You
do not need to convert an ICAO PPL to start a JAA CPL.
I had a South African PPL with over 100 hours, and was advised by every flight school apart from 1 that I needed to convert it. Guess which school I went to !!.
The requirements to start a JAA CPL course as taken from Lasors (bolding by me)
D1.2(D) JAR-FCL CPL(A) MODULAR
COURSE FLYING TRAINING/
EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS
Training Requirements
The holder of a PPL(A) issued in accordance with ICAO
Annex 1 (excluding the NPPL) with at least 150 hours
flight time as a pilot, may commence an approved JAR
CPL(A) Modular Course consisting of 25 hours dual flight
instruction including 10 hours of instrument instruction
(up to 5 hours may be instrument ground time in a BITD
or a FNPT I or II or a flight simulator).
And a South African PPL is most certainly an ICAO ppl.
If your SA PPL is current, what you do need to do is :-
Have 150hrs - which is standard to start a Modular CPL course.
Get a JAA Class 1 medical.
Pass either the 9 CPL or 14 ATPL exams - these supercede the PPL exams.
Complete the UK FRTO practical - you don't need to do the written exam if you have passed the ATPL Comms exams.
If you don't have 5 hours night flying, complete this in addition to the minimum CPL hours requirements.
If your SA PPL has lapsed, contact Irv Lee (do a google search for "higherplane" - thats his website) - he can do SA PPL renewals in the UK. There are several AME's that can also do SA Medicals in the UK too.
Alternatively you can do the conversion if you really really want to, but that would probably be more time consuming and expensive.
