I am struggling to understand what loop hole everybody is referring to.
N reg in Europe are generally VAT paid (no AOC so no getting 0% rated) and yes those loop holes are closed (example: Danish 2010), and you would not want to fly in France without having this little VAT paid cetificate.
They pay the same NAV, airport, fuel fees and because they are not AOC they pay duties and VAT.
Jet crews need to be type rated and proficient thus every year off to the States for recurrent and they even changed their policies to have rated SIC.
Plus some owners and operators keep the standard and do 6 monthly recurrent’s.
Fair enough the Licence process has been the focus now because it is apparently cheaper, which it is, and yet proved again and again on par or better than most counterparts in safety. Just because you went the JAR route and suffered financially and mentally in obtaining it is not my problem.
In the Middle East many nationalities and licences mix in the cockpit and fly everywhere in the world and operate to, IMHO, a better standard than many European operations.
I have not heard anywhere that you can't own and operate a non N reg in the States, the only reason its not done because it does not make sense.
Yes i am in the same boat, but as my wife said "we have done Angola to Afghanistan, if the European mentality is now receded to a dictatorship we lived with it in the past we will do what we always do and just move on."
Personally I don’t earn the high flying salary that we all dreamed about when the dream of flight came to me, if it was a simple process and if there was recognition for my experience I would have gladly followed the line but I can't afford it and thats the sad truth.
I have 4 licences from four different countries and validations from another 3 and have always been able to comply but this time I am out. I will fly till the non-elected prosecute me and then I move on.
Sadly I am finally getting settled in my current home and its a shame to uproot my wife and son but hey what would life be without a struggle.
P.S
As a side note, I run and manage the operation I am in, it has been 6 long years of swallowing my pride and dealing with some very difficult people, if they don’t find people like myself and the other guys in it, this is one operation that will terminate. Which is a shame?