CPL Training Recommendations Please

Les,

As I think you are aware I am over in the USA, residing in Miami where I am currently working for my new company for a few years. My long term aim is to return to France after a few years here, and whilst I am here I want to get some flying experience in a different country, and gradually do my further exams, my CPL and then my instructor ticket with the aim of being able to teach flying back at my home base in the south of France.

I have been here in the US for nearly 6 months and trying to find a decent straight forward flying school has been harder than one would imagine being in Florida where the highest of concentration of training schools are perhaps in the whole world are.

I started at one school and to cut a long story short the aircraft was not airworthy let alone good for training in.

I have found plenty of people who give me advice on where not to train but not finding many who suggest schools that have left a good impression. So I wanted to ask if any of your readers have any suggestions, and also if there are and recommendations for a good school to study the CPL theory rather than the ATPL theory anywhere across europe.

I have been keeping one eye on the new EASA regulations due to surface in 18 months-2 years and the latest suggestion with them is to only require the CPL theory and the FI course to be allowed to teach across europe rather than go down the full ATPL route costing thousands of pounds for a course that doesn't really fit the job.

Any advice from readers would be welcomed.

Stu

Comments

[James Salazar]

Hi Stu,

Sometimes the biggest challenge is finding an instructor that will be around for you to finish your training. For example, I had two instructors get hired on by the airlines as I was trying to complete my instrument rating.

A good place to start looking for a dedicated flight instructor is to check with the National Association of Flight Instructors website: http://www.nafinet.org . Once you have a dedicated instructor, I think you will find that the nice airplanes will follow.

In my case, I finally found two instructors that do it because they love to teach - each has over 15000 hours just teaching and they are great. I train with one when I want to work on instrument or commercial exercises and the other when I want to practice with taildraggers and aerobatics. (I would give you their names but they are in the Houston area.)

I hope this helps.

-James

[Stuart Morton]

Thankyou James,
I have decided to give Naples (NAC) a try. Firstly going to go and do my night qualification with them to see how things are there and will see after that.
I am starting to think more and more trainee pilots will look to going abroad for training with the VAT rise going to affect all schools and its going to end up hitting 200 pounds per hour which is just getting out of reach for most people.
Stuart