Volar en U.S.A. y Volar en Europa o México

From AOPA (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association) www.aopa.org Bruce Landsberg President, AOPA Air Safety Institute

Weve all (well, most of us) have heard the horror stories of the high prices and constraining bureaucracy in many places outside the U.S.. Ive had the privilege to work with the International AOPA over the years and more recently to attend AERO Friedrichafen. Its the biggest GA show in Europe, held every spring, attracting both pilots and manufacturers from both the States and the Continent. We can learn a lot from how the other 20% live.

Briefly reciting some of the negatives, avgas, when you can get it, goes for $10 -15 a gallon. Many cities do everything in their power to discourage GA (even Friedrichafen reportedly charges about $116 to land) with usurious landing and handling fees. Flying IFR in Europe makes the U.S. Northeast corridor looks like a walk in the park, even though U.S. traffic density is generally much higher. In Europe youre charged handsomely for the aggravation. There are 22 enroute centers in the entire U.S. (including AK and HI) which covers much more airspace and traffic but Eurocontrol presides over about three times that many enroute centers. Apparently, harmonization is elusive and overhead is pervasive.

On the safety side, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is charged with standardizing flight training and procedures. A private pilot instrument rating requires over 600 hours of logged academic study with a knowledge test that has seven major sections. Many questions are irrelevant for GA such as how many crash axes are required on board a 200 seat passenger airliner. This type of testing is worse than irrelevant it distracts pilots learning the things they need to know. Safety statistics for light aircraft and the justification for what we would consider absurdly complex rules are lacking.

On the positive side, the dream of flight is as alive as ever and there is a burgeoning light sport market. I looked over a number of the machines and they are improving every year. Engines are a point of focus because of the fuel price/availability issue mentioned earlier. Diesels have both advocates and detractors.

One thing is crystal clear effective advocacy is essential. On an admittedly self-congratulatory note, AOPA US and the Air Safety Institute are held in high regard for both advocacy and education. Desk-pounding must be balanced with trusted relationships and solid alternatives. Its not a place for amateurs. If pilots ever needed incentive to get involved with their U.S. organizations, a European visit will be motivating indeed.

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Response from a Mexican pilot:

http://www.pilotone.com.mx/

I´ve never flown in Europe, but Mexico has a terrible GA.
There is absolutely no standard here in anything. Tests are absurd in most cases, with test questions for Aeronautical Engineers, Mechanics or ATC, not for pilots. Asking how many axes in a plane carrying 200 people is actually not so terrible compared.
Mexican authority requires 1500 of theory for CPL (which no school really follows).
Bureaucracy here is the norm. The more stops, the better. For a local touch and goes flight you need to file flight plan, get it stamped from airport authority and then back to airport dispatch office.
To get permission for flight training you can wait up to a month for the permit to come out.
Waiting for an appointment in aviation medicine can take 1 month. The exam itself is about 5 hours.
You must keep a copy of every single flight plan(stamped and signed by the airport authority) in order to prove every flight hour on your log book and get it stamped by the aviation authority.
All flight time for a certificate must be done at the flight school (no time building on your own). Most flight schools have about 30 or more students and 2 planes, and sometimes one doesn´t work.
I came to the conclusion that GA in the USA is the best!!!
I got my FAA license in a few months, validating it here has taken over a year and half and still in process.

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