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Old 26th Aug 2010, 11:29
  #21 (permalink)  
IO540
 
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Do we really have a reason to believe that the requirements for pilots on aircraft operated by those permanently resident in the EU will be more demanding?
It's a fair question. But that is now how the EASA proposals stand at present.

Currently, we have no EASA interference in foreign reg pistons (SE or ME) or SE turboprops. That covers the vast majority of light GA.

But we do seem to have the requirement to get EASA licenses on top of the State of Registry ones. Do you read the FCL proposal differently, Bookworm? You of all people should be able to get your head around it.

IMHO what has happened is that EASA realised that keeping tabs on how long a bit of metal is parked somewhere in the EU was not going to work. France dropped the idea in 2004, the UK dropped it in 2005.

But requiring additional (local) pilot licences is a lot easier, and it achieves almost the same thing, i.e. indulging the European "we are superior" emotion.

Now, EASA can say that all pilots based here comply with the same "European standard"

They don't have to comply with Part M maintenance, which is something... but that would have been tricky because one cannot overlay Part M over the top of Part 91, in the same way that one can overlay EASA FCL on top of ICAO FCL.

Overlaying Part M on top of Part 91 would raise many conflicts e.g. a retrofitted MFD approved by the FAA but not approved by EASA... if the EASA MO turns a blind eye to that (and they must, otherwise a Part M overlay amounts to an eviction of all FRAs from the EU) then the whole scheme is meaningless.

EASA are not stupid and they must have realised all this, a few years ago.

I still think they have failed to think through the residence definitions. They will be easy for most people but it will be the marginals which will show up the rules as meaningless.

In militarised 3rd world countries, most of which ban FRAs, this is usually implemented by nobody caring what you do, but after some months some official starts to make life hard for you. You have to get a permit for every flight, and the permit takes longer and longer. You have to pay bigger bribes. Eventually you get the message... but one cannot do this kind of stuff under European transparency.
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