CPL,ME,IR training in Florida
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CPL,ME,IR training in Florida
Hi all,
I am considering doing my CPL, ME and IR (JAA) in Florida to keep the costs down. Lets say for instance that the school in Florida is of a very good standard, what is the general view of training in the USA?
For example most people bring up the fact that the radio procedures are different and the weather is almost always great so you dont get the experience that you would in the uk.
I have done my PPL in the uk and i am preparing to start my ATPL ground school with AFT in Coventry.
I am obviously considering training in Florida to save money on training costs but what i am afraid of is the airlines in the UK frowning at the fact that i have trained in the US rather than the UK for some reason.
Any opinions on doing my CPL,ME and IR in the US would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance
Dave
I am considering doing my CPL, ME and IR (JAA) in Florida to keep the costs down. Lets say for instance that the school in Florida is of a very good standard, what is the general view of training in the USA?
For example most people bring up the fact that the radio procedures are different and the weather is almost always great so you dont get the experience that you would in the uk.
I have done my PPL in the uk and i am preparing to start my ATPL ground school with AFT in Coventry.
I am obviously considering training in Florida to save money on training costs but what i am afraid of is the airlines in the UK frowning at the fact that i have trained in the US rather than the UK for some reason.
Any opinions on doing my CPL,ME and IR in the US would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance
Dave
Dancing with the devil, going with the flow... it's all a game to me.
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Nobody knows what individual airlines want anymore I'm afraid. Criteria differs from employer to employer. The CPL is really just a stricter PPL so training for it in the US is no big deal and I would recommend it because you will need VFR weather and doing it in the UK can get very pricey and drawn out.
The initial IR training can be done in Florida but the test must be completed here. The usual way is to do 25 hours in a single and 5 in a the twin in Florida. Then return for 10 in the UK sim and 10 in the twin. I opted for 20 hours total in the US, 15 on the aircraft and 15 in the sim. Never underestimate the sim because a good sim instructor can save you thousands.
As for the RT procedures in the US differing from the UK: this is quite true but not a huge concern. Doing all your training in the UK will take longer, cost more money and will ultimately be more soul destroying. The industry is less efficient here.
VFE.
The initial IR training can be done in Florida but the test must be completed here. The usual way is to do 25 hours in a single and 5 in a the twin in Florida. Then return for 10 in the UK sim and 10 in the twin. I opted for 20 hours total in the US, 15 on the aircraft and 15 in the sim. Never underestimate the sim because a good sim instructor can save you thousands.
As for the RT procedures in the US differing from the UK: this is quite true but not a huge concern. Doing all your training in the UK will take longer, cost more money and will ultimately be more soul destroying. The industry is less efficient here.
VFE.
Join Date: Aug 2002
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Hi - there are a load of threads on this that you could look for, but I will give you my view. I did my CPL in Florida and I thought it was fine. I had British instructors and a British examiner, so apart from the RT and the airspace, it was pretty much like flying at home (assuming Scotland suddenly became completely flat and covered in orange groves!). The RT isn't that different - just some different terminology and procedures and it will only take a couple of hours to get used to it. I don't think the quality of your training experience is a function of where you do it - it is more to do with the quality of the school and the people who work for it / run it. There was a fierce debate about the IR though - some folk have been disappointed with the standard of training and found it hard when returning to the UK to finish off, but if you search for threads containing European Flight Training or EFT you'll find some of the info.
I was in Florida in December and the weather was great apart from a few windy days. I might have learned more by doing it in the UK, but I wanted to get it done fast and didn't want to wait around here for the odd flyable day to come along. I don't think my ability to make weather related decisions would be any better now that it would have been if I'd done it in the UK. You did your PPL here so you would have had to deal with crappy wx I imagine.
I don't know if airlines really care that much - again an endless debate (with loads to read if you search), but of the people I know who have got jobs, where they did their training wasn't an issue.
PM me if you would like any further info, but all your questions have been covered before...
Good luck,
Hufty.
I was in Florida in December and the weather was great apart from a few windy days. I might have learned more by doing it in the UK, but I wanted to get it done fast and didn't want to wait around here for the odd flyable day to come along. I don't think my ability to make weather related decisions would be any better now that it would have been if I'd done it in the UK. You did your PPL here so you would have had to deal with crappy wx I imagine.
