I'm sorry chaps if I have offended some of you. As usual, I have failed to convey exactly what I mean so let me try again.
Absolutely no one in the flying game (unless they are completely deranged) enjoys spending money and being examined.
What I was trying to explain was that we all end up having to do whatever it takes to get the job done. I did not enjoy spending a lot of money when I came out of the RAF getting an IR which did not really improve upon the skills that I had already been using for 18 years.
BUT IT HAD TO BE DONE.
Without the CAA ATPL I was not going to get a job.
A bit later in my life I was offered a job flying DC-10s in the USA (Part 121) but I had to get an FAA ATR. I did not particularly enjoy the experience.
BUT IT HAD TO BE DONE.
When I came back to flying in Europe, JARs came along and my company insisted that I had to take out a JAR ATPL. You have already guessed what is coming next.
IT HAD TO BE DONE.
I certainly do not wish to decry anyone's license or ability. The CAA license is without doubt the most difficult to get and the process undoubtedly contains more bullsh*t than any of the others (does anyone else remember the lighting requirements of an airship moored at its mast at night with the rudder disabled?).
On the other hand, the FAA license was an absolute breeze. The bullsh*t factor was a lot lower and the FAA attitude towards flying was much more practical.
However, all I was trying to say was that there are a lot of things in life that we have to do to tick the necessary boxes. Let us look at this from a private flyer's position in the UK.
You need to ask yourself a very basic question. Do I need (really need) to have an IR? Perhaps an IMC rating would do? Perhaps I don't really need either?
If an IR is absolutely essential to you and you want to use it on a G-registered aeroplane, then perhaps you should invest in a CAA IR. I know it costs money but that takes me back to the original question "do I really need an IR"?
PERHAPS IT HAS TO BE DONE
The bullsh*t factor might be quite high but I would really not worry about the examiners. I only ever met one CAFU examiner that got up my nose in a major way and I only had to put up with him for one week in the "Tony Angel HS125 simulator" when I was on the IRE course.
The rest of them have been absolutely fine and supportive. (I can even remember one chap telling me not to worry about temporarily busting a limit "I can always choose when to be looking in any particular direction").
So, having parted with a fair amount of dosh, you will have your CAA IR in your hand and it is highly unlikely that you will ever have to fly with a CAFU chap ever again.
Alternatively, you could decide that it would be easier (and cheaper) to do a simpler FAA IR course and then look forward to:
1. Re-registering your machine on to a foreign register.
2. Organising a maintenance organisation to look after your aircraft on the new register.
3. Finding a foreign-qualified IR examiner to do your IR renewal every year.
4. Finding an AME who can issue FAA medicals as well as CAA ones (Mine does).
5. Face the possibility of explaining to a ramp-checker in Albania whose English is somewhat limited that your aircraft is not actually yours but is owned by a trust in Delaware.
6. Constantly trying to stay one step ahead of the inevitable outcome of EASA banning foreign registered aircraft.
To me, such an option is ridiculous and has absolutely no future for you will never beat the system in the final analysis.
SOMETIMES IT HAS TO BE DONE
I bit the bullet and got every license (and several validations) that I needed. I didn't like it but it had to be done. I am sure that it was the cheaper option in the end.
Was it Confucius who said "if rape is inevitable, lie back and enjoy it"!