rick 1128:
Ahhh...here we go again! The typical biased opinion of an American pilot, based on...NOTHING but one individual experience on a sim ride. Nice!!! Before you make such comments you should get ALL the facts together though. The FAA ATP written exam can easily be done by rote learning because you can buy the Test prep with all the questions and answers...big deal! Try that with the JAA written exam for the ATP!
BTW, I do hold a FAA ATP, a TC ATP and a JAA ATP. Many of the European colleagues I have met do have a FAA license as well because they did their initial training in the US. They certainly know what they are talking about when they compare the two systems. Do you hold a JAA license?
I also worked as CFI in the States and I will attest any JAA ATP a much better general aviation knowledge than their FAA counterparts ten fold. Let's not even talk about the practical side. FAA IFR check flight...possible to do in an R22!?! And right after that you can show up in the GOM and "try" your luck, or should we say "push" it!? If you want to fly IFR in the North Sea...you get your multiengine type rating first and then do a multiengine IFR check flight before you are allowed to fly SIC for a while.
Yes...the JAA is much more regulated. But, is that really a disadvantage? Look at the recent accident rates in the GOM and compare those to the North Sea.
http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/otopdf/2000/oto00089.pd
Human Factors in Offshore Aviation
http://www.hsac.org/Minutes/GOMAcc99_04.pdf
And at last...how many European pilots have you really met, who were even thinking about giving up their jobs in the North Sea and fly in the GOM or somewhere else in the US?
Remuneration for a multiengine IFR Captain in the GOM does not even come close to what a Captain in the North Sea makes! So why would anybody with a sane mind want to give up a job in the civilized world and move to the swamps of Louisiana? Besides that...it is nearly impossible for somebody who is not a US citizen to get a working permit as a helicopter pilot in the US. The guys you are referring to are usually foreign low time pilots trying to built time in the US!
Personally... I don't give a
, because living and working in your glorious country would be the last item on my list...right after flying a clapped out 212 on one engine in the most corrupt, muggiest
you can imagine!
