Where to go in USA to hour build?

[career girl]

I need to get about 80hours P1 before I start my ATPL studies. Any recommendations on where in the USA i can do this?

Obviously I'd like to get it done as quickly and as cheaply as possible.

Thank you

[Keygrip]

I know this is not the answer you are looking for - but have you considered that if you do all the hour building before the ATPL exams, and then not fly for the six months or so that you are in school, you may lose any sharp edges that you honed on your flying skills.

Consider doing the laborious grind school first, then the hour building before starting the CPL flying course as a fresh and experienced pilot.

On a sad and scary note - if anything goes wrong with the ground studies - you wouldn't need those extra 80 hours!!

[Hufty]

You're going to get loads of people coming back recommending the major JAR schools in Florida as places to hour build.

I am sure some of them are fine (I did my CPL at EFT and it was OK) but as an hour builder there you're never going to be given priority. I saw hour builders at these sorts of schools sitting around waiting for aircraft and getting bumped in favour of (higher margin) training flights. Utilisation tends to be high.

My advice would be to go to a number of busy GA fields in one particular area and find a good, clean professional flying school with lots of good aircraft sitting around not being used. They are more likely to want your business and more likely to cut you a deal.

I have used the following and found them to be good:

Ahart Aviation, Livermore CA
Mazzei Flying Service, Fresno CA


Also, think about California as a place to fly. Florida is very flat and boring.

All the best
Hufty.

[spitfire747]

I have to agree with the advice given. I have completed my ATPLs now and having not flown for near on 1 year will find it very rusty getting into the air again. Luckily I have now got 50hours to build before starting the CPL, and by then i should be right up to speed again !!
My advice is do some now but do the majority after the ATPL exams before the CPL, so your fresh and current

Good Luck
Spitty

[Hufty]

...and remember that you can include up to 10 hours of P1/S as part of the 100 P1 total you need so don't do too much!!

You can use the time logged on your successful PPL, CPL and IR skills tests - all in all around 8 hours probably.

Hufty

[carbonfibre]

Career Girl

I used Voyager aviation some years ago, they gave me a cherrokee to myself for 10 days, which was nice, knowing no one else was going to get there hands on it, there at Merrit island, FL,and did me a good deal, however already stated try one of the US GA fields as they will normally give you a good deal, and some of the hidden treasures have excellent planes too.

Also as already suggested try doing say 40 hours break it in with a holiday then start your ground school, by the time you finished them youll be dying to fly and never look at a book again, do the rest after and some in between your studies to kill of the boredom

Good luck

:ok:

[FlyingForFun]

First of all, I agree with all of the advice so far, especially Keygrip's and Hufty's post.

I'd go one step further than Hufty, though, and advise that you don't even go to the USA. There are plenty of JAR schools in the USA where you can do your CPL. So why not do your hour-building somewhere else (I'd love to fly in South Africa, or Canada, personally, and if I could do it all again that's where I'd go) and go to the USA for the CPL? That way, you get to experience a wider range of different flying environments.

If you decide to ignore my advice, then there's another thread running about Chandler Air Service (thread (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=117202), website (http://www.aerobatics.com/)), and that would be my personal recommendation.

FFF
--------------

[LondonJ]

FFF, I didn't know that there were any JAR approved school in Canada and I only know of one (the FTC) in South Africa. Do you have the names/web addresses of any others in either country?

[FlyingForFun]

LondonJ,

As per Hufty's post - if all that you, or Career Girl, are looking to do is hour-build, you don't need a JAR school. It is precisely because there are very few JAR schools in either Canada or S.A that I would suggest going there for that portion of your flying which doesn't require any JAR certification!

FFF
--------------

[LondonJ]

Personally I am not going to hour build but to get an IMC and multi rating so I think I will have to go to a JAR approved school.

[FlyingForFun]

IMC rating: 15 hours minimum, plus test, plus any extra time it takes you. Let's call it 20 hours.

Multi-engine rating: 7 hours minimum, plus test, plus any extra time. Let's call it 10 hours.

That gives you a total of 30 hours. You'll need to do quite a bit more hour-building than that, unless it's taken you an unusually long time to get your PPL. :D :D :D

You are basically correct, by the way. The IMC rating needs to be done at a UK-approved school (it's a UK rating, not a JAR rating). The multi rating needs to be at a JAR school, although I'm sure it's possible to do an ICAO multi rating and convert it (but I don't know the requirements for doing this).

As well as this, though, you will also have to do a long cross country, which doesn't need to be done with any JAR approval, and you should aim to get a night qualification, which also doesn't need any JAR approval. So I'll stick by what I said, which is that if I were to do it again, I'd do my hour-building somewhere "unusual" (and maybe return to the UK for an IMC rating).

At the end of the day, though, it's really not all that important - it purely comes down to your own personal preference of where you'd like to fly, and how much variety you'd like to have. If you've got your heart set on the US for hour-building, then don't let me talk you out of it - I did my own hour-building in the US, and I had a fantastic time.

FFF
----------------

[Keygrip]

London....there is a JAA school in Canada.

Moncton, New Brunswick - check the CAA web site.

RE: your IMC - with the exchange rate the way it is just now you should seriously consider a full FAA Instrument Rating instead. Many benefits to that one, rather than an IMC.

FFF is right with all his comments.

[LondonJ]

Thanks for that. I'll start looking into doing the IR instead.

[KTM 525 SX]

Career Girl
McMinn County Aviation
Athens
Tennesse
(ask for Rob)

I did all my hour building here - C150 $30 / hr wet
Pa 28 $40 / hr.
Its the most laid back place I have ever come across - I had to request a check ride as Rob was quite happy to chuck me the keys!
The aircraft was mine for as long as I wanted but Rob will charge you extra for fueling up elsewhere.
Accomadation in the town was $19 / night, and Rob loaned me the car to go back and forth.
Helped out a bit picking up aircraft, refuelling, answering the phone e.t.c and got some extra flying for free!!

Fly to Atlanta - (KLM usually the cheapest) - stay in the youth hostel for one night then the Greyhound to Athens.
Beware - Every state has an 'Athens'