Originally Posted by 3bars
Also, from a flight training point of view, I PAID, often through the nose, for the honour of flying in American skies during training.....
Uhhh, no, you did not pay one penny for the "honor of flying in American Skies". The US does not charge "navigation" fees or communications fees, or clearance fees, or any other fees having to do with flying an airplane. Very few airports charge landing fees for general aviation aircraft, and those that do aren't the sort you'd normally go while training.
What you paid was to private businesses to rent aircraft, buy fuel, and pay instructors.
You may have paid some fees indirectly to the US for you written exams.
Any you know why you were over in the US paying those people?
For one reason and one reason only; because it was one hell of a lot *less* expensive than the same thing at home.
So, spare us the "paid thru the nose" drivel.