PPL training in Central or South America

[EchoIndia]

Hi Folks,
I'm looking for information on finishing my PPL in Central or South America.
I'm thinking about Argentina but willing to consider other countries. Can you guys recommend schools there?
Are licences in S.America ICAO-compliant. Ie will I be able to come back to JAA-land and fly with my foriegn PPL?
Any other advice would be appreciated.
Thanks
EI

[Panama Jack]

Can't really recommend any because I am not terribly sure. I assume you speak, read and write Spanish because any written exam would be in Spanish language (in Spanish speaking countries of course). Here is a link to one in Argentina:

http://www.hangarnorte.com.ar/index.asp


There are also flying schools in Panama City (Albrooke Flight School)-- they have some friendly English speaking instructors, costs are reasonable, but I believe your written exam would be in Spanish. (Tel: (507) 232 7349 or (507)232 8788 or Fax:(507) 232 8675).

If you want to do helicopters in Panama, there is Helipan:
www.helipan.com/english

In Costa Rica there are a number of small schools at the Pavas airport in San Jose-- this is the general aviation airfield and not the one where the major airlines fly into. Sorry, I have no links to that one.

Then there are also a couple of schools (or there were the last time I checked) in Guatemala. I found renting an airplane there to be expensive compared to, say, Panama. Also Guatemala is a considerably less safe city than San Jose, Costa Rica or Panama City.

There may be a few schools in Honduras, Belize or El Salvador but I don't know of any. In Nicaragua there are a couple of guys with airplanes who do training, but nothing very organized and I don't recommend it (also Avgas is very expensive in Nicaragua).

All of the countries in Central America are ICAO states, but some of them have their compliance out of order. You're better sticking to countries like El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama. Back in the world of the JAA, a license from Central America will probably be treated like a license from any other non-JAA country-- in other words you need to convert. I believe there may be exceptions to this in the UK and Holland (so I have been told). Keep in mind that if you return to an English speaking country you may need to get the details of your license translated by a recognized translator to be accepted by your local CAA for conversion-- this would not be an issue for a FAA or Canadian license and is probably a minor detail in the grand scheme of things. Check out this link for a better overview of the situation: http://www.helipan.com/english/training/index.html#Anchor-49575

Flying schools in Latin America are generally not as well organized as those in Canada or the US, and many latin pilots train in the US. Nevertheless, if you want, they are definately there.

[EchoIndia]

Hi PJ
Thanks for the great info.
Unfortunately I don't have that much Spanish and so I'd be looking for a FAA or JAA PPL(A) course.
I'll keep looking.
Cheers
EI

[2FLYEU]

Unless you are a latin American National or have work permit to
eventually fly in that region then do it!
Otherwise do it at once in the U.S.Better facilities, excellent and functional Infrastructure(you can lan at any Rwy without paying any fees..),english language., Cheap Multi-engine...too many to mention.
Would strongly recommend to go to the U.S.
I've done it..;)