FAA Certificated Pilots in Europe.
Gentlemen....many thanks for your responses to my posting, both supportive and non. It has made very interesting reading, and am quite sure that everyone who has expressed a passionate opinion, has done so from their own viewpoint and most likely feels totally justified.
I have been a little taken aback by some of the venom that was forthcoming, especially with regard to N Reg Pilots and Operators, from some, whom are probably still in their early years in this great Industry of ours....Yes Guys, the truth is, whether you want to get on your High Horse and act like a Trotskyist Trade Union Leader.....and demand that JAA/EASA is the only true way forward....the simple fact is....we do love Flying.....not for the Money.....I am saddened, when, with the potential loss of my Career....I can hear fellow Pilots commenting that the Demise of N Reg Aircraft in Europe will increase their own personal incomes.....I started flying at the age of 13....working as a Hangar Rat, 4 weekends work, got 1 hour in an Auster. That is why I started flying.
Something I did not mention in my thread, was that I completed all the old CAA ATPL, but due to the positions I was offered over the years, I let it lapse....yes, De Facto.....we can, and have been as diligent as you....but life sometimes takes some different paths.....but the one thing I do recall, was that having completed "all those nasty CAA exams".....did I come away really that much better off....CAAFU's Initial IR was no different to my FAA Multi I/R....perhaps a little less Starchy maybe...but the flight standard....no different. Morse Code and Astro Nav.....need I say more.
I for one, have never baited the CAA/JAA/EASA.....and I don't think that many of my Professional colleagues have either.....we just got on with our jobs and made a living, within the auspices of the Rules and regulations enacted within the ICAO accords......yes of course, we have all heard the NEWBIE and Wannabe, crowing about how much easier it appears to do an FAA course as opposed to the European equivalent.....but Easier?....less costly certainly.....but young men are a little stupid, and sometimes don't say the cleverest things. Having held both Licences, I see upsides and downsides to both....and in truth, perhaps we should all do both, as I believe that the blend of European Academia, and American Practicality produce a far better Pilot, and also if it enables younger Pilots to gain more hours at a cheaper price, then this is a good thing......as nothing, in my humble opinion....nothing...replaces experience.
If we were being inundated with Dodgy Crews from Godonlyknowswhereistan, then I could understand some of the opinions expressed here, but this is not the case...this is the EU doing some FAA kicking, and just because the FAA is not going to submit to Petty Rulings, and Farcical regulations that are dream't up in an institution the likes of which we find in Brussels....
Should therE be any FAA N-reg drivers or owners out there who are in a similar position to myself, then please PM me, and we can talk further about this, and whether, as mentioned earlier in this thread, there is any remote possibility of bringing a Discriminatory case against the EU/EASA.