US verses UK
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US verses UK
What's the difference in flying procedures, for GA pilots? same question for instructors, Is their a difference? Is it harder in one verses the other? Is more knowledge required? stick and rudder skills?
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Flying is flying!
The US has different airspace, generally simpler and more sensible. Mode C veils etc.
A pilot should be able to fly anywhere without problem just by reading the local rules and reading a map.
The US has different airspace, generally simpler and more sensible. Mode C veils etc.
A pilot should be able to fly anywhere without problem just by reading the local rules and reading a map.
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Aircraft and laws of physics don't change
However from memory circuits are generally flown differently with the US preferring start of descent at the end of the downwind with 1 stage flap then also and then incremental flap on base and final
UK generally want height to be maintained until established on base leg and the flap base and final.
Not a big difference but lots of UK instructors without US experience don't appreciate the difference and may tell you that you are "wrong"
Easy to adapt your style if aware
However from memory circuits are generally flown differently with the US preferring start of descent at the end of the downwind with 1 stage flap then also and then incremental flap on base and final
UK generally want height to be maintained until established on base leg and the flap base and final.
Not a big difference but lots of UK instructors without US experience don't appreciate the difference and may tell you that you are "wrong"
Easy to adapt your style if aware
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Circuits also tighter as I recall. You get more in for your bucks. Nice, easy circuit joining procedures.
Very straightforward procedures and a nice sense of urgency - when you've got your clearance to take off they expect you to move not sit around checking, checking and checking again - if you are not READY for departure don't say 'ready for departure'.
And you will nearly always get a radar service - they're used to handling large numbers of a/c simultaneously.
And of course, NO landing charges, NO approach fees at the vast majority of airports which are more often than not staffed by friendly, courteous and extremely helpful staff - I've had lots of hotels booked for me and freebie lifts to and from the hotel.
But their aerodynamics are still imperial - they won't use metric so the aircraft flies differently.
PS. That last bit wasn't supposed to be serious.
Very straightforward procedures and a nice sense of urgency - when you've got your clearance to take off they expect you to move not sit around checking, checking and checking again - if you are not READY for departure don't say 'ready for departure'.
And you will nearly always get a radar service - they're used to handling large numbers of a/c simultaneously.
And of course, NO landing charges, NO approach fees at the vast majority of airports which are more often than not staffed by friendly, courteous and extremely helpful staff - I've had lots of hotels booked for me and freebie lifts to and from the hotel.
But their aerodynamics are still imperial - they won't use metric so the aircraft flies differently.
PS. That last bit wasn't supposed to be serious.
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US vs UK
Aviation wise they are very different although I take the point about the laws of physics not changing on a different continent!
Attitudes can be very different.
You may find this when you return to the UK with your (just as good in fact in some ways far better) FAA ticket.
Expect mild scorn garnished with a hint of envy.
Just my own experience.
SB
Attitudes can be very different.
You may find this when you return to the UK with your (just as good in fact in some ways far better) FAA ticket.
Expect mild scorn garnished with a hint of envy.
Just my own experience.
SB
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Did my JAA/CAA PPL in Florida, now flying in NL.
Here are a few differences that I noted.
- We NEVER did flight plans in the US. We were encouraged to ask for "Flight Following" instead, where available. This can be more or less compared to somewhere between a Radar Information Service and a Radar Advisory Service in the UK.
- If you do flight plans, the FAA has a different format. And VFR flight plans are not closed automatically - you NEED to call a number (which is given to you when you submit the plan) to close it!
- 1-800-WX-BRIEF is the number you need to remember. Connects you to a place which can work magic for you: Help you out with flight plans and everything, give you the weather, including forecasts, notams, you name it. It does help if you read up a little on it, since it works best if you use correct and efficient phraseology. "Hello, I'm a student pilot requesting an outlook briefing for a VFR flight tomorrow. Callsign is N250FT, departure KISM at 10.30 local, to KMBL, KOBE and back. Flight duration 2 hours. Altitude 3500 feet." And then get pen&paper ready because the operator will give you everything you need, on a level that is applicable to you (student pilot in my case).
- The same kind of operators also do "Flight Watch". This is a standard frequency (I'm not sure, but I think it's 122.0) that works nationwide, and they also have several local frequencies (including a few where you transmit on a normal COM frequency, but receive over a VOR frequency - very strange) how you can reach them. They can give you the same service as WX-BRIEF. They're not a FIS, since they do not monitor you en-route, but they can give you all the info you might need.
