TheViking

Hi!

Just wondering.

10 to 15 hours flight training and a 3.5 hours flight test. Is that normal for converting an overseas CPL?

...still single

Sounds a little excessive.

In PNG, the usual procedure is to sit an air legislation exam thats twenty years out of date, then pay a substantial bribe to the licensing clerk (he'll offer advice if you're unsure of the details) to pass you, because you missed by just two marks (tsk, tsk, sorry tru).

Why do they call it third world?
Because there's no such thing as fourth world.

But thats probably no help to you.
If you're truely up to speed by some country's CPL standard, then I imagine 4 or 5 hours familiarisation flying to get used to Oz's peculiar way of doing things should stand you in good stead for the flight test.

Charlie Foxtrot India

Depends on a lot of things, such as previous experience, recent commercial experience, recent VFR experience, where you have flown before etc.

Conversions I've done have ranged from 5 hours to be ready for test, to the worst of all, an FAA CPL/IR holder who was barely PPL standard and would probably never have been up to CPL standard even if we hadn't had to ban him from flying our aircraft!

Average about 10 hours for someone with recent CPL and VFR experience who hasn't flown Aus procedures before, by the time you've done an assessment flight, upper air work and IF to standard, tidied up some lose ends and then the recommendation flight prior to test.

3.5 hours is a bit much for test, 2.5 is a bit more like it.

I Fly

To recommend a candidate for a CPL test the CPL Achievement Record needs to be signed off by the Instructor for each element and in toto by the candidate. That will take around 5 hours if you are familiar with the airspace and aircraft. Perhaps you need a little practise here or there. How many hours - only god knows. It is hard for an Instructor, or the candidate, to know what the candidate does not know until some flying has been done. The CPL test form requires 1 hour general flying and 2.5 hours operational flying. So if you do a all in one test it will be around 3.5 hours depending on the speed of the aircraft and the chosen destination.

Charlie Foxtrot India

Yes, the student does have to be consistantly at standard "1" for all the units to be recommended for flight test, and it takes time to cover all the units, and to be prove consistancy everything has to be seen at standard 1 more than once.

However to be picky, an overseas conversion doesn't require an achievement record to be submitted to CASA with the licence application. (see section D of the flight test form).

Bottom line is the person is ready for test when they are at a stage when you would employ them and trust them to do the flight properly first time and every time with your most valued customer and aircraft.

Too many people are trained to just pass the test rather than be a commercial pilot in the real world. (Then they wonder why they can't get a job)