JAA standard in USA?

[ivierre]

Hello, I am new to here and I apologize if I have posted this on the wrong forum...

Please correct me if i am wrong. I am currently in London, so if I learn to fly here I will be under the JAA standard? I am wonding if I have earned couples of hours here in London, but before I complete my PPL, can I continue with my training in the USA? or I will have to start over?

Are there any schools in the US that offers JAA standard training?
how hard is the conversion of private license? There are ads. here on aviation magazines claiming that it is possible to earn a PPL in about 21 days in USA. Is it a good idea or it is going to be tough since the course is so intensive?

thanks so much for any help and sorry for asking so many questions...

[vincent_watts]

There are 7 schools in USA approved to conduct training towards a JAR PPL (A), see page 5 of this document

http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/SRG_FCL_APPROVEDFTOS.PDF

I did my PPL in 4 weeks at Ormond beach recently, would have been 3 had Katrina and Rita descide not to pick the month I descided to go there. Hard work, but fun. I'd recommend doing the theory before going there.

If you are training now in the UK, you will indeed be training towards a UK JAR PPL(A). You'll have to ask the FAA with regards to using expericence gained in the UK for a FAA PPL. Like the UK, they may allow a small proportion.

Did I answer all your questions?

[Paris Dakar]

Hi ivierre,

If you do a JAR PPL in US, then there is no licence conversion on your return home.

I would suggest that you let the prospective school know what training you have done to date, and take it from there.

As Vincent has mentioned, if you want to take some of the strain away from an intensive course, then get some of the ground work done first if you can.

Can a PPL be done in 21 days - yep! I too attended OBA (just over 10 years ago now) and yep - the going can be tough but it can be rewarding too. I'm going back there in Feb 06 and will do a BFR and hopefully get a rental for a couple of hours.

If there is anything else I can help you with, feel free to PM me.

PD :)

[Noggin]

Flying hours usually count provided they they are certified correct by the school where they were flown. On application for a PPL the school has to certify that you have completed all of the mandatory training, if they are not sure what you have done, they will only certify what training they have given you!

Yes it is possible to do a PPL in 21 days but not to be recommended. Ideally about 6 weeks is the optimum time for absorbing all the necessary material. Those who learn quickly usually forget equally as quickly! Schools that offer a 45 hours PPL in 21 days provide you with exactly that, a 21 day PPL; there is no guarantee you will be any good or anything better than just about safe enough to get a licence. if you then wait several months before you fly again you'l probably need another 15 20 hours to convince a school to let you hire their aeroplanes!

The UK average hours to get a PPL is arround 55/60 in North America its actually higher!

[Paris Dakar]

Noggin,

Just to pick you up on a few points

"Yes it is possible to do a PPL in 21 days but not to be recommended" Why?

"Ideally about 6 weeks is the optimum time for absorbing all the necessary material" Based on what information?

"Schools that offer a 45 hours PPL in 21 days provide you with exactly that, a 21 day PPL; there is no guarantee you will be any good or anything better than just about safe enough to get a licence" Where did you get that little pearl of wisdom from?

"if you then wait several months before you fly again you'l probably need another 15 20 hours to convince a school to let you hire their aeroplanes" What the f**k? I waited 6 months between passing my GFT and taking my checkride at Newcastle - I was signed off after 40 mins.

[ivierre]

thanks for the replies.

So hope i am on the right track that if i have say 20 hours in UK with a JAR school, then I am only possible to continue with a school in the US that offer JAR standard training? Or not possible at all?

Also, I am wondering how hard is it to do license conversion? thanks

[Paris Dakar]

ivierre,

If you have 20 hours of JAR instruction, then it would make sense to carry along that route towards a JAR PPL and that can be done two ways:

1) stay in blighty and finish your training here, or

2) go to North America and attend one of the seven schools on the link provided by vincent.

Any school, regardless of where they are situated will want to see what you have been taught so far, obviously.

If you take the JAR route through to a succesful conclusion - you get a JAR licence - there is no conversion required at all.

You will know this already but it's worth reiterating - the school you choose do not provide you with your licence - the CAA does that.

PD

[CherokeeDriver]

Hi there.

I recently went from Zero to fully qualified JAA PPL(A) in 45.2 hours (20 days) at a CAA/JAA certified flying school in San Diego, USA.

Very hard work to fit the hours into 3 weeks, so I would recommend getting all the written exams done in the UK to give yourself some relaxation time when you are there. Think very carefully about where you go and the time of year. Florida + Summer = potential for storms. California climate is much more benign. I lost about 1 mornings flying due to poor weather in September.

