Originally Posted by
Fl1ingfrog
Are you sure that you mean to "convert" your licence? You can hold both; so obtain an FAA licence in addition to your EASA licence. The FAA will not require you to surrender the EASA licence.
If I "convert" my car into a boat, there's no going back, and I still only have one, uh, transportation device. It seems rather common to use the term "convert" when asking about the FAA-to-EASA or EASA-to-FAA processes for gaining a second pilot license/certificate using the fact that "I'm already a pilot in XYZ country..."
I'm a "words have meaning" sort of person, so I 1) agree with Fl1ingfrog and 2) cringe when I read the FAA's new
Advisory Circular AC61-143 titled "Conversion Process for Pilot Certificates in Accordance with the Technical Implementation Procedures - Licensing as Part of the Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement Between the FAA and EASA." The definitions section includes: "
Conversion.
The issuance of an EU Part-FCL license on the basis of an FAA pilot certificate or the issuance of an FAA pilot certificate on the basis of an EU Part-FCL license, in accordance with the provisions of the TIP-L."
Process for EASA VFR SEP to FAA Private Pilot ASEL:
- Must be EASA-current, including medical (90-day currency not required)
- Must have an FAA medical
- License verification through home Civil Aviation Authority
- Private Pilot Airplane EU Part-FCL Conversion knowledge test
- Current 61.56 Flight Review (FAA instructor, but can be foreign registered airplane)
- Night flight is also administrative; IFR, though, requires a written test and an Instrument Proficiency Check conducted in the US.
It looks like it could be done from "home" - at least for VFR day and night flight.- provided one finds a location to take the written test(s), gets at least an FAA Third Class Medical, and gets a 61.56 flight review.
This would be a "real" certificate, not a piggy-back one from 61.75.
Hope this helps.