Originally Posted by
Arrowflyer
I have been told that as long as the UK license is current, the FAA one is also.
Best to think of it the other way around. If the non-US licence is current, then the
foundation for the FAA certificate is firm.
Originally Posted by
Arrowflyer
Therefore as long as you do your SEP renewal every 2 years for your UK license, you are good to go.
Unfortunately that's not correct - what you are doing here is maintaining that foundation, on top of which needs to be built the FAA's own requirements.
The important thing is that you are flying on your FAA PPL when flying in the US / in an N reg aircraft.
The UK PPL validates it, but the FAA certificate is what makes you legal.
Therefore it is necessary to ensure that all the things required to make the FAA PPL current are also in place. Just because you haven't been asked for your BFR doesn't mean you shouldn't have had it!
This is where the FARs come in.
FAR 61.75 is concerned with foreign pilot authorizations:
A person who holds a current foreign pilot license issued by a contracting State to the Convention on International Civil Aviation may be issued a private pilot certificate based on the foreign pilot license without any further showing of proficiency, provided the applicant:
(1) Meets the requirements of this section;
(2) Holds a foreign pilot license that--
(i) Is not under an order of revocation or suspension by the foreign country that issued the foreign pilot license; and
(ii) Does not contain an endorsement stating that the applicant has not met all of the standards of ICAO for that license;
(3) Does not currently hold a U.S. pilot certificate;
(4) Holds a current medical certificate issued under part 67 of this chapter or a current medical certificate issued by the country that issued the person's foreign pilot license; and
(5) Is able to read, speak, write, and understand the English language.
(An aside: The bit in bold above is, I understand, a fairly common source of misunderstanding at US rental organizations, who are confused if an FAA medical cannot be produced, although fortunately I've never fallen foul of it.)
The point here is that you "may be issued with" the FAA certificate - that doesn't mean it is the end of the story.
FAR 61.56 deals with the Flight Review:
c) Except as provided in paragraphs (d), (e), and (g) of this section, no person may act as pilot in command of an aircraft unless, since the beginning of the 24th calendar month before the month in which that pilot acts as pilot in command, that person has--
(1) Accomplished a flight review given in an aircraft for which that pilot is rated by an authorized instructor; and
(2) A logbook endorsed from an authorized instructor who gave the review certifying that the person has satisfactorily completed the review.
Given the provenance of the quote (i.e. the FARs) "Authorized" obviously means "authorised by the FAA", which your UK instructor who flew with you for your JAA "biennial" won't be in 99.9% of cases. In the final 0.1%, he/she needs to sign your logbook with the relevant FAA wording and CFI number.
(Paras (d), (e) and (g) are not relevant to this discussion.)
Originally Posted by
Arrowflyer
I hope I'm not wrong
Sorry...
Originally Posted by
Arrowflyer
I think it's one of those things that you get a different answer depending on who you ask.
It would certainly help if the FAA clearly stated "Foreign pilot? You need to do an FAA Flight Review every 24 months". But they don't, hence the confusion. The definitive answer comes from the FARs, as above