I am ready to book EFT Florida for my PPL but..

[stevoneil]

I am ready to book EFT in florida for my PPL. Im so passionate about it Im prepared to give up my job to start completing it. I intend to do the fastrak course in the next couple of months but ive never booked anything other than a package holiday before!
I can get the finances sorted out pretty quickly on a loan.
The reason i chose EFT was due to positive feedback and also they seem be by far the cheapest around?
I did notice that there were extra charges so i wondered if anyone has recently passed what their final bill came to so i can calculate an amount to apply for..
my real reason for posting though is I dont know whether to book flights before the course or the course before the flights. the visas etc. i want to do something to get the ball rolling but i just dont know where to start?

[neilia]

Steveoneil, this isn't really a reply to your questions, but more a concern - do you really want to give up your job to do a PPL? It's none of my business I know, but have you thought about stepping back with a deep breath and thinking about how else you can go about this? Perhaps you have a stable financial position and can find work again easily when you return, I don't know, but the fact that you're talking about both leaving work and taking out a loan sounds worrying.

Do you have a particular reason for needing to steam ahead with your PPL? If not then please do some serious thinking first and don't let your heart rule your wallet.

Okay, I'll get my coat...
n

[gcolyer]

OBA is bay far cheaper. They do not charge extra for accomodation or other niggly bits.

There are a few security depostis you have when you get there but most are refundable.

Also I take it you are aware of the TSA/SEEViS and VISA paperwork that you need to do and complete.

As for quitting work to do a PPL I certainly would not do that. You cant earn money from your PPL so you woul dbe cutting your own throat. If you plan on CPL/ATPL then quitting work is a possible option if you can afford the £30k to £60k course and a year of no work.

[Mariner9]

Without knowing your job, surely the lost earnings during your time in the US and then back in the UK while hunting for a new job would make training in the UK a better financial option

[stevoneil]

at the moment I work for the county council full time and also I have a porn website that earns enough to survive off. I am a very impatient person and I want to study for my PPL asap so florida seems to be the best option. The predicament is whether the florida price is still cheaper than the uk price after adding £1000 of months earning loss at the council for the period of time ill be studying. they may even let me come back so this is the best case scenario.
My local airport is shoreham which means Airbase is the alternative at £140ph in a c152

[gcolyer]

You dont need months off of work to do it in Florida. All you need is 21 days, but you must be prepared to work and study hard. Basicaly you just book a 3 week holiday from work. Thousands of people do it this way. As for price it is cheaper to do it this way than to drag it out for months in the UK.

[Slopey]

Will your employer flatly forbid you from having the time off? If you speak to them far enough in advance, most employers (public sector included) would be amenable to a "career break" - especially if its only a few weeks. Ask for unpaid leave and see what they say. If the alternative is that you'd jack - they may well consider it the better of 2 evils - but it does depend on how easy you are to replace and what you do.
You'll need at least 21 days to do the PPL - never underestimate the Florida weather - the wind can be an issue and you could be grounded for a week! If you try and cram it into 14 days, there's a strong possibility you'll come home empty handed. Take time to enjoy it

I am a very impatient person

Fair enough for booking training or wanting to do it in one fixed course - but DONT apply that to your flying. You need to wait for weather/conditions/fuel etc.... Once you've got the licence don't get caught out by "get-there-itis". Even now I've got the licence, a vast amount of time which could be flying (but sometimes thankfully not) is spent waiting to see what the weather will do on any given day. Better to be down here wishing you were up there, than up there wishing you were down here!
But if you want to get the PPL course done in one block I can heartly recommend going to the States to do it. It's great (and OBA although I have no experience of any other schools who are probably just as good! )

[Mariner9]

Interesting career combination

Hourly flying rates in the UK are expensive, but they aren't gonna decrease much once you pass your ppl - they may even be higher depending on the a/c you're gonna fly.

[tangovictor]

done to death

I bet, if your honest, it will work out about the same as training here, after adding in, the UK requirements, that seem to get missed in the US and you won't be taught to emergency land on the highway either, you will be taught correct radio procedure here also !

[gcolyer]

As far as RT goes, OBA teach the JAA way in the students use JAA RT on the radio, with the odd bit of FAA RT such as VFR flight following.

[gcolyer]

I have no issues with transitioning from FAA to JAA RT. I must admit I much prefer it in the US.

[stevoneil]

thanks for all ur advice guys i think after thinking hard about it im going to study in the uk because although its a lot more expensive I can better manage my expenses this way. thanks for ur advice

my next challenge then is to find a school at shoreham. i think airbase is the cheapest. any good/bad reports from them?

[tittybar]

To hell with the flying, How do I find the porn site?.

[stevoneil]

it would probably be a breach of terms to say tittybar but the clue is in my login name.