But what happens when I turn up at this new airfield? Do I simply tell them that my licence is in the post - and can someone please show me how the PA-28 works? How long will this conversion realistically take? And what does the conversion course entail? What happens if I make a balls-up of a landing - will I be required to have more training? And if I decide that the club in question is not for me, will I have to go through the same process again -somwhere else?
Sure. Turn up and tell them what you've just told us.
You'll have to have a couple of hours dual instruction anyway, so they will have a chance to assess your skills, and they'll probably want to see your licence when it arrives. The 'licence in the post' thing doesn't matter, because they wont let you fly their aeroplanes if you aren't competent - licence or no licence. From their point of view the licence is mainly a legal thing.
How long? Well, there are a number of flavours of PA-28, but assuming that you mean the plain-vanilla Cherokee/Warrior rather than the higher-powered/wobbly prop/retractable gear versions then I would expect the conversion should take a couple of hours or so, mostly depending on how well you land it. They'll talk you through assorted speeds and procedures (as you're going from high-wing to low-wing there may be a few new things, e.g. fuel pump), do the normal steep turns/stalls/PFLs etc. (just like your skills test) and then some circuits. Assuming you land it consistently well then they'll probably be happy. The basic PA-28 is a very simple aeroplane to fly, so the checkout is not going to be hard. If you balls up the circuits then not surprisingly they'll make you do them until you get it right.
Will you have to do the same thing elsewhere? Yes. Every club will want to check you out before letting you borrow their aeroplanes. If you've already logged time on a particular type their requirements may be a bit less, but I expect that you'll always have to do an hour or so dual. Insurance
