Hello all. I'm in need of some advice regarding my situation. I'm British, and hold a JAA CPL. I started my IR at SFT when they went bust, and lost a lot of money. I want to get an IR and Instructor rating, but I'm not sure if I can afford to train for them in the UK on top of the debts I already have (I've paid for the IR once already!).
I'm now considering going to the US to train for the IR, CFI, CFII, MEI, and also renew my ME and Night rating. All this is cheaper than the IR and FI(R) in the UK. I've seen a few flying schools that employ some of their international students after their training as flying instructors, whilst they stay in the US on a student visa. This is an option for me, as I've no real attachment to this country at the moment, so could leave for a year or so. I have quite a few questions. The things I need to work out are-
1) Can I convert my JAA CPL to FAA? What's involved? Where am I looking on the FAA website? I got lost trying to find it.
2) Is the student visa hard to get hold of?
3) Assuming I was to convert my JAA CPL to FAA (if possible, see No. 1), and was issued a student visa, am I allowed to get a job as a flying instructor and get paid after I complete my training? I think I've read that you can, correct me if I'm wrong.
4) I see the student visa is valid for one year, and can be extended up to 5 years. What are the rules on extension? The INS website doesn't load at the moment.
5) What's the instructor situation in the US? What is the likelihood of me finding work out there, and more importantly, picking up instrument and multi-engine instructional work?
There are other things I would have to consider though. On my return to the UK, I would have to do the ATPL exams again, (it will have been more than 3 years from ATPL exams passed with no IR pass). I would have to train for the JAA IR and (maybe) the instructor rating anyway when back in the UK. So it would cost more overall, not too much of a problem if I managed to find a year or two's work as a flying instructor including some instrument and ME time.
7) Lastly, is anyone aware of any flying school in the US that do JAA IR and Instructor ratings? I've had a good look, but have yet to find any.
8) If there are any schools, would the UK market look down on me as I trained in the US?
Any advice, or if you just want to throw in your two cents, I would be most grateful. Sorry about so many questions, but I really need a bit of help at the moment. If you would prefer, please feel free to PM or email me.
Many thanks,
R7A
[email protected]