Hello Barcadi.
Just a minor warning. As far as I understand, some of the hours gained and logged as PIC in the FAA (US) system will NOT be recognised by the CAA towards your JAA (European) CPL. I have heard of cases where people have been lured towards seemingly great hour-building deals in the US which, under the FAA system are valid, only to come back to the UK and discover that some of their time and money was wasted. This is all to do with how each authority define Pilot In Command.
Very simply; under JAA to log PIC time you have to be the sole operator of an aircraft certified for single pilot operations. If there is another pilot with you he can NOT log the time at all as only one of you is technically flying the airoplane. If the other pilot with you is an instructor and is logging the time as PIC the you can only log time as Dual, ie: under training.
For the issue of a JAA CPL you will have to have logged 150+ hours total flying time of which at least 100 hours must be PIC as recognised by JAA.
May I suggest three things: Firstly, carry two log-books. One to log your time as defined by the FAA, the other to log exactly the same flights but as defined by JAA. To the best of my knowledge this is perfectly acceptable and will help you understand your hour-building totals as you go. Each authority also like you to log slightly different details of each flight. Obviously, the FAA will only be interested in one book and the CAA/JAA the other.
My second suggestion is to contact the CAA (UKs Civil Aviation Authority) who will be more than happy to advise you about their exact requirements and definitions on all of this, including the 'can someone lend me an aircraft for free' issue... knowing my luck, they'll completely correct all of the babble that I have just written.
Finally. This site is fantastic, but only use it as a springboard and reference for your own thorough research. I am only telling you the above information, to the extent of my knowledge and understanding or your situation, as are fellow members, and our intentions are always good. However the pure facts will only come from the two authorities themselves and speaking to them, once you have a basic understanding, could save you a lot of worry and of course, money.
Good luck with your ambitions,
ConcreteFloater.
...Also just saw this:
http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthr...hreadid=195331
It may help!
CF