PPL hours in the US
 

Hey guys n girls.

I have searched for this information but Im not having any luck.

Im doing my PPL in the UK just now, 11hrs 20mins logged, 6 exams passed.

My employment takes me to the states around 4 times a month on average, L.A. in particular being my favourite destination, The joys of long haul cabin crew :ok:

so now I have found an airport close to where I stay in LA, However the schools located there are FAA, so does this mean if I have a few hours dual with an instructor while downroute, I cant log them towards my JAA PPL ???

on the other hand, when Im in orlando, can I visit a JAA school, (oba, oft,etc) have a few hours there and they would count towards my JAA PPL.

I hope I have explained this well enough.

Thanks in advance for any info :ok:

You are correct - JAA PPL training must be carried out by a JAA instructor / school.

You could still have extra lessons at an FAA school and log the hours but they will not count towards PPL minimums and you will need a training Visa (ignore the people who try and convince you that because you are not training for an FAA PPL you are somehow excused. The TSA do not see it that way).

I can see pros and cons to this. On the one hand you can have some cheap lessons in good weather. On the other hand, it could be counter-productive if you are flitting between instructors and the different environment of UK vs USA.

I would imagine that your UK flying school/instructors would not be too pleased with this.
The teaching procedures for the schools may be different
I stand to be corrected but quite a few instructors post on here so may get some more views.
Lister

Hi,

Thanks for that info mate.

its very frustrating, the school I was looking at in LA was only 115 USD dollars for one hour including an instructor.

I reckon I will just do all my JAA PPL in scotland and wait until I have got my JAA PPL and then go through the process of obtaining a temp FAA PPL to enable me to hire a 150 when Im in LA.

The price of one hour in a 150 is only 80 dollars!

You do need TSA clearance for ab-initio flight training in the US. There's no way around it.

As far as a visa is concerned, in your case, your primary purpose for visiting the USA is not flight training. That would mean that you do not need an M-1 visa. But there is one caveat: being cabin crew, I assume you're not entering the USA under the VWP or under a tourist visa, but under a crew visa. There might be specific restrictions attached to such a visa. I simply don't know. So don't take my word for it. Contact the US authorities directly and see what their opinion is.

But as Tall_Guy says, both the visa and TSA question is completely independent of whether you are doing FAA or JAA.

Lister Noble,

I appreciate your relpy, but at the end of the day I'm the customer of the flying school, and its very frustrating to have many lessons cancelled due to weather, hardly my fault. Also I have done all my exams at my flying school and plan to do my skills test and night rating there, so my 'loyalty' lies with my UK school.

I just thought its a shame that Im in the US every other week and not making use of the cheap flying and the great wx!

Since when?, most of the JAA schools in the US use FAA instructors

General flying conditions, charts, instruction methods, wx, ATC procedures are all different in the US and will be a change from what you are used to.

That combined with: Visa hassles, TSA clearence and the current weakness of the pound would probably adds up to it being more hassle than its worth. Would be good however for if you need to be hour building following your PPL, which requires neither a Visa or TSA clearence.

I would have thought it was worthwhile having some extra lessons in the US if you can get the visa resolved.

The hours required in the UK to get your PPL are a minimum. The important thing is your competence. If you are missing lots of lessons due to UK weather then you will likely go over the minimum required hours before you become competent.

Some refresher training in the US won't go amiss and while it might not count to your UK PPL it will mean that you will need less hours over and above the minimum back in the UK.

There are some differences in air law, proceedures etc, but takeoff, flying and landing are just the same. Also, I think you will find it easier if you fly the same type of aircraft.

ZA

And its fun. Flying is fun (isn't it?). If you have the funds and the time, why not spend some of it doing more flying. It is all good experience and will contribute towards your own flyng skills.

And it means that once you do get your licence, if you want to rent an aircraft in the US whilst on a stopover, you will be more comfortable and familiar with flying over here.

SoCal,

Fast Aviation at El Monte.

Thanks.

Not entirely doom and gloom.....
 

Section C 1.2 LASORS states....

....

In circumstances where previous flying training
towards an ICAO PPL(A) (non-JAR-FCL) has been
conducted but no licence has been issued, PLD will
consider the crediting of such flight time towards the
issue of a JAR-FCL PPL(A). In all cases, applicants
must apply in writing to PLD enclosing appropriate
training records and flying logbooks for the PPL
training received. PLD will review the training
records to establish a course of training and advise
the applicant accordingly.

...

Anyway, the aeroplane flies the same in the US as it does in the UK. My advice, get the basic general handling and 'flying' the aeroplane (including take-off and landing) done where it's cheap, then finsih the Navigation and cross country over here in the environment that your more likely to fly in.

HTH

DD