- Different airspace structure. Outside CAS it's E and G as usual, but each airport is surrounded by an inverted wedding cake of D, C or B airspace extending from the surface to 10.000 feet AGL (at most). Above this it's all class E, until you get to 19.000 feet, where class A starts. Plus, most airports have a 30 NM Transponder Mandatory Zone around them.
- Military danger areas have names instead of numbers.
- Transition altitude is 19.000 feet. Only IFR flights do Flight Levels.
- Slightly different phraseology in R/T. Most striking example is "position and hold" vs. "line up and wait". And obviously "position and hold" is something completely different than "hold position".
- Conditional landing clearances: "Number three behind the Cessna on final and the Warrior on base. Cleared to land 06." "Cleared to land 06 number three, both traffic in sight". That might just be the last thing you hear from the tower until nr. 1 and 2 have landed, you have landed and vacated the runway. Situational awareness is therefore even more important than in Europe.
- No landing fees. Even if you want to do touch&gos at major international airports it's free. You do need a clearance (since they're class B) and this will only be given if it's quiet and if you only do one or two t&gs, but otherwise it's no problem.
- Get the little green book published by the FAA at the same time you get the charts. I think it's called the AFM. It covers most (if not all) of the public airports in the region just like a flight guide like Bottlang does. But this one is published every six months and virtually for free (seven dollars I believe).
- I'm not sure, but I believe the airports themselves are owned by the FAA and there are several commercial outfits on the field (called Fixed Base Operators or FBOs) that can help you with fuel etc. In contrast with a lot of field in Europe that are privately owned and you need to obtain those services from the field operator itself. In the US this leads to a bit of competition (so you can shop around for fuel prices) and specialization (one FBO for the bizjets, the other for GA). Generally very friendly and if all you need is to park your aircraft for an hour or so to have an off-airport lunch, they will generally help you (and let you out the gate) for free.
- Uncontrolled fields do not have an AFIS or A/G service. You either talk to the tower on a controlled field, or you do blind circuit calls to "(A/F) traffic" to let everybody know your intentions. And in case of a conflict, you just talk to the other A/C yourself, directly.
- Most bigger, uncontrolled fields also have a Unicom frequency. This is used to talk directly to the FBO to organize taxis, fuel and such.
- Instead of ATIS (with an ident letter), a lot of (controlled and uncontrolled) fields have an AWOS (Automated Weather Observation Station). This device continually monitors the weather and transmits it on the frequency. If the weather changes every minute, so will the AWOS. They are generally very accurate when it comes to wind, visibility, altimeter setting and temperature, but not very accurate when it comes to clouds. They don't report the runway in use, nor do they have an ident letter. Instead of "Information Romeo received" you just say "we have the weather" or something similar.
- Some AWOS are not on a separate frequency 24/24, but transmit on the CTAF frequency, after you click your mike three times or so. Neat.
- A lot of uncontrolled airfields have pilot controlled lighting. Click three, five or seven times (depending on the light intensity you want) and the lights will come on automatically. They'll stay on for 15 minutes. It's a good habit to repeat this clicking on final, so the lights don't die on you while flaring or something...
- Instead of QNE and QFE, they use "altimeter". It's the same as QNH in the sense that it's compensated to sea level, but it's in inches. 2992 inches is equal to 1013.2 hPa.
Here are a few differences that I noted.
- We NEVER did flight plans in the US. We were encouraged to ask for "Flight Following" instead, where available. This can be more or less compared to somewhere between a Radar Information Service and a Radar Advisory Service in the UK.
- If you do flight plans, the FAA has a different format. And VFR flight plans are not closed automatically - you NEED to call a number (which is given to you when you submit the plan) to close it!
- 1-800-WX-BRIEF is the number you need to remember. Connects you to a place which can work magic for you: Help you out with flight plans and everything, give you the weather, including forecasts, notams, you name it. It does help if you read up a little on it, since it works best if you use correct and efficient phraseology. "Hello, I'm a student pilot requesting an outlook briefing for a VFR flight tomorrow. Callsign is N250FT, departure KISM at 10.30 local, to KMBL, KOBE and back. Flight duration 2 hours. Altitude 3500 feet." And then get pen&paper ready because the operator will give you everything you need, on a level that is applicable to you (student pilot in my case).
