I have an FAA CPL/IR and am working towards the JAA PPL/IR (Have the UK PPL and both medicals sorted) as an EASA insurance policy.
Doing the 7 IR exams at present, then will start looking at FTOs.
Over the last year or two I have had a look at Spain and Greece - both locations where I have flown quite a bit in my TB20 and obviously I favour the weather
The schools have a reputation for less formality compared with the UK system, which is exactly what you want if you are already an experienced pilot and are doing this just as an EASA insurance policy, but they have an equal reputation for being disorganised, with some appalling stories coming back (from real people I know). And I know, from trying to check them out by asking some standard questions, that some are very bad communicators. It made me smile to read about some of them in this forum
It also seems that some want a payment up front. One regular name wanted 6k euros. Obviously I know this is a seriously very very very bad idea, but what do people here think?
Can anybody make a personal recommendation for an FTO for an
SE IR, somewhere with good wx, which accepts UK CAA exam passes (7, not 14 as I am not doing the ATPL) and which is informal but still hanging together?
One curious thing is that, speaking of Greece, the only one I can find mentioned here is Egnatia, but there are
some others down there.
I have not yet found any non-UK FTO willing to do training+checkride in my N-reg TB20. But I wonder if France can do it; they seem to train and do class ratings quite freely in N-reg turboprops etc.