Absolute nonsence about US trained pilots on accelerated courses being less safe than UK trained pilots. Do you honestly think the CAA/JAA would issue licenses without a UK "checkride" for US trained PPL if that was the case?

Go to America, Enjoy the weather and the considerably more friendly skies, have probably the most rewarding 3 weeks of your life.

[Noggin]

PD

Because I have experience of teaching students in 21 days and in much longer periods. The 21 days was an extension of MOD flying scholarships. The RAF would not dream of trying to cover the content of a PPL in 21 days, their equivalent the old BFTS took 6 weeks.

CD
" Do you honestly think the CAA/JAA would issue licenses without a UK "checkride" for US trained PPL if that was the case?"

They don't, if you want to convert a licence you have to take a Skill Test. If you fly on the foreign licence then the CAA are merely complying with an ICAO agreement. If you mean the US trained JAA licence then the examiner is a UK authorised examiner however, he works for the company selling the product!

Since writing my last post I have spoken to another CFI who complained
that he had encountered yet more US trained pilots who cant work the radio, and need a further 10 or so hours.

Ask arround at a few schools, its quite common. There are always a few who don't need any additional training, but the majority do!

Not many potential students know that a US Instructor does not have to attend an Instructor Course like their European counterparts. As a result, the methods of instruction vary widely.

I would not wish to deter anyone from learning in the US, I have flown with many people who have, some very good, some terrible but the main point is that experience tells me you can't produce many good pilots in 21 days!

[Paris Dakar]

Noggin,

Your experience (and that of your CFI friend) of US trained pupils requiring 15-20 hours of PPL conversion and 10+ hours required to learn the radios must make your employers very happy.

I take it that such severe failings of US based training orgs are promptly being reported to, and investigated the CAA??

:(

[englishal]

Noggin,

You don't half talk some s**t....

Ta ta

[IO540]

He does indeed.

Most UK PPL students spend a year or so getting their PPL, due to a mixture of

bad weather,
poor quality of instruction,
instructors not turning up,
planes being away,
planes "going tech" (broken),
a walk-in "trial lesson" (e.g. somebody's birthday treat) getting priority over prebooked students,
having to save up the money for each lesson,
being unable to learn to fly
lack of technical understanding of flying and/or navigation
etc.

Somebody who has passed their writtens and then does the lot in 21 days will - given the same standard of instruction, etc - usually absorb more than somebody who has taken a year.

There will always be exceptions (last 2 items in the above list) but they cannot be used against the general principle. I know of a number of perpetual students in the 150hr / £20,000 bracket and some of them are bound to turn up in Florida but that doesn't mean anything.

[vincent_watts]

haha nice one Noggin

"there is no guarantee you will be any good after 3 weeks" but after 6 you are the next ice-man!

obviously using the radio is different to that in america, but that is an easy thing to get the hang of.

doing a ppl in 21 days is like any other licence. you get to licence issue standard in that time, and really start to learn once you are on your own and gaining experience after. I got my motorbike licence a year back, and looking back at that i had no idea how to ride when i past my test compared to now. same with flying.

when you learn to fly in 21 days you never have that refresher part of the lesson where you go over what you did earlier, as it's still fresh in your head. Probably why most people in the UK take 60 hours (which isnt true anyway!) they spend that extra time going over stuff they did in a lesson weeks back! a bit of a waste to me.

you are either made to fly or not, it makes no difference if you are in USA or UK, as long as the examiner is good you'll be as good as you can be.

[TJF97]

I hope the standards are not too bad? I'm going to San Diego in just over two weeks!!:ok:

I picked the wrong time of year to learn in the UK, I've had 8 lessons cancelled in the last month due to weather.

TJF97

[Julian]

Just picked myself up from laughing at Mr Noggins post!

I am sure a few schools will ask for a 10hr conversion - but they are the ones you want to stay away from!!! Find a school which is prepared to give you an unbiased checkride and go to them. There are schools that will look down their nose at you because you learnt in the US and didnt give them your hard earned money. They are very easy to spot though and you will soon know when to about turn!

I have undertake 1hr checkouts and been signed off no problems by Bournemouth, White Waltham, Enstone and Sheffield - without 15-20 hours retaining!!!! So the training in the US cant be that bad.

