First time flying in the United States

battiste

battiste

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Battiste
Good day everybody,

as I told you in an older thread, I'll come to the USA to make some hours in order to get enough hours to apply for IFR and CPL training...

So, I just want to know how many hours I need to do with a CFI before getting my check-out and so, my authorization for renting an airplane ?

If I was not clear (I wasn't no ?) and can explain in others words (if I can find them)

Bye :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
 
I'm afraid the answer is highly dependent on where you want to rent. I've heard of 5 hour minimums for checkout. I've had a BFR (1 hour ground, 1 hour air) serve as my only checkout.

Also, how much time do you need to demonstrate understanding of airspace and flight rules in the US. Not to mention, flying proficiency.

John
 
Okay, so I need to count approximately 7-8 hours before have the right to rent the plane ?
 
battiste said:
Okay, so I need to count approximately 7-8 hours before have the right to rent the plane ?
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You'll need however many hours it takes for the instructor to feel that you can operate the plane safely on your own. That could be 30 minutes or it could be 50 hours.
 
Also it depends on the plane you want to rent. Some FBO's require minimum retract experience (25 hours usually per their insurance) before they will let you take a complex airplane on your own.
 
You might have guessed by now, there really is no standard amount of time. Each FBO will have its own policy before they allow you to rent. And that policy will be different depending on the airplane and the type of avionics it has.

You'll just have to call the places where you want to rent, and ask. But it will always depend on how well the instructor feels you can safely handle the airplane. If you intend to rent different planes, you might have to get a checkout in each - it will depend on the make and model. Just because you are checked out in a Warrior doesn't mean you'll be allowed to rent a 150. But sometimes, if you are checked out in a 172 you will be allowed to rent a 150 also. It all depends on the FBO.

If you intend to rent from different places, you will have to do the checkout at each place.
 
If you're able to fly to standards, the limiting factor usually then falls to minimum time in type from the insurance company, as others have pointed out.

Simple aircraft may require a checkout and no time in type. But it's becoming more rare. Each FBO is going to have different insurance requirements.

When I bought into my C-182 there was a significant drop in insurance rates after 10 hours in type.

Significant enough that it was cheaper to rent for the 7 hours I needed rather than pay the difference in the insurance rate and drag it out over time.

The insurance company accepted C-182RG time also, so when the piece of junk C-182 club rental went down for maintenance, we hopped into the RG for a couple more hours.

And a C-182 is a pretty simple aircraft...
 
If you are proficient at flying and renting a simple/common trainer aircraft, the typical time in a checkout is an hour. This being your first time flying in America, there will also be a pretty good ground session on airspace and all the rest of the little differences.
 
I think we had this conversation before, you do need an FAA certificate to fly a US aircraft. Have you completed the advance paperwork for the FAA to verify your Euro certificate?
 
BillTIZ said:
I think we had this conversation before, you do need an FAA certificate to fly a US aircraft. Have you completed the advance paperwork for the FAA to verify your Euro certificate?
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I believe that was already underway when he posted the last thread.
 
Many thanks to all o you for these very helpful answers ! So, I'm better informed about that. I'll call the flight school to know if they had have this case before and how many time it takes to the pilot before had the possibility to rent aircraft.

I say again, thank you very much for your answers !

Bye
 
Make sure you have all the TSA stuff covered. In theory (if I remember right) what you're wanting to do wouldn't require anything -- but some flight schools are retarded and demand the TSA stamp of approval regardless of if it's required.
 
I thought "retarded" was an adjective restricted to the use of those born befroe 1960 :)
 
jesse said:
Make sure you have all the TSA stuff covered. In theory (if I remember right) what you're wanting to do wouldn't require anything -- but some flight schools are retarded and demand the TSA stamp of approval regardless of if it's required.
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Hello,

what do you mean by TSA stuff ?

And another question came to me during this day... How many days MAXIMUM will I need to stay at the airport ? That's important for my planning because, I take an example : I wanna keep the aircraft for 10 days and if I need to stay 4 days for the BFR and "renting approval" ==> I'll need to take a flight ticket for 16 days... So, if anybody had have this case, can he/she explains to me ? :D:D:D

Thanks in advance !
 
While you are getting your rental checkout, you can log those hours of experience (you are planning to rent an airplane that you are already rated to fly?). The flight review also counts in your logbook for hours. If all you want to do is build hours, that time won't be wasted - but it won't be solo.

