PPL in Florida or Canada

[andre66]

Hi all,

I'm also want to do a great amount of lessons outside the Netherlands.

I was thinking of Florida and have found some schools which could be interesting for example Sunrise Aviation in Ormond Beach, but I als heard that Canada should be interesting due to the prices.

Who can help me

André

[stixits]

I got my CPL in florida and can't remember a day with bad weather. Airplane prices were not that bad either. average about $50 p/h 3 years ago.

So i would prefer Florida; but then again.. I haven't been in Canada.

[EX FTE]

I can speak from both sides of the border and atlantic!

I am a brit, working in the US but lived in Canada for a wee while. I have an FAA PPL and am halfway through the JAA ATPL. Is that where you see yourself going?

OK; Canada. Very cheap due to the exchange rates! Go in the summer and the weather is as good as, if not better than most of the US. Its warm & VMC, but without the CBs that Florida is famous for. I lived in Toronto so can only speak for there. There are flying clubs at Buttonville and Toronto Island. The Island is a cool place. Imagine landing on an aircraft carrier parked beside the CN Tower!!

Florida. I did some hours building there in November of last year. Its cheap and cheerful. The airspace is VERY BUSY. The weather is good. Most of the schools/FBOs seem to have their act together. I'd suggest that you select one that feels right for you and go for it! I was renting a Katana for $63/hr wet. Where I live now, I can get a C172 for that. It equates to 43quid an hour!!

If you want to know more - just ask!

[darryld]

I'm doing my flight training 1hr north of Toronto at Lake Simcoe Regional Airport. I fly Piper Cherokee 140's and 180's and Cessna 172's. I pay CAD$90/hr (£40GBP) for the plane and CAD$40/hr for the instructor. There isn't much flying from January to March but the rest of the year is great. I can't help you in your decision because I haven't trained in Florida but the exchange rate in Canada is pretty good and seems to be getting better and better for visitors.

I know a few Brits that have come to Canada for flight training and they seem to be happy.

I think you'll only end up more confused after reading all of the replies in this forum. Good luck with your decision.

[27driver]

Andre66,

You're gonna get a bias decision here, solely based on the country I was born in. Some interesting thoughts mentioned above, here's my 2 cents worth.
You will probably get a better bang for your buck (gillder) in Canada, prices are quite reasonable here.
EXFTE mentioned landing on an aircraft carrier next to the CN Tower.....NOT QUITE.... Maybe on his flight sim.... I've never seen an aircraft carrier in Lake Ontario! :D The Island airport (now known as City Center) is a bit pricy since you have to pay to park your car, and then pay each way on the ferry back and forth. This little bit of $ does add up after time.

Darryld mentioned not a lot of flying @ his airport locted on the east side of a niced sized lake. That's expected when the wind blows predominently west to east.
Some other airports located just ouside of Toronto would be your best bet. Buttonville is good, as well check out Burlington and Waterloo. All prices are comparable.

Flying in the U.S is excellent as well. Great F.B.O's, fabulous wx in the south, and a huge job market if you can somehow come up with a green card.... ;)

[erikv]

Andre66,

A good friend of mine (also a Dutchman) visited a small flight school in Venice, FL, during a holiday some 5 years ago. He went back there to do his cpl/ir/me.

He liked it so much that he quit his job as an engineer with an airline and moved to Venice to be a flight instructor with the school.
The flight school is the Florida Flight Training Center ( http://www.fftc.de ). Don't be mislead by the .de, the owner is a Dutchman. They have just built a new hangar and have started a charter operation.

Mail me if you want to know more.

Erik.

[airnomad]

Hi
I came back from Canada with my PPL just 3 days ago. I was at Harvsair in Steinbach http://www.harvair.mb.ca
Very good school, excellent people, will be back for my CPL.
Wheather was no problem, needed 4 weeks for the whole course...

[sydneyc]

EX FTE,

Interested to read your post. You mention you are doing the ATPL's - can you study for a JAR approved CPL/IR in Canada? If so, could you point me in the right direction?

Thanks

sydneyc

[Golden Monkey]

Just to add my thruppence worth, I'll put a vote in for Vancouver. Again, I've not had experience of Florida but I enjoyed training in Canada a lot. The exchange rate is good and having been there for two summers I can say the weather was excellent. Prices for a PA38 start from about fifty quid an hour with an instructor (about thirty solo), rising to about seventy dual for a Warrior. I can recommend Boundary Bay, it's BUSY but there's a wide variety of flying to be had in the vicinity along with some cracking mountain scenery. Try Pacific (www.pacificflying.com (http://www.pacificflying.com)) and Regency (www.regencyexpress.com (http://www.regencyexpress.com)).

I'm not sure if this is still the case (and I stand to be corrected) but one thing to consider is that a US PPL is not ICAO compliant and is therefore not good in Europe. I know a Canadian one is, and I've used it in the UK without having to convert. However I'm sure most US schools will train to this standard as they get a lot of business from over here and it would be daft not to, right?

[Lemoncake]

FAA PPL is fine in the UK. You can fly G Reg in UK Airspace, and N reg over to Europe if you wish.

[Golden Monkey]

There we go, I've been corrected :)

Sorry for the duff info!

So you can hire a/c from a UK flight school with a minimum spec FAA PPL then?

[Lemoncake]

CZBB,

I'm not too sure how easy it is to rent G reg aircraft in the UK with an FAA Private. I can't see why it would be a problem as long as you stay within UK airspace, and you have a good checkout. N reg is not a problem, although there are obviously not so many of these around. Popham hire to FAA , but am not sure whether they are G or N reg. I'd be interested to hear if anybody knows for certain the logistics involved in hiring G reg with FAA Private.