- The same kind of operators also do "Flight Watch". This is a standard frequency (I'm not sure, but I think it's 122.0) that works nationwide, and they also have several local frequencies (including a few where you transmit on a normal COM frequency, but receive over a VOR frequency - very strange) how you can reach them. They can give you the same service as WX-BRIEF. They're not a FIS, since they do not monitor you en-route, but they can give you all the info you might need.
- Different airspace structure. Outside CAS it's E and G as usual, but each airport is surrounded by an inverted wedding cake of D, C or B airspace extending from the surface to 10.000 feet AGL (at most). Above this it's all class E, until you get to 19.000 feet, where class A starts. Plus, most airports have a 30 NM Transponder Mandatory Zone around them.
- Military danger areas have names instead of numbers.
- Transition altitude is 19.000 feet. Only IFR flights do Flight Levels.
- Slightly different phraseology in R/T. Most striking example is "position and hold" vs. "line up and wait". And obviously "position and hold" is something completely different than "hold position".
- Conditional landing clearances: "Number three behind the Cessna on final and the Warrior on base. Cleared to land 06." "Cleared to land 06 number three, both traffic in sight". That might just be the last thing you hear from the tower until nr. 1 and 2 have landed, you have landed and vacated the runway. Situational awareness is therefore even more important than in Europe.
- No landing fees. Even if you want to do touch&gos at major international airports it's free. You do need a clearance (since they're class B) and this will only be given if it's quiet and if you only do one or two t&gs, but otherwise it's no problem.
- Get the little green book published by the FAA at the same time you get the charts. I think it's called the AFM. It covers most (if not all) of the public airports in the region just like a flight guide like Bottlang does. But this one is published every six months and virtually for free (seven dollars I believe).
- I'm not sure, but I believe the airports themselves are owned by the FAA and there are several commercial outfits on the field (called Fixed Base Operators or FBOs) that can help you with fuel etc. In contrast with a lot of field in Europe that are privately owned and you need to obtain those services from the field operator itself. In the US this leads to a bit of competition (so you can shop around for fuel prices) and specialization (one FBO for the bizjets, the other for GA). Generally very friendly and if all you need is to park your aircraft for an hour or so to have an off-airport lunch, they will generally help you (and let you out the gate) for free.
- Uncontrolled fields do not have an AFIS or A/G service. You either talk to the tower on a controlled field, or you do blind circuit calls to "(A/F) traffic" to let everybody know your intentions. And in case of a conflict, you just talk to the other A/C yourself, directly.
- Most bigger, uncontrolled fields also have a Unicom frequency. This is used to talk directly to the FBO to organize taxis, fuel and such.
- Instead of ATIS (with an ident letter), a lot of (controlled and uncontrolled) fields have an AWOS (Automated Weather Observation Station). This device continually monitors the weather and transmits it on the frequency. If the weather changes every minute, so will the AWOS. They are generally very accurate when it comes to wind, visibility, altimeter setting and temperature, but not very accurate when it comes to clouds. They don't report the runway in use, nor do they have an ident letter. Instead of "Information Romeo received" you just say "we have the weather" or something similar.
- Some AWOS are not on a separate frequency 24/24, but transmit on the CTAF frequency, after you click your mike three times or so. Neat.
- A lot of uncontrolled airfields have pilot controlled lighting. Click three, five or seven times (depending on the light intensity you want) and the lights will come on automatically. They'll stay on for 15 minutes. It's a good habit to repeat this clicking on final, so the lights don't die on you while flaring or something...
- Instead of QNE and QFE, they use "altimeter". It's the same as QNH in the sense that it's compensated to sea level, but it's in inches. 2992 inches is equal to 1013.2 hPa.
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Now that I see your location, I realise that you're probably in the US, interested in flying in the UK. I should have worded my post the other way around I guess... Oh well...
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Class D typically goes out for about 4 nm in radius
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Delta surface area dimensions, when their is no other higher class of airspace to get in the way are, a cylinder of 4.3 nm {5 sm} to an altitude of 2,500ft agl, this is hardly ever the case when their is bravo or charlie overlying or abutting the delta.
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Mode C veil is great and would be great to have in the London area to avoid all these poxy TCAS warnings that occur when spurious blips show up without altitude.
