Hi
This is my first post on this site – so go easy.
I’ve recently started a PPL in Edinburgh but due to weather conditions and aircraft availability I’ve struggled to get many hours in. My plan is to do as many hours as possible in the UK then go to Florida/Spain in July/August to do a block of hours and hopefully complete my PPL. I am aiming to do 10 Hours minimum in the UK and cover all the ground exams here as well.
I’ve read a fair bit on training abroad and have created a
spreadsheet that compares certain providers in Florida against one in Spain and a UK price for comparison.
Can anyone point out any glaring ommissions I may have made or anywhere I may have over/under estimated costs?
I'm quite surprised by how close the figures actually work out. Unless I've made any mistakes in the calculations I'm likely to go to Spain as it gives me more flexibilty when I go as there are no Visa issues to worry about.
Notes on the Spreadsheet
I've put in figures for 35 hours flying and 45 hours flying as I'm not sure how many hours I will need (having done some in the UK).
Obviously this spreadsheet is for my own benefit but could easily be tweaked for anyone else thinking of doing PPL training abroad. For example a flight to Florida is going to cost me £5-600 in July/August but you could probably fly for about half of that in the off-season.
I've tried to compare Cessna 172 or similar aircraft where possible, many of the US flight schools give prices for training in a 150/152 which may not be suitable for many people.
Visa issues
I wasn’t sure exactly on costs as some US schools say they pay for an M-1 visa. I took this to mean they meant they would pay any visa registration fee. I’ve added a figure in my spreadsheet of $250 to cover visa though after trawling through a few posts I’ve came up with costs of
Application fee £65/$130
Embassy visit £70/$140
SEVIS Fee £50/$100
Personal visit to embassy (flight to London + costs) £100/$200
Total £285/$570