Learning to fly in the U.S. is becoming a lot more popular – there are many advantages as compared to learning to fly here in the U.K. You have to remember there are negative sides to doing so as well, though.
Let’s look at what it’s like in more detail…
COST
This is probably quite high up on anyone’s list who is considering learning to fly…it is very expensive and you will need to be committed to spend that sum of money!
The cost of flying in America is a lot less then it is here, even with the effect on the economy of recent events.
To give you an idea, you would probably expect to pay something in the region of around £6,000 here in the U.K. (although this can vary quite a bit between flight schools). In the U.S., you would probably expect to pay around £3,000, and the price a lot of the schools over there offering JAA PPL’s normally includes accommodation costs for your stay.
The quoted price for flying in the US generally involves the cost of the Skills Test and all ground exams as well. One thing a lot of the American schools do fail to include is the RT (Radiotelephony) exam costs---they don’t generally test you there and this is something you will need to do on your return to the UK.
The type of aircraft you want to train in will also affect how much you pay. If you decide to go for a Piper Warrior, you will probably need to pay something in the region of £3,600 (I think that’s what OFT was charging at the Flight Exhibition at London Heathrow on Saturday). If you decide to fly in something a bit smaller such as a Cessna 152 or a Katana, you should expect to pay around £3,000. In this case, it really just boils down to whether you want to learn in a nice big 4-seater, a low-wing, or a high-wing aircraft. Everyone has their own preferences.
Another cost you will have to fork out is the flights to and from America. Obviously they are at an all-time low at the moment, but if you are looking at going out there perhaps in the summer, the prices can be quite high. If you assume around £300, that should be about right, although don’t quote me on that.
One expense that you will not get in the US, but you will get here in the UK is landing fees. To be honest, I didn’t even know they existed until I returned back to England – you have to pay them at just about every airfield over here. I’m not sure if the no-landing fee rule applies to the whole of the US, but if you stick to Florida, I know that you will need not worry about them.
LOCATION etc.
A lot of the flying schools that offer JAA PPL training are based in Florida, although there are plenty more elsewhere. The key thing to look for is to make sure the flying schools you look at offer JAA PPLs (ie. a European licence) as this is what you will need to fly back in England (unless you decide to stay in America).
By and large, of the schools that I saw over there, they are all very nice. The school premises are all very professional, the grounds are large, and the airports are generally no comparison in size to the ones you will fly at in the UK.
One thing that I personally think the British flying schools are much better at offering is ground school. Although they certainly do offer it over in America, the system is more of a ‘self-study and ask the instructors when you get stuck’ type rather than being taught everything like it is done in the UK.
THE ACTUAL FLYING PART…
Flying is the same wherever you are. What is different is navigating. The US is very big and there is a lot of empty space; the UK is very small and everything is much closer together.
This is where you will be picked up on, on your return to the UK.
Navigating in the US generally involves flying over large expanses of land with very few features below you. Therefore, when navigating, you tend to just ‘point’ the aircraft in the right direction, and then happily fly along for the next 30 minutes without even hearing a soul on the radio. When you do reach something, generally your next airport stop, you can be pretty sure that it is the one you are looking for, since there probably isn’t another one around for 10 miles.
The UK is very different. Features – such as towns, hills, more aerodromes, etc, pop up everywhere, and it can get very confusing for a new pilot to actually know what town/hill/airport he is looking at. Hence your navigation here in England needs to be very much more accurate - you need to be spot-on otherwise you may land at the wrong airport!
The airspace in the UK is busy and you will have to get used to a lot of pilots all appearing to be using the radio at the same time. This is not to say the airspace in the US is sparce, however. Many of the flying schools out there offering European licences tend to be close to the big international airports and so there is a lot of traffic there as well. The bonus in flying in America is that as a PPL pilot, you are not limited to landing at the small, standard airfields, but are in fact allowed to land at the bigger, international airports, which can be very exciting.
SO WHAT’S WRONG WITH LEARNING IN THE U.S.???
When you have finished your PPL training, you have completed your Skills Test and are now the proud holder of a PPL Pass certificate, you may think that you can buzz off back to England and get stuck in straight away. Not quite. Firstly, you will need to get your RT Practical exam out of the way. This may require some extra training on your part, since there are subtle differences in the British and American usage of RT. The Americans generally tend to be a lot slacker…using non ICAO phrases etc, and you will have to try hard not to pick up bad habits.
The RT practical exam can be done at any UK flying school, and will cost you in the region of about £50. Getting hold of the CAA Radiotelephony manual (CAP 413) will ensure that you don’t miss anything out.
The next part is sending your new Skills Test pass certificate, your RT pass sheet, logbook, etc off to the CAA so that they can process your application and give you a nice Private Pilots Licence, which costs something in the region of £143. So can you fly around now??? Probably not. The English flying school you choose will want to see what your flying is like…not only your general handling of the aircraft, but also your navigation. This is what they will pick up on. You will probably need about 5 hours with a British instructor before they let you out on your own.
WEATHER
Lets face it…the weather here in England isn’t exactly on par with Hawaii, but neither is Florida (although it’s certainly a lot closer!). The fine weather in America, specifically Florida, will ensure you get a lot of flying done in a very short space of time. While of great benefit to you, it can also be a drawback. Flying in England wouldn’t be the same without our lovely weather and as a new pilot direct from the States, you will not be prepared for the stuff you get over here. Whilst a PPL will not allow you to fly in choppy winds and 1 mile visibility, you shouldn’t expect calm, clear skies (as if you would anyway) and the bumpy weather may alarm you at first when flying here. Most people do get the illusion that Florida has nice weather all day long, and this isn’t the case. Thunderstorms are always around the corner, cloud layer can also be very low, and haze will always help at reducing the visibility.
WHAT ELSE?
I think I have covered most things (please ask if I haven’t). It’s ultimately up to you on whether to go over to the States or not. I chose to go over there, and haven’t regretted it at all. Remember, it will probably take you close to a year to complete it here, whereas you could get it done in 3 weeks over there.
That’s all for now,
Best regards,