いくつかのシラバスを比較すると、全く同じものが出てきました。いろいろ調べると、それらは提携校といって、入口は違う学校ですが、渡米先の学校は同じという仕組みです。「（５）米国での訓練中の主な費用」（1.5 自家用操縦士免許を取りたい | Private Pilot License Training and PHAK 自家用操縦士訓練とPHAK (ameblo.jp)）の項で飛行学校BとDが何となく似ているような気がしたと書きましたが、それが理由です。提携制度については、否定的でも肯定的でもありません。ある程度のコミッション（手数料）が掛かってくる可能性はありますが、自分の事情に合わせて「良いとこ取り」をすれば良いと思います。例えば、日本では自分が納得する国内講習を提供している学校を、米国では質の高い飛行訓練を合理的な価格で提供する学校を選択できればそれも良いと思います。
Even after preparing the list, there were still many things I didn’t understand. However, as I addressed questions one by one by visiting the Tokyo office (if available), or by email, or both, I began to gain a better understanding.
On my first visit to the Tokyo office of one of the schools, I had the opportunity to speak with both administrative staff and an instructor who was providing the preliminary ground school there. This school wasn’t my first choice from the outset because there were no vacancies when I wanted to apply, but the instructor gave me valuable advice: I should always ask to see the syllabus when selecting a flight school. In other words, you should not attend a school that doesn’t have a syllabus. After that, when I requested to see the syllabus, some schools were reluctant to show it, while others couldn’t provide it at all.
When comparing several syllabuses, I found exactly the same ones. Following some more research, I found out that this comes from partnership system between schools in Japan and USA, which means that even if the entrance is a different school, you are to go to the same school in U.S. This is why I mentioned in that I thought flight schools B and D were somehow similar. I am neither negative nor positive about the partnership system. There might be a certain amount of commission fee charged, but I think it would be good if you can "pick the best of everything” according to your own circumstances. For example, you can choose one school in Japan offering favorable preliminary ground school and another in the U.S. with high quality flight instruction at a reasonable price.
When comparing several syllabuses, I found some that were exactly the same. After further research, I discovered that this similarity was due to the partnership system between schools in Japan and the U.S. This means that even if you enroll in a different school in Japan, you will end up training at the same school in the U.S. This is why I mentioned in the "(5) Major Costs During Training in the U.S." (1.5 Be a Private Pilot | Private Pilot License Training and PHAK 自家用操縦士訓練とPHAK (ameblo.jp))that I thought flight schools B and D were somehow similar. I am neither positive nor negative about the partnership system. There might be a commission fee involved, but I think it’s beneficial if you can "pick the best of everything" based on your own circumstances. For example, you could choose one school in Japan that offers a strong preliminary ground school and another in the U.S. that provides high-quality flight instruction at a reasonable price.
By the way, the school I first visited in Tokyo is located on the north side of the west coast of the U.S. I was told by the office staff that training under Visual Flight Rules (VFR), which private pilot license (PPL) trainees learn, is available year-round. However, later I learned from someone who had obtained their PPL at that school that VFR training is nearly impossible from November to March due to adverse weather conditions. Since I had never heard of this before, I was quite surprised.
I was hoping to stay with an American host family to have more opportunities to speak English, so I have highlighted in blue the schools that offer this option. Nowadays, you can find all kinds of information on the Internet, so you may be able to search for accommodations on your own. However, you never really know what kind of family you will be staying with until you get there. For this reason, I think it is safer—and easier to sort out any issues later—to go through a flight school.
As I will mention later, I ended up staying with three different host families during my training, partly because I decided to change flight schools on the second day of my initial training. It is true that your experience will be greatly affected by the family you stay with. The schools highlighted in blue are the ones that provide host family accommodations.
There are other factors to consider, such as payment timing, refund policies and methods, airfare, food, laundry, and miscellaneous expenses. For a review of flight instruction and ATC communication, you’ll need a recorder that works well with your headset to record daily flight training. A minor, but unexpectedly important detail is to bring stationery you’re familiar with, especially items that are only available in Japan.
