Burocrats, ah!
In another life I was trying rather hard to find a niche in Greater Germany. This led me to a vast edifice from the Wilhelmine period in Oldenburg, Prussian eagle on the stone-built facade and all. Within was the local office in charge of light commercial aviation, where I wanted a DHC-6 type-rating on my German CPL.
I had just been to Toronto to do the Flight Safety factory course so that I had this diploma with a big gold seal and all... I figured the boxheads should go for this big-time. Boy, was I ever wrong!
I found my Case Officer tucked away in a small office with a wall full of dusty files. I explained that I had just been to Toronto, blah-blah-blah... when he rotated 180° on his throne, grabbed a big set of print-outs and whirled back to start leafing through it. "Day-Hah Sex und Acktzick?" he asked? (DH-86, some elderly biplane airliner, I believe)
This triggered some back and forth dialogue. I told him DHC and he told me it didn't exist and I told him to look again under DHC instead of DH and then he found it after all. Wonderful! NOT!
His Airship the airhead then looked at my lovely diploma and said it was no good at all because it read, "Twin Otter" when all he had in his book was "DHC-6."
I was sat there gaping, saying, "But-but-but... the Twin Otter IS a DHC-6"
He gave me a very self-satisfied, typically German glance and murmured, "How shall I know that?!"
Then we found, under the signature of the FSI Head of Training, the line, "DHC-6" so that was okay. I still had to do a check-ride, though, to get a type-rating that was only good for 12 months.
Then the local Twin Otter contact wiped himself out flying a King Air so that the whole thing was a complete waste of time and money except for an up close and personal look at aviation burocracy in Europe in action. I ended up just staying in Nigeria in preference to working in Germany. Nigerians are easier to deal with as long as you know how to push the right buttons.
I felt very guilty for ever having said anything bad about the U.S. FAA. Compared to the Germans they are the soul of sweet reason and co-operation and Yanks should count themselves lucky. I think I see some of the problem here getting Eurocrats to understand this mysterious DC-3 no one has ever heard of. DHC-3? Well, sort of; they both have round engines and a tailwheel.