Learning to fly (Better!)

[TeePee]

Followers of this thread may recall that least summer I spent a month in Florida and got my Private Pilots Licence. Non-followers may have noted my tag-line, signature, and curious attempts to divert every thread into an aviation related direction.

Tommorrow I will be flying back to Florida where I will be training for my FAA Commercial Licence, along with a few other ratings. I plan to be there for two years(!), training for the first six months and then working until my visa exipires. The training itself will cost about £18,000 with some extra living expenses, and you don't want to know what I had to do to save that!

You can follow my progress on my website, where I will hopefully be posting daily updates on my training, along with photographs. Last summer I found writing about my lessons afterward, and the support from other members of this website to be very helpful!

Sometimes you have to follow your dreams!



This is one of the planes I will be flying:



I also hope this will inspire those people who want to learn and get their PPL to do it!

[Butuz]

Superb! Keep up the good info

I want to do the same to get my heli ppl - but apprently the yankee heli ppl's are not recognised over here, so someone said. Any idea? Its expensive over here

Butuz

[loki]

Wish you the best mate. I'd love to try flying myself.

[KW1816]

Good luck to you - great to hear about someone following their dreams
Have a great time in Florida, I spent about 6 years based in Miami, Tampa and Canaveral and miss the place, especially Miami !

[TeePee]

Superb! Keep up the good info

I want to do the same to get my heli ppl - but apprently the yankee heli ppl's are not recognised over here, so someone said. Any idea? Its expensive over here

Butuz

The FAA PPL(H) is not only recognised over here, but some flight schools in the UK will train you for it: http://www.bournemouth-helicopters.c..._overview.html
It has many advantages over the European licence, but cost is the big one. You can also train for a European licence in America.

[MasterFlash]

Congrats TeePee

I hope it all goes well

[randomJ]

Sweet My mate does flying lessons he enjoys it alot.

One of my dads mates has gone to florida to do a 3 week course to get the PPL there, or something like that

Hope it all goes well for you mate.

[Funkstar]

Well done for saving the cash TeePee

I'd love to learn to fly. maybe sometime...

[TeePee]

A quick update: Today I passed my Private Pilot - Multi-Engine Land test.

I'm now qualified to fly multi-engine aircraft like the one above, as well as singles.

Funkstar - Do it man!

[pr0p4g4nd4]

Nice one! I'm confined to flight sims though!

[wedge22]

Excellent news that you have decided to go and get your commercial licence. What are the career prospects like once you are qualified? You have aroused an interest in me regarding flying and I have just spent several hours looking over websites of local training schools here in Vancouver. I really like the idea of flying a helicopter and have found a local training facility that does the coomplete commercial course for $46000. My only worry is that after completing the course and spending all that money I do not get a job, as its alot to outlay.

[TeePee]

I don't know about Canada, but career prospects in America are OK. After I get my commercial I'll be getting instructor ratings and working as an instructor on my temporary visa. If I could work here long term, then a job with a regional airline or freight company should be pretty easy to come by once I had the experience from instructing. The pay isn't what it used to be though. The pay isn't even close to what it used to be.
Career prospects in Europe aren't nearly so good. But I don't/won't have a JAA licence, so I won't be able to work here either.
I might end up in Asia or Africa, but thats years away!

[Funkstar]

Well done TeePee, excellent news

If i do ever learn to fly (flew once back when i was ~14 in the air cadets) it'll be when i have a lot more time and money than i do just now