Aspiring (International) Private Pilot Questions

[flyingfox]

Hello Pilots of America, I have been looking for a forum like this a while now, and I am glad I found you. A very short introduction of myself and then some questions and then maybe more questions...

I am French and I live in Taiwan. I lived here for 20 years now. (I am 42) I get to travel a lot in Asia and sometimes in the US.

As you may know, private flying is not authorized in Taiwan (yet). So going to the US is the best (in many ways) and cheapest alternative for me. Flying has been a very very long dream of mine and I had to put it off time and time again for many different reasons, but now the time has come.

I have a few good friends in LA, so I voted to look for some schools in this area. Living so far away though, I do not have the luxury of going and visiting schools, talking to instructors etc...

Questions:

1) I have had my eyes on Fly Corona www.flycorona.com their informations seems good, I have exchanged email with a lady that has provided me with plenty of info which also seems good. Has anybody heard of them and would care to share some experience?

1a) Is there one school that is highly recommended in LA?

2)What is the minimum flying time (if any) that is required to maintain a PPL?

3) How is a PPL issued by the FAA regarded in other parts of the world? DO you have experience flying outside the US (not Canada or Mexico) but Europe or Asia?

4) If you could choose a place to learn flying on the West coast of the US where would you learn? I am asking this mainly for scenic views as I suppose price are relatively the same between say LA, SF, Portland, Seattle etc.. am I right?

5) I will be allocating about 4 months for my PPL, I will be doing only that and I consider myself to be a good student. I am not interested in learning to fly quickly, I want to be proficient and learn all the skills, but I also do not have the luxury of spending a year abroad. Having said that, is 4 months full time realistic to complete my training?

6) I know the FAA asks for minimum 40 Hours of flying before getting to the exam, I also know the National average is well above that, about 70 if I am not mistaken. In your experience, what is a fair average considering I'll be studying at the very least 4 days a week?

Well, enough for know. I appreciate you guys taking the time to read and hopefully answer my questions. Thank you.
The Flyingfow

 

[pericynthion]

2. None, does require a flight review every 24 months. If you fly less than say 25 hrs/year, you'll be rusty.

3. It is a private pilot certificate, not a PPL. You can fly an N-registered aircraft anywhere. Otherwise, it depends on the country. e.g. in the UK you can rent a G-reg aircraft and fly it (VFR or IFR OCAS) within the UK or abroad. In France I believe you can at least fly an F-reg aircraft VFR within France, and possibly you'd have more privileges than that. No idea about Asia, but since the FAA private certificate is a full ICAO license there should be some options.

4. I would not necessarily assume that prices are the same, but they will generally be more expensive than some other areas of the US such as Arizona, the Midwest, and Florida. All of the west coast is beautiful, in different ways. You'll have fewer issues with weather in California than Oregon or Washington.

5. 4 months full time is way more than sufficient. 2 months should be enough. Mine took less than 5 weeks, full time. Intensive training does not mean you will be any less proficient or have fewer skills, rather it increases learning efficiency and retention.

6. Training full time, I took 46 hours. The national average is skewed by pilots who fly twice a month and have to relearn material on every lesson. However, "your mileage may vary" and the time required depends on your natural talent and learning style.

 

[Skip Miller]

Hello Pilots of America

Hello right back at you! Welcome to POA!

I can't answer many of your questions... but I do have two comments.

It took me about 70 hours to get the PPL but that was flying at most once per week and sometimes not that much, as the weather scrubbed many lessons. I trained in Connecticut. So if you are planning to fly multiple times a week, four months to the PPL is entirely within reason. Depending on your aptitude and your instructor and plane availability, of course.

Secondly, the Pacific Northwest (Seattle, Portland, etc) definitely has a rainy season. If you are planning on locating up there, you want to time your trip to arrive say late May and stay through October - November.

Good luck with your plans! I am sure you will get lots of advice here... this is a good place to ask questions.

-Skip

 

[flyingfox]

Thanks for the replies guys.
Is there any particular flying school that is well rated in Los Angeles?

 

[coflyer]

If you are not a US citizen, you'll most likely have to go throught the TSA screen program https://www.flightschoolcandidates.gov before start the flight training.

Make sure the flight school understands this requirment and can assist you on this matter.

 

[flyingfox]

Yes, I found out about that. Since I am a non US citizen, I enquired about this issue. I was surprised to find that many schools in your country train foreign pilots. That's great.
Thanks for your reply.

 

[stuart]

Justice Aviation in Santa Monica is considered to be the best overall school in LA. Joe Justice is also a DPE. There's lots of great instructors scattered all over the place. I'm taking lessons from Continental Aviation at KVNY, and it's perfect for me.