Float Rating USA

[Mr Man]

Hi!
Would be grateful for any advice regarding obtaining Float Rating in Florida.
There would be three of us,can we do it on JAA PPL or would we need an FAA licence,if so what would be the implications for renewing over here?Advice on timescale,hours etc very much appreciated,TA!

[MartinCh]

search with seaplane rating.
Scheble or Sheble Aviation is the one I remember. Don't think Florida..
searching on Google will also yield more results if you use 'seaplane'.

The thing with ratings and student visa, etc etc.. You know, perpetual bureacracy. One should go on visa waiver only for hour building (ie not towards rating etc).

Some might argue that it's just another rating within single engine.. Hmm..
Just don't take Yanks' word for it as they don't know much unless working in M1/J1 school...

Also, rating on a 'piggyback' papers are only valid when your full non-US lic is according to what I've read here. It's all around on PPRuNe..

[dont overfil]

Try Jack Browns seaplanes at Winter Haven.
I've flown with them a few times but have never bothered with the rating.
www.gate.net/~seaplane (http://www.gate.net/~seaplane)

[BackPacker]

As far as I know the three JAA pilot factories in Florida (OBA, OFT, Naples) don't do seaplane ratings so no chance of doing this on your JAA PPL in Florida.

So you either have to obtain a standalone or piggyback FAA PPL. Been discussed here over and over again. Should not be too hard to decide which one, and how to obtain it. (My $0.02: get a standalone once you intend to add ratings and stuff to it.)

Once you've got your FAA PPL in hand, piggyback or standalone, you can train for your seaplane rating. If that's less than 18 hours of practical work per week, you should be able to do this legally without an M-1 visa but you have to get the INS to confirm that in writing 'cause both the friendly INS official at the border and the TSA will more or less automatically assume that you have one, and will frown (at least) if you don't. If you do need or want a visa, you need a school that is SEVIS approved and not all flight schools in the US are. Part 61 schools are by definition, and part 141 schools are usually not. Or the other way around, I don't remember. But only schools that are SEVIS approved can "sponsor" your visa: are able to issue the paperwork necessary to obtain one.

As for TSA, I'm not sufficiently familiar with the FAA seaplane rating (is it a class rating, an endorsement, differences training or something else) to judge whether you need TSA clearance. It is commonly known that you need TSA for the initial PPL, for an ME and an IR, but I honestly have no idea about a seaplane rating. You might want to contact the TSA about this.

In any case, do you plan on exercising seaplane privileges once you're back in the UK? Otherwise you can just go to any seaplane-operating outfit and do a few seaplane tours with a CPL (doesn't even have to be an instructor). I'm sure the CPL will allow you to handle the controls after a while so you get the experience and the fun, but not the logbook or license entry. And you miss out on a whole lot of bureaucracy...