You will always get bad schools but there again you will in the UK as well. Posters making sweeping statements like Noggins either dont know what they are on about or need to get their heads from up their backside

[B2N2]

Copied from this thread:
http://www.pprune.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=181756

Here's a little gem;

If you have completed your JAA written exams at home,
Hold a JAA medical,

You can go to any school in the USA, train for the US PPL, pass the checkride with a US examiner, then go and find a JAA examiner who can do a conversion-skill test and an RT test.
Leaves you with both FAA and JAA licenses and no need to go to a JAA certified school.
Any questions PM please and I can give you more details.

[Whopity]

In theory you are quite right however you can't convert a licence you haven't got. I believe it takes about 3 months for the FAA certificate to be issued! A temporary certificate airman is not valid for conversion! If the CAA refuse to issue on the basis of a test conducted before the licence is issued, then you have wasted a lot of money. In any event you can fly in the UK on the FAA licence so why bother to try and convert it in the USA?

[B2N2]

Interesting Whopity, I need to look into that.
Untill then I stand corrected :O
I'll contact an examiner and find out from the horse's mouth..stby

[IO540]

Conversion as such may not be needed here.

There is no reason why a particular training flight cannot count towards more than one license/rating.

For example, you could do a dual flight with an instructor (JAA instructor, G-reg plane perhaps) and that one flight, if over 250nm, at night, IFR, under ATS direction, ending with two T&Gs and one landing (all 3 IAPs being of a different type) will be good for

1. FAA PPL night requirement
2. FAA IR x/c requirement
3. JAA PPL renewal
4. JAA IMCR renewal

and probably a few other things to do with night currency. All at the same time, on the same flight!

There are issues with instructor ratings; in the above example he would need to be a JAA instructor as well as an FAA CFII.

I've been offered the above by a few people in the USA, for doing the FAA standalone PPL and the FAA IR both at the same time. (Obviously this is workable only if the pilot already has instrument skills under say a UK license; a first time PPL could not usefully absorb the IR training).

So there is no reason why a student could not come out with both a JAA PPL and an FAA PPL at the same time. The training for the two is slightly different (extra stuff in the FAA PPL, including extra instrument navigation, and the night qualification is mandatory under FAA) but it could be combined easily enough.

What one cannot do, AFAIK, is train for the IMCR and the JAA IR at the same time (i.e. after the 15hrs decide one doesn't really want to do the IR, and settle for the IMCR instead, or after 15hrs decide to continue to the full IR).

[Bahn-Jeaux]

As a newbie to the forum and someone who is only just embarking on the road to my PPL,I follow these threads with great interest.

I have looked at the options available for getting my training at a reasonable price and what would be available in flying opportunities once qualified.

The US option looked attractive but then the costs of the flights there and back had to be factored in.

My local area flying clubs also comment on the level of competence of US qualified pilots and also comment that after a check flight, many require further training before being allowed to fly in club aircraft.

Basically, on what we have already seen, they leave a lot to be desired. They are very much like a sausage factory. Generally, they last for three weeks and that is not long enough to teach anyone to fly even if they were straight out of university and soak everything up first time. If you consider the cost of American training plus the additional cost of settling down in UK airspace and getting to grips with the fickle UK weather, then, in our opinion you would be better off training in the UK and taking a more leisurely time over it. The quality of the training in the UK would be well worth it particularly if you were intending to go on for a JAR professional licence in the future. There are several problems associated with US training. The first is sitting JAR exams on JAR air law in the US and then having to fly a US registered aircraft in accordance with US law in the US!! I hope this makes sense. If not, we will be pleased to explain it to you. We have had several US qualified pilots with UK licences who have needed over four hours dual training before letting them loose on our aircraft


There is also the tale of one particular student who insisted on using the brakes to slow or hold the aircraft instead of throttling back and despite several requests to desist, would not and cancelled his check flight.
Needless to say, he didnt get to fly any club aircraft.

Now as stated, I am a newbie so dont really know if it is the clubs trying to keep business at home or genuine concern at the competence levels of US pilots but i have seen sinilar types of comments on various flight school websites across the UK.

Taking into account all the information available, I am staying local

[Julian]

Bahn Jeuax - Remember that flying clubs in the UK have a vested interest in making statements like that, they would rather see you spending 7-8000 with them rather than 4-5000 in the US. Even with 4 hours 'settling in time' you are going to save money compared to if you did it all in the UK.

As I said previously no matter who you train under Uk, US or Timbuctoo you will get a wide range of flying abilities. There is the infamous story in the US about the two captains from the UK who took a 172 into a huge meteor crater.....and then couldnt get it out again!!! DOH!

Julian.

