I got my FAA PPL back in February and until recently was a Australian living in the USA. I am now back in Australia and in the process of converting it to a CASA PPL.
I don’t have a lot of experience with the Australian system yet but here are a few points/hints from my perspective:
The FAA paperwork systems are a lot slicker than the Australians. For instance you don’t have to wait to get an ARN and the TSA security process takes a few days. It all seems to happen much more quickly. To speed up the conversion apply for an ARN/ASIC either before you go or while you are away so you are not waiting around when you get home.
The VFR syllabus has a few different things between the two countries. There is no NVFR rating in the USA and so the PPL training covers flying at night too. There is also more radio navigation (use of VOR/DME) in the USA compared to here from what I have seen. The FAA syllabus is missing the precautionary search and landing that is in the Australian syllabus. The expectation is that you would just land at the nearest airport of which there are heaps. The FAA syllabus does have what are called “ground reference manoeuvres” that have to be demonstrated in the flight test. These consist of low level (500-1000 feet agl) turns round a point or S turns along a road or railway line to demonstrate wind correction, turn accuracy and coordination. I don’t think these are in the Australian syllabus but they might be under a different name.
In the USA there are three formal tests to get the licence. There is the Knowledge test which is the multiple choice computer test, 70 questions. Then there is the oral exam and the practical test. These last two are administered by a FAA delegate(or FAA examiner but this is rare). In most instances I have observed these delegates are independent of the flight schools. For instance mine was a retired United check captain and was a bit of a grumpy old man. Being independent form the school the examiner has no vested interest in passing or not passing you and also has no preconceived notion about you. All you have to do is turn up and fly well and you will get the license, but if you don’t fly well… The oral exam is where he asks you about the things that you got wrong in the theory test. Failing people is not super common but does happen from time to time. An instructor who has a failure rate that is too low is asked to explain why by the FAA.
I do think that this results in better outcomes than having the examiner as one of the senior instructors in the flight school you have just paid a large chunk of money too….
If you learn to fly in the USA chances are you will learn to fly in an environment where there is a much greater traffic mix. Where I learnt had dash 8’s and embraers flying RPT along with the little GA aircraft. The local military guys were active and would come and do circuits some times and it was common to see C-130’s and AV-8’s flying through our training area. It all seems to work fairly well. It Australia is seems that there is much more segregation of aircraft types and operations. How many 172’s land at Sydney Airport, How many 737’s land at bankstown?
If you get the opportunity to learn in the USA I think that you will enjoy it.
Last edited by no_one; 30th Aug 2013 at 01:55.