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	Useful information for UK pilots intending to fly in the USA: Note: You must get a thorough check-out and a good briefing, because many things are just different from flying in Europe. Here a a few of the many differences: A Circuit is called a PATTERN. Downwind joins are usually made at a 45 degree angle from outside the circuit. (This is known as a midfield join) The signals square is a SEGMENTED CIRCLE. The airport fuel supplier and general aviation service centres - where you buy fuel, park your aircraft etc. are known as FBO's (Fixed Base Operators). You can often call them on a ground frequency when you arrive.If the airport has more than one FBO - as many do, It is worth deciding which FBO you are going to use before you land, as the ground controller will ask you where you are going. QNH is called "ALTIMETER" and is inches of Mercury. Often only the last two digits are used on the radio (eg altimeter niner six = QNH 29.96) There is no QFE, all aircraft use sea-level pressure (MSL) for takeoff and landing, adding the airfield height to circuit height, as appropriate. Other differences from the metric system are that visibility is read in Statute Miles, not metres, and temperatures are in Farenheit, not Centigrade. Fuel is sold per US gallon, not litres. A QDM is a BEARING or VECTOR US Controllers mostly won't understand the expression QSY. When you land you don't backtrack the runway, you BACK-TAXI A registration is a TAIL NUMBER You use the aircraft type and rarely the N in the "Tail Number" when you identify yourself (E.G. a PA28 N1234YZ is "Cherokee 1234YZ" often then shortened further by the controllers) On landing you may be asked to "contact ground on 25" This means 121.25 (all ground frequencies use 121.XX although 121.50 is still the emergency frequency. In the case of an emergency, the expression Mayday is rarely used, and PAN does not seem to be used at all. Instead the term "declaring an emergency" replaces mayday. VFR Squawk code is 1200. The emergency codes 7700, 7600, 7500 are the same as in Europe. You can get weather and file a flightplan at the same time on one toll-free number 1-800-WXBRIEF The FAA flightplan form is different from the ICAO one we use. Not difficult, but ensure you have a proforma to hand before you file a flightplan by telephone, so you know the data and the order in which the briefer will expect it. VFR flightplans are always good sense particularly when flying over water or sparsely populated areas. Runway numbers omit leading Zeroes (Runway 02 is simply "Runway 2") Several uncontrolled fields may share the same UNICOM frequency, so whenever using an uncontrolled field you state the name of the field at the beginning and end of your transmission (E.G. for a downwind 45 join to Runway 02 at an airfield called Boonie you would say "Boonie traffic this is Cherokee 1234YZ on the 45 for left hand downwind Runway 2 Boonie") When approaching an uncontrolled field, ask for a "traffic advisory". Often someone will come on-air and give you airfield details. This may be from another aircraft in the circuit, or from the FBO if the field has one. The system works very well. Usually at uncontrolled fields you make a midfield join for a standard left-hand circuit for a landing into the prevailing wind. You can fly up to 12,500 MSL without oxygen; and between 12,501 and 14,000 MSL for up to 20 Minutes in any hour without oxygen. Passengers only need oxygen above 15,000 MSL. (Useful to know if flying in the Mountains or climbing over bad weather.) If in an unfamiliar field, ask for a "progressive taxi" and they will "talk you in" A "how-to" guide on getting your licence converted to an FAA one. Do you have any tips that may be useful? If so please let me know me by e-mail, so I can add them to this page.

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