FAA IR opinions pls

[long final]

I will be going to Florida in Jan to get an FAA IR. I will have a FAA CPL, (Not used in anger) JAA ME CPL with little ME time before I leave for the US.

My question is based around the conversion to the JAA IR when I return. I would like to convert in as few hours as possible back here, so thought it would be a good idea to do the FAA IR using a twin, then taking the SE FAA IR, (Just to have both) so to get a chunk of cheap twin experience in the states, and hopefully save extra cash when converting back here in the UK.

So, has anyone gone down this route and can offer an opinion? I have been told doing the FAA IR in the ME is much harder than the SE IR (which I thought be helpful in the conversion)

I calculate that the difference in price is about £1500 between doing the IR ME (40 hours) and doing the IR SE then doing an FAA ME.

Any experience appreciated thanks.

LF

[WX Man]

I did exactly this earlier this year. Did the FAA ME IR with Riverside Flight Center (Centre?!) in Tulsa, OK.

Went to convert with Bournemouth Commercial Flight Training. I was very happy with both schools, but I will say that if I was to do it again, I may have chosen to go to Airways Flight Training in Exeter to convert. The reason for this is that Riverside and Airways teach the IR from the same book- all the checklists are the same and the instructors at Riverside are familiar with Exeter's methods etc.

It's a very, very good idea to get used to the ME aircraft you will be doing your IR test in back in the UK and pay £140-150/h for it, rather than £330/h for it. I did about 35h BE76 with Riverside, so there was no 'getting used to the aircraft' time in the UK.

The biggest hurdle in converting is the difference in testing standards and ideology. The FAA IR test accepts that if you can track a VOR on a VOR approach, you can follow an airway. For the UK IR test, you will need to join the airway, follow it, and make an approach at a destination aiport.

The non precision approach in the UK will most likely be a NDB approach. You will also need to do an NDB hold. In the USA, you will probably only be required to do a VOR hold, and the non precision approaches will probably be 1 x VOR and 1 x Localiser. So it is entirely possible that you may never use a NDB in the USA.

With the benefit of hindsight, I would have used the RMI for all my VOR holding in the USA. This way I would have had a load more practice when it came to the same sort of thing in the UK.

Another thing I had difficulty with when converting was adapting to UK IFR procedures.... and this is coming from someone who used to be a trainee ATCer!!! In the US, because airspace is generally class E or above, you are always being provided with an ATC service. In the UK, you may be flying around with only a FIS, in class G airspace.

Good luck, and if you want any more info, PM or reply here!

[MEI]

Agree mostly with WX other than what approcaches you do. Completely depends on where you do your training. Most likely it will be a termial area so as far as flying an actual airway in the US is unlikley (although not impossible). Have had students go on everything from very basic rides to complex ones, eg. partial panel full procedure NDB's back into the hold, etc. Just depends on the examiner and what's avail. They really want to see you do the approcahes as WX says, not fly all over the country on an airway. Agree completely with WX on a/c famialarity, know what you will fly in the UK and find one in the US. As you know the prices in the UK are extreme, (not sure how they justify renting a twin during traing for £300). Good luck and have fun.

[Megaton]

I converted a FAA SE IR to JAR ME IR with no real problem. For my FAA IRT I did an NDB, partial panel VOR and partial panel ILS although I was given all the instruments back once I'd settled the ac on G/S and Loc. In the US we did have some long instrument cross-country trips followed by back-course ILS approaches which fried your brains after several hours in the cockpit. Hot, bumpy conditions were good for practicing your scan: drop the scan for a sceond and you've gained/lost hundreds of feet.