i been also looking into EFT and have heard good things about them from the students ive been chatting to. Im thinking of going the APP course, you also get your instructors ratings. i want to get an ATPL JAA as im european citizen and if you not american citizen or resident there is no chance of working in regional or major but you can instructor with the working visa permit. but money is tough at the moment so been debating whether there is any cheaper way. Has anyone gone to the states and done their full FAA MEI CPL and converted it to JAA???
is it an ordeal and long process?
what do you need to do?
is it just the JAA IR you need to do?
what exams do you have to take?
and how many hours do you need to fly?

???!
 

Self study!?? i thought they provided Ground school for the ATPL like Orlando Flight Training and NAC, also how are the student to instructor ratio over there??

Cheers!
Christian

I did my JAA PPL in NAC in October 2007. I got my licence in 47hrs and I had a great time. My instructor was second to none (ask for Nikki). I'm back in the UK and up to 105 hours now and planning on doing my ATPL exams next year. PM me if you have any questions.

Anyone recently been to EFT? I see from the website that they do not provide bedding in the accomodation - does this mean bring your own sheets or bring your own sheets, pillows, duvet etc?

cheers

EFT is a great place.

You do have to provide your own bedding but these are easily found in the local Walmart for a reasonable price.

Anyone here starting the APP course in EFT on next January?

Age old question here, which flight school in the US to go with?

I had up until now thought about going with NAC, a couple of friends are flying commercially and had done there ppl with them, but i must admit it was years ago.
I was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction.
and also is it practical to allow 4 weeks for a ppl if I sat a few exams in the uk?

many thanks

kittyhawk3734;

Seeing as you're in Bedfordshire, have you considered Bonus Aviation at Cranfield?

No, I don't work for them - but they unravelled and repaired the crap dished up in Florida.

With the current exchange rate, it is definitely no cheaper to train in the US.

Just a thought...

wow.. pretty good that someone can attend EVERY flight school in Florida

:ugh:

I highly consider to start the October course on EFT. I've thought about EFT for a quite long time now, but since reading this thread my plans just became stronger.

It would be really interesting to hear some more reviews from someone who have recently completed the APP program, or from some student at EFT. Is there really nothing to complain to?

How is it to work as an instructor afterwards?

I went to EFT last year, and am really glad that I chose them. I only did my PPLs (JAA, and separate FAA) + night rating, but the ATPL / APP guys looked like they were having a good time!?! There must be downsides with every place; the most salient I can think of at EFT (which they have little control over) is that the complex single (a Piper Arrow) is well-known to be often out of action. However, this wasn't an issue for me, as there are loads of 172s, plus some Warriors - they have access to far more than they should for a school their size (as they have preferential booking over Aviator, the FAA flight school on the same premises). I suppose they must have trained me well, as I came straight back to do my complex endorsement in the UK (around London), and both instructor & examiner seemed very happy with my flying (or maybe I benefited from Mooney beginner's luck?)! :eek:

By the same virtue, the facilities seemed way above what you would expect for a 'small' JAA flight school - they (along with Aviator) have moved into the old Pan Am Academy - very nice! Really liked the airfield too - Class D with three runways, one of which was purpose-built for bashing out circuits (so you're not waiting for instrument traffic to do their thing).

Sorry if it sounds like it's all roses; I was even accused of not being a 'real' person on a previous post! :ooh: I might have just been lucky with my experience & others may vary - nor have I been to any other flight school, so maybe they're even better?! I'm just relieved - as I was a bit paranoid before I went - that my research paid off & I came back a safe & happy pilot, with all the right bits of paper! :E

Good luck!

Mojo

Thank you for your post Mojo!

It sure looks like a great school. I'll probably schedule them a visit soon, if possible. :)

Please help for choosing school in US
 

Hi guys Im from Turkey Im copter pilot with 2000 hours. I intended to be trained in US ,I have been researhing but wasnt able to choose. Could anybody help me about which is the best school in terms of price and reliability?

Apolgies for butting in, but their didn't seem much point starting a new thread in private flying, when this one is active.

I'm currently in Ecuador and had been training for my PPL in the UK, I have nearly 40 hrs (inc some solo) and all my exams. However, I've not flown for many months so I reckon I'll need at least another 15 hours, probably more. I've been back to the UK and couldn't get a single flight in because of the weather. Plus it's a lot cheaper and easier for me to get to USA.

I've been looking at EFT but they seem really pricey ($220 ph :eek:) . But they do still seem to be getting good reviews. How realistic is it to be fairly sure of good weather for a week or two? I can fly direct to Miami or Houston, and as I'll be short of time I'd rather stay close to one of those if possible. But if weather is going to be a big issue, I'd rather go elsewhere.

There must be loads of people on here that know far more about Wx in those regions.... But as no-one's responded yet, here's my mini-experience:

I was at EFT for (I think) about 6 weeks, during which time it was very rare not to be able to fly. There were two periods in the 6 weeks where no-one flew for a couple of days (as we were affected by hurricanes elsewhere), but that was late summer, during which time it was painfully hot! In practical terms, everyone could fly every day; the only issues were that cumulus & thunderstorms would gradually build up, but they also dissipated very quickly. The only wx issue that was at all reminiscent of the UK was that low-level cloud seemed to build up on the E coast of Lake Okeechobee later in the day, which was a consideration if going anti-clockwise around the lake for a long nav - e.g. qualifying x-country.

Put simply, unless I was unlucky & a hurricane was in the Gulf of Mexico (this was hurricane season, & it therefore happened a couple of times), I flew at least twice a day, every day, including weekends and then flew additional night flights (which were fantastic in that area)!

Houston I have far less experience with, other than a quick trip to Ellington Field, to see mates at the Collings Foundation (who have the only civillian Phantom in the world :E ). Ellington Field was apparently chosen by NASA for training partly because it has some of the most reliably-good flying weather in the US. But I didn't get to fly all weekend (other than a quick trip in the Huey) because the wx was so bad! (Although I think their idea of 'bad' weather is what UK pilots call 'great' weather!) ;) So it goes to show - wx is a bitch!

Mojo

Thanks Mojo_69, I was thinking about Sept/Oct time, but I might try and rejig it for next spring instead.

EFT or Naples
 

Has anyone had any recent experience with EFT's APP or Naples Career Pilot Program?