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Old 1st Feb 2002, 20:04
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FNG
Not so N, but still FG
 
Join Date: May 2000
Location: London, UK
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Question

Please excuse me if you have already thought through the US vs UK arguments and decided on the former. The subject has been debated since about 17th December 1903 and there is probably no right answer. Just in case you haven't run through the arguments, however, a few thoughts:

Cost: yes, hourly rates are cheaper in the States, but once you've added on travel/accomodation/use of valuable holiday time exclusively for PPL training/dual time spent after licence issue satisfying a UK club/flying group to rent you their aircraft/let you join the group, the actual costs may not be all that dissimilar.

Weather: yes, it's rubbish here, and drinking all that bad coffee in the club house whilst the rain thunders on the roof is doubtless bad for you, but here is where you will fly in the future, and some of us still somehow manage to rack up 50-150 hours a year, even with basic VMC licences, flying in the UK and Europe. Whilst learning amidst the rain, fog and gales, you make a start on the osmotic process of acquiring weather judgment, sometimes just by talking through the go/no go decision with the instructor on the phone, in the club house, at the hold, even in the air whilst one-eightying in the direction of base.

Tyre kicking: It is difficult to kick a tyre that is 4000 miles away. The way to judge a flying school is to go along and see it, squeeze it, lick it and sniff it. If not happy, bail out, and go looking for another. Difficult to do if you have committed to the big holiday and signed up with the club with the fancy website that you never visited before starting the course.

Hopefully someone else will come along in a minute and put cogent arguments in favour of doing it in the US. As I said, there is probably no right answer....
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