I Got Mine
For anyone that is interested...
Back in December/January (sorry it's been busy) I did get to the US and having filled in my various forms with the CAA and they sent my verified details to the FAA I got the letter from the FAA that they sent my letter of authenticity to the Orlando FAA FSDO office - all good.
At this point the wheels came off slightly.
When i tried to make an appointment to go into the Orlando FSDO they basicalally said they didn't do that anymore and provided me with a list of FAA Examiners to which they had "delegated" the task.
This confused me a bit, I didn't really know what "delegated" meant and some other cloudy questions (like do I need to find one examiner that does helis or can any examiner do)!!
Anyway I started sending emails and calling people and go no reply answerphones etc. - eventually got hold of a guy that told me to log into an online system and apply then met me at a shared office (like Regus) and checked my paperwork, then issued a "Temporary Airman Certificate" / permit on the spot.
When I showed this to the flight school that I took an R44 out with, they thought (but didn't verify with FAA) with such a permit I could just do about 5ish hours training and get my full US license (without first getting my fingerprints and US medical etc.) as I was legally entitled to fly an N reg in US.
Appreciate if anyone else has any experience of that route?
PS I'll try and remember to find the form numbers and site I had to log into etc. for anyone else that needs to do the same.
PPS when I got back I did get a plastic version through the post - I'll also check the validity etc, but from memory it was not 6m or 12m more like 5 years - best I check though !
CC
Last edited by chopperchappie; 22nd Sep 2015 at 14:18.
Reason: Missed a bit & dodgy spelling