Thread: flight training uk v the rest of the world

hi all hope everyone keeping ok.

id thought id start a thread on flight training in the uk compared to flight training outside the uk (usa, south africa,new zealand etc) im planning on taking a trip to the states hopefully next year and was after anyones views regarding flight training outside of the u.k. any experiance welcome from fully trained pilots to newbies wanting to go abroad to do flight training. Is the level of training outside the u.k better or worse? Is the cost of flight training abroad cheaper/more expensive. Is the safety standards abroad better then here love to here your views

I have thought about this so many times, but I hear the same things... That it takes time to get used to the UK's congested airspace.

I know how often I see aircraft in Class G airspace and Shawbury MATZ, and developing a keen eye for other aircraft is my priority!

would love to here from those people who have experienced flight training abroad. morbz what do you think about flight training abroad comparded to the uk as you have done both,

chris i get what you are saying regarding the congestion but i would have thought that airspace in usa,new zealand where there is alot of flight training going on would be just as bad ?

In the US, flying is like driving - they have such a huge amount of airspace that their way of flying is much more relaxed. They just seem to embrace it like its always been there. They have Air Parks that are truly spectacular... just take a look at John Travolta's house to get the idea! 8o)



Many articles I've read report pilots saying they can fly for hours in the US, without seeing another aircraft.

There was one copy of either Pilot or Flyer that covered flying in the US, and covered the points I am mentioning.

I have been told off a few times by my Instructor in the past for using words like "Finals" and "Traffic Pattern". His reply... "We're not in America". Learnt my lesson! R/T being another difference when flying in the US!

Originally Posted by jigglyjohnson

morbz what do you think about flight training abroad comparded to the uk as you have done both

I can't give you an accurate view of training abroad Jiggly, because I trained with JAR instructors to very 'UK' methods in a climate which was fairly similar to the UK.

With that said though, training in New Zealand was a little different. The phraseology was slightly different in terms of airborne services available, ie you didn't get deconfliction service and traffic service and so on, so coming back to England to fly meant learning some different radio jabber.

Airlaw is obviously different abroad but if you're thinking of training overseas for a PPL and not necessarily a professional license then you might not really be affected too much by it. PPL airlaw is fairly basic but it still means re-learning the UK laws on your return, not to mention the normal operational procedures.

The weather and climate can be a different story altogether. For example training in New Zealand meant flying with visibility of 50km plus sometimes (there were some miserable days though) and more often than not the clouds were generally above 3000ft. In England though the vast majority of the time you struggle to make 5km vis on a sunny day in summer thanks to the inversions and in the winter all you seem to get is mist and fog! What I'm trying to say is that weather varies from country to country, and if your used to flying in crystal clear sunny weather then when you come back to the UK and 9km is 'a good day' you might have quite a surprise when it comes to spatial orientation and so on.

Another point to make is that different countries have different terrain and populations. Again NZ for example the towns were very spread out and small - making navigation difficult, whereas in the UK everywhere you seem to fly there are big towns making Navigation a tiny bit easier.

Airspace varies from country to country and the UK is known to have some of the busiest skies around- so getting used to flying in a less busy country (like New Zealand) can give you a bit of a shock when you return to England!

All of the above said, training abroad can give you some great experiences, and most of the time it can work out a damn sight cheaper than the UK costs. Also if you fly in somewhere like the States the typical afternoon thermals and thunderstorms can be quite a good experience for you in the summer, so there are plenty of fors and plenty of against in this little discussion. The main reason why people go abroad is because of the cheaper hours, but don’t be too fooled because sometimes you may need some refresher training flights on your return to the UK.

I did a crash course JAA PPL in El Cajon near San Diego a few years back and have not regretted it at all. Not sure what the prices are like now, but back then it was very very cheap. The airspace and radios are slightly different as you can request 'flight following' rather than traffic service etc. However, when you are outside controlled airspace there is an open frequency designated to each area for you to make occasional position reports should you wish to. The airspace was very busy, a lot of casual pilots and a lot of training traffic so it certainly perfected my lookout technique.

More than anything though, the memories. Not many people can say they flew to Los Angeles on a night flight to go for a chinese or fly over Las Vegas strip in the Nevada desert. The overall scenery was just brilliant and England just doesn't compare.

Personally, the quality of training I received was fantastic. I had an extremely good instructor who really pushed me to my limits. I was a guy who had never set foot in a single engine aeroplane and to come out with a PPL 4 weeks later was brilliant. Yes, a lot of hard work but completely worthwhile.

I returned to the UK, think I had 2 hours with an instructor (mainly because I wanted to fly the DA40) and away I went.

Sounds like you're getting some great answers here Jiggly! 8o)

I'm another advocate of the USA way, considering the bulk of the worlds aircraft are on the 'N' register, they must be doing something right.

The UK can be and is very anal when it comes to aviation, in the US, the way GA is funded and operated means it is feasible to use an aircraft as an alternative to the car.

You can't really say that is one country better than another as you need to compare schools rather than country's, I'm dual rated in both FAA and JAA systems and if I'm honest I much prefer the FAA system and the US way of doing things, it's more advanced, cheaper, and more user friendly.

The only thing I would add is that if you are going out to the states anyway, you can't just pick a school while you are out there and start training. You'll have to choose before you go so you can apply for an M1 visa or come back home, get your visa and then return. I am sure Mcgoo can help more with the visa process but here is a list of approved schools

Map of SEVIS Approved Schools

many thanks for the link paul say i was to do my training in the us or similar countries is it much to convert to fly in uk airspace can you fly in the uk at all after you complete you ppl outside the uk