Most importantly, however, you should avoid schools that require a lump sum payment. This will be discussed further in the section '(10) So, Which School?'. (continued)
Once I completed comparing the costs prior to my departure for the USA, I began to evaluate the main expenses in the USA. It was difficult to compare because prerequisites such as flight hours, length of stay, and other factors varied from school to school, and many items were unclear to me at first.
The list below has been standardized based on the same assumptions: 60 hours of flight training, 50 hours of ground school, and a 90-day stay. In most cases, the actual hours and days may exceed these estimates, which would result in higher costs. At this point, the subtotals are not significantly different between schools.
Additionally, I noticed that Schools B and D have very similar costs, the reason for which will be revealed later. The subtotals shaded in blue indicate schools that use high-wing aircraft for training. The reason for choosing high-wing aircraft will be explained later in section "(8) Aircraft Types to Be Flown."
The next thing I need to consider is the cost of accommodations and other unavoidable expenses for international students. (continued)
Let’s begin by looking at the costs of preliminary flight school in Japan to prepare for the written test. Please note that the base airports mentioned here are fictitious, and the numbers on the lists are not real but created for the purpose of explanation, based on data from several years ago.
Although this list only covers the preliminary costs before leaving for the USA, my first impression was that the total amount was so high. Additionally, the items included in the quotations differed from school to school, making it difficult to compare them. The subtotals shaded in blue represent the costs, including the preliminary ground school in Japan for the written test.
Some schools did not offer such courses, or they only required students to purchase course materials, which cost almost the same as taking a preliminary course. The reason I preferred a school that included preliminary ground school for the written exam was that I wanted to be well-prepared to achieve a satisfactory score before starting my training in the USA. I had also been informed that a high score on the written exam would leave a good impression during the practical exam (oral and flight test).
I could easily imagine being too busy with flight and ground school in the USA to spend time preparing for the written test. Therefore, at this stage, I narrowed my options down to three schools: C, D, and E. However... (continued)
最初に考えたことは、どこで訓練をするかということ。国としては、日本はあまりにも高価なので論外とし、英語圏の中で、オーストラリアやニュージーランドに比べて距離的に近いことや米国が航空大国だと何かの航空書籍で読んだことがあったので、米国の西海岸を選びました。また、英語で管制官と交信するスキルを習得したかったので、タワー管制がある空港を拠点としている学校について検討しました。更に、試験は英語であっても、訓練は日本語で受けたかったので、日本人教官がいる学校を探しました。当時は今ほど飛行訓練の情報がなく、航空雑誌に載っている飛行学校に一つ一つメールで質問しながらウェブサイトや見積書を基に10か所以上の学校について一覧表を作りました。後で知ったことですが、米連邦航空局（FAA）が公示している「Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge（パイロットのための航空知識に関するハンドブック）」（「PHAK」と呼ぶ人もいます）に、米国での飛行学校の選び方について言及されています。さて、私の飛行学校選びは上手くいったのでしょうか・・・（続く）
My first thought was where I should get my training. Japan was out of the question because it was too expensive. I chose the West Coast of the United States because it was closer than Australia or New Zealand and because I had read in aviation books that the United States is an "aviation country."
In addition, I selected a base airport with a control tower since I wanted to learn ATC communication skills in English. Furthermore, I chose a school with Japanese instructors because I wanted to take the training in Japanese, even though the exam would be in English.
At that time, there wasn’t as much information on flight training as there is now. I made a list of more than 10 flying schools based on websites and quotes, asking repetitive questions by email to each of them listed in aviation magazines.
Although I later learned that guidance on how to choose a flying school is included in the Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (PHAK) published by the FAA, at the time, I had no idea such resources existed.
So, how was my selection process going? (continued)
＊The below are excerpt from my translation notebook for PHAK.
