1200hrs of that.
To me that is time that will be invaluable when they actually come to command. The descion making process can only be taught so much, most of it has to be learnt.
Billie Bob:
From my understanding their is no Flight test for JAA ATPL. I am not talking about what you call an fATPL as all that is a Commercial with IR and MCC and the ATPL writtens.
I am also not talking about type ratings as we still have to do those here as well after the ATPL flight test.
In the FAA their is a completely different test once you reach 1500hrs and want to hold an ATP here.
Send clowns I am sure will be able to correct me if I am wrong, but last time I did my training in JAA-land their was no ATPL flight test.
Safe flying one and all
-273