Also I remember time buidling in the US and we would fly instrument approaches at night and when reaching minima, click the approach lights on and hopefully the runway would light up in front of you...and not in somewhere completely different
Yeah.. the europeans really try hard to over-complicate aviation dont they?
Also I remember time buidling in the US and we would fly instrument approaches at night and when reaching minima, click the approach lights on and hopefully the runway would light up in front of you...and not in somewhere completely different
Yeah.. the europeans really try hard to over-complicate aviation dont they?
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Having started a Private in the US (FAA), followed by an Instrument, followed by a multi/commercial, followed by UK CAA BCPL/IR and FI(R), I can honestly say that I am better off that way round than the other.
Despite various preconceived ideas by clubs in the UK and in other places around the world (particularly ex UK colonies) of the inadequacies of training under the FAA syllabus, I think that I have come up better this way than had I simply started in the UK.
The FAA syllabus is very practical with easy to follow ground school on a flexible learning programme i.e in your own time in many cases (part 61). There is also a lot more emphasis on good handling skills with such skillful maneuovers as:
Turns around a point
8s on pylons
Chandels
Lazy eights
S-turns on roads/railway lines etc.
The training that goes into the various forms of take-off and landings is also much more practised than in the UK.
Another advantage to US flying is that most flying schools over there ask you to adhere to the Pilots Operating Handbook to determine how to carry out various maneuovres (because it is the way the manufacturer intends that you fly the a/c). I am not saying that schools in the UK are wrong, but it does overcomplicate the issue when putting in minor variations.
For reasons that have been explained before, it is easier (and cheaper) to get in and out of different airports in the US. People make you feel welcome at the biggest airports and altogether it is a lot more fun! IMHO
Despite various preconceived ideas by clubs in the UK and in other places around the world (particularly ex UK colonies) of the inadequacies of training under the FAA syllabus, I think that I have come up better this way than had I simply started in the UK.
The FAA syllabus is very practical with easy to follow ground school on a flexible learning programme i.e in your own time in many cases (part 61). There is also a lot more emphasis on good handling skills with such skillful maneuovers as:
Turns around a point
8s on pylons
Chandels
Lazy eights
S-turns on roads/railway lines etc.
The training that goes into the various forms of take-off and landings is also much more practised than in the UK.
Another advantage to US flying is that most flying schools over there ask you to adhere to the Pilots Operating Handbook to determine how to carry out various maneuovres (because it is the way the manufacturer intends that you fly the a/c). I am not saying that schools in the UK are wrong, but it does overcomplicate the issue when putting in minor variations.
For reasons that have been explained before, it is easier (and cheaper) to get in and out of different airports in the US. People make you feel welcome at the biggest airports and altogether it is a lot more fun! IMHO
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I'm glad someone pointed up the differences in the Private Syllabus, esp those turns around a point etc. I have never seen a reasoned discussion of why the US feel its necessary and why the UK feel it isn't.The same applies to joining the pattern at 45 to a downwind v the UK version.
During checkouts in the US, I have been asked to perform a "departure stall" -and needed clarification on what was expected. Some radio phraseology is different (" cleared for takeoff, after departure 22.1", "back-taxi etc)". Some radio discipline is different (when at the hold ready for departure, you don't need to ask to leave the ground freq, you just change to tower). For SEP, in places like Florida and Colorado in summer, you may need to lean the mixture just to taxi to avoid plug flouling. Instructors will not be as fussy about carb heat either.
These and many other differences are small and if you don't conform you won't necesarily get shouted at. To some, they are part of the fun of flying outside the UK but others may worry that they cannot behave as professionally as they are used to back home.
During checkouts in the US, I have been asked to perform a "departure stall" -and needed clarification on what was expected. Some radio phraseology is different (" cleared for takeoff, after departure 22.1", "back-taxi etc)". Some radio discipline is different (when at the hold ready for departure, you don't need to ask to leave the ground freq, you just change to tower). For SEP, in places like Florida and Colorado in summer, you may need to lean the mixture just to taxi to avoid plug flouling. Instructors will not be as fussy about carb heat either.
These and many other differences are small and if you don't conform you won't necesarily get shouted at. To some, they are part of the fun of flying outside the UK but others may worry that they cannot behave as professionally as they are used to back home.
