Route to fATPL

[pholooh]

I've been researching the best route to the an ATPL (on a budget) and I this is what I have come up with:
(Feel free to scrutinize it, all criticisms are welcome)
__________________________________________________
1. Take JAA PPL ground school
0 hrs


2. FAA "professinal pilot program" Ohrs- CPL/IR CFII/MEI on a J- 1 visa
FAA C-ASMEL-I CFII/MEI

2. Take JAA PPL skills test ( according to the CAA website a holder of an ICAO ppl is exempt from evrything except the skills test.)
FAA C-ASMEL-I CFII/MEI
JAA PPL

3. Pay CAA £64 for IMC rating
FAA C-ASMEL-I CFII/MEI
JAA PPL IMC


3. Build at least 700hrs(200hrs PIC, 50hrs XC, etc) on J-1 visa

4. Do JAA ME Course
FAA C-ASMEL-I CFII/MEI
JAA PPL IMC ME

5. Do MCC course
FAA C-ASMEL-I CFII/MEI
JAA PPL IMC MCC ME

6. Do CPL ground school and take test(with the hours listed above i will be exempt from a CPL course)
FAA C-ASMEL-I CFII/MEI
JAA CPL IMC MCC ME

7. Do 15 Hr ICAO - JAA IR coversion course
FAA C-ASMEL-I CFII/MEI
JAA CPL/MEIR MCC

8. Do ATPL ground
FAA C-ASMEL-I CFII MEII and
JAA (f)ATPL
-OR-
Do JAA FI(R)

9. Go back to Dubyaland and try and build 1500(If J-1 is still valid) Or instruct at Uk flying school.
FAA ATPL
JAA ATPL
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I'd like any advice from anyone who has done/is doing/will be doing anything similar.

[B412]

Wow... man you must be made of money! If you simply go on an integrated or modular course you will have a license to work at the end of it. Your method appears to keep you away from being potentially able to work for some time. Plus 700 hrs hour building? You're going to pay for that? And not mentioning the time it will take. 700 hrs is what a professional in many cases does in a year.
I would think a more traditional approach will be far simpler and cheaper.

[BEagle]

Where will you obtain your 500 hours multi-pilot aircraft time?

[pholooh]

The professional pilot courses I'm looking at offer instructor jobs upon completion. That is how i intend to get the 700hrs, which I believe I will be able to accumulate b/4 my 24mth visa expires (I will take less than a year to the best of my knowledge). This can be obtained in less the a year, provided i get the specific hour types needed (i.e. XC, PIC, Night,etc) .

I prefer the J-1 route for hourbuilding as I will not have to pay for hourbuilding. Also I don't want to end up with just 250hrs especially now that it seems even more that Dubya might bomb Iraq. In the 18 months, it is possible to exceed the 1500hr mark even with a bad economy. It just requires one to choose the right school to instruct in.

Thanks for your input.

[Gin Slinger]

pholooh - I think Beagle was referring to the 500 hours multi-pilot required to unfreeze the JAA ATPL.

BTW, I don't think you can do your MCC training until you have JAA CPL/IR.

Also, what's the point doing JAA CPL ground school? Why not just do the full ATPL ground school and be done with it?

[Send Clowns]

No offense, but you clearly have not looked into the JAA system very carefully. Why on earth do you plan to do CPL groundschool then ATPL? You also miss the fact that you would need IR groundschool before that. CPL and IR are each around 9 exams, and a 350-hour course you would have to pay for. The ATPL is then a 650-hour course and 14 exams. Why not do ATPLs at the beginning?

Gin is also correct I believe in that you need the IR before the MCC.

What if you don't get any instructing for the hour-building? Knowing the industry I am sure no work will be guaranteed in advance of the course, so be prepared not to get this. THere is a good reason your route is not a common one - there is no back-up plan - you end up spending more time and little less money if you have to do the full approved CPL course on your return. You also will have a non-approved IR after a short conversion course from an ICAO IR, so will be inelligible for many jobs until you break a 1000-hour or 1500-hour barrier.

In this business always have a plan for if things do not run according to plan!