rickair7777

Here's some info re. license conversion:

Foreign Pilot Certification - AOPA

141 or 61 is really your choice. I would default to 61, unless you have a good reason to do 141. In your case, you might find that a 141 school is more familiar with foreign student requirements and visas.

You cannot use a tourist visa for flight training (that's what the 9/11 hijackers did). You'll need an M-1 or F-1 visa; all large schools and some smaller ones can help you with that. Be aware that you will also get a security screening before you can start training (9/11 again).

Flyhayes

This is incorrect. A tourist, on a tourist visa can undertake a course of study as part of their vacation. There is a limit to how many hours you can spend learning per week without a student visa (something around 15hrs/week iirc).

You will need to complete the TSA screening regardless of visa status, this can take several months to complete the first time.

If you need a student visa to undertake a prolonged course of study, part 141 schools are the only ones that can be authorized to give them (although not all have sought that authorization).

If you can start training at a part 61 school, you're likely to spend less money. However, since a tourist visa typically won;t allow you to stay for a great length of time, you might need a part 141 school to finish your other ratings at.

bedrock

If you are going full-time, pt 141 is the best, if part time part 61 is MUCH more flexible. Also a good 61 instructor can save you money by structuring lessons to hit your weak spots, rather than being stuck with a rigid syllabus. I know some instructors who could not a complete a lesson on short field landings pt 141 because there was too much wind, and the FSDO would not let the 141 school do things out of order.

HOWEVER, one big advantage of 141 is stage checks. If you fail a checkride, the 141 school can just mark it as a stage check--which is not on PRIA AFAIK.

Flyhayes

Bedrock, most 141 schools do not have in house exterminators. So they can't mark a failed check ride as a training event. I think the ones that do in house examinations technically are 142 schools, but there are few of those around as they were able to get the certification via a now closed loop hole.

rickair7777

You cannot use a tourist visa for professional flight training, which is what we are talking about here. Maybe you can train towards a PPL on a tourist visa, have to ask the TSA though.

rickair7777

No.

142 training centers are not what we're talking about here, they are something else (usually training for large turbine-powered aircraft).

141 schools can do checkrides in one of three ways:

141 Final Stage check with in-house examiner (no pink slip). This has become less common because the FAA has become very conservative with regards to issuing in-house authority.

141 Final Stage check with DPE/Fed (no pink slip...in theory). There "should" be no pink slip here, because it's a 141 course completion, simply conducted by an outside examiner. But I have seen MANY DPEs confused on this point, who believe they need to issue a pink slip which is neither correct nor necessary.

61 Checkride. If the student meets 61 minimums before completing the 141 syllabus, and is ready he can always get a CFI signoff and take a normal 61 checkride with any DPE/Fed to save money. But this does NOT technically complete the 141 course, so if you need that for some rweason (ie reduced ATP mins) you'd better stick to 141.

Tpinks

The reduce mins for restricted ATP's are 1,250hrs for approved two year degrees, 1,000hrs for approved four year degrees and 750hrs for military pilots.

For the 1,250/1,000hrs mins, all ground and flight training must be done in accordance to the 141 syllabus.

What is nice though is if you have 1,500hrs and are of age, you can apply for a RATP with only 200hrs XC instead of the 500hrs normally needed as long as you meet every other flight requirement in 61.160. Once you reach 500hrs of XC, then your license will become a standard ATP.

El Pilot

I sent you a PM De la ghetto. in my opinion 61 all the way.

Flyhayes

There are a few (2 still in operation, if I recall correctly) part 142 GA flight schools (i.e. not turbine/large aircraft training centers) as I mentioned these were granted due to a loophole that the FAA has since closed.

You are correct, in that there are some part 141 schools that do have examining authority (I had missed that part).
However, unless the rules have recently changed, 141 flight schools that do not have in house examiners can not count a failed check ride as a training event. A 141 course completion and a check ride are two completely different things. In my opinion, I think the following references pretty clearly excludes schools without examination authority.

§141.73 Privileges.

(b) A pilot school that holds examining authority for an approved training course may recommend a graduate of that course for the issuance of an appropriate pilot, flight instructor, or ground instructor certificate and rating, without taking an FAA knowledge test or practical test, provided the training course has been approved and meets the minimum ground and flight training time requirements of this part.

§141.77 Limitations.
(a) The holder of a pilot school certificate or a provisional pilot school certificate may not issue a graduation certificate to a student, or recommend a student for a pilot certificate or rating, unless the student has:

(1) Completed the training specified in the pilot school's course of training; and

(2) Passed the required final tests.

Flyhayes

There is nothing that determines what constitutes professional flight training. I've trained several commercial students under this provision and never had a problem with TSA or ICE. Nowhere does it state that a tourist visa, or person traveling under the visa waiver program is excluded from "professional" flight training.