Hi guys,
I just finished my boards, I was hoping to apply for a flight school abroad, I really don't know the procedure to it. I require some help from any pilots on this forum to help me pick a flight school for myself.
Thanks in advance,
Sehajjn
My advice (and it's by no means the best):
1. 2 ways to go about this - either you have someone you can stay with in the US (which will cut down your overall training costs dramatically) or you find a school which offers you the ability to lodge with them (saves you the hassle of looking independently for accommodation). Trust me - by the time you add up the bills factoring boarding and meals etc - it'll be a tidy sum. In either case - my recommendation would always be to first get a school to quote you the pure cost of flying training and licensing - take some extra trouble and do your own housing and meal planning independently - but do it.
2. If you have to go about approaching it by the school first - then I'd recommend you look up schools preferably in US states which have an excellent reputation, are SAFE above all and are FAA certified. The most popular States are Florida, Texas, Arizona etc. Not only do they have established and well managed, reputed flight schools, they also usually have good weather for the most part which will help you log those hours without much disruptions. Well - nobody can really predict hurricanes - but you can avoid hurricane season altogether for your training plan to minimize the possibility of impact.
3. Sign up on pprune if you can and post there - you'll get a lot of free advice and healthy participation - just know which stuff you need to ignore.
4. You'll most likely need to have to show proficiency in English - I'm not aware if the FAA have a mandate on IELTS/TOEFL as a minimum criteria on acceptance into US flight school programs - but if you look at in another way - I'd actually tell you to look at some good college courses in aviation or just management while your at it - there are several good proper colleges in the US that allow you to get a license done while you pursue a formal degree course.. kill 2 birds with one stone! Embry Riddle for example arguably sits at the top of the list - but is also $$ - Purdue (iirc) and a few other colleges are good too. AFTC (Arizona Flight Training Centre) / Phoenix flight School are worth checking out too.. but again they'll be premium. CAE has a school tie up as well but then again $$. Tip: go through the FAA's website - they used to have a tool to search for flight schools by State - you can use that to narrow down the list and then check out the individual websites.
5. If you're doing your ratings: do the whole hog. PPL+CPL(ME) at bare minimum with a plan to get the ATPL done as well (at least with the theory/ground papers done if that's allowed nowadays still). Don't rush for a TR if you can avoid it.. figure that out later. Don't forget after all the above - you'll need to come back and convert to the Indian license which will require certain mandatory tests to be done.
6. Lastly - email these schools directly - most of them have ready brochures etc which they'll be more than happy to share with you - and feel free to negotiate.
And before all of this - get clarity on your ability to clear a Class 1 Medical FIRST! Make sure you ask around on the Indian Class 1 Medical testing and requirements (these can usually vary from country to country if I'm not wrong - maybe not by much but still) - many a painful story to tell about a person being in absolutely fine "general" health but being ruled out on specific medical grounds that are only picked up during testing.
Lastly - my genuine suggestion - think about this career long and hard - and this is coming from someone who's been in aviation for over 15 years now, this is a BRUTAL industry. LUCK plays a MASSIVE role.. if you can stomach the volatility - it's worth it, but as they say - expect the best, prepare for the worst. Passion is a brilliant thing - just not everything and everyone's passion works out like those cheesy one liners and motivational shit you come across, it can all come crashing down and suck worse than a lemon too.
Good luck!