Not sure this is the right section of the forum, so apologies if I used the wrong section.
I assume there are quite a lot of pilots on here, and I've been wanting to get a license for ages, but never had the time. I can now take a (long) break from work, and one of the ideas is to stay in a certain place for the time needed to get a license. This could be anywhere in the world!

So, if you had to choose, where would you get your license?
Criteria would be:
- quality of the instructors and material
- costs
- beauty of the surroundings
- usability of the license (not sure a license from Botswana could be used in the US...)

curious for your reactions!

Florida probably ticks all the boxes. Plenty of schools, reasonable costs, nice scenery, useful ticket.

was on my list. Although I'm more a mountain kind of person. So in North America I'd probably prefer BC/Alberta or one of the northwestern states in the US.
would costs differ significantly between States?

I suppose a consideration is where you are currently based.

not so much. I'd see this as a long break from work, and getting something I've always wanted while being away. But I'm based in Europe, so the license should be valid in the EU

the obvious choice would be North America, Australia or New Zealand
also cool could be somewhere in the Pacific (would allow me to do a lot of diving as well - I know, no mountains)
how about Central Asia?

My point is, unless you hold a lot of passports, none of those places are open to you now.

I see. Timing would probably be late spring/ early summer next year ;-)

I would focus on the prevailing weather.

The southwest US has very good weather for flight training and a lot of flight schools. If you're training in the winter months, for example, somewhere warm like Phoenix would be very good; not so much in the summer.

Wherever you choose, a couple of tips.

1. Do not prepay for training. If a school insists that you prepay for the course, keep looking. You want to keep the flexibility to change schools if you aren't happy with your training. Also, there have been cases where schools go bankrupt while holding significant amounts of their student's prepaid funds. That doesn't mean that you can't prepay for blocks of hours in order to get a lower hourly rate. I wouldn't prepay for more than ten hours at a time, though, so as to limit your risk.

2. Just like in any other training, the student-instructor relationship is paramount. Every instructor isn't for every student. You need a good rapport with your instructor. Talk with several before you settle on you then don't be afraid to change if you later find that the rapport isn't there.

Probably cheaper - due to low fuel prices/fuel taxes in the U.S. than in Europe. Lufthansa has its flight school in the U.S.

I know nothing can replace experience, but what would be the minimum amount of time I'd need to have to get the PPL? I don't think you wanna pack 40h of flying into 2 weeks, but I can't be away for 6 months either...

I've seen a number of people do it in about a month. That requires 100% dedication to training and having finished the ground study and written test ahead of time. Unless you need to do it this quickly, I'd recommend a somewhat less strenuous pace. Two months, without any other obligations to tend to, would make it a much more comfortable pace and would likely be a more enjoyable experience.

A good forum for information about general aviation and flight training is the www.pilotsofamerica.com forum.

The FAA publishes a number of textbooks/handbooks that are inexpensive as trade paperbacks and free in electronic format.

The Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (PHAK) https://www.faa.gov/regulations_poli...aviation/phak/
The PHAK contains most of the information that you will need to learn to pass the required written test (knowlege test). If you are good at self-study, you can do most of the prep yourself with this handbook. There are other courses available, at varying costs, that repackage this information into other formats but this is the official FAA source for the information. The first chapter is an introduction to flying giving a history of aviation, the regulation of aviation, and the resources available to pilots.

The Airplane Flying Handbook (AFH) https://www.faa.gov/regulations_poli...lane_handbook/
The AFH teaching the procedures and techniques used in flight training and in flying airplanes. This is about how you fly the airplane and operate within the national airspace system. The first chapter is an introduction to flight training.

Start with the first chapters of each of these books. You can download them without cost from the links I provided. You can then continue self-study, concentrating mostly on the PHAK but reference the AFH for information on what occurs during flight training as that can help you when you start investigating flight schools.

Long-time flight instructor here. Just figured I'd chime in my two cents:

I always told my students if they flew once per week, expect the process to take 6-8 months minimum. If you increase that to twice per week, you're looking at 3-4 months. If you really step it up to 3-4x per week (or go to an accelerated school) I'd estimate about 2 months per rating/certificate. My experience shows that anything beyond 3-4x per week is not really helpful. In fact, many students get "burnt out" on rigorous schedules like that.

The southwestern US or Florida are your best options if you are looking at an accelerated school. But let me caution you - and I can not emphasize this enough - many of the accelerated schools simply teach the boxes that need to be checked. Many of the instructors lack "real-world" experience.

I would recommend you find a reputable "Local" flight school that follows a syllabus similar to what the accelerated schools do, except the schedule is more adjusted to your preferred frequency of training. Find an instructor that you connect with that's got experience. Learning to fly is incredibly expensive, so make sure you are getting your money's worth!

Agreed that it is best not to pay for training up front. Try and find a school that is "pay as you go" if you can. These leaves as many options open as possible. Understand that for some people they can finish their license very close to the minimum 40 hour mark, but this is actually quite rare. The average is more along the lines of 50-60 hours depending on ability and frequency of flying. Be prepared for this possibility (especially financially).

Lastly, understand that getting your PPL is truly a "License to Learn." It does NOT mean you are instantly qualified to fly to exotic places. Keep your study habits up, add an instrument rating, fly regularly, and understand and respect your limits. So many former clients thought that the day they earned their PPLs they were qualified to buy an expensive plane and launch off to the Bahamas... definitely not so! It takes time. You will get there, but don't be in a rush. Enjoy the journey!

Sorry to rant... just my opinion as a CFI and current 747 pilot! Feel free to PM me any specific questions.

CAE Oxford is a Belgian company that flies in Mesa, Arizona, USA. I used to see their aircraft which is how I know. The weather and number of private airfields in AZ are great for learning, touch and go, etc.
Edit: But it gets up to 48C in the summer somewhat regularly.

Even with earning a commercial licence and working as a commercial pilot, continued practice is always necessary. A forer FT participant who was such told me his flying skills (airmanship) was much improved when flying a 737 regularly (at least 2 flights per day several times a week) over a 747 once a week or so.

I remember the analysis of this near crash over 2 decades ago.

First off, you don't want to learn to fly in a mountainous region. The weather is often not conducive to training flights, and neither is the geography.

South Africa, southern Spain and the SE or SW US are your best and cheapest options. Your current residency will likely decide which is the best suited, given the Corona restrictions.

Do not rush the process, as you face a high risk of burning out. You should allocate around 2 to 3 months to the project, allowing for a natural pace and a relatively flat learning curve.

Find a reputable school and research the hell out of it before you decide. It's an expensive undertaking regardless of how you do, and quality of training and professional/experienced instructors is your best guarantee of being as well prepared as possible when time comes to plough your own furrows in the skies.

Find a school operating the most modern aircraft you can lay your hands on.

All the above is mainly for a PPL license. If you chose to go the LSA route, find a club close to where you live and go hang-out with the owners. See if there's an option of taking part in shared ownership in a group of people you can get along with. LSA flying is relatively inexpensive compared to PPL, but does come with a number of restrictions - mainly aircraft performance and being limited to taking only 1 passenger. For me, if the aim was only to fly for fun on sunny days with no ambition of obtaining an instrument, multi-engine or commercial license, not having a need to take more than 1 pax, and given the availability of part ownership in a nice aircraft in a nice club, I'd seriously consider the LSA route.