SEP revalidation

[witchdoctor]

Hi folks,

I know this is a subject that has probably been done to death, but even after having searched both here and private flying, I haven't found an answer that was any easier to understand than the CAA docs themselves.:confused:

My SEP is due to lapse at the end of the year, and this is the first occasion on which I wil have to revalidate, so I'm a little unsure of the process. As I understand things, I can revalidate within the 3 months prior to expiry, and if I have flown more than 12 hours in the last 12 months I can do so 'by experience'. What isn't clear though, is whether I have to do some kind of flight test with an examiner, or a check ride with an FI, or none of the above. I have around 150 hrs PIC in the last 12 months, so what do I need to do?

I'm honestly clueless.:O

[pondlife]

Full answer will be in LASORS which you can find on the CAA web site.

Here's a summary from memory:-

To revalidate you will need to have done 12 hours in the last 12 months of the validity of the rating and 6 of these most have been as P1. You must also have done a certain number of take offs and landings (either 6 or 12, I can't remember which).
You must also have flown an hour instructional flight with an FI. The contents of the flight are often debated on this bulleting board since the CAA offer some suggestion on the contents of the flight, but it isn't mandatory that the contents be anything in particular.
Alternatively, any flight test for the purposes of a grant or renewal of a rating can serve instead of the instructional flight (e.g. IMC or IR renewal).
You can revalidate the SEP class anytime in the last 12 months as soon as you have met the requirements. An examiner autograph is required for the revalidation.

If you go even one day over the validity period of the rating then you'll need to renew it instead of revalidate it. For this you'll need to fly a proficiency test with an examiner. Some people choose to do this for revalidation too since it replaces all of the experience requirements.

[BEagle]

For the umpteenth time, when you need to re-validate your SEP (Land) Class Rating, you will need to have met one of the following requirements:

Either: To have flown at least 12 hours in a Single Piston (Land) aircraft in the second 12 month period, of which 6 hours must have been as P1C including at least 12 take-offs and landings as handling pilot, and of which 1 hour must have been a training flight with an instructor (who must also have signed your logbook entry for this flight).

Or: To have flown a revalidation Proficiency Check with an Examiner in the last 3 months of the Rating’s validity, for which there will probably be an Examiner’s fee. I charge £75, but some are charging £150 or so....

When you present your FCL 150CJAR for revalidation, you must also produce your personal logbook and complete a re-validation form with your details. This will then be signed by your Examiner and you then send it off to the CAA (but you don’t need to send them a cheque).

Note that the 12 hours must have been in a SEP Class aeroplane - 899 in a Boeing 737 plus 1 in a C152 won't count!

[witchdoctor]

Thanks BEagle and Pondlife, if only the CAA could make it that clear.

I had a 1 hr check ride with an FI back in March this year (rating lapses in December). Would this count as the 1 hour instruction required for revalidation if the content of the flight is not mandatory?

[BEagle]

Yes - just get him/her to put 'satisfactory' in the remarks column together with his/her licence number so that you can show it to the FE who will sign your re-validation form and licence.

".......if only the CAA could make it that clear." How often have I heard that! Turning most of their Eurocratic double-speak into simple English would indeed be a great step forward....oink, oink, flap, flap!