Hi Nishant
RT stands for Radio Telephony license. Anyone who wishes to operate an aircraft radio in India is required by the Govt of India to hold one. This is issued by the WPC wing of the Ministry of Communications.
Most countries require their pilots to hold a radio license in order to operate an aircraft radio
In India this is one of the requirements for issue of a pilots license
Even in the U.S the FCC issues a radio license. But as per FCC rules you only need a FCC license to operate an aircraft radio if you plan to fly international.
There are 3 types of licenses issued by the WPC.
1. RTR ( A ) - This issued after passing two exams i.e Part 1 and Part 2 . A radio transmission exam and an oral exam. The RTR A license can be issued for life after passing the exam and payment of 10,000 rupees license fees
2. RTR ( C ) - This is issued to those candidates that holds an RT license from a commonweatlh country and after passing the Part 1 exam conducted by the WPC.
3. RTR ( P ) - This is issued to those candidates that hold RT and a CPL license from a commonwealth country. This is the fastest method to issue the license as there are no exams and you can come to India and directly apply for conversion
Unfortunately since the U.S is not a commonwealth country the FAA CPL and FCC RT license is not recongised for the issue of RTR C or RTR P
The RTR A exams are very difficult and you will need coaching to pass them. Even then the pass rates are very poor . They average around 16% - 18% every attempt. There are 6 attempts in a year.
A lot of FAA CPL holders after obtaining the license head over to Canada ( since canada is a commonwealth country) and obtain a Canadian CPL and Canadian RT and then apply for an RTR P license after returning to India.
FAA CPL to Transport Canada CPL is a relatively simple process ( 1 written exam ) as they mutually recognise each others licenses
The RTR P issued from a Canadian license will be valid for 5 years.
Many candidates later sit and study and obtain the RTR A license after passing the exams and apply for lifetime validity as only the RTR A license is valid for life
The DGCA or the airlines dont care which of the above 3 licenses you hold as long as its valid
Last edited by cyrilroy21; 9th Feb 2016 at 07:43.