Hour Building / USA, Nam, SA or elsewhere..

[Carbo 9]

Hi All,

I am new to the forum, had a look at previous posts and would really appreciate your help.

I am a few hours away from obtaining my fixed wing South African CAA PPL and am looking at the best “value for money options” to obtain a commercial license, be it in South Africa or elsewhere.

I have approximately US$25 000.00 saved up.

The options are:

1) Continue flying in South Africa;

2) Enroll in a Namibian flight school in Swakopmund;

3) Build hours through flight schools in the USA, possibly Arizona, California or any other state/school that can be recommended. I do not mind going rural and would in fact welcome the opportunity, especially to save costs, as long as the school is affordable and trustworthy.

I really like the USA idea because of the savings on hourly rates (I believe one pays around US$100 per hour for a Cessna 172, with fuel, whereas we pay in the region of US$200 where I am from), but I am having difficulty to identify suitable USA schools.

Could anyone please recommend a good value for money USA school or a contact person who can refer me to such a school? Like I said, I won't mind flying in the middle of nowhere if it will allow a cost-saving.

I do not foresee that I will be able to complete the full FAA CPL for the paltry sum of US$25,000.00, but please correct me if I am wrong (this sum must also cover accomodation costs etc.)

Therefore I am thinking of only doing +- 100 solo cross country hours in the US and to then return to SA to complete our local CAA CPL curriculum and flight tests (plus the 40hour instrument rating requirement) and thereafter to fly commercially in Southern Africa.

If there are other options that would get me flying commercially sooner, I would really like to hear from you to be pointed in the right direction.

Thanks!

[Carbo 9]

Hi SoCal App,

Thanks. Sorry, I shortened the post which I used on a South African forum and some of the meaning was lost.

I strongly considered the FAA CPL, but realised that I will then require at least 300 hours, which would then remove all potential cost benefits - in relation to doing a South African CAA CPL (for which I believe 200 hours are sufficient).

Therefore I am considering only going to the USA to build hours, without any official training and then to return to South Africa afterward to complete our local curriculum and flight tests to qualify for a SA CAA CPL.

I understand that the FAA will recognise my South African PPL and that I would not have to do any training if I only wish to build solo cross country hours. The problem then is the visa.

If I cannot obtain any other visas, I think this can be overcome if I enroll in a Part 141 flight school and still request the school to limit my flying to the type of hours I need for my SA CAA CPL license.

I would, however, not wish to limit myself to a student visa from the outset as this will have certain limitations, such as schools which I can attend and the requirement that I will then have to show that I have enough funds to complete the entire FAA CPL course, regardless of whether I intend to complete the full course in the end or not.

Ideally, I would have loved to complete the entire FAA CPL course (I believe it makes you so much more employable and I would prefer to see the training through to the end), but my paltry sum is unlikely to accomplish this enviable feat.

So basically I would like to know where to spend US$25,000 in the best possible way to work toward becoming a professional pilot (after already having done +- 60 hours during my PPL).

I think my options are limited to building hours in the US or in SA and then to complete the SA CAA CPL, but would be very glad to hear if there are any other viable options available.

Thanks for the reply!

[Jonbil]

Hi my plans are to do the timebuilding at SkyView Aviation LLC. I have some friends who did their timebuilding there and they where satisfied.
They told me that the flight "club" was nice and gentle and SkyView invited the "tourists" to join their BBQ evenings and helped them out to rent car etc.

I hope this information helped you out a little bit

[benalwa]

Hi man,
Check out skymates.com, with a south african PPL it could cost you around 22000 for your CPL IR multi.
I am in kenya working torwards my PPL and will be soon joining skymates for the same..

[humhaw]

Could anyone please recommend a good value for money USA school or a contact person who can refer me to such a school?

East Coast Aero Club, Boston, MA.

C172 from 135 USD WET. Planes are very well maintained and it's a well run school/club, I got my PPL there although not really "rural":

ECAC Bedford, MA (KBED) Aircraft Fleet | East Coast Aero Club (http://eastcoastaeroclub.com/locations/bedford-ma-bed/aircraft/)

[Carbo 9]

Hi Guys,

Thanks a mill for all the posts. It is very useful.

I note that there was an earlier "US-hour building" thread which also provides a lot of information (sorry for the duplication!).

Socal, I especially like what you say about California being a great place to build hours - especially considering that I'll be travelling to the US during the winter/spring months (Feb - May 2012)

Thanks for confirming that I will not need TSA clearance if I enter and fly on a B2 visa - was meaning to get an answer to that exact question.

Presently, I'm thinking of visiting the east of the states during my visit and to briefly stop over at Huntsville, Alabama, just to have a look around and then to travel to the South Western states to have a look at the various shcools and/or clubs. San Diego, Sacramento, LA and Phoenix all seem to be good options.

I came across Long Beach Flying Club, which advertise very good rates for aircraft hire. Otherwise, I will definitely re-visit the forum if I have narrowed down my choices and hopefully to share what I have learned.

Thanks again for the replies.

Cheers

[Tinstaafl]

Pah! Florida flat with a 245' hill? The nosebleed Floridians get every time they drive up a freeway on-ramp would have them arguing your point... :p

[Hitbacker]

Hi, Prairie Air Service in Benton, Kansas only has one 150 that it rents to students under training, but since they are highly specialized in multi engine training the aircraft sometimes sits around longing for action at 75 $ per hour (current rate, wet). Housing is with full meals for 750 $ a month if you are a student... won't get much cheaper unless you tour the U.S. in the rented plane and sleep under the wing in a tent ;-).

At Augusta Municipal, which is also just outside of Wichita, they have three 150s for the same rate if that 150 at Benton is not available, actually it is 40 $ dry if I think a little harder. Contact their FBO (fixed base operator) for details. Or McPherson Airport, just north of Wichita, has another 150 or 152 for 75 $ wet. All those prices are 2 months old, as opposed to the published rates.

Kansas will teach you cross wind landings, people are really nice and helpful, Wichita's claim to be the aviation capital of the world has some merits (Stearman, Cessna, HawkerBeechcraft, Boeing, plus museums and an incredible density in airfields and air bases). Permanent free approaches into Class Bravo etc.

I am doing my modular training over there (100 hrs still missing thus sitting in an office in good ol' Europe to stash some cash), good luck with getting as far as possible with that 25 k - the way I see it you can finish your FAA CPL with that easily. Do the theory at home, fly over there, pass the written exams, get TSA clearance for the IR and ME whilst hourbuilding - all you need is the ticket to get there, say three months for the flying part (2250 $ housing), three checkride fees plus written fees (3 x 450 $ = 1350 $), 16 hrs sim (at 60 $ = 960 $) and 20 hrs Multi time (around 250 $/ hr plus 40 $/ hour instructor = 5800 $), which leaves you with about 145 hrs of discovering the sky over the U.S. (10.875,00 $). Even with a cost overrun of 40 hours you are still within budget range... just a thought. Or do glider flying in SA or Namibia first, hours are fully validated on the FAA license up to 150 hrs (though obviously that is a rather theoretical thought, 50 hrs PIC x/c plus IR plus CPL prep wor and ME will always take say another 116 hrs in powered aircraft anyway).

I was surprised what kind of rates you can get when you make a couple of phone calls. Cheapest 172, a decent one as well, was at Strother Field, Kansas, if you want to fly with a little more shoulder space or with two or three guys. If you get another hourbuilder you can divide 96 $ by two (if the SA CAA recognizes that self-taught MCC, but total time is total time. Right?)