Does that help your schedule?
 
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Yes, I'm approved to fly 172's so just need rental check... And as you said, these hours will be logged as Dual Comm. Thank you sir !
 
battiste said:
Hello,

what do you mean by TSA stuff ?

And another question came to me during this day... How many days MAXIMUM will I need to stay at the airport ? That's important for my planning because, I take an example : I wanna keep the aircraft for 10 days and if I need to stay 4 days for the BFR and "renting approval" ==> I'll need to take a flight ticket for 16 days... So, if anybody had have this case, can he/she explains to me ? :D:D:D

Thanks in advance !
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Nobody can tell you how many days "maximum" you need to stay at the airport. It depends on the FBO policy and your flying profixiency.

A BFR is minimum 1h ground school and 1h air time. The 1h air time can double as renter's checkout if the instructor is happy with what s/he sees.

In my case I did the BFR and immediately afterwards i was given the keys and told "see you in 20 days, bring it back in one piece".
 
I can definitely recommend the FBO i dealt with in Tampa. They have Cessnas too.

Also i'd advise you to buy an open airline ticket - what if you fly to somewhere and the weather grounds you for a number of days?

This is my trip - i almost got stuck at the very end in Nassau...:http://flightlogg.in/openiduser1452/maps.html

If you plan to stay in the same city and bore holes into the sky around the local airport then a fixed date ticket is ok.
 
Shorrick Mk2 said:
I can definitely recommend the FBO i dealt with in Tampa. They have Cessnas too.

Also i'd advise you to buy an open airline ticket - what if you fly to somewhere and the weather grounds you for a number of days?

This is my trip - i almost got stuck at the very end in Nassau...:http://flightlogg.in/openiduser1452/maps.html

If you plan to stay in the same city and bore holes into the sky around the local airport then a fixed date ticket is ok.
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Thank you for your advises, is it yet possible to buy open airline tickets ? If yes, where ? And what about the price ?
 
battiste said:
Thank you for your advises, is it yet possible to buy open airline tickets ? If yes, where ? And what about the price ?
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Of course it is - they are a bit more expensive though. The price - i don't know where you depart from, where you go, neither when nor nor for how long... so cant really have an opinion there :D
 
Shorrick Mk2 said:
Nobody can tell you how many days "maximum" you need to stay at the airport. It depends on the FBO policy and your flying profixiency.

A BFR is minimum 1h ground school and 1h air time. The 1h air time can double as renter's checkout if the instructor is happy with what s/he sees.

In my case I did the BFR and immediately afterwards i was given the keys and told "see you in 20 days, bring it back in one piece".
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Exactly, I checked out in everything I could during my PP training so as soon as I was done I could rent anything up to an Arrow II which I left with right away. I even moved solo with a 182 hauling my stuff to Catalina Island.
 
Shorrick Mk2 said:
Of course it is - they are a bit more expensive though. The price - i don't know where you depart from, where you go, neither when nor nor for how long... so cant really have an opinion there :D
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And do you know how to buy that ? Can we buy it on internet or do I need to call the company directly ? :wink2:
 
battiste said:
And do you know how to buy that ? Can we buy it on internet or do I need to call the company directly ? :wink2:
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You can buy it on the internet too. Look carefully at the date change prescriptions. The cheapest tickets can only be changed until the first leg has been flown, after which they are fixed. The more expensive ones allow changes of dates even after half the trip has been flown.

If you feel unsecure with the process, go see a travel agency and they'll be able to help.
 
battiste said:
And do you know how to buy that ? Can we buy it on internet or do I need to call the company directly ? :wink2:
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I should be very careful arriving in the US with "open" return ticket.

I fly in from the UK on average four/five times a year, I can assure you immigration officers do not like open tickets !
You could leave yourself open to extra scutiny, which is what happened to me on one occasion I arrived without a dated return flight ticket.
 
