J1mbo, don't let anyone tell you that getting all of the FAA ratings and converting them to JAA is not a practical way of obtaining a JAA FATPL. If you want to find out how do the conversion, use the Pprune search to find info on on FAA/JAA conversions. The JAA schools in the States charge premium prices for their training and that erodes savings over UK training. One JAA school mentioned here charges $275 per hour on the BE76 for instrument training. The FAA school that they rent those aircraft off charges $175 per hour. There is the FAA conversion costs to consider but some people run into trouble finishing the JAA IR in the UK. This can prove far more costly than US JAA based schools will have you believe. Also, if you are planning on intstructing in the US under a J-1 visa you will need FAA ratings. The JAA schools make you obtain JAA ratings and then convert them to FAA. Again, this can prove more costly that they might tell you. You'll also find that you can end up in a cycle of having to renew IR and multi ratings if you obtain JAA ratings first, expensive! There are tons more pros and cons, but for me, I'll go for the FAA ratings first and do the JAA ones when I need them. Get the JAA theory out of the way before you start the J-1 visa though.