Hi everyone,
I hold a FAA PPL and would like to fly the taildragger at my gliding club as part of my hour building. Unfortunately, I did not realize when training in America towards my PPL that I would need an endorsement on my license. So my question to you is -- since I do not want to fly to the US for this -- does anyone know a flighing school in the UK, preferably in the southwest area, where I could receive training and the endorsement? Thanks very much for helping!
stefair

Hi everyone,

I hold a FAA PPL and would like to fly the taildragger at my gliding club as part of my hour building. Unfortunately, I did not realize that I would need an endorsement on my license when training in America towards my PPL. So my question to you is -- since I do not want to fly to the US for this -- does anyone know a flighing school in the UK, preferably in the southwest area, where I could receive training and the endorsement? Thanks very much for helping!

stefair

Can't help you on an Instructor in the UK but for Tailwheel endorsement read FAR 61.31.

You mention flying the taildragger at your gliding club. Does this imply that you will be subsequently towing the glider?
If so, in addition to getting the tailwheel endorsement you need to study FAR 61.69 on the FAA requirements for towing.

Ace Flight at Dunkeswell might help, or there is the option at Old Sarum.

Hi SoCal App,
Thanks for your reply. Yes, my intention was to fly the taildragger and tow gliders. However, just after posting yesterday I studied the AIM again and in addition to the requirements you pointed out I found a section stating that prior to towing gliders a pilot must have "logged 100 hours as PIC in the same category, class, and type of aircraft" that he will be flying for towing. I presume that this means 100 hours of flying time in that very taildragger I will subsequently be towing gliders in. If so, then building hours by towing gliders would be completely impractical for me as a) I would need to find a FAA instructor in the UK and b) I would need to complete 100 hours of flying time as PIC in that taildragger first. Clearly, the latter will not be the most reasonable route to take for building my hours. If I am misguided in my assumptions please let me know and I will be happy to look into this again. Thanks again for helping.
stefair

Well, if the FAA requires 100 hrs PIC in category, class and type, I'd suggest converting to a CAA or JAA license after first checking their requirements for glider towing;)

Don't you have to convert your license anyway in order to fly a G-reg in the UK?

RatherBeFlying,

I appreciate your suggestion but do not want to go through the conversion process as I don't have to: I can fly any Gulf-registered aircraft on my ICAO privileges as long as I remain within UK airspace (source: LASORS). In terms of building time, I do not rely on the towing option but it would have been a great alternative. :)

RatherBeFlying,
I appreciate your suggestion but do not want to go through the conversion process as I don't have to: I can fly any Gulf-registered aircraft on my ICAO privileges as long as I remain within UK airspace (source: LASORS). In terms of building time, I do not rely on the towing option but it would have been a great alternative. :)

Hello there!

Is this true for any FAA PPL? Can I, a FAA PPL holder, fly a G-Reg in UK as long as I am within UK airspace? Is there some short procedure I need to go through to do this without going through the conversion process?

Thanks

When it says 'type', I would take that to mean type rating (61.5), and your average tug doesn't need one of them. All you need is a taildragger endorsement, 100 hrs PIC in ASEL and all the rest and you should be good to go.

Better qualify that with the FAA say you are good to go, I am sure the CAA will have something to say about it too.

jai6638,

Yep, it is true. There is no specific procedure you need to go through. The only thing you will need to do is to find a flighing school or club that you want to rent an AC from and get checked out. But keep in mind that radio procedures are indeed different from America and consequently it is essential to study CAP 413 first. Don't know how familiar you are with UK flying but I myself, who had never flown in the UK before, found it quite useful. Happy landings! :ok:

slim_slag,

Thanks very much for your answer. I have emailed the FAA on this and am awaiting a reply. Fingers crossed I will be good to go soon. :ok:

Can't help you on an Instructor in the UK but for Tailwheel endorsement read FAR 61.31.

You mention flying the taildragger at your gliding club. Does this imply that you will be subsequently towing the glider?
If so, in addition to getting the tailwheel endorsement you need to study FAR 61.69 on the FAA requirements for towing.

Stefair,
As I stated earlier, all the requirements are clearly documented in the above 2 FAR regulations in particular FAR 61.69. The chances are the FAA will simply point you at these. If you check 61.69(2) it states that you require a minimum 100 hours PIC in the aircraft category, class and type, if required.

You will also need to check if the CAA/BGA have specific rules on what they require to allow a glider to be towed by a FAA pilot.