Canada Vrs. Us Training

[TJ Bear]

Hi, Im a newbie that has been reading for a while but this is my first post, so here goes.

I am researching flight schools at this point, which I find amazingly complex when you consider all angles, but..... One angle I'd like a few opinions on is the pros and cons of training in Canada vrs. the U.S.

I live in Oregon so it's not too far to the Vancouver area for me but there are some good (in my opinion) schools here too.

The biggest positive I see would be to get a more experienced instructor, but how difficult is it to transfer my ratings to U.S.? etc.

Throw it at me. I know there will be varying opinions maybe depending on which side of the line you happen to be batting for but I want to hear them all.

[Helilog56]

Welcome TJB......yes, you will get a variety of answers here, but I will give you the same advice I give everyone. Visit each school personally and ***** each one. Meet with the owners, instructors (how experienced), students and maintenance staff. Look at the facilities, location, school teaching aids and how the ground school is run. Do the aircraft look good (well maintained)? Does the school project a professional image?. How do they want to be paid?

 

Remember it's "your" money, when you go out the door after visiting each school, did you get a "good" feeling or was there a touch of uncertainty?

 

You are right, there are good schools on both sides, but I will say, that you will find the instructors north of the border a bit more experienced , with a lot of them actually working within the industry as commercial pilots along with instructing.

 

Good luck with your endevour......we hope to hear from you in future, with positve results.

 

Cheers, Helilog56

[Ryan]

Yeah, you'll most likely get a more experienced instructor in Canada. You rarely see instructors here with less than 1000 hours of operational experience.

 

But it's also worth looking into general employment minimums for the US. If you train in Canada you'll get your licence in about 100 hours, but I think in the US you need 150 or more (maybe 200?). So consider that if you train up here and get an FAA conversion you have far less hours than those you're jockeying with for that first job. Many pilots in the US get their first flying job as low time instructors, so you'd have to get that licence upon your return home... can't get one here with less than 250 hours PIC.

 

Cost is another major difference between training in either country. An R22 here goes for at least $425/hour, that's with or without an instructor. The price doesn't change when you're out solo. South of the boarder I think they run for about $230/hour US or less, and it's cheaper when solo which is nice. Figure about $50K for a commercial, day VFR only licence in Canada. About $15K more than that in the US will get you a commercial, IFR and Instructor's licence. Whether you'd feel confortable training others to fly at such an early stage is up to you.

 

Pros and cons to both, picking your school is never an easy choice. But do look for schools with experienced instructors. I personally wouldn't want an instructor who may well have just 300 hours in helicopters, and who is still very much at the bottom of his/her own learning curve.

[Skids Up]

I personally wouldn't want an instructor who may well have just 300 hours in helicopters, and who is still very much at the bottom of his/her own learning curve.

 

Always amazes me that you can not have enought hours to go to work in the industry, but can get a licence to teach others to the point that they can't get work in the industry either!

 

Just doesn't seem right...

[TJ Bear]

Ok guys, Thanks a lot for the valuable info. Appreciate the time you took to answer. Ryan your numbers for north of the border surprised me a little, I'd have to look in my files again to be sure but of the schools I checked out in Canada I thot they were very comparable if not a little cheaper than U.S. schools. Of course thats a little bit of a moving target with the exchange rate and all but those a fairly currnt numbers. What am I missing?

[Ryan]

When I trained in 2004, I paid a hair over $55,000 CDN for a commercial licence. Mine was more expensive than some others as I added a JetRanger endorsement. It was a fully restricted licence allowing me to fly Day VFR only. To allow me to fly Night and IFR set me back about another $30,000 after the hour building I needed to meet the IFR minimums. Thats **** near $90,000 when it's all said and done.

 

At a renowned US school like Bristow Academy, formerly HAI, $50,000 US (about $56K CDN) gets you the following in 9 months:

 

-Private Pilot Program

-Mountain Flying Program

-Instrument Rating Program

-External Load Program

-Commercial Pilot Program

-Certified Flight Instructor Program

-Certified Flight Instrument Instructor Program

 

Starting from scratch in Canada, all that would cost you well over $200,000 CDN start to finish if you factor in hour building needed for things like the IFR and Instructor's rating.

 

If you can find a school in Canada that's cheaper than any school in the States... run for the hills!

[TJ Bear]

Thanks Ryan,

Yeah, I went to my files and did a little more looking, and you were right, of course. I was looking at totals, not hrly rates. Gotta compare apples with apples, or in this case, hrs with hrs.

In the U.S. you get cheaper rates and more hrs and in Canada you get an instructor that actually knows what they're doing. Now if someone would figure out how to combine those two assets.... Ha.

[Ryan]

You have the power my friend, just interview schools and shop around. Are the instructors still drying the ink on their own licences, or are they season vets of the industry?

[volition]

I know a few operators in the states that have instructors well over 5000 hours. These are smaller schools, but they have been around for a while.

 

Thanks Ryan,

Yeah, I went to my files and did a little more looking, and you were right, of course. I was looking at totals, not hrly rates. Gotta compare apples with apples, or in this case, hrs with hrs.

In the U.S. you get cheaper rates and more hrs and in Canada you get an instructor that actually knows what they're doing. Now if someone would figure out how to combine those two assets.... Ha.

[TJ Bear]

I know a few operators in the states that have instructors well over 5000 hours. These are smaller schools, but they have been around for a while.

I'm Shoppin' bro. Give me some names?