Hi Agile
I converted my FAA-CPLH to EASA-CPLH, quite a bit of work to do. Not really a conversion (no credit given in regards to the 14 exams at least). Finished my 14 exams in 3 sittings from May to Juli this year, the theory took 9 months, while I worked a full time job, so don't forget the 14 exams. It's not rocket science but it's A LOT of stuff to study and remember.
I hold a FAA-CPLH, CFI, CFII & IR with experience on the Schweizer 300, R22 & R44 but I didn't fly that much for some time so it took me a couple of hours to get comfortable again.
I finished everything I wanted to get done (build 65 hours EASA-PIC, fly 20 hours dual for EASA-CPLH, EASA-CPLH checkride in R44 and also R22 type rating) within 6 weeks. It was quite busy the last 2 weeks but if you have a plan and a timeframe and don't spend every 2nd day at the beach or pool you can get things done. I flew nearly every day, sometimes during the day and that same evening to get some night hours as well.
You have to have the plan before you go there and you have to take action, don't expect people to motivate you when you arrive.
Martin Sims, the owner, will do everything he can to get you up to speed and to accomodate you as best as possible but the student wants the licence and has to have the plan and timeframe set and his focus on the goal to get things done. If you want to party, go to the beach or chase the girls, that's fine but than of course things will take a lot longer to get done.
Flying conditions are generally best in fall/spring cause the weather calms down a bit. People tend to think that Florida means Sunshine 24/7, which isn't true. You have sunshine pretty much every day for at least 50 % of the day but in the summer it get's very humid and hot so be prepared for violent Thunderstorms and Rain like you wouldn't believe it. They pop up locally very quick and also disappear quickly too but in the summer you will usually have at least 1 TS or Shower in the afternoon between roughly 12 and 4, the mornings are usually best for flying. Fall and Winter is much nicer cause it's far less humid and hot so the weather is much more calm and stable.
Don't get me wrong, weather is generally good but TS in the afternoon or evening are always possible and WILL happen frequently.
The airfield KFPR is quite busy cause there's lots of GA traffic and business jets going into the Bahamas and the Carribean so you will be getting used to busy radios and traffic patterns
Also they have a big FW flight school based there so that also keeps things interesting. But the ATC guys are generally very helpful and try to make things as easy as possible for the couple of helo-guys there
The instructors quality is outstanding as the owner, Martin Sims, has been a EASA-Examiner and Instructor for over 25 years and knows every trick in the book when it comes to instructing, getting you current and comfortable in the cockpit again, spotting things with your flying that you would have never seen as issues or reasons for mistakes you keep making. He also knows the 22 and the 44 inside out, so that helps too. You will be impressed also by his knowledge of the EASA-Regs and how to work them to your advantage as best as possible.
They have 2 R22s, a R44 and also have access to a 206 if I remember correctly. The good thing is a very experienced mechanic is on site so I never had to cancel a flight cause of technical problems. There was some scheduled maintenance carried out but that's normal.
One thing to remember: Atlantic Helicopters isn't the cheapest school out there but they provided me with quality training I might have gotten somewhere in Europe but for a lot less moneywise cause flying in the USA is a lot cheaper. Also don't be fooled by cheap hour building in the USA, cause a CFI will usually be with you in the aircraft and he will log the hours as instruction and will sign your logbook accordingly so YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO LOG THEM AS EASA-PIC time. FAA PIC time is counted differently than EASA, keep that in mind. Or the school wants you to fly at least 10 hours or so dual before they let you go solo and by then their cheap hourly rate isn't so cheap anymore.
I did exactly 3,5 hours with Martin Sims before he send me off solo. I could log the dual time towards my 20 hours for the conversion anyway (not a loss!) and after that started building the hours towards my EASA-PIC time while flying solo.
Cheers