Originally Posted by
mad_jock
And the uk will allow FAA pilots with no additional paper work PPL VFR rights only. In the US you have to get a piggy back which is limited to PPL only if you want any other ratings including IR you have to sit the theory test and also the flight check. If you want to convert you again have to do the theory test and the flight checks just as you do in the UK. So I don't think Brian is wrong.
The UK->US and US->UK PPL VFR validation and issue based on are both very 'easy' compared to the proposed new rules (with the UK being automatic for the validation). However, in general UK->US is much easier and more economical for all of the other steps. for IFR, it is only a matter of taking the instrument exam for foreign pilots (a single, broadly relevant to US operations, cheap, accessible exam).
I believe for all of the others licences it is a matter of having the qualifying hours/experiences in the log book, taking the flight test, the written, and a modest (3 hr) pre-flight check training. In concept this seems similar to the US->UK process, but the scale of the exams, scope of examined knowledge and intrinsic process cost (time, money, and rigidity) are much higher in the UK system.