Reading EU Commission Regulation 1178/2011 (
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/...01:0193:EN:PDF) that states the EASA rules concerning the conversion of ICAO IR and licenses to EASA in Annex 3 (page L311/171) I can not find that it is allowed anymore to convert the IR or CPL. Validations are allowed for twice one year only. What it seems to state is that if someone has a CPL he or she can only convert this to a PPL. The IR can not be converted anymore at all, and the full MEP (L) course has to be done again completely if the holder has not completed 100 hours on class.
It states:
"A PPL/BPL/SPL, a CPL or ATPL licence issued in compliance with the requirements of Annex 1 to the Chicago
Convention by a third country may be converted into a Part-FCL PPL/BPL/SPL with a single-pilot class or type
rating by the competent authority of a Member State "
And concerning the class or type rating conversion:
C. ACCEPTANCE OF CLASS AND TYPE RATINGS
1. A valid class or type rating contained in a licence issued by a third country may be inserted in a Part-FCL licence
provided that the applicant:
(i) for aeroplane class ratings, 100 hours of flight experience as a pilot in that class;
(ii) for aeroplane type ratings, 500 hours of flight experience as a pilot in that type.
Nothing was mentioned that a IR can be converted.
So please correct me if I am wrong with this, but according to what I am reading here I draw the following conclusions:
Under EASA Part-FCL (which will be active from next week in all EU states) an ICAO CPL can not be converted into a EASA CPL, the ICAO IR can not be converted into EASA (not even with a conversion program) and the MEP (L) can only be converted if the applicant has at least 100 hours of MEP (L) class hours.
So anyone training for CPL ME/IR outside Europe wanting to convert the non-EASA license to EASA will not be able to do this? This is the end of the US/SA/Oz/NZ route for modular students from Europe?