[englishal]

......And what about the airline captain and his mate who wanted to take an Archer III, at max UUW into Big Bear in the summer heat.......Hmm (about 9000' DA), luckily the "substandard" US instructor told them to bog off, or go at 3am......;)

Training is the same the world over. Some places are crap, others are good. I learned in the US, and have no problem flying there. I had an hours conversion at Bournemouth and had no problems there. In fact I have flown the length and breadth of the UK and have had no problems. I have flown to some wicked places in the states, small mountain airports, airports in valleys where you can camp under the wing, restaraunts with their own runways, islands, deserts, vegas, blah blah.......Now think of it the other way, if you learned at some small grass strip in the UK and fancy a flying holiday in the USA, how much of a checkout would you feel comfortable with if you were planning a flight into a small mountain airfield? I did this on my PPL, admittedly I wasn't trying to do it min hours (63 was final tally), but it only cost me about $5000 total for a JAA PPL....(my 1st solo X/C was to Palm Springs)

I like flying in the UK but love the freedom you get in the US....

Swings and roundabouts.....;)

(J - Get your ticket booked)

[Bahn-Jeaux]

Just how long did your stay in USA last EnglishAl.

Even if I went down that road, I couldnt spare any more than 3 weeks so I suppose that too has a bearing on my decision.

[Paris Dakar]

Bahn-Jeaux,

As has been mentioned before, the timing of your trip (should you opt to go that way) is important.

I went out to Florida at the beginning April for a three week package. I actually booked 4 weeks off work (I carried leave over from the previous year) just in case I was struggling, or the weather turned pants.

The weather was great and I didn't lose a single hour let alone a day, which allowed me to go from 0 hours to GFT pass in 14 days. That was ten years ago and in hindsight I wouldn't have done it any other way.

There are numerous arguements abound regarding where you learn and how you learn, I did what was right for me, and that is what counts.

PD

[fly_sd]

I’m a newbie to this forum too and found this thread interesting. I’m British but live in San Diego (got hired by a local co while in the UK a few years ago, came out here to work and have been here since). I’ve always been interested in learning to fly but when I was in the UK was put off by the cost. Now that I live here I’ve decided to start learning. I was wondering once I get the FAA PPL whether it would be possible to rent and fly planes while in the UK on holiday and that lead me to this thread.

Looking at this topic it seems like if you qualify in the US conversion to a European license is difficult from what I read. However, like many are saying it seems to me that lot of this is to do with economics. I found Noggin’s comments interesting. I’m sure there are good and not so good pilots everywhere but I’m sure it is in the interest of the local flying schools to put out such stories as it may persuade more people to take the course locally. Needing 10 hours to learn how to use the radio?

I’m flying by getting membership at a local club. It costs around $50 for a 152 and $70 for a 172 and between $25 - $40 for a good instructor. Also right now I guess the US$ is weak against the European currencies. For those who are planning to come don’t forget that there is a new security clearance requirement for foreign nationals following sep 11. If you are going to a flying school that have a lot of foreign students they will tell you about it. I know there is an anglo-american flight school in El Cajon (Gillespie) that receives many students from the UK.

[strafer]

Englishal is completely right. The only problem with training in the US is that it spoils you as to how GA flying should be.

The landing fees, general pettiness, golf club mentality and of course the much higher cost of flying in the UK, soon test your determination to keep flying.

Mind you the £1,000s of pounds you saved on your PPL may keep you in smug grins for a while.

To add one thing, your PPL can be done in 3 weeks (weather permitting) if you're prepared to work very hard. A lot of people suggest doing the exams before you go, and while this will help, it will also significantly add to the overall cost. And for most people, that's the main reason for training in the States.

[EastMids]

Go to the USA and have a great time - a JAA PPL IS doable in three weeks (maybe slightly more of a challenge now with the increased hours than it was 10 years ago, but still possible). Don't go if you want a holiday though - its not. Be prepared to work hard for three weeks - I was airborne at 7AM some mornings, finished flying at 7PM some days, busiest day I flew 5 hours with lesson briefings in between. But we did all the flying in two weeks, leaving the last week to tidy up on some of the exams and take it a little easier.

Some will say you can't take it all in when its intensive - believe me, you take far more in than you do if you have a one hour lesson and then can't fly again for three weeks due to the weather. One of the reasons many folk take far more hours here is the "three steps forward two steps back" syndrome. You forget things whilst you wait for a good weather day. Or some clubs/schools say "oh, you haven't done any [say] stalling for three months so you need to do some more" even though you've done that part of the sylabus. Or "oh, you need to go do some circuits because you haven't flown for four weeks because of the weather". So end up doing extra things at extra cost.

