In article 1085504166.619124@sj-nntpcache-3, John Harper wrote:
I've written something about flying in England from the
perspective of a US pilot (albeit a Brit), it's at

Also, note the cost of flying depends strongly on where you live. I can
fly the Grumman at Andreas for 70 quid an hour less than the 172 you
flew (and fuel isn't any cheaper here). Also, if you're coming from the
USA, things are even more expensive right now due to the weakness of the
dollar against the pound. Some of the extra cost is that aircraft that
are rented must be on a 'Public Transport CofA' which is considerably
more expensive to keep up than a private CofA - the operating costs on a
private CofA appear to be significantly cheaper going by the hourly
rates many aircraft syndicates charge.

Also, the readback of altimeter settings - I'd say this is pretty much
mandatory in the US as well especially when flying IFR. It's pretty
important that the controller knows you're on the right setting. I've
always read back altimeter settings in the US (I lived there 7 years and
learned to fly VFR, IFR, multi, glider in Houston).

I'd also say that Radar Information Service is more the equivalent of
flight following; Flight Information Service might well be non-radar.
(Radar Advisory Service is something you might ask for when flying IMC
in class G airspace). There's a very good explanatory poster that the
CAA do (up in many flying clubs) that show the differences. Some
airfields also have reciprocal no-landing-fee agreements too (Barton had
one of these with at least 10 other airfields), and many airfields waive
all fees in the case of a diversion/emergency etc. (AOPA recently named
and shamed the ones that didn't)

--
Dylan Smith, Castletown, Isle of Man
Flying: http://www.dylansmith.net
Frontier Elite Universe: http://www.alioth.net
"Maintain thine airspeed, lest the ground come up and smite thee"