Whatever you do, don't come with an open return ticket. Get an actual B1/B2 visa (explanation: wish to travel to mexico), dont rely on a waiver. You can allways pay the $150 to change the return date on a flight but not having a defined return date is grounds to deny admission.
 
weilke said:
Whatever you do, don't come with an open return ticket. Get an actual B1/B2 visa (explanation: wish to travel to mexico), dont rely on a waiver. You can allways pay the $150 to change the return date on a flight but not having a defined return date is grounds to deny admission.
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So, 150$ to change the date ? That's not expensive, I'll come back to the FBO 2 days before the date of my return flight, so I think I'll be ok if I take a normal ticket ;)
 
weilke said:
Whatever you do, don't come with an open return ticket. Get an actual B1/B2 visa (explanation: wish to travel to mexico), dont rely on a waiver. You can allways pay the $150 to change the return date on a flight but not having a defined return date is grounds to deny admission.
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You can pay the 150 fee if the ticket is "open" which means being in a tariff category that allows changes up to the intended day of travel, as opposed to open as in "no defined return date".

ie a Y, W, E or S booking that can be amended only for the date change fee whereas a V, L Q etc class might carry additional penalties.

There can be as many as 10 different tariffs in economy, some of which you can freely change (so open) and some which you can not.
 
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Shorrick Mk2 said:
You can pay the 150 fee if the ticket is "open" which means being in a tariff category that allows changes up to the intended day of travel, as opposed to open as in "no defined return date".

ie a Y, W, E or S booking that can be amended only for the date change fee whereas a V, L Q etc class might carry additional penalties.

There can be as many as 10 different tariffs in economy, some of which you can freely change (so open) and some which you can not.
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Oh okay, I understand better... But as weilke and alland said the officiers doesn't like open tickets... So I think I'll take a fixed date ticket and be at place 2 days before the returning date, is it a good idea ?
 
wow - you guys are making me appreciate more and more the convenience of the flight training we have here in the US.
 
battiste said:
Oh okay, I understand better... But as weilke and alland said the officiers doesn't like open tickets... So I think I'll take a fixed date ticket and be at place 2 days before the returning date, is it a good idea ?
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I probably didn't explain correctly - your ticket WILL have a return date on it, not just an OPEN remark. However it will be in a tariff that allows you to change the return date freely having to pay only the processing fee.

Having a deep discount ticket you MIGHT be able to change it but you'll have to pay the difference between the original fare class and the fare class available at the moment you change it (on top of the change fee).

The "be back 2 days before" is a great plan - but you cannot control weather....which is why i recommend buying a ticket in a fare class that allows for easy changing.
 
Matthew said:
wow - you guys are making me appreciate more and more the convenience of the flight training we have here in the US.
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Well I am from the UK but doing my PPL training in the US, currently have 37 hrs logged and solo endorsment and FAA written completed.
Arrive back in Florida next week to hopefully conclude my initial training and take my checkride.

When I first started to go through the procedures required to train in the US as a non US citizen I thought I would have quite a few difficult hoops to jump through, but I am happy to say I had nothing but the best of help from the TSA, my medical examiner and my chosen flight school in order to complete the formal requirements I needed.
 
Shorrick Mk2 said:
You can pay the 150 fee if the ticket is "open" which means being in a tariff category that allows changes up to the intended day of travel, as opposed to open as in "no defined return date".
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Ok, misunderstanding. The key is that once you enter the US on a tourist visa or visa waiver, your ticket needs to show a return date within the allowable timeframe. An 'open' ticket in the sense of a travel coupon for a return at any time won't do. As you said, key is to get a ticket in one of the categories that allow changes for a change fee only.
 
Shorrick Mk2 said:
The "be back 2 days before" is a great plan - but you cannot control weather....
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True ! We never know the weather before planning a trip in USA, but I think if I come back at the beginning of october at New-York or Chicago, the weather should be good, shoudn't it ? :)
 
battiste said:
True ! We never know the weather before planning a trip in USA, but I think if I come back at the beginning of october at New-York or Chicago, the weather should be good, shoudn't it ? :)
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It "should" - just as I "should" have had 85% of VFR weather in May in the Caribbean, and only had about 50%...

But what if it isn't? Remember, one or two days of MVFR or IFR are enough to screw up your schedule.

"Get-there-itis" in itself is bad enough - I don't know what your flight experience is, but please do consider you will be in an unfamiliar environment, using unfamiliar maps in possibly less than optimal weather and you don't have the option to file IFR to "save" you.

Do you want to put extra pressure on yourself just for the sake of the 2-300 USD you'll save by buying a deep-discount non-changeable ticket?
 
Shorrick Mk2 said:
Do you want to put extra pressure on yourself just for the sake of the 2-300 USD you'll save by buying a deep-discount non-changeable ticket?
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That's not a problem of money but as people said before, that's for the border officiers ... :rolleyes:
 
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