Radio is different in the US, you do need to know about US air law and airspace. But "coming back" just qualified isn't all that bad - a couple of hours dual airspace/RT/joining/etc. familiarisation in the UK should set up most people just fine.

I did the US (still going strong 10 years later), many others have. I would recommend it to anyone who could make space in their diary and have the budget to spend over a short period. No way would I learn to fly the once-a-week way.

Andy

[Paris Dakar]

Andy,

I agree with your post in full - did we go to the same school (I know it's a big place)?? If you think you may know a Geordie, and a trip to Wellesbourne Mountford rings a bell, please PM me.

PD :)

[FlyingForFun]

Seems to me that there are two distinct issues here:[list=1] Whether it's possible to reach a safe standard in 3 weeks The standard of training in the US[/list=1]On the first point, I think it's important to realise that this is a very tight timescale, and will be hard work. I did my CPL in 3 weeks - that's a little over half the number of hours of the PPL, and I already had a reasonable amount of experience beforehand. Although I wouldn't say I struggled with the timescale, I wouldn't have been able to fly very many more hours in that timescale without suffering from an information overload and not taking on board everything I could have done. Whether you will be able to pass comfortably in this time will depend very much on your own abilities to absorb information under pressure. Plenty of people manage it, so it is obviously quite possible.

On the second point, the answer, basically, is that it depends where you go. There are some very good schools in the US (some of the best instruction I've ever receieved was in the US) and some very bad ones. Likewise, there are some very good schools in the UK, and some very bad ones.

However, even if you go to the best school in the US, and you are the fastest learner they've ever taught, it will still take a little while to get used to the differences in the UK. The main things which will take a little time are slightly different radio procedures, a different way of organising airspace, the differences in the culture of flying such as having to get prior permission before visiting another airfield and paying landing fees when you arrive (all minor things, but unnerving for someone with low hours). And the biggie - the weather in the UK is absolutely nothing like the weather in Florida or California.

I think that 10 hours, as some people have suggested, is a very long time to get used to flying in the UK unless the instruction given was particularly bad, but a couple of hours should be expected. I know that I needed a couple of hours to get used to the US way of doing things when I went over to America to do some flying shortly after I got my license in the UK.

One other point which someone mentioned was that the examiners at these schools often work for the school in question, and they therefore have a vested interest in passing people to make the school's statistics look better. I've experienced this first-hand where a school (coincidentally in the US, but not a JAR school) pretty much guaranteed me a rating for a set price. If I'd failed the test, they'd have had to offer me more training and a re-test - and since it was a fixed price, this would have cost them money. Come the day of the test, I was not really ready, and messed up one thing in particular. The examiner gave me another go, and with a bit of help from him I managed to get it almost right second time round, and he passed me. I'm very pleased that I didn't intend to actually use the rating (it was a sea-plane rating) - if I'd been planning on flying sea-planes I'd have certainly required more training before considering myself safe. I can't say that JAR schools do or do not operate in a similar way, and I'm sure that no examiner would ever pass someone who he considers completely unsafe.

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

[Flyrr100]

I'm reading this thread because someday I may convert my US certificates to UK certificates. But I'm always seeing the phrase "JAA Standard training'. Is this a dig at the FAA 'sub-standard training'? Or just a new British term?
Maybe I should tell all the passengers on my jet that I have sub-standard FAA training and maybe they shouldn't be taking their lives in their hands on an aircraft with a sub-standard FAA Captain?

I have one obversation:
When I was a flight instructor, about a million years ago, in Las Vegas. We'd get Brit pilots comming over and renting Cessnas to toodle around the area. Many of the Brits were pretty bad sticks. Couldn't recognize an engine failure on takeoff in a light twin. Couldn't get out of a spin in a 152. (The spins were self induced because of failure to recover from a stall).

Sorry to be negative. Just reacting to the JAA Standard remark.

Be safe.

[EastMids]

But I'm always seeing the phrase "JAA Standard training'. Is this a dig at the FAA 'sub-standard training'? Or just a new British term?

Don't worry, its just a European term - before we had JAA it was CAA, and that was a British only term.

Some folks who don't know better MIGHT regard FAA as "substandard" for European flying because you don't experience overhead joins, flight information services, etc, etc. But of course there are requirements in the US that do not arise in Europe too. JAA as compared to FAA is a slighty different sylabus, slightly different requirements (e.g. turns around a point not required for JAA, no actual spins required for JAA, etc).

