Training with no certificate?
Hi all. This thread has been extremely useful to me in searching for answers to my situation, but I'm still a little confused.
I'm an Indian citizen pursuing full-time flight training in India (CPL-ME-IR). We're going to have weather-related time off for two-three months from Jun-Sep (the monsoon season), and there will hardly be any flying that takes places. I was considering visiting a very close friend in the US during that period (two months - Jul to Aug), and undertaking some training while there. The flying bit is not going to be my main purpose of visit but a nice extra if feasible.
I've presently flown 75 hours in India, 36 dual and 29 solo, but don't have a PPL certificate. For that I need to fly a 150nm navigation flight with two full-stop landings. With the prevailing weather conditions here we're not allowed to go beyond 125nm. Considering all that I might need to get trained a little about the US airspace differences and maybe in variations in navigation procedures.
The school I've spoken-to are saying that my Indian hours will count towards an FAA PPL. Since I've already flown more than the minimums for an FAA PPL, I'm assuming I might only need to fly a few checkrides with a CFI at the school, and spend some ground-time for the navigation exercises, apart from actually flying the nav-exes.
Will I require an M1 visa for these? I'm guessing all this will not take me more than 15 hours of flying. I have a valid B1/B2 on my passport, and have visited the US previously in 2010.
I'm going to get the TSA authorisation for sure under the AFSP, but am unsure about the visa requirements. I'm willing to not apply for a PPL if that allows me to get-by on the B2. What I learn is more valuable to me than a certificate. Will Part 61 schools be open to me in case the B2 works?
Last edited by razzy; 27th May 2012 at 10:01.