Why America is the best place in the world to flight train!

Reasons why to flight-train in the USA go far beyond the namesakes of the Wright Brothers or Emelia Earhart, beyond the cool-headed pilot that landed in the Hudson river in January 2009. Beginning a flying career in the USA is to train where aeronautical standards are made. While some students do come to the USA to train because the airplane was invented here, that is not enough. Students, many from Europe, come because the USA is first, whether in research and design of technology and curriculum, or in inventing progressive government oversight and services, viz. the FAA.

Training in Europe, for example, can cost you a wing and a tail. To rent a Cessna 172, it might cost 150EU, but only 100US. In Spain, when it comes time for practice-landings, it costs roughly 10EU per landing, according to Martin Stitzki. Stitzki is a Spanish pilot who decided to train in the USA, even after attaining his commercial license (CPL), and multi-engine rating, with the European JAA. Stitzki said, “they don’t like GA (General Aviation) in Spain,” and it shows in the services available to pilots. Informational frequencies, which provide weather and airport updates in the USA, are not-existent. Madrid’s airspace is labeled “Alpha,” prohibiting single-engine aircraft. In contrast, one of America’s largest airports, Los Angeles’ LAX allows small planes. Beyond these facts, compare the number of airports within a similar area, Spain’s 100-200, to California’s 1200+, then decide which country you would rather be running-on-empty in.

Stitzki, and another pilot from Spain, came to the USA because they can log cheaper hours as a “pilot in command” by sharing airtime in a plane certified for one pilot. By taking turns, flying “under the hood,” using instruments only, while the other flies by sight, they can split the cost of renting the plane. Stitzki said he is spending 60% of what Spanish flight training would have cost him. And, “in the USA, if you top off, the FBOs (fuel stations) treat you like kings,” and lend you a car to see the area.

Hospitality is nice, but differences in pedagogy can have an affect on safety. In the USA the curriculum has a focus on in-flight training, and less theoretical instruction. A flight student studying for the JAA will read 14 books, each as thick as a flight seat, and experience much less flight training. The American focus on in-flight training teaches students to merge instinctual pilotry within the new-age digital cockpit environment. As pilots learned to use new digital “glass cockpit” technology as it was integrated into the industry in the mid 1990′s, some crashes have been linked to pilot error. Possibly due to not enough situational experience, and an overwhelming amount of digital information to manage and respond to.

Such threats instigate a robust American response, such as the FAA’s “international aviation assessment programme,” Begun in 1992, it mandated standards for any country whose airlines wanted to operate in the USA. In 1998, the JAA followed with a similar program, the “safety assessment of foreign aircraft.”

As cockpit gadgetry develops rapidly, the FAA is analyzing recent crashes as the basis for further safety regulations. In the case of the Colgan Air Bombardier Q400 crash at Buffalo, New York in 1999, a crash commonly attributed to pilot error, the FAA is executing a comprehensive review of pilot training standards.

Once the PPL, IFR and CPL are completed, becoming a flight instructor is a great way to log hours, and to fill the experience gap between the CPL exam and becoming an airline pilot. As an international hub for flight students, the USA offers aspiring flight instructors a constant flow of motivated and paying students. One in seven pilots in America is a Certified Flight Instructor (CFI), an environment where teaching others is an integral part of the American flying industry.

Once your Commercial Pilots License (CPL) is complete, you have the expanding prospects for employment in the US. However, if the same adventurous streak that got you into flying is encouraging you to fly elsewhere around the globe, then a conversion of certification may be required. Most countries will honor your FAA PPL like its the king’s approval, however some, such as England, require additional hours and testing. This can be completed in the US with a flight instructor.

The opportunities for growth in the American flying industry are boundless, whether a student is coming here for a Commercial, Private, Instrument Rating, Certified Flight Instructor (CFI), or an Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) cert. Training in the USA, offers the opportunity to study under the leaders in the global flight market, building the foundation for your career as a pilot, and as an industry leader.