is certainly a difference between ab initio training
How would you be legal for the solo portions of any PPL (FAA or European) in an N-reg?
Interesting question! 61.3 would not help IMHO. Even if the FI (on whose licence a European PPL is flown then) has an FAA CFI, is no good because the FAA doesn’t use that system.
But few people are doing an ab initio PPL in an N-reg. In most countries in Europe it is probably not even permitted. The question comes up mostly in connection with the IR or, in the UK, the IMCR. The IMCR discussion is here and the IR would be similar except that the IMCR can be done at almost any PPL school (like the FAA IR in the US) while the IR needs some “FTO” involvement and other nonsense, and most FTOs focus on running an airline pilot sausage machine. For example I did my JAA IR at out of my base EGKA in 2011 but that school is now gone, the local FTO went bust (and never allowed a customer aircraft anyway, so only DA40/42) and I would now have to live in a hotel near Southampton (there is a good FTO at Lee on Solent).
We have had various threads on the topic of N-reg training and this search should dig up a lot of them.
