"I think you will find that anyone who has switched from a UK/CAA CPL/ATPL to a JAA, they no longer have this privilege."
That is correct.
However, the CAA decided a year or so ago that JAR-FCL IR multi-pilot rated pilots would no longer have automatic UK IMCR privileges on single-pilot aeroplanes.
They did this without
any consultation or Regulatory Impact Assessment...
Whereas at least EASA is determined to find an acceptable European solution.
The JAR-FCL IR (single-pilot aeroplanes) is a gold plated solution which is out of the reach of most GA pilots. The FAA IR is much more accessible; however, the UK IMCR provides elements of IMC flying which are all most people actually need. It is a proportionate solution to a requirement - and has proved to be a very good safety investment for many pilots.
Flight's report is a bit of a disappointment; the last thing the UK wants is a '4 year battle'. Rather, we seek to elicit the concerns from those who have yet to be convinced of the value of te UK IMCR and to address those concerns.
In the UK, IMC flight outside CAS is permitted; in other EU states it is not. Hence the solution must be a Rating with the following objective:
To enable pilots of light aeroplanes to cope safely with non-VMC weather in EU airspace without the requirement to hold a full IR.
Such a Rating would provide the pilot with the following privileges:
- To fly IMC/IFR in permitted airspace other than Class A.
- To navigate the aircraft by sole reference to instruments under circumstances which require mandatory compliance with defined routes.
- To fly instrument approaches for which they have logbook endorsements to IAM +200 ft for precision approaches and +250 ft for non-precision approaches.
It is also a given that any pilot with such a pan-EU IMC-level Rating would need to have ICAO Level 4 English and, to enjoy such privileges, to fly a suitably equipped aeroplane with Mode C or Mode S. So we are
not talking about some mumbling incompetent flying a piece of old junk in proximity to people-tubes stuffed with the Great Unwashed!