I seriously doubt your timebuilding needs to be at an ATO as it does not constitute 'formal' training.
As far as I know you can go to any ICAO member state for timebuilding.
I would suggest you keep good records though including daily receipts or print out from the billing system so you have additional evidence corroborating the hours in your logbook.

But to answer your question:
There are two other schools on the field in Naples that rent aircraft.
And one on Marco Island if I'm not mistaken.
Then again you may look to rent elsewhere and fly to Naples and get a tie down spot from the airport authority.
Gives you a whole lot more flexibility.
Find the most economical airplane in the state and still fly it out of Naples.

http://www.delandaviation.com/rentals/

* I have no affiliation with the above mentioned school.
Just provided the link as an example of (relatively) cheap rental

I just checked online and tie downs are $200/month for '!non-tenants'.

Mellessi - Florida is an easy place to be - a flight school may have some accommodation - if they do use it as it will make things easier and usually a lot cheaper too.

Plenty of hotels/motels since it is a holiday destination.

If you are doing training - do not pay up front (a deposit or otherwise), do not give credit card details until you're comfortable.

If this would be your first flight training you need a training visa and TSA security clearance - if they tell they have a way around it - they are lying!

Once you have an FAA PPL you would no longer need the visa etc. for subsequent training.

If you are doing FAA not EASA/JAR etc. I can personally recommend NS Aviation at North Perry (not the cheapest but good people and best of all complicated airspace/radio work so that will never be a worry!)

And whomever told you that is wrong.
There is a gigantic visa thread stickied on top.

No I am not wrong about it.

Once you have been checked once and completed your PPL you do not need a training vias or subsequent TSA clearance.

I know because I was told that by the TSA - and here's the biggie - I have returned to the US for other ratings and endorsements - declared it as my reason for visiting the US and had no hassle at all.

The training visa was for ten years - but with seven years left to run on it I was pulled out of the line and had it cancelled - this was on an ordinary (no flying) shopping trip - since that time I have travelled three times for training with out a problem.

I think you are confusing pre-TSA PPL's with those obtained afterwards (mine was in 2011)

If you think I am BS'ing you read

https://www.aopa.org/advocacy/pilots...light-training

Also you will need to read

https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/retriev...n=14y2.0.1.1.2

you are looking for what 14CFR 61.31 covers

https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/retriev...#se14.2.61_131

I don't care if there has been a long discussion on the subject - read the source info - if you think it doesn't say what I maintain, then you are wrong - I know, been there done that!
:cool:

No reason to quote regulations as the FAA has nothing to do or authority over visa requirements and background checks

The AOPA page you link to mentions you do not need the visa for High Performance endorsement or Complex or Pressurized as mentioned in 61.31

From the AOPA page:


You do not need visa's or background checks for a host of things including proficiency training or flight reviews or IPC's.
Anything that leads to the application for a certificate or rating does.

:yuk:

You are misreading it mate.

It is about "initial" training in the US.

It does not follow logically that the initial training in the US will be a PPL.

So if I have a, say a Barbadian PPL, I can go to the US for my CPL (note Barbados does not issue CPL's) - that is initial training in the US - though not my initial flight training - in that circumstance I need the TSA check.

It's about getting you in the system.

In the same circumstance where the PPL was obtained in the US - you do not get TSA'd again as you are already in the system.

You seem very happy to deconstruct my comments except the killer one - I have done it several times and I am very upfront about why I am in the US and what I will be doing - the flight school make sure you are legit too as they get it in the neck if they train anyone who is not.

I think Ebbie's comments are misleading at best. Even with a PPL, you need to get a visa and TSA clearance again if you want to return and add an instrument rating to that FAA PPL. I know because I have done it. Same applies to multi. PPL, IR, and ME are the magic three that trigger the need for the visa and TSA clearance, for people flying little stuff like us.

I've tried to tell him that Kat, but he's having none of it.

Guys,

Thank you for your replies. I quite didn't get this TSA security check and the VISA thing. Do I need a student VISA or a tourist one for time building? Is time building considered as training, thus it requires a student visa?
Thank you !

B2N2

I have done it three times no further TSA check.

Me British, resident in Barbados, British passport, got FAA PPL (no a piggyback) in 2011.

Maybe I have an honest face but the Immigration at the airport weren't, fussed and neither were the flight school.

Did you have a TSA check when you got your PPL or was the IR your first US flight training?

I'm not entirely sure you have your definitions straight, no offense intended.
In the strictest legal sense 'flight training' means something different then the every day common use of the word.
In legalize it's easy to be confusing in an effort to include all.
Since it's not clear to me if you made a typo or not: TSA/Visa is not required for the license validation aka the piggy back.

Again, no offense but I've been involved with M-1 training visas and their requirements for well over 10 years.
You wouldn't be the first one that fell though the cracks created by confusion and ignorance ( in the side of your immigration officer).

Well maybe you're right - but I have a solution - I just turned myself in to the TSA - lets see what they say:)

Interesting perspective though you might find you get refused for a type rating. Just saying.

I did NACs Bahamas tour as advertised in 2015. It went very well. They are interesting characters but all that needed was a checkout, so I don't know on the training side.

Alex.

Time building aka 'recreational flying' is exempt from any visa requirements.
If you're a European resident you're in the Visa Waiver program which means you don't need a visa for any visit of your stay is less then 90 days.
I'd encourage you to look allover the state to rent then park at Naples.

Thank you for your advices ! Unfortunately, my country, even though is part of the EU for 10 years now, has not been inclued yet in the visa waiver program, which means that I have to apply for a visa anyway.

It can be a B visa for holiday vs an M visa for training if you're just building time. I'd recommend looking north of Orlando too.

I went to NAC for PPL training
 

I went to NAC in Florida for PPL flight training in 2006.
At the time I did a blog covering the day to day events of my three and a half weeks there. This covered both the good and the not so good.
If you search YouTube for 'flight training at Naples Air Center (NAC)' you will find both a short video of photos that I took, and in the description there is a link to my blog. Obviously things have probably changed a lot since 2006 including the PPL qualification requirements, but you would get a good feel for what it was like as a PPL trainee at the time. I came back without a PPL but got it later in the UK.

I was there last year. I liked it, nice area. The people were friendly. They actually let me off some charges! It was only for a week, but overall was good.

Hi, does anybody have recents informations about NAC ?
I'd perform my training overthere and all infos I found are from some years ago...