chrisbuck243

Hi, been watching the forums for a while but not much interaction so far. But I had a question that I could use some opinions on. I am currently living in Germany but planning to enter the flight profession upon my return to the USA.

I was originally planning on waiting until I returned to the US to do any training but am now thinking it may be beneficial to go ahead and at least get my PPL.

I am potentially making a trip to the United States for aroud 2 weeks this summer. If I do all of my studying and ground school work ahead of time and plan it out with a school or instructor ahead of time do you think this would be sufficent time to complete my PPL from just a couple of hours to checkride? Family is in North Carolina so that is most likely where the instruction would take place.

Thanks for any thoughts!

Flyhayes

I would recommend against a 2 week crash course. Training for any skill set requires time for that skill to mature. Flying a large amount of hours in a condensed time frame doesn't lend to itself to that.

While these quick courses do exist, they barely prepare you to pass the check ride, let alone for years of safe flying.

What happens if you run out of time or don't pass the check ride the first time?
I can almost guarantee you that you would have to start early all over again. The nature of learning something fast, also means you'll forget it quickly unless you stay active.

I flew with a student who had completed a 2 week PPL the year before he came to me. He had forgotten a lot of the basics he needed to know just so he could go rent my airplane. I think we ended up flying close to 15 hours together before he was comfortable flying solo again.

Panzon

It's definitely doable. I once worked with a fellow who earned his PPL in eight days.

It may not be beneficial. As has already been pointed out, if a lot of non-flying time passes between the completion of the PPL and the start of your instrument rating you will find that you have lost both stick and rudder skills as well as flying knowledge. It's better to avoid long gaps.

However, if you want to scratch the flying itch as well as have a good time, you could get a few hours of instruction in a tail dragger. North Carolina is full of grass strips and the tail dragger crowd is made up of good folks, so you would probably have a great time.

rickair7777

It's possible if all the stars line up (Wx, Mx, instructor availability, good progress on your part, examiner availability).

But as others have said, probably not a great idea. It won't be fun (for most folks), and you won't learn as much you would at a more reasonable pace.

JohnBurke

I've done it with students in a month, but much shorter might not be a benefit to the student. One needs time to digest and absorb what's being taught and learned, not simply to fly off the hours.

pat67

I used to live in germany and went over to the states to get my private. I did most of my self studying before I took the trip and it still took me close to 28 days. I flew pretty much twice a day, but we had some days that just were not flyable because of weather. It took me 53 hours to get it done with no prior flight experience.
I'm not saying it can't be done. It just really depends on weather, self studying, availability of plane and instructor, and of course the examiner.

bedrock

Two weeks is NOT doable, esp. in N. Carolina in summer, when you will definitely have thunderstorms and days at barely VFR due to haze. HOWEVER, in Germany, you get SIX weeks of vacation, right? Why not do a Sport pilot first, then add on PPL on a later vacation? That would be more reasonable. I did complete a student myself in 30 days, in California, with nearly perfect weather everyday at a large flight school with 40 planes available or so. If you are going to a local FBO with just a few planes, there are going to be maintenance delays, guaranteed.

In short, don't force yourself. Geduld, geduld.

chrisbuck243

Thanks for all the great replies. I guess I am just so ready to get started actually flying that I am getting ahead of myself a little. I really like the idea of getting the sport pilot's license. That seems like a much more reasonable goal for a two week stretch. And, if I read my regulations correctly, time in a sport plane will count towards total time when I move up to PPL? Please correct me if you know differently.