Student Pilot - Advice needed

[HunterDad]

I am a student pilot, pre-solo and I was wondering if there are any sites or forums for students pilots. I have searched google and have come up empty in regards to sites that will accept posts and questions from student pilots about their training, CFI experiences, different schools, planes, etc.

I am not even sure if this is the right forum here at this site for this question. It is the closest I can find that has anything to do with training (even though I do not quite fall into the category of "professional").

I have come across many posts here when searching for various subjects via google like landing help, cessna 172, etc... and didn't find out until after my first post that this may not be the place for someone with little experience.

Any help in direction would be greatly appreciated

HD

[Halfwayback]

Welcome to PPRune

We do cater for all levels but this forum is mainly for those going through to fly commercially so I am moving it to a more appropriate forum!

HWB

[Saab Dastard]

HunterDad,

If you want to discuss real flying, not flight sim hardware or software, this is the right forum.

If you want advice on flightsim stuff, there are websites dedicated to that where you would find more knowledgeable (and more sympathetic) people.

In your previous thread (that you deleted) you were mixing up a whole lot of topics in a single thread / post, which is unlikely to elicit satisfactory responses to any of them.

My suggestion would be to separate the topics into individual threads - having checked to see if your questions have already been discussed previously (via the Search facility).

SD

[HunterDad]

Gotcha. Thank you very much for the advice.

[Johnm]

I just Googled "student pilot forum" and three suitable places came up above the this thread in the list:ugh:

[foxmoth]

You could try the FLYER magazine site, has a dedicated student forum
FLYER Forums ? View forum - Student Pilots (http://forums.flyer.co.uk/viewforum.php?f=5)

Probably more geared to the UK, but sure will answer instructional stuff

[MarkAdamson]

Hello,
My name is Mark and im currently living in Northern Ireland. I just recently had my first test flight and im not looking to do my PPL. I am however moving over to america to work for a while and i was wondering can anyone tell me am i elligble to learn to fly there while i work. If im not able to get my PPL training done does anyone know if Im allowed to fly and have that count towards my PPL when i return back to the UK?

Any info or help would be greatly appreciated.

[MrAverage]

MarkAdamson

As things stand, even if you did 60 hours and were virtually ready for the FAA check ride, but didn't complete and have a licence issued, not one of the sixty hours would count towards a UK issued EASA PPL. If you actually gained an FAA licence, you would need to build to 100 hours total time before you could use the specific conversion process to gain the EASA PPL. (Thanks again Europe)

The only way that any hours would count, is if both the instructor and your chosen school were approved by EASA (as well as the FAA). If you found such a school near enough to your work, I'd recommend you try to get both licences.

[visibility3miles]

Try https://www.aopa.org
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association

https://www.aopa.org/training-and-safety

MrAverage, I'm told it's far cheaper to learn to fly/rent planes in the US than Europe because fuel is cheaper here.

[There's also little chance of crossing international borders in the US. How does that impact private pilots in Europe?]

To get the required 100 hours in Europe, does it have to be with an instructor? Could it be done solo or alongside a licensed pilot willing to have another at their side?

I ask the latter as when I was a student pilot, cost was a consideration.

[Gertrude the Wombat]

[There's also little chance of crossing international borders in the US. How does that impact private pilots in Europe?]
Well, there's not much danger of accidentally crossing an international border if you fly in mainland Britain, because you'd notice crossing the sea.

But I went flying in Slovenia once, and that's a bit different. Make a tiny nav error and you could find yourself two countries away!

[TheOddOne]

But I went flying in Slovenia once,

Murska Sobota by any chance? Beautiful airfield, I did circuits there in the local Super Cub. Delightful! You could see Hungary from the circuit.

Actually, in most of mainland Europe, it's much like flying from Texas to Florida. Presumably, you don't have Customs borders between the two, do you?
The Europeans have sensibly introduced frictionless borders between all the countries within what's called the Shengen Area. 26 countries, including Switzerland which isn't even in the EU, participate.

TOO

[Gertrude the Wombat]

Murska Sobota by any chance?
Nope, Brnik. My only ever flying lesson from a capital city's main international airport!

[Archer4]

Murska Sobota by any chance? Beautiful airfield, I did circuits there in the local Super Cub. Delightful! You could see Hungary from the circuit.

Actually, in most of mainland Europe, it's much like flying from Texas to Florida. Presumably, you don't have Customs borders between the two, do you?
The Europeans have sensibly introduced frictionless borders between all the countries within what's called the Shengen Area. 26 countries, including Switzerland which isn't even in the EU, participate.

TOO
I wish it was that easy. Unfortunately when you are flying there are some countries and locations that require additional paperwork 4 hours in advance. UK, Switzerland and several "tax free" islands require this. And on the return trip same thing but then the requirement is from EU. And a check by immigration officials is quite common.

[custardpsc]

Mark, despite what is written above - yes you can count and log those hours. But - like anything in life it isn't a simple matter.

Firstly, if you have a work visa ( H, L, E etc) then you are lucky and you should definitely take advantage of the fact that you have the unambigous right to undertake flight training whilst in the USA ( subject to TSA approval) . If you are already there its cheaper and more accessible and straightforward than just about any other country.

However, whether or not you get a private certificate whilst you are there, the hours you log won't count 1:1 for what you need to do for an EASA PPL. The syllabus and training and requirements are structured differently. The hours won't be wasted but won't be completely helpful either. What you will get is experience and useful perspective and both of those will really help with the EASA route should you later do that. Some of the hours will be directly creditable ( for example towards total hours flown) but some won't be so useful ( night dual will count for dual time but no need for specifically night dual for easa). The written exams are of no convertible use but the knowledge gained whilst taking them is invaluable.

Ultimately, if you want an EASA PPL - study for that and regard the USA flying as valuable preparation and experience and orientation with some hours creditable. Or go for the FAA private and get it done and expect to spend another 20 hours and the EASA writtens and flight testing if you want that too.

But - don't waste the opportunity to use the work visa to get some US flight training done

Hope that helps...