Hi there,
I have a query I'd like to submit to the Canadian population of this board in the hope that I can glean some useful info... Any and all advice will be gratefully received.
My question is threefold, and it goes something like this:
I'm a UK citizen, I'm currently undertaking my JAR PPL in Scotland, doing the pay as you fly route (buying blocks of hours) so I'm not tied to the FTO or perhaps even necessarily to this country. It has been a dream of mine since I was a nipper, and it is now my mission in life, to follow an aviation career and fly floats in Canada. I'm a fly-fisherman and an outdoor type, the lakes and the mountains are where it's at, unsurpassed beauty all around - a wee bit like Scotland but a hundred times bigger. I'm a late starter, my current career (new media/web design/development) is killing me by degrees - so I've decided to jump ship and follow the dream.
Here's what I need to know.
Firstly, is there any sizeable impediment regards doing my JAR PPL in the UK then continuing with further training out west? Or should I stop now and complete the PPL in Canada? If I stay here and complete, will say a 50hr float rating and some cross-country hourbuilding be enough to prepare me for the CPL/ME training etc, given unfamiliar airspace, regs and r/t - are the training syllabi
in parallel? Would I have to convert a UK JAR PPL to a Canadian version in the first place? Bit of a wooly barrage of questions there...
Secondly a medical question - would a CAA Class 1 cut the mustard in Canada? The AME who did my CAA Class 2 for the PPL is qualified to do Tpt. Canada Cat 1 renewals, but I'm not sure what the situation is re initials. Would I be better waiting until I come out there and sync a Cat 1 with my further training - or can a CAA Class 1 be ported to the Canadian system? Any thoughts?
Thirdly (and lastly I promise) - I'm aware that box-fresh float pilots have to wait in line for real flying jobs, just like everyone else - and I'm quite prepared to load a/c, work the docks, paint rocks and wash windscreens, whatever it takes until the right opportunity comes along. What I was wondering is, does the float/bush community have a history of only hiring fresh-faced grads - and do the same cyclical trickle-up hiring forces generated by the majors affect the less glamorous end of the aviation spectrum in the same way (in terms of keeping those fresh-faced grads in jobs)? What is the hiring situation like in Canada, outside the majors and regionals, is the float community in a good state of health?
As a venerable 37 year old I'm short on time (and of course cash) so I need to get on the correct track asap. Any sage advice no matter how incidental will be of help, I look forward to your replies.
Cheers