http://www.avcanada.ca/forums2/viewt...t=608&start=25
Well folks...
I was issued my JAA ATPL today. It has certainly been worth while... although I am glad the process is behind me. Having a Canadian ATPL and 500 hours of blessed multi-crew time from a metroliner... I have written 14 exams, a completed radio test, finished type rating and passed my LST(IFR initial/PPC).
Although the process has seemed overly complex and even chaotic, it has been cheaper and easier than I thought it would be when i started out. The total cost in Canadian dollars has been roughly $6,000. The work load has been steady and rigorous but never overwhelming. The hardest part was the flight test, but I think my own nerves made it into a bigger deal than it actually was.
I am now flying an BAE ATP(Jetstream 61) for British Airways' regional based out of Glasgow in Scotland. Four weeks after finishing the written exams, I was able to get the job without having even completed the JAA ATPL conversion(i needed the type rating for the licence).
Am I better off over here?? Well as for now, I am very happy and I must say I am in a much better place than I was a year ago. My family is English and for the most part I new what to expect as far as the cultural differences are concerned. I miss Canada but plan to spend most of my 5 weeks off a year coming back to visit. However, I will be working over here for at least a few years...
If anybody out there is converting or contemplating a conversion from an ATPL to an ATPL with the 500 multi crew and would like to know what I had to do, drop me a PM. As for any other combination of backgrounds, I have no idea... finding out the rules for licence conversion here is like translating the dead sea scrolls. I am not even sure if they have not just been making up the rules as I have been going along.