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Hang on a second, are you suggesting that you can get a commercial licence in Europe by flying simulators? I don't know about France (but Europe tends to be al

Hang on a second, are you suggesting that you can get a commercial licence in Europe by flying simulators? I don't know about France (but Europe tends to be aligned), but a basic commercial license in the UK requires 200 hours of flying experience. On top of that you would need a multi-crew rating, an instrument rating a multi-engine rating and a type rating on the plane you are going to fly. Enough to recognise that pushing the yoke left makes the plane bank left. My brother wanted to be a pilot and was looking at moving to the US because it is cheaper and has more consistent weather. He also told me the licences were easier to get than in Europe. I think you have fallen into the 'US is best trap'

GuB-42 5y ago
Indeed, to get a license in France, you actually need to fly, but I still think US pilots are among the best, but that's because the US has a stronger aviation culture. AFAIK, a typical path for a pilot in the US is to start taking lessons in a small plane, then, after getting the private license, make money flying, typically as a flight instructor, in order to pay for flight hours in bigger planes. The result is a lot of flight hours as a pilot in command. Hours as a flight instructor are particularly important because you have to cover for your student mistakes. In countries with a weaker aviation culture future pilots tend to go to flight schools where they do the required number of hours and pass the tests but nothing more. There is simply not enough demand for general aviation flight instructors. The number of flight hours may be significant and the tests hard, but they fly mostly as students, not as pilots in command. So while they may know the technique and procedures, they lack the experience of being in charge of the plane. I'd say that France is not the worst in that regard, we have many "aeroclubs", but not as good as the US.
- jimnotgym 5y ago
  This is utter nonsense. In the US you can't become a flight instructor with a private pilots licence. You have to pass your commercial licence first. Just like in Europe. You have to do at least 100 of your hours as pilot in command in the UK to get your commercial license. You will have to finish that before you can be an instructor. You can't make money from flying until you have finished your commercial licence. To be an airline pilot you will need to have flown 1500hours in Europe or the US. Nobody gets there because of culture, they get there by flying 1500 hours The US has better flying weather so you can build his more quickly, is cheaper and because there are more trainees there are more opportunities to build hours at someone else's expense. But cheaper does not mean better.
traceroute66 5y ago
> He also told me the licences were easier to get than in Europe. I think you have fallen into the 'US is best trap' He has, and yes European licenses are tougher.

GuB-42 5y ago

Indeed, to get a license in France, you actually need to fly, but I still think US pilots are among the best, but that's because the US has a stronger aviation culture. AFAIK, a typical path for a pilot in the US is to start taking lessons in a small plane, then, after getting the private license, make money flying, typically as a flight instructor, in order to pay for flight hours in bigger planes. The result is a lot of flight hours as a pilot in command. Hours as a flight instructor are particularly important because you have to cover for your student mistakes. In countries with a weaker aviation culture future pilots tend to go to flight schools where they do the required number of hours and pass the tests but nothing more. There is simply not enough demand for general aviation flight instructors. The number of flight hours may be significant and the tests hard, but they fly mostly as students, not as pilots in command. So while they may know the technique and procedures, they lack the experience of being in charge of the plane. I'd say that France is not the worst in that regard, we have many "aeroclubs", but not as good as the US.

jimnotgym 5y ago
This is utter nonsense. In the US you can't become a flight instructor with a private pilots licence. You have to pass your commercial licence first. Just like in Europe. You have to do at least 100 of your hours as pilot in command in the UK to get your commercial license. You will have to finish that before you can be an instructor. You can't make money from flying until you have finished your commercial licence. To be an airline pilot you will need to have flown 1500hours in Europe or the US. Nobody gets there because of culture, they get there by flying 1500 hours The US has better flying weather so you can build his more quickly, is cheaper and because there are more trainees there are more opportunities to build hours at someone else's expense. But cheaper does not mean better.

traceroute66 5y ago

> He also told me the licences were easier to get than in Europe. I think you have fallen into the 'US is best trap' He has, and yes European licenses are tougher.