But perhaps then you could spare your opinion on the 7 April 2015 date mentioned by the CAA Manager?
In relation to your specific query, I can see no significance in that date. A JAA licence is deemed to have been issued in accordance with Part-FCL and so there is no limit to its validity other than the final date of 7 April 2017 (now 2018) by which all JAA licences must have been replaced.
The derogations from Part-FCL that are allowed until 8 April 2015 by Article 12 of Regulation 1178/2011 are:
- All provisions related to licences for powered-lift aircraft, airships, balloons and sailplanes
- The provisions of subpart B (the LAPL)
- Introduction of the aerobatic, towing, mountain and flight test ratings
- The helicopter MCCI
- The mountain instructor and flight test instructor
None of these has anything to do with the validity of JAA licences.
As to knowing my way around the regulations - it is what I am paid to do. When I stopped flying commercially a few years ago, my employer kept me on with a brief to monitor the development of EU regulation and how it was going to affect the industry in general and the Company in particular. Up until recently, that has been focussed on the Aircrew Regulation but, increasingly, is now including the forthcoming Air Ops Regulation. I am also still active in my local flying club and so extend my interest to the effect on flight training generally. Contrary to Peter's assumption, I have never been employed by either the CAA or EASA, although I was involved as an industry representative in the early days of development of the Essential Requirements.
I might also say that, having grown up in a farming family, I have seen the dead hand of European bureaucracy, coupled with an incompetent government department (DEFRA in that case) all but destroy an entire industry. I can now see a repeat of that destruction in the making and the best (only) way of preventing it is to keep one step ahead of the bureacrats and maintain pressure on the appropriate government department (the CAA as an agency of the DfT) to avert the worst excesses.
Edited to add the following quote from CAP 804
JAR licences issued before 17 September 2012, that are fully compliant with JAR-FCL, automatically become Part-FCL licences. The legislation requires the physical replacement of JAR licences with their Part-FCL equivalents on calendar expiry (so that all are replaced before 8 April 2018).
I had missed the line in Article 1 of Regulation 290/2012 that amended the final replacement date in Article 4 of Regulation 1178/2011 from 2017 to 2018.