Where can I combine a vacation and learning to fly with a tourist visa, rather than needing a student visa?

7/26/2012 8:25:41 PM

I would highly recommend learning to fly in France with Cosmo Flight School, an English flying school in the beautiful Limousin region of France, operating out of Limoges airport.

They offer:
Flight Training under JAR-FCL / EASA regulations for the Private Pilot’s Licence – Aeroplane.
Night Ratings and
PPL Ground School

They will also assist with accomodation and medicals etc.

EDIT by mod: The author is affiliated with Cosmo Flight School (hadn’t disclosed).

7/12/2012 4:56:51 PM

I’m going to assume you’re from the UK, based only on the fact the learning to fly abroad is popular for UK residents, since many places offer flight time cheaper than the UK. You’re from Saudi, but I don’t think that changes anything. The southern USA used to be the venue of choice, because of low flight time costs and reliably good weather. I understand that recent visa restriction changes mean that USA is now pretty much off the table for someone wanting to earn their PPL on a vacation.

My first recommendation is Canada. The Air Transport Association page starts by saying you need a student visa, but then notes that students intending to come to Canada for six months or less don’t need one. I would recommend checking this out before committing to anything. The weather is good, in the sense that flying conditions are rarely poor enough to prevent you flying. (I recommend summer rather than winter though, just because people mostly don’t want to fly light planes when its very cold, even if the weather permits it).

Other popular venues are Australia and South Africa. I’m afraid I can’t speak for their visa requirements. The schools I found with my brief search were all focussed on CPL training (even more popular than foreign PPL training since the savings are higher). Your search results may vary. If you have a ticket paid to anywhere, those two would also provide you with the advantage of an awesome vacation experience.

Be aware that learning to fly is going to occupy you full time for several weeks. While the weather may be nice, you won’t get much ‘vacation’ in the sense of relaxed beach-sitting or sightseeing while you are doing it.

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Hello,My name is Aparna Patel,I’m a Travel Blogger and Photographer who travel the world full-time with my hubby.I like to share my travel experience.

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