Choosing a flight school for someone not living in Canada

[spot45]

Hey so I want to get my PPL this summer. I haven't lived in Canada in a while and I can really go anywhere. I want to get in as fast as possible (full time).

any suggestions...

S

[Hedley]

http://www.harvsair.com/

I am not affiliated in any way with the above - just
a satisfied customer (Harv renewed my class 1
aerobatic instructor rating recently).

[MCurt]

Go to Florida.

[mirogster]

Go to Florida.

Or not! Quality vs quickness. You may do PPL in Canada in 4-5 weeks (with online groundshool first!).
Just have a look at Her Majesty forum = pprune.org (http://www.pprune.org/professional-pilo ... orida.html or http://www.pprune.org/professional-pilo ... ation.html)

If You want JAA PPL - not in Canada tough, but consider conversion.
OR if You aiming for CPL/ATPL later - mind that any ICAO PPL is valid

Greetz!

[SuperchargedRS]

Stateside, less BS, better selection for A/C, costs less.

The North West is great if you want some mountain/float flying and a good place to learn about IFR ...and icing. If you want to hammer this thing out and not worry about weather go to SoCal (same deal as FL) but better atmosphere.

[Ralphred]

Stay Away from Gander Flight Training in Newfoundland.

[Hoque]

Hey so I want to get my PPL this summer. I haven't lived in Canada in a while and I can really go anywhere. I want to get in as fast as possible (full time).

any suggestions...

S

California or Florida for sure.
Thank you

[Hedley]

Florida is hotter than hell in the summer.

[MichaelP]

Doing the PPL in 'record time' requires homework!
Last year we had a chap from Norway... He did his groundschool in Norway, his Canadian medical there, and came here prepared to go for it.
We had him done and through the flight test within seven weeks.
This is not bad for Canada.
Another chap from Thailand was quicker, he'd already had an Ultralight Permit before coming to Canada and had done supervised groundschool.

Our two little aeroplanes were being flogged to death last summer here in BC, so this year I have two more!
Four Katanas, two with 80hp and two with new 100hp engines We aim to have enough aircraft for the business we could have done last year. [Someone said there was a recession???].

So if you want to do it quickly, do as much as possible in the country you are in before coming to Canada.

Florida... There was a company discussed on here that would get you through the FAA PPL in two weeks!
They insist that you are ready to take your FAA written exam before you start training and so they only have to do the flying with you.
I was told by one of the bosses there that their students pass with high marks on their flight tests.... We had a too-ing and fro-ing of e-mails on this subject as I did not believe you can produce a good pilot in just two weeks... IMHO it takes more time to fully digest all the information you are being given.
If you get the FAA licence you will get the Canadian Licence through the reciprocal arrangement between TC and the FAA.

It's the customers choice and for you to weigh up the pros and cons of doing your training in the USA or Canada.

Be aware that you will need TSA clearance before you start your training in the USA while this is not currently a requirement in Canada. I believe this is $130 for them and you must supply fingerprints etc...

[PunkStarStudios]

Brampton Flight school is great.
They have a diverse fleet and a ton of instructors. They have done a lot of international students as well.
They are also the only school in Canada which owns their own airport. They have maintenance on site and a college course as well.
They are pretty progressive - they even have their own iPhone apps.
I've had most of training done there so I can speak first hand. They've also had several Webster Trophy winners come out of their school the past 5 years or so.

Great group of people there.

[skywardbound]

Brampton Flight school is great.

They are also the only school in Canada which owns their own airport.

Harv's Air also owns their airport.

[Cat Driver]

My advice is go to the USA for your training.

[MichaelP]

My advice is go to the USA for your training.

You need to ensure that the school you go to in the USA is a good one.
My own experience with FAA instructors has not always been a good one.
I saw most if not all of the FAA instructors fail their own CPL written exams in another country while all the Canadian instructors passed!
Their flying abilities were suspect too... Some were very good, but many came in too fast and landed shallow, and this passed on to the students is almost certainly the cause of five propeller strikes I saw in that other country.

There are some excellent instructors in the USA but there are also some bad ones.
There are schools there that have gone broke with no refunds of large sums of money students have put on account.

Here we have PCTIA, a bit of an expensive nuisance for flying schools in Canada, but is a protection for students agains't losing large sums of money at the same time.
On the other hand I know of foreign students who have lodged large sums of money with flying schools, especially in the Calgary area!, who have wanted to move away from those schools but have been stuck because of the money they could lose. Calgary seems to be a black spot on the map when it comes to the treatment of foreign students and I am sure that this is through the actions of some schools and not all schools!

I always tell people who enquire not to pay any money on account until they feel they can trust the school.
I have seen some very unhappy students who get fed up with the school they are at and either lose a lot of money or don't get it all back when they move.

It is very difficult for someone to choose a school using the internet anywhere in the world. A highly polished website does not mean the school is more than a dump!
If it's Oxford, or Emery then there is some confidence, but *** International Flight Academy, Boondocks, might just be a 40 year old Cessna 150 with flat tyres