JAA CPL/IR in USA

[Felix Saddler]

Hi, what are your thoughts on carrying out your commercial training in the USA? What about studying for the ATPL groundschool here in the UK then moving over to the USA to complete CPL/ME/IR? Or is it best to stick to doing both here in the UK?

FS.

[Felix Saddler]

Anyone...???

[Capt. Slow]

Depends on your school of thinking really. some people say its best to do all your training in the UK, as if its the place your getting your IR from, then you may as well, right? Makes sense, as you then have more experience flying in UK airspace. The way i'm doing it, did ATPL's in UK as the schools here are very good, did my CPL/multi class rating in the USA, and then i'll do the IR in the UK at some stage.

As far as i know, you cant do a UK IR in the usa, you have to get an FAA IR and then convert it over to a UK IR - more hassle, and apparently its not really worth the paper its printed on. From what i hear, it doesnt matter if you do the CPL/ME in the US - i had a JAA english intructor, so i got the same standard of teaching as everyone else does, just different 'conditions' if you like (RT standards and airspace being the main difference from the UK).

Just my opinion, if moneys not a limitation i'd do it all in the UK if your after a JAA fATPL. Otherwise, i'd do the ATPL theory and the IR in the UK, and then wallet permitting the CPL/ME in the USA...ofcourse, all just my opinion, probably best to research all options before commiting

[Contacttower]

Why is it that you can do a CAA IMC rating in the US and not an IR?

[potkettleblack]

Its a JAA requirement for the IR. Whereas the CAA issue an IMC and it is only good for the UK so they can make up their own rules.

[phantomcruiser07]

The advantages I can see training in US is the saving you'd get if you trained in US (getting CPL/IR in US cheaper than any where in UK or EU) , the fluency of english in instructors, and all round sunny weather, the downsides are you would have to convert your rating back to JAA.

[Capt. Slow]

For the IR yes, a conversion would be necessary, but not for the CPL providing you do it at a JAA approved school...and unfortuantely as i found out earlier this year the weathers not all its cracked up to be - with about 200 forest fires vis is as low as it can go in some areas and max 5sm in others...seems to change round randomly throughout the day as well, which makes the odd x-country a little more interesting....shame really, much prefer the days when vis is 40sm+!

[KingAir77]

Hi all,
I guess the debate about US vs european training will always be going on, and flying for an airline in Europe as well as being an FI there, but having done my training in the US I sort of know both systems. I actually am very much in favor of training in the US, and the fact that Lufthansa and SABENA (when they were still around) do all the flying bit of their cadet training over in the US should also say something. Flying there is just so much cheaper then back here, the conversion bit has been mentioned before.
Just a few words of warning, in the US, the standard of training varies from excellent (sometimes even better then Europe) to quite poor. You are only as good as the instructor who teaches you, and especially smaller US schools tend to hire low time airline wannabees with a lack of experience and enthousiasm for instructing. I would recommend to stick to the big and famous schools,(Flight safety, American Flyers, Delta Connection, All ATP and so on...), since they usually have a few career instructors and good progress checks during training. They are more expensive, but the dollar rate helps with that. Also, training in the busy airspaces around Los Angeles, Orlando, Miami etc definetly makes your JAA conversion easier than coming from a little field in the midwest, so pick your location carefully.
Another issue that I found on my last few trips to the US is that the boom of aviation in India has brought many indian students to US schools, and a lot of the smaller places are simply overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of foreign students. This results in them hiring even less experienced instructors, and in having a chronic shortage of planes that will lengthen your training by an unpredictable extend. So far, the big players in training seem not to take more students in than their capacity allows, but better check out any place you want to go to before investing your money.
All that said, knowing what I know now, I would still go the US route. I now have FAA and JAA licenses, and the FAA was useful a few times already even in Europe. Never forget, there are quite a few N-Reg planes over here in business aviation, and I paid less for FAA training plus converting than I would have paid for just the european ticket back here. This was pre-JAA, but looking at the current conversion requirements, and the dollar rate, the deal still works. Quality comes with a price on both sides of the pond...
Good luck in your training,
KA

[boogie-nicey]

Well said KingAir77, I share your sentiments on the contenous issue of US/Europe flight training.

[jonnyboy102]

I would echo Kingair's comments on Indian students in the US. I'v just completed my PPL in the US and it took me over 8 weeks due to the school operating way above capacity. On the up side there will be loads of jobs available for ATPL'ers in India and China!