PPL ground school with distance learning

[Arne Gillis]

Hi all,
Looking for a way into flying. Is it possible to do the PPL ground school through social distance learning (does there exist free PPL courses?), then go to a flying school in Latin America to complete the flying hours? I speak Spanish, English, French and Dutch.
Thanks all!

[flybyschool]

Hi all,
Looking for a way into flying. Is it possible to do the PPL ground school through social distance learning (does there exist free PPL courses?), then go to a flying school in Latin America to complete the flying hours? I speak Spanish, English, French and Dutch.
Thanks all!

I don’t think that would be a sensible plan.
For a PPL...

first of all, you would learn the theory from one authority (let’s say EASA), and then taking the exams in another one (the country of your choice in South America). Even if you pass the local exams in South America... you would end up with a license only valid for that country
to convert it back to EASA, you are required to have at least 100 total hours...

does it really pay off?
i believe you would be spending much more than saving


for Frozen ATPL.... It would be a similar case

in my humble opinion!

[AspiringPilot28]

I agree with flybyschool, it'd be better to do them all under one authority

[Arne Gillis]

Thanks.

If I understand correctly : everything under 100 hours means you're limited to the country in which you received your flight training? 100 hours and up, and the PPL becomes legal worldwide.

[rudestuff]

Thanks.

If I understand correctly : everything under 100 hours means you're limited to the country in which you received your flight training? 100 hours and up, and the PPL becomes legal worldwide.

Incorrect. An ICAO compliant PPL is valid worldwide. If you want to convert to EASA and have more than 100 hours you can avoid most of the exams, but if you don't have 100 hours, you just have to take them all.

A few questions:
Where do you live?
Why South America?
Why a PPL - do you want to get a CPL as well?

[Arne Gillis]

Thanks rudestuff - that's really helpful.

I live in Belgium. Why Latin America? Because according to my research is one of the cheapest continents to get flight training (Bolivia and Venezuela notably - around 5500$ for a PPL all included). Money is an issue :) Also, I was considering that getting flight training in Spanish increases the chances of getting a job in Spanish speaking parts of the world.

On my plans: thing is, with all that Covid stuff going around and nobody knows where the business is going to: first a PPL, and then I'll see if it's doable to start making money out of flying (meaning, to get CPL, IR, multimotor and all else needed).

In the "worst" case, I'd have spent a few thousand dollars on a PPL and that's where the journey ends.
In the best case, I'll be flying as a bush pilot anywhere in the Americas, Africa or elsewhere in a few years from now (I'm 32 yo. by the way)

[rudestuff]

I don't know much about South American flight schools, but if you're happy to travel, the US and Canada are great places to get a PPL. An FAA PPL is cheaper and better than an EASA PPL for your purposes: There is only one exam, the groundschool is practically free online, the licence already contains a night rating and it's much easier and cheaper to keep it valid. You can also use it instead of an EASA PPL to qualify for the ATPL exams. There is an unlimited choice of flight schools in the US, the only downside is the need for a visa. Canada does not require a visa, and they have an agreement with the US which means you can get both licences with just a ground exam. The US is also a great place to go of you want to become a flight instructor and build flight time.

[Booglebox]

Rudestuff is spot on.

[Mayank7]

Recently DGCA India has given a circular that airlines can conduct ground classes online following certain norms. I hope this will expand to flying school as well in future.

[Whose your daddy]

I'm also looking for a 'recommended' EASA PPL distance learning online ground course platform students can use to study using CBT from home ?
Can anyone recommend any ?