UnZud just as bad.
In NZ the test is (was?) administered by ASL.
When I upgraded to a higher license some years ago I had to call a particular telephone number whereupon I was instructed to follow an automated procedure that lasted, if I recall correctly, around five minutes or so.
All this for more than $100. While I don't recall the exact figure I did think it was particularly expensive and reeked of a (non-market) rate being set by a monopoly.
I did also think that the CAA-mandated process made a particular arse of itself when it wouldn't allow the 30,000 hours CAA examiner who took me for my flight test (over two to three hours) to conclude that my language proficiency was adequate for the license upgrade.
At the time I had been flying on and off for more than twenty years, and was born and educated to tertiary level in an english-speaking country.
While I applaud the thrust behind the proficiency requirement - there are some truly terrible radio calls out there - I think there are better and more efficient means to achieve this, perhaps such as the US appears to have.
I often read compliments on NZ vs Oz aviation regulation here, but in this case they've dropped the ball methinks >:-(
FP.
Last edited by First_Principal; 26th May 2015 at 21:05.
Reason: Improve contrast