I don't know if airlines really care that much - again an endless debate (with loads to read if you search), but of the people I know who have got jobs, where they did their training wasn't an issue.
PM me if you would like any further info, but all your questions have been covered before...
Good luck,
Hufty.
Dancing with the devil, going with the flow... it's all a game to me.
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Re: EFT and the IR.....
The UK section is now handled by top sim instructor Mike Boulton and ex-OATS topman Mike Smart. Heard no complaints. The guy who posted about the IR being messy in the US had an instructor who no longer works for EFT and the UK section was done elsewhere than is presently the case. In other words: what happened to him will not happen to anyone else.
VFE.
The UK section is now handled by top sim instructor Mike Boulton and ex-OATS topman Mike Smart. Heard no complaints. The guy who posted about the IR being messy in the US had an instructor who no longer works for EFT and the UK section was done elsewhere than is presently the case. In other words: what happened to him will not happen to anyone else.
VFE.
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I did my CPL with EFT in Florida, I would recommend them without hesitation. Remember a lot of what you get out of it depends on the work you put in yourself. I had a very enthusiatic instructor who I felt was working bloody hard for me. Most of the students felt the same.
I was going to do my ME and IR in England, however I'm shortly going back out to Florida for all this, plus the FIC course. I did hear of cases of people struggling during the UK section of the IR, but the guys I spoke to currently down at Shoreham didn't report any problems, and I'm very confident in the instructors down there. Again its not always down to the school, or the instructors - do your homework, know the differences!
Sorry, this wasn't supposed to be about EFT, but about Florida, so here are a few observations;
1) The weather is not always great, so you do have to make marginal wx decisions - ok I admit there are not as many rainy/cloudy days, but there are often strong winds, and sudden severe CB activity, so you DO have to plan for the WX properly.
2) The RT is slightly different, but why is this seen as a problem? I actually found that my RT sharpened up, especially flying around in the sort of busy airspace you can rarely fly in the UK. Anyway, as an airline pilot, we are going to have to learn and adapt to different terminology and procedures everyday - may as well get used to it early.
3) You dont have to pay approach or landing fees, so you can chip off to a airfield with an ILS/NDB and practice till your hearts content!
4) The burgers are choice!
I found not having the day to day distractions of home a big help, we all had the same goals, so helped each other and got on with it !
To be honest from what I have heard the airlines really don't care where you got these ratings, as long as you've got them - and first time preferably.
Good luck whatever you decide to do, if you go out there you will enjoy it.
PS; Not sure how to link to this, but type 'CPL Diary' into search, required reading if you're thinking of training in US.
I was going to do my ME and IR in England, however I'm shortly going back out to Florida for all this, plus the FIC course. I did hear of cases of people struggling during the UK section of the IR, but the guys I spoke to currently down at Shoreham didn't report any problems, and I'm very confident in the instructors down there. Again its not always down to the school, or the instructors - do your homework, know the differences!
Sorry, this wasn't supposed to be about EFT, but about Florida, so here are a few observations;
1) The weather is not always great, so you do have to make marginal wx decisions - ok I admit there are not as many rainy/cloudy days, but there are often strong winds, and sudden severe CB activity, so you DO have to plan for the WX properly.
2) The RT is slightly different, but why is this seen as a problem? I actually found that my RT sharpened up, especially flying around in the sort of busy airspace you can rarely fly in the UK. Anyway, as an airline pilot, we are going to have to learn and adapt to different terminology and procedures everyday - may as well get used to it early.
3) You dont have to pay approach or landing fees, so you can chip off to a airfield with an ILS/NDB and practice till your hearts content!
4) The burgers are choice!
I found not having the day to day distractions of home a big help, we all had the same goals, so helped each other and got on with it !
To be honest from what I have heard the airlines really don't care where you got these ratings, as long as you've got them - and first time preferably.
Good luck whatever you decide to do, if you go out there you will enjoy it.
PS; Not sure how to link to this, but type 'CPL Diary' into search, required reading if you're thinking of training in US.
Last edited by iainpoll; 14th Apr 2004 at 14:22.
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Aerofoil,
Not sure if you know, and I am assuming the rules have not changed, but I do believe you can only do half your IR in the states. The test has to be done in UK airspace.
Not sure if you know, and I am assuming the rules have not changed, but I do believe you can only do half your IR in the states. The test has to be done in UK airspace.
