Just Another Wanabee...

[AlphaMale]

Just out of interest AlphaMale, how long had you worked in Tesco before working up the ladder?

I never pursued a career with Tesco so I never took them up on the offer. I had an interview every 6 months where they asses you and ask what you want from the company and what they'd like from you or can offer you.

My Manager asked if I'd be interested in a Manager role due to abilities and education level (I was in Tesco to support my BSc fees). They also asked if I wanted to take up the offer of a 'team leader' where I'd have a pay rise due to more responsibility but without the stress that could effect Uni work.

I think a team leader was on £8.25ph while a normal shop worker (like myself) would be on something like £5.75 (back in 2004).

I worked there for 4 years in all.

... Enough of this supermarket talk. Like you I am interested in gaining a fATPL the cheapest way without compromising on quality.

There are many opinions on this forum and it can get pretty confusing when one experienced airline pilot will tell you 'train in the UK for a job in the UK' and then somebody else like portsharbourflyer tells you to train in the US?

I personally like the idea of spending 12/18/24 months in the US working my way through the FAA licences and gaining employment as a CFI and earning enough to keep my head above water.

I'd be quite happy to fly BizJets for the rest of my aviation days and having both FAA and JAA licences would give me an advantage when applying to Operators that use both G and N reg AC.

I'll be looking tonight at as Many FAA PPL schools as possible tonight, as I'd like to see how much of a saving can be had over a JAA PPL.

Looking at OFT both seem around the same price I'm sure an FAA only school can offer the FAA PPL at a cheaper rate.

[portsharbourflyer]

Slight disclaimer; I am not telling you to train in the US, I am merely recommending another training route you may like to consider.

Pedantic detail aside. The important thing Alpha is that you are made aware of all the options that are available to you.

[AlphaMale]

Thanks portsharbourflyer, I'm quite aware of all routes to gaining all licences and like you said having both FAA and JAA licences isn't going to do me any harm.

What puts me off if the fact a thread will appear now and again stating that airlines prefer one-stop-shop pilots as opposed to many schools or what has been given as advice to me is the FAA route.

I'm just trying to weight up the pros and cons and there are many :-(

If I was able to get the time off work I'd go and get the FAA PPL (3 weeks) followed by a FAA IR (3-4 weeks) in one trip. But in reality I'm only going to get 6 weeks max and that will only be enough to get a PPL.

It might be worth asking my current employer if I can take 6 weeks off as paid and another 2 as unpaid

Come back to sunny South Wales and start my ATPL exams with BGS while building some hours, when completed I could always apply for a Visa for FAA MEP / CPL / CFI and a 12 month job at the end of it?

Thanks.

[portsharbourflyer]

Thats a perfectly workable plan Alpha. As you said realistically a well conducted PPL course is going to take 6 weeks. Although I did my PPL in the UK along side a full time job (very expensive way and time consuming way of doing it and when I did mine PPL tuition was only 100 an hour) anyone I met in the States doing a PPL rarely completed in four weeks.

[portsharbourflyer]

Flybe is the only airline I know that employs modular low houred pilots and asks for training to be completed at one FTO for low houred pilots. Flybe stated this at the BALPA EOC a few years back and this seems to be where this fact has stemed from.

With an all modular Europeam CPL/IR 250 hours your chances of getting an interview with Flybe: very slim believe about 800 applicants filled in the on line application form in the last round of recruitment. Flybes recruitment policy is a mystery to be truthful.

Chances of employment at an air taxi firm with a 1000 hours and some multi time built in the States with converted JAA licenses; very good.

[AlphaMale]

Chances of employment at an air taxi firm with a 1000 hours and some multi time built in the States with converted JAA licenses; very good.

I appreciate your advise. That would be my aim, I don't expect a Jet Op to knock my door with a job but I'd like to think with 1,000hrs and both FAA and JAA licences an air taxi firm would be interested in my CV or a TP/BizJet operator with a stroke of luck

Do you really think the FAA PPL in Florida would take 6 weeks though? I was hoping to take 5 weeks off work to complete my FAA PPL and in the remaining 7 / 10 /14 days of the trip do some hour building. They are advertising 21 day PPL's but I'm looking to budget for a 28 day PPL.

[Shiver me timbers!]

From what I've been reading over the past couple of months it's highly unlikely you will complete the PPL in 3 weeks (FAA or JAA). This isn't to say that it's impossible but it's risky business budgeting for only 4 weeks. The worse that could happen is you'd have to head home with only 20-30 hours

Think bad weather days, maintenance issues, instructor days-off, instructor / student illness (it's happened) etc.

I'm hoping to head out to Florida in October (JAA PPL) and will be budgeting for approx 6-8 weeks but still wonder whether this is enough to be safe.

Good luck.

[AlphaMale]

I'm hoping to head out to Florida in October (JAA PPL) and will be budgeting for approx 6-8 weeks

I know October falls into Hurricane season but isn't that a little drastic?

I was looking to get all my JAA exams done here at a local airfield and head out there in July/Aug for 5-6 weeks. If I decide on the FAA route then I guess revising via the OAT CBT might have confused me somewhat

If the PPL is going to take 8 weeks then it may be worth me leaving it for yet another year and starting a 'Pro' FAA course that some of the bigger schools run in Florida albeit at a cost of $45,000/$50,000 .... Sell up, let out my apartment and give up my current job.

[portsharbourflyer]

4 weeks is not impossible but it doesn't give you contingency for any delays; 6 to 8 weeks is a very realistic timeline for completion of a PPL course.