Andy

[fly_sd]

no actual spins required for JAA

Actual spins not required for FAA private also as far as I'm aware - only spin awareness. Some instructors will teach you spin and recovery if you ask. I'm planning to do an advanced spin training as well as a basic aerobatic course after I get the license - not expensive and should be fun.

[Julian]

FFF,

Which bit of California were you flying in? I have flown in the same conditions over there as you get over here so which to say that you wont get same weather over there is a pretty general statement to make and one I do not agree with.

You get rain, fog, mist, marine layers, etc, anything you want (or dont want as the case may be!) and I even flown into a fully blown ski resort in CA where we had to play spot the runway!!!

Flyrr - Dont let them wind you up! Its like comparing apples and pears when comparing JAA and FAA. Some claim FAA is inferior as they have had bad experiences of schools in the US, but there again there are bad schools over here as well. I fly in both countries and my only gripe is the cost of training in the UK!

Julian.

[Shaft109]

Back in 96 to 98 I flew 42 hours on the RAF Vigilant (Grob 109) Motor Glider as a staff cadet. Then in Nov last year I went to Anglo-American in San Diego and got my JAA PPL in 46 hours. I can say that having had an RAF CFS Standardisation check and a JAA check ride the standards are as high as that. My instructors were all Brits and knew what they were doing.

Flying in the USA at a good school will open your eyes as to how GA should be. E.G. how does £50 an hour wet rate sound for a good PA28 161? No landing fees or approach fees unless it's LAX (Yes the 4 runway one in Los Angeles). Or £100 p/h wet for the duchess twin?

E.g. As I was also doing my night rating (no cost option) I flew up under the hood from Gillespie to Hawthorn field (2 miles from LAX) and shot an ILS in Class Bravo airspace, had dinner then flew back at night using VFR flight following (similar to RAS). Now the thing was, I only had 6 hours at the time. Can you really do that here in Blighty? Or the time I flew to Thermal near Palm Springs and was in circuit with Gulf Stream 5's

As for the "British is Best" attitude that still afflicts us, I think it will kill off affordable flight training here. I mean we don't even have pilot controlled runway lighting. If you turn up at a closed airfield at night you listen to the ATIS, AWOS or ASOS which even the smallest airfields have, tune into the local Common Traffic Advisory Frequency and self announce your intentions then key the mike 7 times quickly to turn on the lights yourself and land. It's all up to you.

Anyone who wants to do a PPL and can spare the time and is willing to work hard - sort the visa and book the flight to the USA. I want to live there full time!

[Kengineer-130]

I have recently completed my JAA PPL in Florida, and did 25hrs extra hr building and 3 hrs extra in a warrior, and I have to say I had an absolute blast. I took 6 weeks off work ( whole years holiday saved up) and went over to do my PPL and 50 hrs extra time building. The key to it is BE FLEXIBLE, the 21 day PPL is do-able, but why put yourself in a tight situation?? most schools will advise you to take more time if you cam, and it took me 3 weeks and 6 days to do mine, which INCLUDED a night rating, all the ground exams and the R/T oral. Yes, the groundschool was hard work, but a bit of prior learning meant that I could concentate on the most difficult subjects ( met, nav and performance) to self learn while actually putting them into practice, so again it all comes down to being able to apply common sense and not try to do everything at once on a mega tight timescale. The instructor I had was superb, building up quickly but safely, and I was doing my own landings after 4 hrs :eek: , and gradually increased the pace by letting me do comms/ nav etc, and I felt it all fell into place nicely and sensibly. I solo'd after 12 hrs, and felt utterly safe doing so, which says a lot about the quality of instruction I recived.

If there is one thing I personally would reccomend you do, it is to ensure you do some real spins, not just talk about them, as it shows you just how fast things can get serious if you are flying at a poor AoA or not fying co-ordinated. The first entry will make you pie-eye'd, and it certainly makes you have an appreciation on why aircraft performance and airspeed is so critical :eek: , and practicing recoverys will give you a lot of confidence in your ability to safly handle the aircraft.

On the subject of Radios/ airspace etc, I am personally going to have a few more hours of instruction in the uk, as it is only sensible and to be honest its still hours in the log-book, and you never stop learning :ok: , If you pick a good us school you have NOTHING to worry about, don't let the witch-hunters put you off, and remember you will have a scream as the USA loves its aviation:ok: If you want any help or advice drop me a PM and I will gladly answer any questions you have